Nepali Law A complete legal information portal
Related Articles
By Raksha Ram,
Judicial officer at Supreme Court
Journal articles are not a newspaper article, it is shorter than books and written about very specific topics. A journal is a collection of articles with a subjective specialization that is published regularly. It is present the most recent research, research-based article and journal articles are written by specific experts. They may be published in print version or online issue or both. They can be used in your research papers and essays or academic materials. It may help introduce the new theory or new knowledge, or challenge the existing knowledge, or modified the existing knowledge.
Law Journal
Law journals are a collection of articles with a specialization of law and legal matters, written by judges, lawyers, jurists, law professors, law students, or experts with legal expertise.
Purpose and objective of the journal article
Mainly there three types of purpose and objective of academic writing as follows;
- To produce to introduce the new principal or build the new knowledge.
- To challenge with new knowledge of existing knowledge or principles and establish the knowledge against that.
- To revise the modify the existing knowledge or principle and interpretation or elaboration more.
What must be included in the paper?
There are some essentials components for the selection of writing as an international standard.
- Should be original content or fact not a duplication of any existing content. It means there should be originality in the writing.
- The author should know that what is the utility of this article and he/she knows the impact of the article.
- USP:[ii] Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point (USP) is a marketing term that differentiates from the majority of its competitors; it means selling capacity should be high.
- The subject matter of the article must be contemporary or current issues.
- After published in the journal this article, how many people search for this article.
- The author should mind the controversy of this propose subject matter of the article.
- The total length of the article should not be exceeded by 10 to 12 thousand words.
- Should be proper citation relevant to legal writing.
- The author should determine the readership.
- The introduction must be incorporated in the conclusion part. The conclusion may not be altered with the opening phrases.
Call for papers?
If you looking for the notice of a call for a paper for a journal article, you need to do earlier some task, determination of the issue or subject matter, and previous work of literature on this subject matter.
The primary documents need to prepare such as the proposal and abstract of the article.
Literature review
The literature review is the most important part of the research as well as the journal article. It is the second step after the formulation of the problem or issue for the article. The literature mostly connected with the related topic/problem needs to be reviewed. Academic journals, conferences, the library should be studied.
Abstract
An abstract known as summarizes one paragraph of three hundred words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence. That includes the purpose of the article, the basic design of the article, major findings or trends found in this analysis, and brief summary of interpretations and conclusions of this article.[iii]
Referencing or Citation
The referencing and citation are the most important aspect of the article and academic writing which sustains the validation of the article. Increase the credibility of the writing. It also tells your readers or audience what sources you have used and how to find them.
In legal writing, there two types of citation mostly used worldwide: a) Harvard citation style and b) Oxford citation style.
- Harvard style: Harvard is the most common referencing style used in United Kingdom’s universities. In this style, the author and year are cited in text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list.
In-text citation: Referencing is an essential academic skill (sure name, published year), For example, Josi, 2021.
Reference list entry: “Sure name, name (year), (chapter, if there is) book name, edition. Place: Publisher name” [iv] For example Josi, Hari (2021), legal research, 2nd edition, Kathmandu: Nepali Law Publication.
- Oxford style: This reference style is a note citation system developed by the University of Oxford. It consists of two elements; footnote citations and a reference list at the end of the writing paper or document.
For example;
In-text example: The sky is blue.1
Footnote example: Shresth, Mmadhac, The Study Skills Handbook (Kathmandu: Nepali Law Publication, 2021).
Reference list example: Shresth, Madhav, Stella, The Study Skills Handbook (Kathmandu: Nepali Law Publication, 2021)[v]
Article selection criteria and process
In the previously mentioned sub-topic ‘what must be included in the paper?’ are essentials for the selection criteria of the journal paper.
In the present time generally, the following process is for the journal paper;
- Online submission or send to the editor,
- Discussion in the editorial board and sort listing the papers,
- Send to an expert on the related subject for peer review,
- Finalization of the papers,
- Resend again to the author for proofreading,
- Finally published only selected papers.
Article rejected criteria
Generally, the following point to be a rejection of the papers;
- The paper description rather than analytical methods,
- Low quality,
- The editor does not agree with the paper’s conclusion.
What is Peer review?
Reviewers play a most important role in scholarly publishing. The peer review system exists to validate academic work and it helps to improve the quality and credibility of the proposed article paper.
Peer reviews are designed to appraise the quality, validity, and often the originality of articles for publication.
According to Dr. Surya Subedi, there are three types of results or suggestions, that reviewer gives;
- Position 1: to publish with as it’s paper,
- Position 2: to publish with some editing,
- Position 3: to publish with rewriting the paper again,
- Position 4: to do not publish or reject.
Standard
- It should be web or online presence,
- Determine who is the audience,
- Use some ‘Latin word’ word as it’s in a legal journal paper,
Conclusion
Journal article is the most important in exploring the knowledge in the legal field. It helps to develop new knowledge or theory. Every law student needs to know about paper writing, it is related to research-based articles.
Endnote
[i] What is a journal article? www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research-assistance/format-type/what-journal-article
[ii]USP is an idea; was first recommended in the early 1940s as a hypothesis to explain a trend of ineffective marketing and advertisement campaigns. This theory illustrates that these promotional campaigns made unique consumer suggestions to move products, brands, or services.
[iii] Research Guides, https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/abstract
[iv] For more details, a quick guide to Harvard referencing https://scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/
[v] Oxford Referencing Style Oxford Referencing Style, https://citethisforme.com/citation-generator/oxford-referencing-generator
Note: (Click here and like our Facebook page to read the materials published by Nepali Law Dot com.
If you want to publish an opinion or article or commentary on legal issues or any related matters send us to [email protected].)
