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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Moot Court Research Support: Writing Resources

Resources selected to assist members of the moot court programs at the University of Illinois College of Law. Some resources may be limited to University of Illinois or College of Law personnel.

WRITING RESOURCES

This page will assist you in locating resources to aid you during the appellate writing process. The resources will be both those specific to appellate/ persuasive writing, as well as resources which provide general writing and grammatical advice.

Selected Articles on Appellate Advocacy

Articles on writing a winning appellate brief can be found on a number of platforms inlcuding Lexis, Westlaw and in HeinOnline (PDF).  The following are a few titles on this topic.

  • Christine M. Durham, Writing a Winning Appellate Brief, 10 Utah Bar J. 34 (1997)
  • Dwyer, Feldman, McBride, How to Write, Edit, And Review Persuasive Briefs: Seven Guidelines From One Judge and Two Lawyers, 31 Seattle U. L. Rev. 417 (2008)
  • Brian L. Porto, The Art of Appellate Brief Writing, 29 Vt. B. J. 30 (2003)
  • Harry Pregerson, The Seven Sins of Appellate Brief Writing and Other Transgressions, 34 UCLA L. Rev. 431 (1986)
  • Harry Pregerson & Suzianne D. Painter-Thorne, The Seven Virtues of Appellate Brief Writing: An Update from the Bench, 38 Sw. L. Rev. 221 (2008).

Books and Treatises

In addition to the general treatises mentioned on the home page, these books may be helpful when writing your moot court brief.

Online legal writing resources