Event

PhD course: Academic Legal Writing

14-15 June - Online (change!)

Info about event

Time

Monday 14 June 2021, at 08:30 - Tuesday 15 June 2021, at 15:30

Location

Online

A writing course designed for PhD students who have recently embarked upon their doctoral studies.

Course description

The course is designed for PhD students who have recently embarked upon their doctoral studies. It aims to assist PhD students in developing their academic writing skills. The course will address general issues on how to write a PhD thesis. It will also provide guidance on successfully preparing an article for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The course will offer presentations by distinguished academics specialized in the field of law, who will address various aspects of academic legal writing.

Course objective

The main objective of this course is to equip PhD students with the necessary academic writing skills required for producing research pieces that meet highest scholarly standards. Participants will be advised on writing skills that are of vital importance when undertaking academic research in the field of law. 

Course format

The two-day course is divided into two tracks: an international track and a Nordic/Danish track. It addresses the topic of preparing an academic piece for publication and includes group work exercises (abstract preparation). Within the international track all sessions will be in English, and in the Nordic/Danish track all sessions will be in Danish. The sessions in the international track (DAY 1), will address the issues of successfully handling the preparation of PhD dissertation and establishing an academic publishing portfolio, as well as building a publishing strategy for international peer-reviewed journals. The sessions in the Nordic/Danish track (DAY 2), will address publishing in Danish/Nordic peer-reviewed journals and how to develop a comprehensive (Danish/international) publication profile.

Intended learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

  • effectively apply academic writing techniques addressed during the course,
  • recognize what is expected of them when preparing their final dissertations,
  • recognize what the editorial panels of peer-reviewed journals are generally looking for in an academic article submitted for publication,
  • critically analyse their own writing with particular attention paid to editing and proofreading,
  • utilize recognised legal referencing systems. 

Programme

Read the full programme (pdf) 

Preparation

A compilation of reading material will be distributed to participants 3 weeks before the starting date for the course. Students should ensure that they have read and are familiar with the reading material by the start of the course.

Additionally, course participants are expected to submit a 450-550 words long article abstract to be presented and discussed during the group work session. The abstracts should be prepared in the language of instruction of the day(s) attended by the participant and sent to phd@hrsc.ku.dk by 1 June 2021 at the latest.

Participants attending both days of the course, and seeking to obtain 2 ECTS points per day, shall submit two different abstracts, one in English and one in Danish, for each of the days of the course. Please note that the two abstracts must be substantially different from each other. Translations of the same text will not be accepted.

Participants seeking to obtain an additional 1 ECTS point for a reflection paper – please, see information below.

ECTS

2 ECTS points for full participation in each day of the course programme (Nordic/Danish track or international track), submitting the required written assignment(s) prior to the start of the course (see due date above) and reading the required material in advance. PhD students who take part in both tracks and submit two different written assignments will be granted 4 ECTS.

All participants can receive an additional 1 ECTS point for submitting a 450-550 words reflection paper by 1 July 2021 to phd@hrsc.ku.dk. The paper should comment on implementation of writing guidance obtained at the course in the participant’s PhD project.

Course organiser

Professor Ulla Neergaard, Centre for European and Comparative Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. 

Venue

The course will be conducted online.

Registration

No later than on 20 May 2021 via this registration formPlease specify which track you wish to register for, or if you wish to register for both tracks.