Basics of Dissertation Writing

BASICS OF
DISSERTATION
WRITING
M. ODUOR, MOI UNIVERSITY
I. FINDING WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT (THE
CLAIM)
 Good legal scholarship should make

 (1) a claim that is
 (2) novel,
 (3) nonobvious,
 (4) useful, (5) sound, and
 (6) seen by the reader to be novel, nonobvious,
useful, and sound
A. The Claim
 1. Your basic thesis
 Most good works of original scholarship have a basic
thesis—a claim they are making about the world.
 This could be a descriptive claim about the world as
it is or as it was (such as a historical assertion, a claim
about a law's effects, or a statement about how courts
are interpreting a law).
 It could be a prescriptive claim about what should
be done (such as how a law or a constitutional
provision should be interpreted, what new statute
should be enacted, or how a statute or a common-law
rule should be changed).
Examples: what type of claims are these?
 Section y of z statute is unconstitutional because of x
 Parliament should repeal X Act because it unfairly

burdens citizens of a particular type
 Properly interpreted Y Act means illegal aliens are

entitled to citizenship on application.
 Z Act will likely have a negative effect on bar-owners

 you should be able to condense that claim into
one sentence, for instance:
 1. “Law X is unconstitutional because ....”
 2. “The legislature ought to enact the following
statute: ....”
 3. “Properly interpreted, this statute means ....”
 4. “This law is likely to have the following side
effects ....”
 5. “This law is likely to have the following side
effects ..., and therefore should be rejected or
modified to say ....”
 Capturing your point in a single sentence helps
you focus your discussion, and helps you
communicate your core point to the readers.
2. The descriptive and the prescriptive parts of the
thesis
 The most interesting claims are often ones that combine the
descriptive and the prescriptive, telling readers something
they didn't know about the world—whether it's about what courts
have done, how a legal rule changes people's behavior, or why a
rule has developed in a particular way—but also suggesting what
should be done.
 E.g. X Act is likely to burden taxpayers and should therefore

be amended to raise the income tax bracket;
 or Courts have stated that the right to bail is available in all

offenses and so the Criminal Procedure Code should be
amended allow bail in all offenses
 The descriptive is valuable because many
people are more persuadable by novel facts
than by novel moral or legal arguments.
 The prescriptive is valuable because it answers

the inevitable “so what?” question that many
practical-minded readers will ask whenever
they hear a factual description, even an
interesting one.
B. Finding a Claim
 1. Finding a problem
 To find a claim, you must first identify a
problem, whether a doctrinal, empirical, or
historical one, in a general area that interests
you.
 The claim will then be your proposed solution
to that problem.
Where do you find problems?
 in cases you've read for class, or in class discussions
 in casebook/textbook questions
 in issues left over or created by recent Supreme

Court/Court of Appeal cases
 in your work as a research assistant e.g. at a law firm

 by asking practicing lawyers
 by paying attention to interesting newspaper articles
 by reading legal blogs
 by finding articles that aim to identify unanswered

problems
 by attending symposia/conferences etc

C. Novelty
 Your research must be saying something that

has not been said by others before-a previously
un-tackled area of law or an insufficiently
addressed area of law-the idea is that it should
be valuable
How does one ensure novelty?
 1. Adding to the body of professional knowledge

 It must say something that others haven't said before.
It's not enough for your ideas to be original to you, in the
sense that you came up with them on your own—the
article must add something to the state of expert
knowledge about the field.
 the best bet is to find a topic that has not been much
written on
 second best option is to at least find a claim that hasn't
been made before, even if many others have made
other claims related to the topic
 2. Making novelty through nuancing/adding a
twist to an already made argument
 3. tackle an entirely new area of law (e.g.
who’s written on lactation stations in Kenya? Or
regulating e-Health? Or the Health Act with its
many issues? Or Universal healthcare coverage
and the law? etc
Are the following topics novel?
 The death penalty should be abolished in Kenya
 Implementation of the Sexual Offences Act is faced

with many challenges
 The statehood and sovereignty of Southern Sudan in

International Law
 Theory, law and practice of consumer protection in

Kenya is inadequate
 Capital punishment is an infringement of human rights
 The constitution provides for the right to bail
 Cyber-laws are inadequate in Kenya
 The constitution outlaws abortion except under certain

conditions
 Banks are not following the law on interest rates in Kenya

D. Non-obviousness
 A thesis/argument/point may be novel but pretty

obvious
 A thesis/argument/point/argument that simply
applies settled law or well established arguments
to a new set of facts would be obvious
 If the response to your claim is likely to be: “Well,
anyone could have said that without having to
research on it” then it is likely an obvious one
 Examples of rather obvious claims
 The death penalty is an infringement of the right to
life
 Abortion is illegal unless done under the conditions
set out in the constitution
 The TJRC process has been faced with many
challenges
 White collar crime as a distinct branch of criminal law
 Mandatory death sentence is unconstitutional
 Mobile banking should be regulated
 You can avoid obviousness by adding some
twist that most observers would not have
thought of.
E. Utility
 Your dissertation as an investment-time, money,

thought process etc
 It has to have value-readers must find it worth
spending time on, e.g. they will get some
professionally valuable idea.
 Your dissertation could be a foundation of your
academic or legal career-it could be the origin of
all that you will do for the rest of your life!
 Google Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto
How do you make your research useful
 Focus on unresolved issues

 Avoid matters that have been “beaten to death”
 Avoid purely descriptive research-incorporate
prescriptions/solutions
 Avoid solutions that are too radical as they are likely
to alienate your audience
 Make your solution as appealing as possible to as
many readers as possible e.g. use neutral language
when dealing with an issue that seems to evoke
visceral emotional reaction, avoid jargon
F. Soundness
 Your prescription must be logical, clear,

unambiguous, conceptually accurate, and
make sense to different situations it might
apply to
 For example suggesting only that the “law
should be amended” without identifying the
law and describing the amendment is vague
and of no use.
Topics/research to avoid
 Research that shows there’s a problem but offers no

solution
 Case commentaries
 Research that just explains what the law is
 Subjects that are likely to be legislated on shortly or

be decided upon by the courts, especially the
supreme court and the court of appeal
Your topics
 Pursuing accountability: how prosecutors should

punish white collar and corporate crimes offenders
 Devolved government: a necessary evil to the
realisation of the right to healthcare in Kenya
 The right to health: protection of maternal healthcare
in Kenya
 Devolved health system in Kenya: a (sic) in-depth
discussion on the right to health
 An appraisal of medical malpractices in Kenya and
related laws
 Legitimacy: study of principles and process of
constitutional development from the colonial era to
2010
 Impact of corruption on implementation of the right to
health
 Analysis of law on medical malpractice liability in
Kenya: a judicial interpretation
 The impact of multinational corporations on
indigenous people’s rights: case study of the Endorois
 The political question and judicial protection of
the right to health in Kenya

Basics of Dissertation Writing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Basics of Dissertation Writing

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Basics of Dissertation Writing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BASICS OF

 Good legal scholarship should make

 Section y of z statute is unconstitutional because of x

 Parliament should repeal X Act because it unfairly

 Properly interpreted Y Act means illegal aliens are

 Z Act will likely have a negative effect on bar-owners

 E.g. X Act is likely to burden taxpayers and should therefore

 or Courts have stated that the right to bail is available in all

 The prescriptive is valuable because it answers

 in cases you've read for class, or in class discussions

 in issues left over or created by recent Supreme

 in your work as a research assistant e.g. at a law firm

 by paying attention to interesting newspaper articles

 by reading legal blogs

 by finding articles that aim to identify unanswered

 by attending symposia/conferences etc

 Your research must be saying something that

 1. Adding to the body of professional knowledge

 Implementation of the Sexual Offences Act is faced

 The statehood and sovereignty of Southern Sudan in

 Theory, law and practice of consumer protection in

 The constitution provides for the right to bail

 Cyber-laws are inadequate in Kenya

 The constitution outlaws abortion except under certain

 Banks are not following the law on interest rates in Kenya

 A thesis/argument/point may be novel but pretty

 Your dissertation as an investment-time, money,

 Focus on unresolved issues

 Your prescription must be logical, clear,

 Research that shows there’s a problem but offers no

 Research that just explains what the law is

 Subjects that are likely to be legislated on shortly or

 Pursuing accountability: how prosecutors should

You might also like