Become a Writer for the UCLA Undergraduate Law Journal
There are relatively few opportunities for students to engage with legal issues at the undergraduate level. The Journal offers students a unique outlet to analyze and discuss issues in law and policy, while simultaneously developing professional legal research and writing skills that will aid students in their future endeavors.
The Journal is distributed to several U.S. law schools and admission directors who attend UCLA’s Annual Law Forum (the largest student-run law forum in the nation). The deans and assistant deans of admission have consistently been impressed by the articles that they have read.
Students with strong writing and research skills are encouraged to apply for our positions in writing. Prior research, writing, and editing experience is helpful, but not necessary. Selected writers and editors are paired in December and work collaboratively from January to March to compose one article for publication.
Position Description
Writers have the primary responsibility of producing one high-quality, well-researched academic article for publication in Volume 23 (Spring 2024) of the Journal. Writers will be the chief researcher and creative force behind their articles, developing their legal argument, seeking out case law and literature, and formulating a well-written article to convey their reasoning and research. Each writer will be paired with an editor who they will work closely with in the production of their article.
Writers need not possess intimate or expert knowledge of the topic of their proposed article, though they should have completed enough background research to intelligently formulate the broad contours of their subject and argument. An applicant for the position of writer should also possess the curiosity and drive to delve further into their topic and develop expertise in it during the course of the academic year as craft and revise their article.
Qualifications
You need no special qualifications to write for the Journal. The only requirements are that you are either of the following:
A current undergraduate student (B.A., B.S., LL.B., B.Sc.) enrolled at any university; or
A recent graduate who completed their undergraduate studies no more than a year prior to the application deadline and who are not currently enrolled in a graduate degree-awarding program (e.g., M.A., M.S., J.D., LL.M., M.L.S., M.D., Ph.D.).
While the Journal is based at UCLA and its Executive Board is comprised of UCLA students, we are open to applicants from any recognized university in the world. We particularly value diverse perspectives and encourage applications from universities outside California and the United States to apply. Your university affiliation will not have an impact on the consideration of your application. Applications from non-UCLA students are given equal consideration as those from UCLA students. The following skills would be desirable for a prospective writer applicant:
Teamwork and collaboration skills
Interpersonal and written communication skills
Organizational skills
Flexibility and an openness to change
Time management skills and the ability to plan ahead and meet deadlines
Have the motivation and skills to conduct independent research
Intellectual curiosity
Editorial Process
In late Fall Quarter 2023 (November–December) each writer will be paired with an editor. Writers will have until the beginning of Winter Quarter 2024 (first week of January) to submit the first draft of their article to the Executive Board. Their paired editor will then have a week to review their draft, leaving comments and suggestions alongside members of the Executive Board, after which writers will have a week to implement these comments and suggestions in the form of a second draft. This process continues throughout Winter Quarter 2024 (January–March) until a final draft is ready for publication. The Journal will be published later in the Spring.
Application Materials
You do not need to submit a resume, CV, cover letter, or academic transcript for this position. In order to apply to be a writer, you will need to complete the following in the application form linked below.
Complete three short answer questions
The short answer questions provide an opportunity for you to showcase past experience in a collaborative setting, elaborate on your interest in writing for the Journal, and offer your views on the value of undergraduate legal scholarship more broadly.
Your answers should be well written, clearly answer the questions, and also convey your own personality through them. More details on the questions can be found in the provided in the Application Form linked below.
Submit a Writing Sample
Your writing sample does not need to be related to your topic or even law in general. That being said, the purpose of the sample is to assess your writing abilities in the context of writing for the Journal, so pieces that discuss legal, political, social, or policy issues may be a better reflection of these abilities. However, we are open to any writing sample you feel accurately conveys your skills as a writer.
Papers written for a previous course tend to serve as particularly good writing samples given that they showcase your writing in an academic setting. If you chose to submit a paper written for a class please include the prompt of the assignment it was written for. This assists us in better understanding your argumentation. If you do not have access to the original prompt please summarize it to the best of your recollection.
Your writing sample should be no longer than six pages. You are welcome to submit a portion of a longer piece so long as you indicate it somewhere in the document. If you are submitting a portion of a longer document, also try, to the best of your abilities, to ensure the excerpted section can be understood as a free-standing piece.
Submit an Article Proposal
Your article proposal forms the core of your application as it articulates the nature of the research you plan to pursue in your article and outlines the legal argument you want to make.
Your proposal should provide concise background on your topic (this is particularly important for less-well-known issues), outline the points of your argument (do not worry, you will have the chance to fine-tune and amend these later in the process, should you be expected), and demonstrate that you have some familiarity with the issue and have done preliminary research to support your argument.
Your proposal should be five to six pages, double-spaced, and formatted in a professional manner. You should cite cases, scholarly sources, and other materials that may be relevant to your topic, both to build your argument and demonstrate that you have engaged in the preliminary steps of research into the subject of your article. You are required to cite at least two relevant articles from legal publications (law reviews, law journals, etc.) in your proposal but are highly encouraged to cite significantly more scholarly sources as your final article will likely draw on a wide breadth of academic literature. You are required to cite at least one legal case relevant to your topic in your proposal but are highly encouraged to cite several relevant leading cases.
While, if you are accepted, you will not be able to change the general topic of your proposal, you may consult with the Executive Board to modify parts of your argument. Legal writing is a dynamic process in which your arguments evolve as you research. Accordingly, your proposal is not required to present an expert understanding of all aspects of your topic; however, it should demonstrate you have done some research into the topic and display a direction for further research.
For some exemplary article proposals from past volumes of the Journal, see here, here, and here.
Application Form and Deadline
Writer applications are due at 11:59 PM (PST) on Friday, November 3, 2023. Note that you may apply both as a writer and editor, but you will only be selected for one of the two positions. Writer applications must be submitted through the application link below.