USLS College of Law

Juris Doctor Paper / Thesis Rules & Guidelines

Effective AY 2016-2017

A. The Procedure

1. For your J.D. Paper or Thesis to be completed satisfactorily, you have to

read, study and strictly comply with the following guidelines.

2. You can write a J.D. Paper or a J.D. Thesis, at your option.

3. After choosing a topic, it is your obligation to find an advisor or consultant who

can guide you on the topic and in the writing of your J.D. Paper or Thesis.
The honorarium of your advisor or consultant shall be for your exclusive
account.

B. The Topic

1. Your topic should first be approved before working on your paper or thesis.

2. Post the following on the Facebook Groups Discussion Wall for purposes of
transparency and to avoid proposing a similar topic: (a) the proposed title of
your J.D. Paper or Thesis, (b) the thesis problem or the question which you
seek to answer in your Paper, and (c) your hypothesis on the problem or
question. Topics proposed by private message will not be entertained.

3. The following are the criteria in choosing a topic:

a. Is the topic interesting?

b. Is it current or relevant?
c. Are primary sources readily available?

4. Your thesis can center on the following:

a. A proposal of a new legal theory.

b. A critical evaluation of an accepted doctrine or law.
c. An expository work or treatise on a new law.
d. An expository work on conflicting or difficult to reconcile doctrines.

5. Your topic should focus on a justiciable legal matter, not a policy matter. It
should present a judicially-determinable legal problem and offer a supportable
hypothesis to resolve it.

6. Once the topic is approved, you can begin working on your Paper or Thesis.

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C. The Thesis Proposal (for those who choose to write a J.D. Thesis)

After your Thesis Topic or Title is approved, you have to prepare and submit
a Thesis Proposal containing the following:

1. Introduction - Discuss your topic or theme of investigation or exposition. Point

out the circumstances that make it relevant or that lend it currency.

2. Statement of the Problem - Articulate of the thesis in question form. What

exactly are you trying to answer or explain with your thesis? There should
only be one (1) main problem, but it can be analyzed or broken down into
several sub-problems.

3. Objective and Significance of the Study - Explain what you want to achieve by
undertaking the study. Both theoretical and practical objectives are
acceptable. You may wish to point out inconsistencies, or in contrast, show
continuities. You may also wish to criticize and propose alternatives. You may
provide a historical explanation or contribute towards the enrichment or
accepted doctrine or jurisprudence by adverting to comparative jurisprudence.

4. Limitations of the Study - Set the parameters or confines of your study.

5. Definition of Terms - Provide operational definitions of terms used in a special

or technical manner in the thesis.

6. Conceptual Framework - Explain the legal theory that you are working with, or
that you presuppose.

7. Review of Related Literature - Inform your reader of the present status of

academic research on the subject. Explain the necessity of your work in light
of previous researches already made on the same topic.

8. Methodology and Procedure

a. How do you intend to resolve the thesis problem?
b. What sources will you use? Legal text? Congressional records?
Judicial decisions?
c. How will you treat these sources? Analyze? Compare? Criticize? Do a
historical review? Do hermeneutics?
d. If there is data involved, what will you do with them? Tabulate?
Synthesize? Analyze?

D. The J.D. Paper / Thesis Proper

1. The J.D. Paper and Thesis should be written in the same standards and in
substantially the same format as appellate briefs or memoranda.

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 2. Standard Structure of a J.D. Thesis:

a. Thesis Title
b. Abstract
c. Table of Contents
d. Chapter 1 Introduction
e. Chapter 2 Sub-Problem A
f. Chapter 3 Sub-Problem B (Each sub-problem should be treated in a
separate chapter of the thesis.)
g. Chapter 4 x x x
h. Conclusion of the Study (Draw inferences from the answers you have
given to the sub-problems. Thesis inferences should not be mere
summaries, but reasoned conclusions.)
i. Bibliography

3. Standard Structure of a J.D. Paper:

a. Title of the Paper

b. Abstract
c. Introduction - Introduce what the paper is about (Example: This paper
answers the question This paper argues that)
d. Critical Examination of Existing Laws and Jurisprudence - This should
be a critical examination, not a mere presentation of existing laws and
jurisprudence. Cite and discuss both primary and secondary sources.
e. Gaps and Recommendations This should be the most substantial
section of the paper. This should contain the discussion of your
hypothesis and its supporting legal arguments.
f. Conclusion
g. Bibliography

E. Format

1. Your J.D. Paper or Thesis must be written in clear, concise, and correct
English.

2. Electronic copies of your J.D. Paper or Thesis shall be submitted in Microsoft

Word (.doc or .docx) format. Submission of a PDF copy is not allowed and
shall be considered as not having been submitted.

3. All copy-pasted, quoted, paraphrased statements and borrowed ideas or

statements should be in red font in the electronic copy of your J.D. Paper or
Thesis.

4. Printed copies shall be paper bound with La Salle green front and back cover.

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 5. Paper Size: Letter (8.5 x 11)

6. Margins: 1.5" on the left side, and 1.0" on the top, bottom, and right sides

7. For the Body Text:

a. Font: Times New Roman

b. Font Size: 12
c. Line Spacing: 1.5
d. Space between Paragraphs: 1.5 only

8. For Footnotes:

a. Font: Times New Roman

b. Font Size: 10
c. Line Spacing: 1.0 (Single)

9. No. of pages There is no minimum & maximum page requirement, but

anything less than fifty (50) pages (main contents) is considered an
insignificant work.

F. Notes on Plagiarism

1. Your J.D. Paper or Thesis should be an original work that presents

unborrowed ideas, analysis, solutions, and recommendations. It should not be
a mere patchwork of ideas or phrases borrowed here and there. Copy-pasted
materials from existing works or sources destroy the credibility of your work
and makes it unworthy to be considered an original work.

2. Copying or paraphrasing another persons published or unpublished work or

ideas without giving full credit and acknowledgment is plagiarism. Hence,
you should use clear references or citations to acknowledge all works or
ideas taken or borrowed from others. All quoted material must be enclosed in
quotation marks and adequately referenced with proper citations.
Paraphrased works or ideas should better be put in the original writers own
words with proper citations.

3. Here is a Style Guide from the UST Law Review for your reference and
guidance: http://bit.ly/USTStyleGuide

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 4. The following are unacceptable and will be rejected:

a. Unacknowledged words, ideas, or quotations from others, i.e., using

another person's words or ideas without enclosing them in quotation
marks and without proper citation.
b. Rearranging another person's words or changing some of them, even if
the references or sources are cited.
c. Summarizing or paraphrasing another person's words or ideas without
proper citation or acknowledgment.
d. Paraphrasing or quoting heavily from existing works, even if the
references or sources are cited.
e. A work that is substantially or predominantly copy-pasted, even if the
reference or source is cited.
f. A work that is predominantly just a collection of citations, quotes, or
existing works of others. This is not a thesis, but a mere report.
g. Other similar and analogous practices.

G. Submission of Copies

1. The electronic copy of your J.D. Paper or Thesis shall be submitted by email
to attyralph@gmail.com or attached in a private message on Facebook not
later than 10:00 P.M. on January 7, 2017. No late submission shall be
accepted.

2. No further amendment or changes in your J.D. Paper or Thesis shall be made

after the submission of the electronic copy. The printed copy shall be identical
to the electronic copy.

3. Four (4) printed copy of your J.D. Paper or Thesis shall be submitted at the
College of Law Office not later than January 13, 2017. No late submission
shall be accepted.

H. Presentation and Defense

1. The J.D. The paper shall be subject to a paper presentation, which shall be
public. The J.D. Thesis, on the other hand, shall be defended before a panel
of at least three (3) members.

2. The defense of a J.D. Thesis that is well-researched and well-written and

which is of publishable quality may be waived.

3. The paper presentation and thesis defense shall be scheduled in February

and March 2017.

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