Legal Assignment
Assistance
Learn how to structure problem questions, write distinctive essays, and cite authorities correctly using OSCOLA.
Practise legal methods on your own independent exercises. Do not use these tools for assessed work or where institutional permission is unclear.
Academic integrity is non-negotiable. Durmah teaches structure, method, and reasoning. Never shortcuts.
Four types of legal assignments
Each has its own structure, conventions, and assessment expectations. We help you understand the method behind them.
Problem Questions
Identify the legal issues, apply the correct principles, and advise clearly. Problem questions are structured tests of legal reasoning. We teach the method.
Discursive Essays
Take a position. Support it with authority. Engage critically with counter-arguments. Law essays reward depth of analysis, not breadth of description.
Mooting & Oral Submissions
Translate written argument into clear, authoritative oral advocacy. Structure, tone, and response to questioning are all trainable skills.
OSCOLA Citation
Cite cases, statutes, journals, and secondary sources accurately, with a method that helps your work read carefully and professionally.
The six-step assignment method
Strong legal assignments are easier to revise when they follow a clear process. Here's ours.
Decode the question
Before writing a word, identify what the question is actually asking. Break down the brief, map the relevant legal areas, and note the word limit constraints.
Research with purpose
Don't read randomly. Identify your key cases, statutes, and academic commentary in advance. Quality of authority matters more than quantity.
Build a structured outline
Plot every IRAC block before you start typing. A clear outline prevents rambling, ensures logical flow, and makes the writing itself far faster.
Draft, then analyse
Write your application sections first. Then check: are you describing the law or applying it? Strong legal analysis turns principles back onto the specific facts.
Cite as you go
Don't leave OSCOLA for the end. Accurate citation embedded during drafting prevents missed references and saves significant editing time.
Revise for precision
Cut every sentence that doesn't advance your argument. Legal readers value precision: say what you mean, once, clearly, and move on.
Free guides to get you started
No account required. Read, practice, improve.
Planning independent practice from a brief in Durmah
Members can add an original practice brief, or a practice brief they are entitled to use, to My Assignments. Check the extracted deadline and word limit, correct anything missing or wrong, and confirm before saving. Saved deadlines appear in UK time across your assignment, dashboard and calendar. Record what your task permits before using AI. When readable brief text is available in that assignment, the tutor can use it to help you identify questions to investigate and sources to check.
Keep your answer, sources and judgment your own. This example is for independent practice, not assessed work. If your intended AI use is prohibited or unclear, stop and ask your tutor; using a free guide does not grant assessment permission. Read the academic integrity policy.
A note on AI and academic integrity
Durmah supports independent practice. Your institution determines whether AI use is permitted, including planning, feedback and editing. Writing the final text yourself does not grant permission. Do not enter assessed work. See our Academic Integrity Policy.
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