Brief Formatting
February 21, 2008
What do I include?
Look at the score sheet.
 Include every element on the score sheet.
 Make sure you leave enough time to proof,
proof again, and follow the simple
formatting lessons learned here.

Score Sheet elements











Cover
Summary of the case
Table of contents
Table of authorities
Jurisdictional statement
Statement of the issues
Statement of the case
Statement of the facts
Summary of the argument
Argument
Certificate of service
The
court
The Cover
Color: Blue for
appellant
(They’re sad;
they lost below.)
The
date
Docket
number
The
parties
Color: Red for
appellee (Like
an apple.)
On
appeal
to court
and
from
court
Your side
Your
teply
numbers
Summary of
the Case
Title:
All caps,
bold
Include reason for
why court should
grant oral argument
Teply numbers,
ATTORNEYS FOR
[SIDE] and fake address
i
Page number, use
roman numerals for
this introductory
section
Table of
Contents
Title:
All caps, bold
Include all sections
and their page
numbers. We’ll cover
how to make one
shortly.
Include all point
headings and their page
numbers
ii
Page number, use
roman numerals for
this introductory
section
Title:
All caps, bold
Remove
pinpoint
pages
Table of
Authorities
Use passim
if on >5
pages
Separate cases by court
designation. This will
depend on your problem.
v
Table of
Authorities,
(cont.)
Separate
Separate
cases
other
by court
designation.
authorities by
This
type
will
depend on your problem.
Do the Table of Authorities right before you do Table of Contents!
The MOST important thing to remember when doing
the Table of Authorities is to save a copy of your brief before
starting and to save a separate copy of your brief after
running Westlaw or Word. If any problems arise,
you will have a clean copy to work from.
vi
Title:
All caps, bold
Jurisdictional
Statement
Still using roman
numerals
vii
All caps, bold
Statement of
the Issues
State
State
each
each
issue
you
issues
areyou
briefing
are
You
List,
may
up list
to four,
up to
fourthe
of the
MOST
MOST
relevant cases
for each issue
and the most
relevant statutory
or constitutional
provisions
viii
All caps, bold
Statement
of the Case
Include Nature of the
Case: Underlined
Note: citing to
the record.
(R. at page).
Include Course of
Proceedings: Underlined
1
Page number, start
numeric numbering
here (Remember 25
page limit from here.)
All caps, bold
Statement
of the Facts
Note: citing to
the record.
(R. at page).
3
All caps, bold
Summary of
the Argument
Note: no
citations within
the summary
5
All caps, bold
Argument
(I, II) All caps
(A,(A,
B, B,
C)C)
Capitalize
Bold,
Capitalize
first letter
Firstofletter
ofappropriate
appropriatewords
words
(i, ii, iii) Regular sentence.
(a, b, c) Regular sentence.
7
All caps, bold
Conclusion
Note: no
citations within
conclusion
Include:
ATTORNEYS FOR SIDE,
Teply numbers, and address
19
Certificate
of Service
All caps, bold
Date
Note: mail 2 copies to
opposing counsel and
10 copies to the clerk
of court
Include:
Teply numbers, ATTORNEYS
FOR SIDE, and address
20
Score
Sheet
Include teply
numbers
DON’T FORGET TO
INCLUDE YOUR
INSTRUCTOR’S
SCORE SHEET AT
THE VERY END!!!
Inserting Page Numbers in Word
Separate all sections with page breaks
NOT hard returns.
 Insert page numbers right before you do
your Table of Authorities and Table of
Contents.
 Save your brief and save a copy called
FinalBriefClean.
 Work from the original Final Brief.

1) Go to the
Summary of
the Case page.
2) Press the Show Paragraph Marks
button from the Home tab
1) Go to the Page Layout Tab
2) Place your cursor here.
3) Click Breaks. Choose
“Next Page Break.”
4) When you insert a section break you
will likely create a blank page…you
need to remove this page.
5) Put your cursor before the “S” if not
still there. Hit backspace until it
removes the extra page. Justify the title
to center.
What the Title Page should
look like with the Section
Break (Next Page)
Go to your Statement of the Case page.
Insert section break as done earlier.
There will be a blank page. Delete this
page as before. Center justify this
heading again.
2) Click on Insert Tab
3) Click on Page Numbers
1) Go to Summary of
the Case Page
4) Click on
Format Page
Numbers
5) Change number
format to i,ii,iii
6) Change page
numbering to start at i
7) Click OK
Repeat Previous Steps for
Statement of the Case Page
•
•
•
•
•
Go to the Statement of the Case Page and
place your cursor on that page
Click Page Numbers
Format Page Numbers from drop down
Number format will be 1,2,3
Start at 1
1) Click on Page Numbers
2) Click on Bottom of Page option
3) Choose the plain
option to center the
page numbers
Removing the Page
Number from the Title Page
1) Go to Title Page
2) Check the Different
First Page box
3) Click Close Header
and Footer
Make Table of Authorities in Word
Do this step right before you do your Table
of Contents.
 Save your Final Brief.
 Save a copy as Brief With Page Numbers
before starting the Table of Contents.
 Work from your Final Brief.

Go to the beginning of the brief and work your way through marking citations
1) Press the
References Tab
2) Highlight the full citation. Press Mark Citation
4) Choose the type
3) Remove pinpoint
page
6) Click “Mark All”
5) Type short citation
7) Click Close and
proceed to next
citation
1) Go to the Table of Authorities page and
place your cursor on that page.
2) Go to the Home tab and press the
paragraph symbol to hide the field codes
to ensure proper pagination
1) Click on the
References Tab
3) Make sure
“Use
passim” and
“Keep
original
formatting”
are checked.
2) Click on Insert
Table of Authorities
4) Click OK
Format your Table of Authorities
as described earlier.
Make Table of Contents in Word
Do this step LAST.
 Save your Final brief.
 Save another copy as Brief With Table of
Authorities
 Work from your Final Brief

2) Press the Paragraph Dialog box
1) Highlight the title of
each section.
3) Choose the appropriate level for the
Table of Contents. Click OK
All Section Titles: Level 1
Within Argument section:
Point Heading I, II, etc.: Level 2
Point Heading A, B, etc.: Level 3
Point Heading i, ii, etc.: Level 4
Point Heading a, b, etc.: Level 5
4) Repeat these steps for all components included
in the Table of Contents
2) Click on References Tab
1) Go to the Table
of Contents
page and
place your
cursor on that
page.
3) Click on Insert Table of
Contents
6) Make sure
“Show page
numbers” and
“Right align page
numbers” are
checked.
7) Click OK
4) Uncheck “Use hyperlinks”
5) Change levels to the appropriate
number based on your pointheadings.
Slides will be available on Prof. Edwards
TWEN page.
Slides and detailed handout will also be
available on the library web page under
Class Presentations.
Congratulations,
you’re almost done!


You need 3 copies- one to turn in, and two for
your oral argument opponents during the first
week. See the schedule posted.
Your brief must be bound.
 Use
a plastic comb binding.
 Plan ahead—some copy shops require some time to
do this.

Briefs due at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 3 in the
Library Administrative Office.