Appellate Practice Guide

Appellate Brief Example: A Sample Structure, Section by Section

An appellate brief is the principal written argument to an appellate court for why a judgment should be reversed, affirmed, or revisited. Its parts are fixed by FRAP 28, and its length and formatting by FRAP 32.

This page walks the required parts of an appellate brief in order, shows an annotated sample opening brief, sets out the format and word limits, and explains how to write one. Use it as the working template for the FRAP 28 sequence, then draft each section from the specific trial-court record.

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Reviewed by Robert Nash, Esq., Senior Contract AttorneyJ.D., NYU School of Law, NY Bar
Appellate brief example illustration showing the FRAP 28 required parts: jurisdictional statement, statement of issues, statement of the case, summary of argument, and argument with the standard of review per issue
Built to FRAP 28 + 32
Every federal appellate brief drafted to the FRAP 28 required parts and the FRAP 32 word and format rules, plus the circuit's local rules.
Standard of Review per Issue
Each issue opened with the correct standard of review, because the standard sets how much deference the panel owes the ruling below.
Bluebook + Record Cites
A Bluebooked table of authorities, a KeyCited citation pass, and a record citation behind every fact in the statement of the case.
Counsel of Record Signs
The brief returns in review-ready form for counsel of record to sign and file. The drafting bench never appears on the appellate docket.
Definition

What Is an Appellate Brief?

An appellate brief is the principal written argument submitted to an appellate court explaining why the trial-court judgment should be reversed, affirmed, or revisited. The appellant's brief argues for reversal, the appellee's brief argues for affirmance, and the reply brief answers the appellee. Because most appeals are decided on the briefs without oral argument, the brief is the primary vehicle for appellate advocacy.

An appellate brief differs from a trial-court motion brief in three ways that shape every section: it argues to a panel of judges rather than one, it argues on a closed record rather than a developing one, and it must frame every issue around the standard of review. Those constraints are why the FRAP 28 structure below is fixed rather than freeform.

A non-party who wants to weigh in files a different document. For that, see what is an amicus curiae brief.

Format

Appellate Brief Format: The FRAP 28 Required Sections

An appellant's brief in a federal court of appeals must carry the nine sections below, in this order. This sequence is the closest thing to an appellate brief template: the parts are fixed, and each is drafted from the specific record.

#SectionWhat It ContainsRule Anchor
1Corporate disclosure statementIdentifies any parent corporation and any publicly held company owning 10% or more of a corporate party (FRAP 26.1).FRAP 26.1 / 28(a)(1)
2Table of contentsEvery heading and subheading with page references, so the panel can navigate the argument at a glance.FRAP 28(a)(2)
3Table of authoritiesCases alphabetized, then statutes and other authorities, each with the pages of the brief where it is cited. Bluebooked.FRAP 28(a)(3)
4Jurisdictional statementThe basis for the district court's jurisdiction, the basis for the court of appeals' jurisdiction, and the filing dates that establish the appeal is timely.FRAP 28(a)(4)
5Statement of the issuesEach question presented for review, framed narrowly and in a way that suggests the answer the appellant seeks.FRAP 28(a)(5)
6Statement of the caseThe facts relevant to the issues and the procedural history, with a record citation for every fact. Since the 2013 restyling, the facts live here.FRAP 28(a)(6)
7Summary of the argumentA clear, concise condensation of the argument that follows, not a mere repetition of the section headings.FRAP 28(a)(7)
8ArgumentThe contentions and reasons, with citations to authority and to the record, and a concise statement of the applicable standard of review for each issue.FRAP 28(a)(8)
9Conclusion and relief soughtA short statement of the precise relief the appellant asks the court to grant, followed by the signature block.FRAP 28(a)(9)

Type, spacing, and covers

FRAP 32 sets 14-point proportional type (or 10.5-cpi monospaced), double-spaced text, one-inch margins, and the cover colors: blue for the appellant's principal brief, red for the appellee's, and gray for the reply.

Word and page limits

13,000 words for a principal brief, 6,500 for a reply under FRAP 32(a)(7); or 30 and 15 pages if the page limit is used. A certificate of compliance under FRAP 32(g) closes the brief.

Sample Brief

Appellate Brief Example: An Annotated Opening Brief

The excerpt below shows how the issues, the standard of review, and the opening of an argument read on the page in an appellant's opening brief. It is illustrative: the caption, parties, and docket number are fictitious, and the point is the structure, not the facts.

Illustrative excerpt · Appellant's opening brief

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT

HARROW MANUFACTURING, LLC,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

CEDAR RIDGE MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.,

Defendant-Appellee.

No. 25-2187

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

  1. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment for the insurer where the policy's “resulting loss” exception, read under Illinois law, restores coverage for the water damage the faulty workmanship set in motion.
  2. Whether the court abused its discretion in excluding the appellant's causation expert under Rule 702 without a hearing on the reliability of his methodology.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo, construing the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. The interpretation of an insurance policy is a question of law reviewed de novo. The exclusion of expert testimony is reviewed for abuse of discretion, but a ruling that rests on an error of law is by definition an abuse of that discretion.

SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

The district court read the faulty-workmanship exclusion in isolation and never reached the resulting-loss exception that sits directly beneath it in the same policy. Under Illinois law the two clauses are read together: the exclusion bars the cost of redoing the defective work, while the exception restores coverage for the separate, ensuing water damage. Reading the exclusion to swallow the exception renders the exception meaningless, a construction Illinois courts reject. On the second issue, the court excluded the causation expert without the reliability inquiry Rule 702 requires, and that error alone requires remand.

ARGUMENT

I. The resulting-loss exception restores coverage for the ensuing water damage.

A court interpreting an insurance policy under Illinois law gives the policy its plain and ordinary meaning and reads it as a whole, so that no provision is rendered superfluous. The policy here excludes loss caused by faulty workmanship, then provides that “if loss by a Covered Cause of Water Damage results, we will pay for that resulting loss.” The district court stopped at the exclusion. Had it read on to the exception, as Illinois law requires, it would have found coverage for the very damage at issue…

Illustrative only. The caption, parties, docket number, and policy language are fictitious and used to show how the sections read. Every brief we draft is written to the actual record, the preserved issues, and the operative standard of review.

Commission an Appellate BriefFiling an amicus instead? What is an amicus curiae brief.
How to Write One

How to Write an Appellate Brief

Six steps turn a trial-court record into a filed appellate brief. The order matters: the standard of review is chosen before a word of argument is written, because it governs how every issue is framed.

  1. 1

    Read the entire record and isolate preserved issues

    An appellate court reviews what the trial court decided on the record made below. Read the full record and identify the issues that were preserved by objection or ruling; unpreserved issues rarely survive.

  2. 2

    Pair each issue with its standard of review

    De novo, abuse of discretion, clear error, or substantial evidence. The standard frames every argument, because it sets how much deference the panel owes the ruling below.

  3. 3

    Frame the issues presented

    Write each question narrowly enough that the framing suggests the answer, and order the issues by strength rather than by the sequence they arose at trial.

  4. 4

    Write the statement of the case from the record

    State the facts relevant to the issues and the procedural history with a record citation for every fact, and without argument. Credibility with the panel is built here.

  5. 5

    Build the argument element by element

    Open each argument with the standard of review, then prove each element with binding authority and record cites. Lead with the strongest issue.

  6. 6

    Bluebook, certify, and file to the word limit

    Assemble a Bluebooked table of authorities, confirm the FRAP 32(a)(7) word count with a certificate of compliance, and file under counsel of record's signature.

Reviewed By
Robert Nash, Esq., Senior Contract Attorney at Legal Tank
Robert Nash, Esq.
Senior Contract Attorney
J.D., NYU School of Law, NY Bar
Marcus Williams, Senior Legal Content Writer at Legal Tank
Marcus Williams
Senior Legal Content Writer
B.A. English, Howard University, ABA-Approved Paralegal
Jessica Henwick, Editor-in-Chief & Legal Content Director at Legal Tank
Jessica Henwick
Editor-in-Chief & Legal Content Director
B.A. Legal Studies, UC Berkeley, NALA CP

When you are ready to route the brief out, see appellate brief writing services for the full opening, response, reply, cert-petition, and rehearing-en-banc stack, or trial brief writing services for motion practice below. Further reading: the standard of review that frames every issue, and how to file a notice of appeal that starts the appeal.

FAQ

Appellate Brief: Common Questions

What is an appellate brief?
An appellate brief is the principal written argument submitted to an appellate court explaining why the trial-court judgment should be reversed, affirmed, or revisited. The appellant's brief argues for reversal; the appellee's brief argues for affirmance; the reply brief answers the appellee. Because most appeals are decided on the briefs without oral argument, the appellate brief is the primary vehicle for appellate advocacy. In the federal courts of appeals its required contents are fixed by FRAP 28.
What are the required parts of an appellate brief?
Under FRAP 28(a), an appellant's brief must contain, in order: a corporate disclosure statement, a table of contents, a table of authorities, a jurisdictional statement, a statement of the issues, a statement of the case with record references, a summary of the argument, the argument (which must state the applicable standard of review for each issue), and a short conclusion stating the precise relief sought. A certificate of compliance with the word count is required under FRAP 32(g).
What is the format of an appellate brief?
A federal appellate brief is formatted under FRAP 32: 14-point proportionally spaced type or a monospaced face of no more than 10.5 characters per inch, double-spaced text, one-inch margins, and covers in the colors the rule assigns (blue for the appellant's principal brief, red for the appellee's, gray for the reply). The brief must include a table of contents and a Bluebooked table of authorities, and it must close with a certificate of compliance. Individual circuits and state appellate courts add local formatting rules on top.
What is the word limit for an appellate brief?
Under FRAP 32(a)(7), a principal brief in a federal court of appeals is limited to 13,000 words and a reply brief to 6,500 words. A brief that instead uses the page limit is capped at 30 pages for a principal brief and 15 pages for a reply. Petitions for rehearing en banc are limited to 3,900 words under FRAP 35(b) and 40(b), and petitions for certiorari to 9,000 words under Supreme Court Rule 33.1(g). State appellate courts set their own limits by rule.
How do you write an appellate brief?
Writing an appellate brief starts with reading the entire trial-court record and identifying the issues that were preserved for appeal. Each issue is paired with the correct standard of review (de novo, abuse of discretion, clear error, or substantial evidence), and the argument is built element by element with record citations and binding authority. The mechanics include a Bluebooked table of authorities, a strict FRAP or state-rule word count, and circuit-specific formatting. The brief is then signed and filed by counsel of record.
Is there a template for an appellate brief?
The template for a federal appellate brief is the FRAP 28 sequence of required sections, formatted to FRAP 32. There is no single fill-in-the-blank form, because the statement of the case, the issues, and the argument are written from the specific trial-court record and the preserved issues. A usable appellate brief is drafted to the record and the operative standard of review, not filled into a generic shell.
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