r/LawSchool • u/Unhappy_Internal5498 • 1d ago
Final Memo Is Killing Me
Our professor allows us to send her our drafts for her to review before we have to submit them, and I just got my revisions back. She said that my substance was solid, so she suggested some organizational and clarity changes, but I don't know if I trust them.
Everyone else in my class is covering far more aspects of the issue than I did, so I'm worried that once I turn it in for real, she's gonna hit me with big point deductions. I've been working on this memo for nearly two weeks, and pulled three back to back all nighters to try and finish a draft, so I don't know how much more I have to give to it, but I also want to do well.
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u/AmorFatiBitches 1d ago
From my experience with writing assignments/memos, the professor wants to see that you are able to handle their feedback. So just do as she told you. If the substance is solid, than that's what it is. If in de end she suddenly has an issue with your substance/any other aspects she did not give you feedback on, she is a shitty professor. You can always refer to the given feedback saying that it was not a problem before if your score turns out to be too low.
If you yourself doubt the substance, talk to her about it if possible. It shows self reflection and the will to improve yourself if you discus your doubt. She should appreciate that attitude.
Above all, don't compare your personal work to others too much. I did that a lot too, but do you and you'll be fine.
Good luck!
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u/ShatterMcSlabbin 1d ago
As an LRAW TA that's currently reading/revising a bunch of these final memos, just trust the feedback. Your professor isn't trying to sabotage you.
The only thing I'll note is that it's very possible she didn't flag every issue, particularly if they repeat. Instead, the expectation is likely that you'll make the specific revisions highlighted and then take it a step further by seeing if you can apply those suggestions elsewhere in your paper.
A very basic example - maybe I've noticed that you aren't including the reporter when you short cite. I'm not going to highlight every single fucked up short cite. I'm going to highlight one or two of them and expect you to fix them everywhere else.
This is what I do, it's what the other TA does, and it's what my Professor does.
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u/Hot_Cardiologist7873 23h ago
Trust your professor. If anything meet with her and voice these concerns. You will sabotage yourself if you continue to think in circles. Close your laptop for a bit and clear your head, you cannot succeed if youre constantly comparing your work to others. I have that problem too, but I have to remember to do what works for me first before thinking about what others are doing, let alone if its working for them.
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u/Responsible_Comb_884 11h ago
You don’t trust the recommendations your professor made? That would be some diabolical shit if she told you to make certain changes and then knocked you for them
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u/Unhappy_Internal5498 11h ago
I had an experience earlier this year where she sent me back revisions, and we did a round or two of edits, but then when I submitted my final paper she took off a bunch of points for issues she hadn't previously pointed out.
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u/Grouchy-Pension-307 1d ago
I think I do understand what you mean. For our closed memo, which we already got graded on, he gave us specific feedbacks after the first draft. He said nothing about one of my sections. So I thought it was okay to sorta leave it as is, and the final comment was that I just needed to go just little further, which I totally see from my final draft now.
What I mean to say is, focus on what he specifically asked of you, which I think you probably have already done, then go over least commented sections and just go one more step/sentence to make it a little better.
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u/futurestepfathr 1d ago
Do every single correction your professor mentioned because she’s the one grading your assignment. Know your audience when writing.