Abstract
Developing written discourse competence remains a critical challenge for undergraduate law students who must master both disciplinary knowledge and specialized forms of legal writing. This literature review explores the role of scaffolding as an instructional strategy to enhance students’ ability to produce coherent, structured, and context-appropriate written texts in higher education. Drawing on L.S.Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development and subsequent pedagogical models, the review synthesizes findings from studies on teacher-led scaffolding, peer feedback, genre-based instruction, technology-enabled supports, and iterative feedback cycles. Evidence from legal education and related disciplines demonstrates that scaffolding improves writing quality, accelerates skill acquisition, fosters self-regulation, and provides disproportionate benefits for underprepared or linguistically diverse students. Particular emphasis is placed on how scaffolded tasks, explicit modeling, and sequenced assignments can facilitate law students’ transition from general academic writing to the conventions of legal discourse. While scaffolding is shown to be a powerful tool for equity and inclusion, the review also highlights the need for gradual removal of supports to ensure independent competence. The discussion identifies gaps in current research, including the limited study of scaffolding specific to legal genres, the durability of scaffolded learning over time, and the integration of emerging AI-driven writing tools. Implications for legal educators suggest that deliberate, multi-tiered scaffolding strategies can both improve outcomes and democratize success in writing-intensive law programs.