Lesson plan

Writ (website)

Writ is a legal commentary website on the topic of the law of the United States hosted by FindLaw. The website is no longer adding content, having published its last entry in August 2011. Before then, Writ published at least one new column by one of its regular columnists every business day, and frequently posted a second column by a guest columnist. The regular columnists were all notable attorneys. Almost all contributors are law professors; some are former law clerks from the U.S. Supreme Court; some are past or present federal prosecutors; one is a former Counsel to the President; one is a novelist, and one is the current director of the Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program of Human Rights Watch. The guest columnists also tend to be law professors or seasoned attorneys. When the website was still producing new content, columnists commented both on notable ongoing court cases and recent court decisions, as well as on current events. Writ also published occasional book reviews, on books of both legal and more general interest; the book reviewers were likewise academically inclined attorneys. Writ is free, and maintains all of its material from its inception in a free archive. Although Writ is known mainly among legal circles, its columnists tend to be prolific authors who reach a broad audience.…

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Article summary

Writ is a legal commentary website on the topic of the law of the United States hosted by FindLaw. The website is no longer adding content, having published its last entry in August 2011. Before then, Writ published at least one new column by one of its regular columnists every business day, and frequently posted a second column by a guest columnist. The regular columnists were all notable attorneys. Almost all contributors are law professors; some are former law clerks from the U.S. Supreme Court; some are past or present federal prosecutors; one is a former Counsel to the President; one is a novelist, and one is the current director of the Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program of Human Rights Watch. The guest columnists also tend to be law professors or seasoned attorneys. When the website was still producing new content, columnists commented both on notable ongoing court cases and recent court decisions, as well as on current events. Writ also published occasional book reviews, on books of both legal and more general interest; the book reviewers were likewise academically inclined attorneys. Writ is free, and maintains all of its material from its inception in a free archive. Although Writ is known mainly among legal circles, its columnists tend to be prolific authors who reach a broad audience.…

Key claims

  1. publication date: 2011 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "2011". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1376109570

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.