Any Law Lectures out there? I have a question!

Hogzy

Would you consider putting quoted lyrics from a Bob Dylan song "the times are changing" as a finishing quote (that i plan on putting at the end of a paper on Homosexual rights) too informal and not suitable for a college paper?

Edit: Apologies for the typo in the Heading! cant be changed now

up them Schteps

Hogzy wrote: »

Would you consider putting quoted lyrics from a Bob Dylan song "the times are changing" as a finishing quote (that i plan on putting at the end of a paper on Homosexual rights) too informal and not suitable for a college paper?

Edit: Apologies for the typo in the Heading! cant be changed now

NO!:D

drunkymonkey

up them Schteps wrote: »

NO!:D

i agree!

Tom Young

I'd fire you if I was dean of law. Unless it was a scenario based question.

If you are the type of lecturer who also insists on being a psychophant - Well see above also.

Hogzy

Im a student!

Tom Young

Good - but if you weren't I'd be worried.

Can I ask what on earth you were thinking when you started this thread, or is this something you've seen on a paper?

Tom

Hogzy

Just seemed good at the time, I was dosed up on sudafed and paracetemol tho so that could explain it...

Finished the paper now and i ended it with a quote from Britney Spears.... I felt that was more appropriate!:P

pansoul

I've never personally seen a problem (probably cos it's my default setting!) with relative informality or what might be termed "alternative approaches" - whether that's with essays, exams, interviews, forum posts, whatever.

Especially essays though, given you have a little more time to ensure it isn't completely ridiculous; furthermore you should have a good idea of what the lecturer is like - ie whether they may appreciate and welcome a little creativity or not. In general I imagine they wouldn't mind as they may be sick of reading the same essays not just this year but for the last 15 years they've been lecturing.

So to that end I think you might consider the issue on two levels: first, what the lecturer is like (basically once they aren't a boring prude I'd try something); and secondly, what the essay is like - for example, is it a generic one all the class are doing and probably one the year before did and the year before them did as well. That appraisal complete, you have determined the relative risk of deploying your Differentiating Device.

So, "the times are changing"... good idea / bad idea? Well first things first, you even got the quote wrong! (it's " the times they are a-changin' ") You'd sink like a stone for that one! :P
However, even assuming you would have verified the accuracy of the song's title / main lyric, it's not a great idea. Perhaps as an introductory quote or probably better yet, as a title (though even then it's probably a little cringeworthy / hackneyed), it would be ok: it would set the tone for your essay. However, I think it would be very weak as a closing remark: overly glib in my view, more smart-arsey than anything in the context of a concluding remark to what had probably been a very serious, formal essay.

A much better option would be to merely have that as the intellectual spark, the departure point for a creative journey that will ultimately lead to your forceful summation; one which exhibits your ability to apply the contextual characteristics of your essay's topic to a seemingly entirely different arena - thereby showing an excellent, deep appreciation of the issues involved. Some little illustrative analogy, a tearful tale about morals, a poem involving a donkey, a lion, two walruses, a BLT sandwich and an umbrella - that sort of thing. If a song lyric can encapsulate the essay, there's no reason YOU can't be creative too! Just don't make it too abstract (ie no walruses) and think it utterly through, remembering to transpose the comparisons you draw back to the law. If you can do it well I think it would be excellent, and barring a snotty lecturer and obviously ensuring you've made all substantive legal points, I fail to see how anyone would discourage you. I am open to persuasion of course and welcome an explicit incrimination with a link to "Formal Rules for Law Essays".


Overall - you are worthy of significant commendation for the mere thought of including a Bob Dylan lyric in anything!

pirelli

Hogzy wrote: »

Would you consider putting quoted lyrics from a Bob Dylan song "the times are changing" as a finishing quote (that i plan on putting at the end of a paper on Homosexual rights) too informal and not suitable for a college paper?

Edit: Apologies for the typo in the Heading! cant be changed now

Try advanced

pansoul

pansoul wrote: »

Overall - you are worthy of significant commendation for the mere thought of including a Bob Dylan lyric in anything!

Just thinking about it now as I listen to John Wesley Harding, given the man's lyrical genius, the amalgamated works of Bob Dylan offer an extraordinarily generous repository of potential titles for legal papers!

Say - "I Pity The Poor Immigrant" for something on the role of the immigrant in our Constitution.
"Dear Landlord" has obvious property law connotations - perhaps something on Rent Reviews?
I imagine "All Along The Watchtower" could be felicitously invoked in any number of law articles.
While I would be most despondent if I learned some meteorologist didn't entitle their thesis "Here Comes The Story Of The Hurricane" .... !!

Johnny Utah

Hogzy wrote: »

Would you consider putting quoted lyrics from a Bob Dylan song "the times are changing" as a finishing quote (that i plan on putting at the end of a paper on Homosexual rights) too informal and not suitable for a college paper?

Dylan- homosexual rights? No, I'd go for something like this:



"Love is a burning thing
and it makes a fiery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

(Chorus) I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher
and it burns, burns, burns
the ring of fire, the ring of fire...."

From the album Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash (c) 1963. All rights reserved.

Lockstep

I used a Dropkick Murphy's song quote in my legal paper on extraordinary rendition.

Johnny Utah

kickoutthejams wrote: »

I used a Dropkick Murphy's song quote in my legal paper on extraordinary rendition.

Waiting in a room
All dressed up and bound and gagged up
To a chair
It's so unfair

Green Day - Blood, Sex And Booze.

Honourable mentions to Interpol's 'Take You On A Cruise', and 'How To Disappear Completely' by Radiohead.

Any more requests?

maidhc

I put a full poem in my LLM

WH Auden, The Unknown Citizen.