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Warning: Failure to follow the format requirements listed below will result in a point deduction from the memo’s grade. If a formatting option you're considering is not addressed below, however, you are free to format as you wish; you won't be penalized for choosing that option. |
Format requirements address the
following items: Font size /
Headings / Italics and underlining /
Line spacing; block format quotations /
Margins
/ Page numbering / Paper size
and print quality / Paragraph indention /
Stapling.
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Font size (-4 points): |
Use a 12-point or larger font size. Caution: The default font for Microsoft Word is usually set in the smaller (and therefore harder to read) 10-point size.
Increase it.
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Headings (-2 points each error): |
A. Minimum amount of text beneath heading
Format pages so that each heading or sub-heading has at least two lines of text beneath it. Never place any heading or sub-heading at the
bottom of a page with no text beneath it.
B. Internal headings
Choose a typeface that is distinctively different from the typeface used in the body of the memo (e.g., boldface, italics, underlining).
All headings of the same type and level should use the same formatting. All headings should be single-spaced.
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Component headings
identify major organizational sections of the memo, such as the Question
Presented, Statement of Facts, and Discussion. |
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Use discussion headings
and sub-headings in the body of the Discussion to set off and identify issues
being analyzed. |
Discussion
I. Summary judgment is appropriate because the parties agree that Johnson has defaulted on his loan and he remains bound by his signature.
The trial court is likely to grant summary judgment to Western Widgets because the only material fact in this case, Johnson's loan default, is undisputed by the parties, and the court can apply the appropriate law to that fact. Under Rule 56 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
A. Johnson's execution of the loan agreement evidences his intent to be bound.
Johnson cannot disclaim his liability for the balance due on the loan because he intended to be bound when he executed the loan agreement on August 4, 1988. A party's signature on a written instrument always carries legal significance. In one recent case, a debtor's note contained express language indicating that he was
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Italics and underlining (-1 point each error): Case citations and textual references to cases use either italics or underlining. (See ALWD Citation Manual Rule 12.2(a) for the parts of a case citation that need this formatting.) Whichever method you choose, use it consistently; do not use both in the same document. Similarly, consistently use the chosen format for short-form citations (e.g., Id. or Id.). For example, People v. Jabberwocky, 42 Wonderland 2d 455, 460 (1908). Do not italicize or underline, however, when you write about the person after whom a case was named. Compare: |
The victim in Jabberwocky suspected nothing as he came whiffling through the tulgey wood.
The defendant murdered Jabberwocky with a vorpal blade.
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Line spacing; block format quotations (-2 points each error): Double-space lines in the body of the memo. Single-space headings and lengthy (“block format”) quotations. Use a block-format quotation when you quote a lengthy passage from a source (50 or more words, 4 or more lines). In addition to single-spacing the block, you must indent it one-half inch from both left and right margins.
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Margins (-4 points): Set margins to a minimum of one inch on all sides. Print a test page on the printer you will use for your final copy; use a ruler and m-e-a-s-u-r-e the margins that the printer produced. If necessary, increase margin settings to get a true one-inch margin. Be particularly careful if you cut and paste from multiple versions of the document, as the text you select will likely pick up the original formatting, whose margins may not meet this requirement.
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Page numbering (-4 points): Add page numbering at the bottom center or bottom right of the page. You may place the page number itself within the bottom margin space; this is not a violation of the margin format rule.
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Paper size and print quality (-2 points): Print documents on white paper, 8 1/2 " by 11" in size. If the type is wavy, streaked, blurry, or faint, or the ink smears, take care of the problem and reprint the page(s) or memo.
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Paragraph indention (-1 point each page displaying error): Indent the first line of each paragraph. Keep the length of the indention consistent throughout the document. While your word processor may use a default 0.3-inch indention (which you can change), half-inch (0.5) indentions are more reader-friendly, as they clearly signal the beginning of a new paragraph. Whichever length you use, use the tab key—not the space bar—to get consistent results when you begin each new paragraph. If you cut and paste from another document, or you work on more than one computer, be careful; you may pick up paragraph indention formatting that is different from what you have used elsewhere in the memo.
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Stapling (-4 points): Before stapling, be sure that the pages are straight and aligned, that none are missing or out of order, and that they are right-side up. Staple the pages in the upper left-hand corner of the document. Make sure both points of the staple go all the way through all pages of the document. |
