Sample Historical Problem Statements:

Law X is unconstitutional because ….

Legislatures need to enact the following new law to correct a historical injustice: ….

Properly interpreted, this law means ….

This application of the law is likely to have the following side effects on [women/minorities/transgendered people] ….

This law is likely to have the following side effects …, and therefore should be rejected or modified to say ….

Historically, courts have interpreted the statute in the following ways …,

My historical research investigates how this legal rule has unexpectedly led to …, and it should therefore be changed this way ….

My historical research investigates shows that this law has had the following good effects …, and should therefore be kept, or extended to other jurisdictions.

Viewing this law from a [feminist/critical race theory/historiographic ] perspective leads us to conclude that the law is flawed because…, and should be changed this way ….

Conventional wisdom that … is wrong, because ….

Directions
Organize your research notes, relevant course readings, and lecture materials.
Begin your essay with a forceful and focused historical problem statement. This will the working hypothesis for your Final Law Review Essay. It should be the first sentence in your essay, a robust topic sentence for a flawless introductory paragraph (see the Course Writing Guide)Preview the document.
Write the body of your essay based on the following structure:

Analytical Framing (350-500 words)
Explain what interpretive frames or jurisprudential theories you will apply to the case and the historical archives you plan to consult.
Discuss how your methodology will shed light on a critical historical and legal question.

Articulate how your research will shed light on a conceptions of gender in a given historical period, or show how the interplay of gender and law evolved over time.
Contextualization (350-750 words)

Expand on your discussion of the “facts of the case,” by placing them in their broader historical context.
What where the operative assumptions about gender and the law during this period?
What do we know as historians that the key players in your case study could not have known?

Cite relevant readings and lecture materials where appropriate.
Research Plan (250-500 words)
What types of historical evidence will you need to prove your thesis?
What secondary sources will you consulted, and what do you still need to investigate?
What online legal history archives will you explore?
How much research is feasible before the final project is due?

Conclusion (100 words or less)
Your conclusion should be succinct–restate your historical problem statement and how you plan to solve it.