Winter Writing Program FAQ

The second Friday in November.

Students should feel free to ask any HLS faculty member to supervise written work, although faculty members on certain types of leave may not be available in a given term. You may contact faculty members directly, and we encourage you to do so earlier rather than later. Please note, the faculty member must have an appointment for the term in which the paper is being registered.

In order to satisfy the winter term residency requirement, students must enroll in a single 2 or 3 credit writing project.

Students and their faculty supervisors should determine their expectations surrounding what they would like to see submitted by the end of the winter term (i.e. outline, research, etc.) and the final paper submission deadline, as indicated in the Handbook for Academic Policy. It is possible to continue working on and ultimately complete and submit a winter writing project in the spring term. To do so, students should discuss an extension with their faculty supervisor.

As with all credited written work at HLS, Winter Term writing, including an Analytical Paper, is graded on the regular scale of H/P/LP/F.

No. students who are certain they will be pursuing writing credits during the winter term do not need to participate in the Winter Elective registration round; however, if unsure about enrolling in the Winter Writing Program, students should participate in the Winter Term course and clinic selection process. If a student then enrolls in Winter Term Writing, they can drop the course enrollment once their plans have been finalized (please be mindful of early drop deadlines for a select number of winter courses and all clinics).

You must submit a completed Option 1 winter registration form to the Registrar’s Office (registrar@law.harvard.edu). Prior to submitting the form and corresponding proposal, you must identify a faculty supervisor and obtain their approval of your proposed project. Please note the form does require signoff from your faculty supervisor; an email confirming their approval to supervise your project will suffice.

In order to satisfy the winter term residency requirement, students must enroll in a single 2 or 3 credit writing project.

The work involved in Option 1 papers typically produces a final product of 30-60 pages for a two-credit effort and 100-200 pages for a three-credit effort. However, an empirical project could involve designing, administering, and analyzing a survey or assembling and analyzing a data set and yet produce findings that can be summarized in relatively few pages while an historical or doctrinal analysis might require many more pages to present the work. You should consult with your faculty supervisor to determine how many credits your project will receive.

Yes, upon receipt of a passing grade a two or three-credit Option 1 paper done in the Winter Term will satisfy the J.D. Written Work Requirement.

Students interested in registering for a Winter Term Analytical Paper or other writing must submit a completed registration form to the Registrar’s Office. Prior to submitting the form, the student must obtain the signature of the faculty supervisor indicating their approval of the proposed project.

To satisfy the winter term residency requirement, students must enroll in a single 2 or 3 credit writing project.

The work involved in a Winter Term Analytical Papers yields a final product of 50 or more pages for a two-credit effort and 75 or more pages for a three-credit effort. However, an empirical project could involve designing, administering, and analyzing a survey or assembling and analyzing a data set and yet produce findings that can be summarized in relatively few pages while an historical or doctrinal analysis might require many more pages to present the work. Students should consult with their faculty supervisor to determine how many credits the project will receive.

Completing a 2- or 3-credit Analytical Paper in the Winter Term will complete the Analytical Paper component of the Written Work Requirement. Students are still required to complete the Professional Writing portion of the requirement.