Civil Litiagation Midterm Writing Assignment

The writing assignment requires students to propose reforms to improve the discovery process in federal civil litigation. Students are asked to write a paper of five to seven double-spaced pages, identifying and defending one or more reform proposals. They should clearly outline the changes they would make to the existing discovery process and explain why these changes would enhance the process. It’s emphasized that students should propose actual reforms rather than merely describing the current system. They are encouraged to focus on a limited number of proposals to ensure thorough analysis within the page limit. The grading criteria prioritize thoughtful analyses that identify and defend clear reform proposals, demonstrating an understanding of how discovery fits into civil litigation and acknowledging its weaknesses. Organization, clarity, and proper attribution of sources are also important factors in grading.