The Writing and Learning Resources Center

The Writing and Learning Resources Center houses two of Carolina Law's major academic programs: Research, Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy (RRWA), the first-year writing program, and Legal Education Advancement Program (LEAP), an academic support program. The Writing and Learning Resources Center provides a preorientation program (see LEAP below), a lending library of donated study aids, writing tutorials and workshops, individual tutoring and mentoring where possible, exam preparation workshops, educational and support counseling, and referrals to additional resources on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

RRWA

Research, Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy (RRWA) is a two-semester, four-credit course that is divided between the fall and spring semesters (one credit in the fall/three credits in the spring). The fall portion of the course introduces students to the prerequisite skills they need to master before beginning the related three-credit spring course. Students have an opportunity in November to register for spring RRWA classes through a special lottery process. In spring RRWA classes, students have the opportunity to further develop their skills in research, reasoning, writing, and advocacy in a small class setting (about 16 students per section) led by recognized legal practitioners.

LEAP

The Legal Education Advancement Program (LEAP) has been a tradition at Carolina Law since the mid-1980s. Enrollment in LEAP is limited to approximately 30 students. In June, all students are invited to apply to LEAP preorientation. Other opportunities to participate in LEAP programs occur throughout the year.

There are two components to LEAP and preorientation:

  • The three-day preorientation program that takes place a few days before law school orientation provides students with an opportunity to learn about the structure of legal education, to explore learning strategies, and to examine some fundamentals of jurisprudence before the start of the regular school year. It is a rigorous academic program lasting seven hours a day, not counting outside reading, and takes the last three days of vacation before the start of school.
  • Structured study groups available only to participants of LEAP preorientation. The LEAP study groups meet outside of first-year students' regular fall classes and examine note-taking strategies, case-briefing skills, and other aspects of first-year law study.

In deciding whether to apply for admission to this program, students will want to consider that LEAP is not necessarily for everyone--but it might be for them. In the past, students who have benefited from this program usually fall into one or more of the following categories:

  • Students from non-traditional backgrounds or with non-traditional characteristics (for example, students for whom English is a second language, students from under-represented racial or ethnic groups, students who are first-generation college graduates, students who are older or younger than the average law student)
  • Students with unusual learning patterns or backgrounds (for example, students educated largely outside the United States, students from very small schools, students with very high LSATs but low undergraduate GPAs, students with very high undergraduate GPAs but low LSATs, students with known learning disabilities, students with extremely limited writing experience)
  • Students experiencing recent unusual stress who may need personal support to be able to focus adequate energy on their educational goals (for example, students with children or elderly parents to care for, students who have experienced a recent crisis such as a dissolution of a primary relationship, a personal illness, or a death in the family, students who will be a long way from home in Chapel Hill)

LEAP is designed specifically to provide an extra boost to non-traditional students to ensure each has the support base needed to enjoy succeeding in law school. Students who fit one or more of the categories described above should consider applying to LEAP. Students will receive information about how to apply for the LEAP program shortly after being admitted to the UNC School of Law.

The Writing and Learning Resources Center Staff

Ruth Ann McKinney
Clinical Professor of Law and
Director, The Writing and Learning Resources Center
ramckinn@email.unc.edu

Bobbi Jo Boyd
Clinical Professor of Law and
Deputy Director, The Writing and Learning Resources Center
bjboyd@email.unc.edu

Lisa Lukasik 
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and
Interim Deputy Director, The Writing and Learning Resources Center
llukasik@email.unc.edu

Patty Frey
Program Assistant
pfrey@email.unc.edu

For more information about the Center, RRWA, or LEAP, contact Patty Frey at (919) 962-5385.