PUT ON YOUR PARALEGAL CLOTHING WHAT DOES A PARALEGAL DO? A paralegal typically performs a variety of tasks; one of the most important is helping with the lawyer's preparation for a trial, meeting, or hearing. The paralegal may collect, analyze, and organize the information for the lawyer. Some paralegals may also prepare written reports for the lawyer as well. Fact checking is another task often handled by a paralegal. Paralegals will gather laws, articles, judicial decisions, and other official documents that relate to a lawyer's particular case and present them in an organized fashion.

SUBJECTIVE OR OBJECTIVE STATEMENTS  Objective statements = facts, no thoughts or feelings, or opinions; they can be proven true  Subjective statements = thoughts, feelings, opinions; can not be proven true without facts to support them up  A lawyer might advise his or her client to stick to the facts with on the witness stand. The opposing lawyer can argue and object with subjective statements. It is very difficult to prove subjective statements to be true without facts to back them up.  Subjective statements can be interpreted as prejudiced; therefore becoming a tool for the opposing lawyer.  Subjective statements can be used as a persuasive technique if they are supported with GOOD facts.

.gov or.com or.org or.net?  COM and NET - This domain is intended for commercial entities, that is companies. In other words,_________________________  How reliable will this be? Objective, subjective, or neutral?  EDU - This domain was originally intended for all educational institutions. Many Universities, colleges, schools, educational service organizations, and educational groups have registered here. In other words, _____________________  How reliable will this be? Objective, subjective, or neutral?  ORG – This domain is for non-profit organizations to raise awareness of issues. In other words, _____________________  How reliable will this be? Objective, subjective, or neutral?  GOV - This domain was originally intended for any kind of government office or agency. In other words, ___________________________  How reliable will this be? Objective, subjective, or neutral?

LESSON 7 Evaluating Electronic Sources Review An electronic source, like any source of information, needs to be evaluated for its accuracy, objectivity, timeliness, and relevance. One way to evaluate a Web source is to examine its domain name. The suffix in the name (for example,.com,.gov, or.org) can indicate the type of organization that sponsors the website. To determine whether or not a source is current, check the date on the first page of the site that indicates when the material was last updated. Directions: First read each question. Then, circle the letter of the best answer. 1. Which domain-name suffix indicates an organization associated with an organization that sells items to the public? a..gov b..com c..org

2. What is one important thing to keep in mind when you see a website that ends in “.net”? a. The “.net” suffix is used by many different types of organizations and does not indicate much about the organization. b. There is a good chance that the sponsor of a “.net” site might have copied information illegally from another website. c. The information in a.net website is likely to be out of date.

3. Some websites are objective, or neutral in opinions and bias. Which of the following groupings shows website suffixes listed in ascending order of objectivity—that is, from the most objective to the least objective? a..org,.net,.gov b..com,.gov,.net c..gov,.net,.com 4. If you were doing research on the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, which website would you consult first? a. the site of an organization collecting quotations by Thomas Jefferson b. the site of a university department of American history c. a personal website for an individual who describes himself as “Jefferson2000.”

NOTE CARD TIPS YOU WANT TO PRESENT THE MOST EFFECTIVE SUPPORTING DETAILS, OR IN OTHER WORDS, EVIDENCE, IN YOUR ARGUMENT TO THE JUDGE 1.Choose details that are difficult to argue with. a. such as: facts, details, definitions, examples, illustrations 2.Stick to the topic a. All facts, opinions, and subjective statements need to be based on your topic 3.Use p and the handout to imitate the note cards 4.Gather information from both print and digital (online) sources – don’t forget your Source Cards! 5.Take short notes a. Summarize, paraphrase, put them into your own words