Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of New Mexico School of Law/Legal Research Elective for 1Ls (Spring 2019)

This section of Legal Research is offered in response to student requests to provide 1Ls with the opportunity to take the required legal research course during their first year rather than the second.

To become proficient in legal research (see UNMSOL Student Learning Outcomes) requires continual practice. You were introduced to legal research skills in ELA 1, will further develop them in this class, and then practice them through application in upper level coursework such as externships, seminars, and Clinic.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Analyze a legal research problem and develop a research plan that includes identifying the most appropriate sources and formats for the problem.

• Select appropriate secondary sources and use them to begin active research of a legal problem.

• Conduct primary legal research to find and expand on relevant authorities.

• Update and ensure the continued validity of all authorities used in researching a legal issue.

• Cite authorities correctly.

Week 2
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Exercise
Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Exercise
Add a citation

Finalize your topic / Find your sources

Week 6
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7
Guiding framework

Week 8
Thinking about Wikipedia

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 9
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 10
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Exercise
Add links to your article

Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 12
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 15
It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Guiding questions

Week 17
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.