Cao Jinchao: Some Problems in Writing Papers

(Speech at the Ninth Judges Forum)

The working hours are not long, and the experience in handling cases is blank. Most comrades present here are my predecessors and role models. However, I have studied for four years with a Bachelor of Law and three years with a Master of Civil and Commercial Law.

In the course of my study, although I am not an excellent student, I have accumulated some experience in writing papers. In addition, after entering the court, the leadership and research office also gave me many opportunities to exercise and learn, so

Here, I will share and exchange some problems accumulated in my usual writing process and the places that need attention with all the leading colleagues present. Please forgive me if there are any differences.

First, the role and value of thesis writing

Wang Shengjun pointed out in his congratulatory letter to the 20th10 annual meeting of china law society Judicial Theory Research Association that theoretical research is a basic work of the people's court. Is the theoretical research work taken seriously and the theoretical research topic accurate?

Whether the answer is correct or not and whether the theoretical research results are effective directly affects the success or failure of the people's court. At present, the people's courts stand at a new historical starting point, achieve new development in all work, and complete the tasks entrusted by the party and the people.

New missions, new tasks and theoretical research must be further strengthened.

The role of theoretical research in the current court work is shown in the following three aspects: 1. Discover and cultivate talents. Wang Chuang Sheng Jun emphasized that people who do well in theoretical research generally have a good practical ability. There are many excellent talents.

Because they studied well and wrote well, they were elected to the Supreme Court and the Provincial High Court, including our Intermediate People's Court. 2. Apply the law correctly. Most of the theoretical research is aimed at the law at that time, or the idea of a blank legal system, or

The author is an idea to improve the legal system at that time, or an analysis of a new legal system. This kind of research has a strong guiding and reference significance for the practical practice of handling cases, which makes the majority of legal workers more correct.

Understanding and applying the law can improve the correctness of applying the law by factory judges. 3. Comprehensive training. Working in the court, handling cases is of course the most important, but theoretical research is as important as reality.

The practice and theory of handling cases complement each other. Theory can promote and perfect practice, but it also needs practice to point out the research direction.

Second, the topic selection

The quality of an article, the topic plays a decisive role in more than half, and a good topic selection is half the battle. It determines whether your paper can be written smoothly, and whether the whole article is good or not, which is very important.

Of course, choosing a topic is also a matter of opportunity. It is not up to us to decide which topic to choose, it is given by certain historical conditions. What is given under this historical condition is objective and equal to everyone, but for everyone

Personally, the sensitivity of reflection is different. Some people caught it, others couldn't. How do you know this opportunity is coming and how to seize it? This is the question of the timing of topic selection. "Where there is a will, there is a way." There is another one.

There is a saying that "Kung Fu is deep and iron bars are ground into needles", and there is a Japanese saying that "dogs can meet good luck as long as they run and turn more". Of course this statement is not elegant, but it is also profound. So the first one here is

The problem of theoretical cultivation is a long-term accumulation process. My teacher said that in the field of natural science, it is normal, just and inevitable for young students to surpass teachers. But in the field of social sciences, this is not

Normal. Why? Because social science is a long-term accumulation process, extensive and profound, the more you learn, the more you feel inadequate. I sometimes read books two thousand years ago and feel so small. People told me about it two thousand years ago.

I have studied so deeply that I can't reach it by myself now. It's just that there are many classical things in China that we haven't thought clearly. So the preparation of theoretical knowledge is very important. Without historical knowledge and theoretical knowledge, you will

I don't know how to position this problem, how heavy it is, and what problems are being studied.

(A) the principle of topic selection

1, practicality. Especially for court researchers and research work, your argument should first be practical, useful and meet the needs of development, instead of making a book review and a brief introduction, which is a lesson we should do.

The standard of the problem. If we want to bring all the relevant theories and schools into a book, it is not a topic for the court to study and discuss. The problem we study is to serve the court's trial work, for

The court provides decision-making advice.

2. novelty. Nothing new is a waste of other people's time and life. Lu Xun said: It is equal to killing people for money. Of course, Lu Xun also said some extreme words. If the writing is not good, people just don't read it, so it doesn't count.

This is a murder for money. We should write something original, and others will see that it is "Oh, I didn't realize this problem". Your topic can be old, but the content should be original.

3. rationality. Your topic suits the trend of the times, not against history. Everyone can accept it, but they need to understand it. We can't fall in love at first sight, nor can we fall in love at first sight.

In this case, it is not novel enough. Therefore, your article should be new, strange and special. Everyone has some questions after reading the topic, and then they feel reasonable. After reading the article, they think it is true. So the topic should be reasonable,

The argument should also be reasonable, and the requirements of the two rationality are different. Speaking of rationality, Liu Xie said in Wen Xin Diao Long: "Writing comes from Tao, and it is clear about sex." The article should be based on the truth, and it should be clear what the article was originally like.

Yes Then he said, "The words are clear and clear." That is, you have to tell others this truth, so that everyone feels that it should be done. This realm is high, which is the core of our conception. We don't all write articles here.

Like what? Whether it's writing legislative explanations or making suggestions, isn't it all to make people feel that they should do so? Therefore, there are two criteria in the research, one is theoretical innovation, and the other is practical guidance.

Justice.

(B) Some taboos of topic selection

1, taboo is too big: xxx research, on xxx. It is often impossible to discuss this topic clearly in a book, and it is impossible for the author to discuss it clearly only through an article of several thousand words. And this kind of application of the problem often gives people a feeling of being too arrogant.

2, bogey is too small: caught in the Xinjiang Bureau, there is nothing to write. Before deciding on a topic, you must have a cursory look at the relevant materials. Although many questions are new, there are no references. This kind of research is very cutting-edge, but it is often beyond the reach of most authors. The judges are also embarrassed when grading, so naturally they will not give high marks.

3, avoid too soil: a brief analysis of xxx, thinking about xxx. This kind of topic is out of date, and the judges will not give high praise if they read it too much.

4, avoid being too theoretical and away from life. As a court worker, we must remember that any paper research is to guide practice. We are doing applied law research, and the theoretical articles are not practical enough. Moreover, most judges and teachers are within the court system, and they may not know much about very theoretical things themselves.

5. Avoid the abuse of subtitles. The use of subheadings depends on the necessity of the paper itself, but it is not necessary to use some small articles or main headings to summarize the subject scope of this paper. A paper with a large structure is more likely to need a subtitle.

In order to limit the scope of the paper and clarify the research object of the paper. A subtitle is generally a further narrowing of the scope of the main title. Exception: As far as what is concerned, the goal is not to expand the scope of research, but to consider a certain content and

The topic is closely related and must be discussed by the way. This part plays a secondary role in the whole paper. If this part is deleted, it will not affect the integrity of the paper.

Third, the writing method

(A) case study method

Modern society is an open society, and many events, including some outrageous and even illegal events, can be learned through various channels, including the Internet, television, newspapers and so on. Now there is a man called

Things in Weibo are very powerful, spread quickly and radiate widely. These negative or controversial incidents often hit our current legal system and law enforcement procedures in the mouth.

However, to some extent, it has given us great enlightenment to legal researchers, and it also shows that there is still room for improvement and progress in our legal system. This kind of communication itself is a sign of our social progress. one

Cases can lead to great social and legal problems and can be used as the source of our theory. Case study usually requires the author to make a basic introduction to the case first, not too detailed, but must explain the case.

Main legal issues involved. Secondly, the legal issues in the case are discussed theoretically, and finally a conclusion is formed.

(B) standardize research methods

This kind of research is aimed at the deficiency of existing legal norms, or how to apply a newly formulated legal norm. For example, at the beginning of the promulgation of the Contract Law, many scholars began to discuss the application of the Contract Law.

A lot of research, of course, in the process of drafting the contract law, there are also many discussions about how to formulate the contract law. Similarly, it also includes company law, property law and so on.

(3) investigation and research method

Usually, in the process of contacting cases, it is easy for us to find problems in reality, so as to investigate and study a certain kind of problems with the same characteristics. Its research method can be through the question and answer of archives and the retrieval of related cases.

Therefore, the research results are classified and compared in the form of charts, so that the judges can see the different situations of a certain kind of problems in detail. Of course, all the investigation and study serve the author's conclusion, and the investigation and study are only for more.

To prove that the author's conclusion is correct.

Fourth, writing ideas.

(1) collecting materials

This is a preparation process of thesis writing. The so-called preparation is mainly to fully possess information, study and refer to other people's opinions. The more materials, the better. If you don't have enough materials, you can't write a good article. I have little reading, few papers and little knowledge. I tried to write a paper and put forward new ideas.

How to collect information? You can search for relevant monographs, papers, major law journals and teaching materials compiled in recent years around the direction and specific topics of the paper, or you can search for law papers on the Internet. Every year

During the writing of academic papers, the Provincial High Court will temporarily open the download channel of China HowNet, and we can download China HowNet through the intranet. The process of collecting materials is to investigate, think, study and form a theory.

The process of point.

Data collection and collation should follow the following principles:

1, principle of resource depletion fishing

In terms of data collection, first of all, we should be comprehensive, and all the data within this topic should be collected as much as possible. Because, without going through this process, you can't know which information is important and which information is not.

The important thing is that if you can't evaluate the data properly, you can't queue the data purposefully, you can't discard the unimportant data, and you can't effectively quote the important data into your article. this

This kind of information also includes foreign information. Foreign information should also be collected to the latest, rather than being collected and used at will. Therefore, this principle requires not only comprehensive information, but also novel information.

Beg.

2, the principle of clear hierarchy

The collected data are often piled up, and the good and the bad are mixed. Therefore, in the vast data pile, how to choose is a very critical and standard part. When collecting data, we must grasp the key points and really play a role.

Use the last remaining key materials and discard all other materials. For example, to write a paper on civil litigation mediation, the first layer of information should be legislative information and judicial interpretation, and the legislative information on mediation should be combined.

Collected all the legal materials, including typical foreign laws and regulations. The second level should be more important papers (often long monographs) or related parts of monographs at home and abroad, including master's and doctoral theses. third

The level is the empirical materials collected by our own investigation, including interview transcripts, questionnaire materials, data and so on. The fourth level is a typical case that can explain the problem.

3, the principle of classification and comparison

In addition to books, the collected materials can also be saved in the form of notebooks, loose-leaf papers, cards, newspaper clippings and copies. No matter what form it is, it should be easy to organize. Classified data, easy to synthesize, compare,

Analysis. Reading a book, a package and a batch of materials on the same issue is like attending a seminar, where you can learn different viewpoints and inspire, supplement and improve yourself. In this repetitive classification and frequent comparison

On this basis, I gradually became familiar with the collected information, and at the same time, I gradually formed my views on the paper.

(B) refining materials, determine the theme and demonstration methods.

In the process of refining materials, there are usually three situations:

First, I agree with other people's arguments, but I have unique feelings, so I can add new reasons from a new angle and enrich other people's arguments.

Second, if you don't agree with others, you can argue, but you must pay attention to faithfully quote the original text and explain your reasons.

Third, inspired by others, new ideas are generated on the basis of others' ideas, or existing ideas that others have not talked about, as long as they are reasonable, they are original.

(3) List the outline

Outline, like the blueprint of a project, is another important link to ensure the good quality of the paper. It is necessary to study, think and revise the outline of the paper repeatedly, so as to be clear, focused and argumentative.

This is accurate and logical. After the paper is finalized, the revised or retained outline becomes a table of contents. Outlines can help us organize materials into a theoretical system, instead of listing and piling up, without hierarchical and logical connections.

Together.

When we are writing a paper, it is often easy to ignore or despise the outline of the paper. We think it's a waste of time, or we can just write it down with our brains without careful consideration. This overconfident view

Actually, there is a problem. Because in the process of writing, people tend to focus on emotional roaming, and this roaming process is even unconscious. Suddenly looking back, I felt that what I had written was far from the point, but I didn't press it.

Because the outline. The outline should be the result of careful consideration and reflect prudent rationality. The framework of the outline is generally accurate and most in line with the author's original intention, so there is usually no need to make major changes to the outline, of course, during the writing process.

It is also necessary and frequent to improve Outline 2. It can be seen that outline and writing are actually an interactive relationship, and both should be improved at the same time.

Thesis Writing

Speaking of Liu Xie, he said in Wen Xin Diao Long and Shen Si that a writer must have four qualities to carry out creative ideas: first, accumulate knowledge; The second is to distinguish things; Third, refer to experience; The fourth is the training situation

To. This means that the writing of a thesis must have all the conditions to be successful. In particular, I think Liu Xie's statement that "the mind is born, the words are civilized, and the way of sex is right" is very reasonable.

What we usually say is that what we say is what we do, and what we say is what we say, refers to the natural law and inherent essence of article writing, and so should the writing of legal academic papers, that is, we should write our own mature thoughts and opinions after repeated thinking.

Let's go The so-called "text carries Tao", the article is a carrier, and it is the requirement to carry and express the rationality of the article we mentioned earlier.

In the process of writing academic papers, we should deal with the following pairs of relationships:

1, handle the relationship between outline and content.

This has been mentioned in the outline, and this relationship should be stable, dialectical and dynamic at the same time.

2. The relationship between data citation and paper creation.

The citation of information should be just right, and the length should not be too long to avoid the same information before and after. The creation of a paper should be the main body, and the citation of materials serves the creation of the paper. It is an irregular paper not to quote materials.

Creating and quoting too much information is a practice of cutting corners, which is easy to cover up the creativity of the paper. We should not only integrate theory with practice, but also integrate ideas with materials. After reading it, people will not feel vague, nor will they feel that it is the accumulation of data.

To achieve this, it is by no means a purely technical problem, but whether the author is really familiar with and mastered the research content and problems, and whether he can really use it freely. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

3. The relationship between language and content

The so-called gentleness, for the paper creation, we should also be gentle. Some papers are like essays, the beauty of words exceeds the quality of content; Others are good in content and poor in language, and those are words that go back and forth. Generally speaking, we should serve meaningful texts, not meaningful ones.

4, the relationship between space size

It is necessary to tightly buckle the theme of the article, highlight the key points and points, and decide the choice of information and opinions according to the principle of conciseness; Give up all ideas and materials that can be written or not, and can be cited or not, even if the ideas are correct and the materials are precious, it is not a pity. Some scholars advocate "accumulating wealth and making little money", which also means this.

5. The relationship between the first draft and the revised draft

After the first draft is completed, it must be revised; No matter how good an article is, it is limited. Before revising, it is better to calm down before revising, which is more rational and can be abandoned. It is impossible not to write any articles.

A revision and a writing often require repeated careful thinking and deliberation. After the first draft of the paper is written, you can invite one or two colleagues to read part of it and ask them to express their opinions, especially to listen carefully to the leaders or some people who study the paper.

The survey questions have the opinions of experienced veteran comrades, which will help and inspire the revision of the paper.

6. The relationship between breadth and depth, Chinese and foreign, history and present situation.

In comparative research, we should pay attention to avoiding purely objective introduction or copying foreign things without analysis. We should absorb the advantages of foreign countries and learn from them. At the same time, we should abandon, analyze and criticize foreign bad things.

7. The relationship between notes and texts.

Annotations serve words, and words need annotations to decorate them. Words without comments are castles in the air and lack a solid foundation; Annotations without text are certainly unthinkable. Now in the writing of the paper, it is not a comment.

There are too many explanations, but there are not enough notes or even no notes. This kind of paper lacks academic and normative. To judge whether an academic paper is standardized or not, a very important criterion is whether there are annotations or not.

Appropriate, sufficient and standardized. Of course, there is an extreme phenomenon to be avoided, that is, the length of notes is longer than the text, and sometimes even the content of each page of the text is very small, only two or three lines, and the rest are notes. Some comments

It is a paper in itself. This does not seem to be a standardized paper. The correct way is to mark when it is time to mark, and not to mark for the sake of marking when it is not time to mark.

The above is my humble opinion on some problems in the process of thesis writing. Of course, due to the limitation of space, many questions are too late to elaborate, and many questions are not involved. In the future work and study process, I will

With the mentality of communicating and learning with everyone, * * * has made progress. Finally, I am very grateful to the leaders of the hospital for giving me many opportunities to study and work, and also for giving me the opportunity to communicate with you this time. Thank you! (The author is Zhu.

Clerk of Mountain People's Court)