The submission process for our 2023-2024 journal is now OPEN!
About the Online Journal
The Northwestern Undergraduate Online Journal is Northwestern’s premier undergraduate legal publication. We are an entirely student-run peer and faculty-reviewed journal. It is our mission to highlight the scholarly works of undergraduate students by providing a forum to debate and analyze legal issues. We strive for an interdisciplinary approach to the law, publishing works addressing topics including but not limited to, Supreme Court Cases, patent law, legal precedents and history, medical law, and more.
The NULJ does not honor any personal attacks or articles with offensive content or language. We reserve the right to remove any articles that violate our guidelines. Selections for the NULJ are competitive and selective. If you have any questions on why your article was not selected, feel free to email nulj@u.northwestern.edu for feedback. All submissions must be submitted by February 29, 2024.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions must be 20 to 100+ double-spaced pages, not including citations and Works Cited.
We only accept works written from undergraduate students. Authors from the classes of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 may submit manuscripts written during their undergraduate years.
All submissions much include a Bibliography section. All works will be published in accordance to the Chicago citation style.
Authors may submit multiple works.
Papers need not be on American law; they can be on the laws or legal system of any country.
We accept senior theses, past class assignments, and independently researched works.
Senior theses should be submitted in their entirety; we prefer completed pieces to excepts.
Style GUIDELINES
General:
20 page minimum
Word document
Submissions accepted online (https://www.thenulj.com)
Typography:
Times New Roman, Size 12 (including bibliography)
Double spaced text
Page numbers at bottom center of page
Cover Page Formatting:
Title:
Subtitle
Name
School (e.g., Northwestern University)
Date (e.g., Fall 2021)
Headings:
Bold, Times New Roman size 12
Roman numerals
Block Quotes:
Times New Roman, Size 11
No quotation marks
Justified margins
Centered on page
Citations:
Chicago Manual Style as per Purdue Owl https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html
Use footnotes throughout paper
Times New Roman size 10
Id., not Ibid.
In-Text References:
Court cases italicized e.g., Roe v. Wade
Write out and capitalize amendments e.g., The First Amendment
Capitalize the word Constitution in all scenarios
Grammar and Punctuation:
Follow AP Style Guide https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html
* Exception: Oxford comma always required
Examples can be found at https://issuu.com/reesenulj/docs/journal_final_nulj_final
How to Submit
All works must be submitted using the form below. Submissions for the Journal should be double-spaced in a Microsoft Word document, and include footnotes as well as a Bibliography section. Works submitted as PDFs will not be accepted.
In the document, please also include the following information:
Your name
Current email address
Title
250-word abstract
Other Issues
For any other questions and issues, email us at the nulj@u.northwestern.edu and we will get back to you promptly.
