Writing the Report
Chapter -Seven
Syllabus topic 7, "Preparation of the Research Design"
Pages 528 to 531 of 543
In one line
The report is the only part of the research anybody will see, and MU prescribes its physical form in detail, so a student should comply with the form exactly and spend their effort on the writing.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: the research report is the written presentation of the investigation, comprising the preliminary matter, the body divided into chapters, and the end matter of appendices, bibliography and webliography; the University of Mumbai prescribes for the LL.M. dissertation a body of 100 to 150 pages besides the pre-body and post-body matter, A4 paper with stated margins, a stated font and size, one and a half line spacing, page numbers at the bottom right, hard black cover binding with golden embossing, and the enclosure of the plagiarism report in an appendix.
MU's prescribed form, exactly
Length. Dissertation: a minimum of 100 to 150 pages for the body, besides the pre-body such as the index and the post-body such as the bibliography. Interdisciplinary project: a minimum of 75 pages.
Paper. A4, and back to back printing is allowed, the notice adding that this saves paper and the environment.
Margins. Left 2 inches for binding; right 1 inch; top 1 inch; bottom 1 inch.
Font. Times New Roman or Calibri. Size 12 for the text, 14 for sub-headings and 16 for headings.
Line spacing. 1.5.
Page numbers. At the bottom of the page, right hand corner.
Binding. Hard black cover for the dissertation. For the interdisciplinary project no hard cover binding is needed, only properly stapled or spiral binding.
Cover page embossing. Golden letters, carrying the title, the name of the student, the name of the guide, the group, and the month and year of submission.
Two express notes. Do not print the University logo on any page of the dissertation or the interdisciplinary project. And attach the plagiarism report for both.
Submission. Two hard copies of each; a pen drive inside the last cover page with the soft copies, with the name, group and year written on it; signatures on the declaration, statement and preface; the attendance sheet signed and a mobile number given; and the seat number noted from the attendance sheet.
Comply with all of that exactly. It costs an afternoon, it is entirely within the student's control, and departing from it invites a comment before anybody has read a sentence.
The parts of the report
Preliminary matter. Title page; certificate of the guide; declaration by the student; acknowledgements; index or table of contents; list of tables and figures; list of abbreviations; and list of cases and statutes, which is conventional in legal writing and useful.
The body, in the chapters MU prescribes, chapter 1320.
Writing the Report
End matter. Appendices, including the instrument and the plagiarism report; the bibliography; and the webliography, chapter 1370.
The stages of report writing
Asked on three of the eleven printed papers, so it is worth setting out as a sequence.
One: assemble. Gather the findings, the tables, the sources and the notes, and check that nothing needed is missing, chapter 1200's empty tables test run in reverse.
Two: settle the chapterisation, chapter 1320, so that every chapter has a job before any of it is written.
Three: write the body first. The substantive chapters, in order, leaving the introduction until last, chapter 1260.
Four: write the findings and the analysis, keeping what was found separate from what it means, chapter 1040.
Five: write the conclusion and the suggestions, chapter 1420.
Six: write the introduction, now that the study that happened is known.
Seven: assemble the apparatus. Footnotes checked, tables numbered and titled, appendices including the instrument, bibliography and webliography, chapter 1370.
Eight: revise. For accuracy first, then for structure, then for language. Three passes, not one.
Nine: check the form against the University's prescription above, item by item.
Ten: the plagiarism check, with time to act on it, chapter 1380.
And the sequencing point worth keeping. The order above is not the order of the finished document, and a student who writes in the document's order will write the introduction before they know what it introduces.
Writing: eight things that change a mark
One: one idea to a paragraph, with the idea in the first sentence.
Two: short sentences. Legal writing tends towards long ones, and a long sentence with three qualifications is where errors hide.
Three: say what you mean once. A dissertation that says the same thing in the introduction, the chapter, the analysis and the conclusion has padded rather than argued.
Four: attach every proposition to a source or to your own data, chapters 830 and 1360, so that a reader can always tell which is which.
Five: distinguish what you found from what you think it means, chapter 1040.
Six: use tables for numbers and prose for arguments, and give every table a sentence saying what it shows.
Seven: write the introduction last, chapter 1260.
Eight: cut. The commonest improvement available to any draft is removing the general material at the front, and it usually improves the mark, because what remains is the part that is the student's own.
The words to avoid
It is submitted that, unless you are actually making a submission.
Needless to say, since if it is needless it should be removed.
As we all know, which asserts agreement.
Writing the Report
Various, several and many, where a number is available. Not several colleges but eleven.
Very, which weakens every adjective it precedes.
And the passive where the actor matters. It was observed hides who observed; the researcher observed does not.
The last week
A checklist, because the last week is when avoidable marks are lost.
Check every footnote resolves, chapter 1360.
Check every table has a number, a title, a base and a sentence.
Check the objectives against the chapters, chapter 1270's two tests.
Check the conclusion answers every research question, chapter 1110.
Rewrite the introduction.
Run the plagiarism check with time to fix what it finds, chapter 1380.
Read the whole thing aloud, or at least the introduction and the conclusion, which is the fastest way to find sentences that do not work.
And check the form against MU's list above, item by item.
A worked example of one paragraph, twice
Weak. It is submitted that legal aid in India, which has been provided for under various statutory provisions as well as being recognised by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a catena of judgments, is not very effective in reality, and various studies have shown that the awareness among the people is quite low, which is a matter of grave concern for all of us.
What is wrong. Two hedged assertions; various twice; a catena of judgments with no citation; various studies with no citation; not very effective with no standard; and a closing appeal.
Strong. Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 entitles every woman and every person in custody to free legal services, without any income test. In the three settlements surveyed, 31 of 84 adult respondents had heard that a lawyer can be provided free of cost. The entitlement is therefore very wide and the awareness of it, in this sample, is not.
Three sentences. A provision, a finding with its base, and a conclusion that follows from the two. Nothing hedged, nothing unsourced, and nothing the reader is asked to take on trust.
Quick revision
MU's form: body 100 to 150 pages for the dissertation and minimum 75 for the project; A4, back to back allowed; margins left 2 inches, right, top and bottom 1 inch; Times New Roman or Calibri, size 12, sub-heading 14, heading 16; spacing 1.5; page number bottom right; hard black cover with golden embossing carrying title, student, guide, group and month and year; no University logo on any page; plagiarism report attached; two hard copies and a pen drive inside the last cover.
Parts: preliminary matter; the body in MU's seven chapters; end matter of appendices, bibliography and webliography.
Writing the Report
Eight writing rules: one idea per paragraph; short sentences; say it once; attach every proposition to a source or your own data; separate finding from interpretation; tables for numbers with a sentence each; introduction written last; and cut.
Avoid: it is submitted that; needless to say; as we all know; various and several where a number exists; very; and the passive where the actor matters.
Test yourself
1. State MU's prescribed physical form for the dissertation. A body of 100 to 150 pages besides pre-body and post-body matter; A4 paper with back to back printing allowed; margins of 2 inches on the left for binding and 1 inch at right, top and bottom; Times New Roman or Calibri at size 12, with 14 for sub-headings and 16 for headings; 1.5 line spacing; page numbers at the bottom right; hard black cover binding with golden embossed lettering carrying the title, the student's name, the guide's name, the group and the month and year; no University logo on any page; and the plagiarism report attached.
2. Give four writing rules that change a mark. One idea to a paragraph with the idea in the first sentence; attach every proposition either to a source or to the study's own data so a reader can tell which is which; distinguish what was found from what the writer thinks it means; and cut, since removing general material at the front usually improves the mark because what remains is the student's own work.
3. What is wrong with the sentence beginning it is submitted that legal aid in India, which has been provided for under various statutory provisions? It hedges rather than asserts; it uses various twice where a number or a name is available; it refers to a catena of judgments and to various studies without citing any; it says not very effective without stating a standard; and it closes with an appeal rather than a conclusion that follows from evidence.
4. Give four items from the last week checklist. Check that every footnote resolves; check that every table carries a number, a title, its base and a sentence saying what it shows; check the objectives against the chapters in both directions; and run the plagiarism check with enough time to fix what it finds.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.