Essay Questions

What motivates Scott Turow to write the book ‘One L’?

Law is one of the prestigious professions globally, and the competition for students to Join law school is increasing every day. Harvard University is one of the most recognized law institutions globally, and it is believed that it only admits the best brains globally. Scott is a first-year law student at Harvard University. The first-year law students are called 'One Ls.' One disturbing thing that Scott realizes is that the law is about competition in all aspects. Scott is motivated to write this book specifically to urge law schools to reconsider changing their curriculum to encourage students to socialize and understand that life is not about competition.

What makes law students possess minimal social skills?

The law teaching system can be described as a workhorse because it targets producing the most competent lawyers. Therefore, every student admitted to a law school is only focused on getting the best grades and outshining his fellow students. Each student wants to be at the top academically. Social interactions among law students and the lecturers are minimal. Making matters worse, law students have no time for the outside world besides their academic competition. Scott also notes that lawyers have not timed for socialization because they compete in the courts to win cases.

How does racism take place in higher learning institutions, according to the author?

The author of this book is keen to note that the best institutions like Harvard are racists when admitting students. The equality policies in admission are just on paper because the brightest students are not selected from diverse backgrounds. The author finds it disturbing that ethnic students like Terry are newly admitted to fill the diversity gap instead of intellectuality and competence.