Introduction
Legal research demands precision, not only in argumentation but also in the use of sources and language. In Indian academia, where law schools and universities follow strict plagiarism guidelines, rewriting legal papers becomes more than just a language exercise—it is an exercise in ethical scholarship. Legal writing often relies on precedents, statutory interpretations, and scholarly commentary, making citation accuracy crucial. However, many scholars face challenges when rewriting to reduce similarity scores, especially without compromising the meaning of the original legal text.
Complex Nature of Legal Language
Legal language is inherently complex, shaped by centuries of jurisprudence and legislative drafting. Terms like mens rea, ultra vires, or res judicata carry specific meanings that cannot be altered without changing the legal sense of the argument. When rewriting, scholars cannot simply replace words with synonyms, as legal terminology has no interchangeable alternatives in many cases. This makes the process more challenging compared to other disciplines where paraphrasing is more flexible.
Challenges in Citation Practices
One of the biggest hurdles in rewriting legal papers is handling citations correctly. Law students and researchers in India often use citation styles such as the Bluebook, OSCOLA, or the Indian Law Institute (ILI) format. These styles have strict rules for case names, statutes, and secondary sources. A rewriting attempt that does not carefully retain the original citation structure can result in academic penalties or even legal misrepresentation. Additionally, over-reliance on verbatim quotes from judgments or statutes can inflate similarity scores, but excessive paraphrasing of legal provisions may compromise accuracy.
Balancing Paraphrasing and Legal Accuracy
In legal writing, meaning is tied closely to specific wording. For example, a Supreme Court judgment’s ratio decidendi (core reasoning) cannot be loosely rephrased without risking distortion. This creates a delicate balance—how to lower similarity while maintaining legal correctness. A good strategy is to summarise the factual background and procedural history in the writer’s own words, while retaining exact wording for the legal principles, supplemented with accurate citations.
Ethical and Academic Integrity Considerations
Rewriting in law is not just about avoiding plagiarism software detection—it is about upholding professional ethics. Misrepresenting a legal source, intentionally or by poor paraphrasing, can have serious academic and reputational consequences. Law faculties in India increasingly use plagiarism detection tools like Turnitin, and similarity reports are carefully scrutinised. Therefore, researchers must understand that ethical rewriting involves both reducing similarity and preserving the legal truth of the source.
Strategies for Effective Rewriting
To manage both plagiarism concerns and legal precision, several strategies can be adopted:
- Focus on Structural Rewriting: Change the sentence structure while keeping the legal meaning intact.
- Use Summarisation for Non-Critical Parts: Paraphrase background details and procedural aspects more freely than legal rules.
- Maintain Exact Language for Key Legal Terms: Retain statutory language and judicial holdings without alteration.
- Integrate Multiple Sources: Combine insights from several judgments or commentaries to present a more original narrative.
Conclusion
Rewriting legal papers in India is a task that requires more than just linguistic skill—it demands a deep understanding of the law, its terminology, and its citation standards. Legal scholarship must balance the need for originality with the obligation to present accurate legal arguments. By approaching rewriting as a disciplined, ethically grounded practice, law scholars can produce work that is both plagiarism-free and legally sound. In this way, the challenge of citation and language becomes an opportunity to refine legal writing skills while adhering to academic integrity.