Incorporating Professional Identity into the Writing Curriculum

Abstract:     
In Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, the Carnegie Foundation identified three apprenticeships necessary in professional legal education: thinking (legal analysis), performance (practical skills) and professional conduct, or professional identity. Students can develop these components of the legal profession during law school to excel in the practice of law. Clinical and writing professors can contribute to the development of Professional Identity without overhauling the curriculum via short additional assignments or by tweaking existing assignments. This article will review the history of professional identity, the recommendations of The Carnegie Report, and identify the three methods I use to encourage the development of professional identity in the writing and research classroom.

Keywords: professional identity formation, writing

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