HLS Writes

Writing is messy, recursive, and frustrating. If you don’t self-identify as a “writer,” it’s helpful to know that there’s a linear sequence that simplifies the…

Writing for me is thinking, and it’s also a way to position myself in the world, particularly when I don’t like what’s going on. Toni…

So you need to write a research paper: here’s what to know and what to ask. What is a Research Paper? In law school, a…

Concision 1. Shorter is better: cut or condense wordy sentences and paragraphs. One definition of “good writing” is: being able to communicate a lot of…

The HLS Writing Fellows offer comments and one-on-one consultations on writing-in-progress. Who Comes to the Writing Center The Writing Center is for HLS students writing…

What is Peer Review? Peer review simply means that one scholar reads and gives feedback on another scholar’s paper.  It is a practice drawn from…

Grammar Grammar is the set of standards that govern how we should combine and order words, punctuation, phrases, and clauses to communicate with each other…

Our Mission The HLS Writing Center helps students and faculty with writing for courses and publications.  Our Origins We start with four truths: (1) we…

The Jane Lakes Harman Writer-in-Residence brings distinguished writers to Harvard Law School to helps students turn complex legal arguments into compelling narratives for public audiences.

The Harvard Law School Writing Fellows are a community of exceptional HLS writers: they support HLS students in one-to-one writing consultations, participate in programming, and…

The HLS Writing Center curates a culture of writing at Harvard Law School. It is staffed by the HLS Writing Fellows , who offer comments…

Introduction The information on this webpage applies to the Written Work Requirement for JD students who matriculated at HLS from Fall 2023 onward (including transfer…

The Winter Writing Program provides time to focus on the Analytical Paper component of Harvard Law School’s Written Work Requirement. Participants devote the winter term…

All LL.M. candidates must satisfy the LL.M. Written Work Requirement, as stated in the Handbook of Academic Policies. Students who hold J.D. degrees from a law…

As stated in the Handbook of Academic Policies, upper-level J.D. students (2Ls and 3Ls) complete a J.D. Written Work Requirement in two areas. First, the professional writing…