Writing Assignment

Federal Indian Law Assignment Fall 2016

For this paper, you will each be researching an area of Indian law chosen by you (and approved by me). This assignment has both a written portion and a presentation. For the written portion, you will be writing a 6-8 page paper on the topic that will be shared with your classmates.

Form: This is a research summary, not a brief or seminar paper. Your paper should contain a title and headings. These need not be longer argumentative brief-style headings. Include an Introduction and a Conclusion. Be sure your paragraphs have topic sentences and appear in a logical order. You do not need to make a proposal or advocate a position. You may do so if it fits in with you project, but it is not expected (and you don’t really have enough pages)

Substance: The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to investigate an area of Indian law of interest to you in more depth than we will be able to explore in class. It is also another step in working on your research and writing skills. Your goal with your written product should be to convey a new topic to your classmates. They are your audience. Think about what background information they will need to understand the issue. Assume they have read the book and have understood our class discussions. After reading your paper, they should be able to explain your issue to someone else. Some sample topics include:

 

Footnotes: Your paper should be properly cited. Please use footnotes instead of inline citations and follow the bluebook format journal articles. Do not use roman numerals for your citations. A well-developed article will rely on multiple sources. Sample sources include Cohen’s Handbook, the Textbook, Law Review Articles, Newspaper articles, and tribal websites. I will run the papers through a plagiarism checking software.

Format: Your paper should have 1” margins and be double-spaced. Use 12 point Times New Roman or an equivalent font. Remember to include page numbers and your name.

Delivery: E-mail your final paper to me (jol@buffalo.edu) on the due date in Word format.

Presentations: You will also be giving a short presentation on your topic during one of our class sessions. In an effort to give everyone adequate time for discussion, we will devote three and 1/2 classes to presentations. You should plan on presenting for UP TO 15 minutes, leaving at least 5 minutes for questions. You may use powerpoint, prezi, or other forms of audio and visual assistance, just let me know ahead of time so I can accommodate your av/it needs. There will also be time for questions and discussion after your presentation. Due to complications in my schedule, I will be unable to attend the first two sessions, but I will be videotaping the sessions and a colleague will serve as a guest facilitator.

Due Dates: You will each be assigned a group (group one, two, three, or four). Essentially, your draft papers will be due one class session before your presentation (by email, which I will forward to the entire group and post on the class website) and all final papers are due on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

9/26/16:               Topic Due by e-mail or in class

10/12/14:             Outline Due by e-mail or in class

10/31/16:             Group One, Draft Papers Due

11/02/14:             Group One Presentations, Group Two Draft Papers Due, Peer Review

11/07/16:             Group Two Presentations, Group Three Draft Papers Due, Peer Review

11/09/16:             Group Three Presentations, Group Four Draft Papers Due, Peer Review

11/14/16:             Group Four Presentations, Peer Review

11/22/14:             Final Papers Due by 5pm by email

Peer Review: You will receive more details, including a form, regarding peer review as we get closer to November and I assign you people to peer review. Essentially, you will have the opportunity to read all of your colleagues papers before their presentation and the obligation to closely read two of them and give your classmate helpful feedback as they take their paper from draft to final.