2.3 Using distinct sections
If your document is more than a couple of pages long, it will be very important to give it structure by organising it into distinct sections or parts. Almost every legal document can and should be divided into sections. These are the basic parts of your document and should correspond to the main basic tasks your document is to perform. Again, this is something that helps both you and your reader: you develop a clearer idea of what you are trying to do, and your reader gets a clearer idea of what they are reading.
TIP: TABLE OF CONTENTS USUALLY NOT NECESSARY
Unless instructed to do so, you should not feel the need to include a table of contents. Using headings and dividing your paper into sections will be enough to enhance the clarity of your document.
As already noted, your original structure can evolve or be amended, but you should start writing your document with a planned sequence of sections, and your completed document should comprise a sequence of clearly identified sections.
Sections can be further subdivided into subsections and even sub-subsections. But be careful not to go overboard. It is possible for a document to be divided into too many sections and subsections, in the sense that the text and ideas become disjointed and underdeveloped.
There is no simple, or set, formula for how a document should be structured, as there are many different kinds of documents. The old formula of ‘have an introduction, a main body and a conclusion’ is not wrong, but it leaves open just how that main body is itself to be structured, and that will depend on the document you are writing.
An example of how to structure a document might help here.
Example 2.1
Imagine you are writing an essay in which your purpose is to persuade your reader that jury trials should be abolished. A possible structure could be:
- Introduction
- History and rationale of jury trials
- Current problems with jury trials
- Why abolition of jury trials would solve those problems
- Possible objections to abolition
- Responses to those objections
- Conclusion.
The main body consists of sections 2 to 6.
You can see the logic behind these sections. First, you provide relevant background information. Then you set up the problem to be solved and provide your solution to that problem. You show balance by considering objections to your position, but you are then able to rebut those objections and defend your position.
This is not a universal structure to apply indiscriminately. Moreover, this possible structure could well be varied in the final version. For example, you might find that it is more effective to combine sections 3 and 4 and propose the solution to the problem while explaining what the problem is. You might also find that it is more effective, and avoids repetition, to combine sections 5 and 6, so that you respond to each objection as you present it.
The key thing is that your reader should be able quickly to see, without having to look very hard, that this is indeed what you are doing.
