In the Mind's Eye: Visual Lessons for Law Students

How do law students best learn? What is a “visual learning preference,” and what techniques can be used to teach students who have such a preference? This article addresses the above questions. It shows how to use works of art to demonstrate essential components of effective legal writing. Part I of the article discusses the learning theory underpinning the use of visual lessons. Part II describes 15 visual lessons created by the author. Part III explains the benefits—both direct and indirect--that result from using visual lessons to teach law, and summarizes student response to the use of these lessons in first-year legal writing. The Conclusion suggests ways in which this technique might be extended and adapted to teach both legal writing and other law school courses.