Teaching in Reverse: A Positive Approach to Analytical Errors in1L Writing

Lesley S. Kagan, Northwestern University School of Law
Susan E. Provenzano, Northwestern University School of Law

Abstract

In this manuscript, "Teaching in Reverse: A Positive Approach to Analytical Errors in 1L Writing," we explore student-centered teaching methods that embrace student error as part of the learning process. Specifically, we advocate an error-as-growth philosophy, urging legal writing professors to address 1L analytical errors early in the semester, give the students a clear understanding of where they are likely to go astray and teach the students strategies for avoiding error during, rather than after, the writing process. We document the common analytical errors in our students’ writing assignments, review cognitive psychology and composition theories that might explain these errors, and design a curriculum that “teaches in reverse” – that is, moves backwards from error, to the error’s genesis in students’ thought processes. We argue that teaching in reverse encourages students to make better choices at critical stages of the analytical and writing process, producing writers who are more effective, self-assured, and independent at an earlier stage in their legal education.