On the afternoon of May 15, the 48th session of the BNU Law Lecture Series, titled “Topics, Writing, and Submission of Legal Papers,” was convened in the Gao Mingxuan Lecture Hall (Room 1822) at Beijing Normal University. The keynote address was delivered by Yuan Fang, Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Director of the Editorial Department of the China Law Review. The session also featured insights from distinguished panelists, including He Dan, Vice Dean and Professor at the BNU Law School; Zhao Yiyu, Associate Researcher and Editor at China Legal Science; BNU Associate Professors Li Dejia and Guo Ye; and faculty member Yang Xu. The event was presided over by Liang Yingxiu, Dean and Professor of the Law School.

At the beginning of the lecture, Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang emphasized the importance of topic selection. She pointed out that the topic is the soul of the paper, and an excellent topic must possess a significant problem awareness; proposing a high-quality question is the starting point of research. The problems can be roughly categorized into three levels: first, fundamental knowledge issues can be classified as "questions"; these types of problems can be resolved through the accumulation of knowledge, thus their contribution to research is relatively low, belonging to the category of basic academic issues. Second, deficiencies in systems and practices can be defined as "defects", mainly involving the identification of loopholes in systems and proposing corresponding solutions, which falls under the category of countermeasure jurisprudence. Finally, "topics" represent theoretical challenges, involving issues of theoretical reconstruction, and such research has profound academic value. If such topics can achieve innovation and breakthroughs in a certain theory, they can be regarded as the ultimate realm of excellent topic selection.

Next, Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang summarized the four characteristics of "high-quality questions": representativeness, challenge, theoretical relevance, and moderate approach. Specifically, the representational requirements focus on universal issues, and individual cases need to be abstracted into common propositions. Challenges need to break through existing theoretical frameworks and strive to fill institutional gaps. Theoretical relevance refers to connecting major theoretical propositions, allowing small issues to lead to larger topics. A moderate approach means that the issues are clear and innovative, balancing practicality with academic contribution, avoiding grandiosity and vagueness. She further pointed out that the field of law combines academic, political, and practical aspects, and authors can discover quality topics from numerous academic literature, debates, and conference agendas, as well as from the political documents of the party and state, national legislative planning, and local judicial practices in China.

Following the introductions, Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang elaborated on the critical role of innovation as a core dimension of academic contribution. She outlined four specific dimensions where innovation should be manifested: Perspective: Offering a novel angle on a topic; Data: Updating materials and empirical data; Methodology: Applying innovative research methods; and Theory: Reconstructing theories and refreshing viewpoints. She emphasized that researchers should avoid blindly chasing trending topics, advising them instead to focus on conducting in-depth research within their specific academic fields. Building on this, Editor-in-Chief Yuan summarized techniques for optimizing argumentative structure, noting that logical coherence is the cornerstone of academic expression. She provided a comprehensive analysis of the distinctions among three key research paradigms: normative research, empirical research, and strategic research. To achieve "reader-friendly writing," she suggested focusing on four essential elements: precise title design, scientific abstract writing, fluent language expression, and standardized citations that uphold academic integrity. Finally, addressing the common concern regarding publication success, she offered strategic advice to improve submission acceptance rates. She highlighted the importance of understanding the specific positioning of target journals, selecting appropriate topics, cultivating professional academic networks, enhancing personal academic influence, and constructively responding to anonymous peer review comments.

During the communication session, Professor He Dan stated that Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang's summary of paper topics is extremely precise, which has significant guiding importance for individual future academic creation. It is suggested that all students present keep in mind to master the correct methods for selecting topics and writing papers, and to learn from successful submission experiences to strengthen their academic training.

Associate Researcher Zhao Yiyu reviewed the review experience of "Chinese Law" and expressed sincere gratitude and recognition for the insights provided by Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang on the selection, writing, and submission of legal papers. Associate Researcher Zhao Yiyu emphasized that during the writing process, it is essential to maintain a firm political stance and uphold the core values of domestic Chinese legal studies.

Associate Professor Li Dejia consulted with Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang on the topic selection in the field of legal history research, discussing how to properly handle relatively niche topics, and expressed heartfelt thanks for Yuan Fang's guidance on paper writing, topic strategies, and submission matters.

Mr. Yang Xu first expressed sincere gratitude to Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang and "China Law Review," and resonated deeply with Yuan Fang's viewpoint that researchers should not blindly chase hot topics but should focus on conducting in-depth research in their own academic fields.

Associate Professor Guo Ye expressed sincere thanks for the presence of Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang and Associate Researcher Zhao Yiyu. She pointed out that a high-quality article often requires dozens of revisions, which reflects the hard work of both the author and the editor. Without the repeated reviews and guidance from editors, there would be no outstanding quality of papers; excellent articles are forged through continuous revisions.

Host Liang Yingxiu shared his views. He emphasized that for law students, writing papers is an indispensable skill and an important course that must be experienced in their academic careers. He expressed heartfelt thanks to Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang and Associate Researcher Zhao Yiyu for their presence, and highly recognized and praised the content of this sharing.

Subsequently, Editor-in-Chief Yuan Fang responded to the questions raised during the discussion. The lecture concluded successfully amidst warm applause!