Student Perspective
Reflections on Study & The Course
8 November 2013
Welcome to the law
• Intro
• Doctrine of necessity
Agenda
• Please do not video or take pictures of any aspect
of this presentation.
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Introduction
Past exam statistics
Why people fail or drop out
Attending lectures
Study groups
Study expectations
Agenda
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Assignment preparation and layout
Preparing for and passing exams
What you get out of the course
Question and answers
Introduction
• I have completed 15 of the 20 subjects
• Father of three (youngest is 21 months old)
• My partner, an admitted lawyer in Germany,
completed this course in 2008, now works for
as a Criminal Lawyer with the DPP
Past Exam Statistics
• Between 2007 and 2010:
– Legal Institutions – 34% DNS & 17% failed
– Criminal Law – 25.9% DNS & 12% failed
• However:
– Legal Institutions - of those that sat, 31%, achieved a
merit or distinction
– Criminal Law – of those that sat, 36% achieved a merit
or distinction
• The purpose of this presentation is to give you
some suggestions on (a) how to avoid dropping
out or failing, and (b) do well in the course
Subject Ranking (Failure Rates)
1. Contracts
2. Taxation & Revenue Law
3. Equity
4. Legal Ethics
5. Real Property
6. Legal Institutions
7. Succession
8. Trade Practices Law
9. Commercial Transactions
10. Criminal Law
Why People Fail or Drop Out
• Don’t attend lectures
• Don’t keep up with prescribed readings and summaries
throughout the semester leaving to much to do before
the exam
– Stats show week 5 is often the critical week, when
assignments can become due.
• Don’t spot the issues in assignment and exam
questions
• Don’t structure their assignments and exam answers
properly (ie don’t use IRAC)
• Poor time management in exams (running out of time).
This is the key reason people fail exams
Time Management - Expectations
Throughout the course allow approximately 9 hours of
study for each lecture broken up as follows:
• Allow 3-4 hours for the readings (some take more) for
each lecture
• Allow 1 Hour to review and tidy up your lecture notes
after the lecture
• Allow 2 hours to summarize the readings, legislation
and case extracts
• Allow 2 hours to prepare the final cut of your exam
summary to 1 - 1.5 pages for each topic
• Assignment and exam prep are separate to the above
Time Management - Expectations
• Diarize when your assignments are due and the date you
need to commence.
• Diarize exam dates and date you need to commence your
exam preparation
• Set out and work to a project plan
• Set your families expectations, their support and
understanding is critical to succeeding this course. Sit down
with them and let them know:
– What you need to do throughout the semester
– The weeks/ weekends you will be tied up working on
assignments
– The weeks/weekends you will be preparing for exams
– The dates of your exams (fact you will be stressed beforehand)
Attend Lectures
• Direct relationship between failing to attend lectures and
failing
Benefit of attending lectures
• The lecturer essentially:
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Tells you what they what they want you to know
Summaries the course
Tells you the key cases to know for the exam
Often tells you the topics in the exam
• You get to ask the lecturer questions
• You get to form relationships with your peers feel
accountable, and stay connected
Exam Preparation Recipe For Success
Throughout the Semester
• Your subject guide is your course bible.
– Print it out bind it, take it to lectures, refer to it all the time.
– More on the subject guide later.
• Step 1 - Pre read prescribed readings before the lectures (allow 3-4
hours for readings (how many pages can you read an hour)
– Read prescribed text
– Read prescribed legislation
– Read case extracts.
• Judgments are a Judges “EXAM ANSWER” for other judges.
• The judge sets out the issues, precedent case law, and application of the law to
the facts considered
• Factual matrixes of exam questions are based on the cases
• Reading case extracts helps you spot the issues in exam questions
• Case extracts review other cases which provides good revision
Exam Preparation Recipe For Success
Throughout the Semester
• Step 2 - Attend the lectures take notes (see word recording
feature)
• Step 3 – Review, and tidy up your lecture notes within 48
hours of the lecture - helps to lock it in.
• Step 4 – Summarize the readings (prescribed text,
legislation, case extract) in accordance with the subject
guide headings. Settle the first cut of your notes for that
lecture.
• Step 5 – Summarize the notes for that lecture to 1-2 pages
maximum.
• Step 6 – Re read your notes before the next lecture and in
the weeks before the exam.
Study Groups
• Join a study group of 3 or more people
• Assignment
– Meet your study group 3-4 weeks before the assignment
to discuss the assignment
– Share a basic bullet point outline of the key issues in the
assignment with your study group (do not share final
version with anyone)
• Exam
– Meet your study group 4 -6 weeks before the exam (and
then weekly) to commence going over past papers
– Don’t meet your study group 3 days before an exam it can
confuse you (lock yourself in a cave)
Assignment Preparation
• Commence working on your assignment three
weekends before it is due
• Allow 2 weekends for the reading
• Allow one full weekend to draft the
assignment
• Allow one night, to sleep on the draft, and
amend before submitting
Assignment Preparation
• Step 1 – Read the question several times
• Step 2 – Highlight the issues
• Step 3 – Read the relevant lecture notes (the lecturer is
telling you what they want to see in their notes)
• Step 4 – Read the question again and highlight any
more issues you see
• Step 4 – Read the text and relevant cases, and for extra
marks try do some research (does not apply to first LI
Assignment)
• Step 5 – Prepare a bullet point draft outline of the
issues and law. Share with your study group and
discuss
Assignment Structure
• Step 6 - Provide a structured answer to the questions (for
each issue)
– Overall introduction
– Issue – Identify the issue
– Law
• Make reference to the statute law – identify which section you are
considering (and why you are starting with that section). If parts or
phrases of the section are particularly relevant to your answer identifying
those parts or phrases in your answer without writing out the whole
section;
• Make reference to the relevant case law – state the principle in your own
words, and cite the case. The relevant law/case law will often contain a
test that must be satisfied – state the test clearly using your own words
Assignment Structure
• Step 7 - Apply the law – Apply the law /test to the facts and
come to a conclusion.
• Step 8 - Conclusion – Briefly state your conclusion on the issue
• Step 9 - Overall conclusion – If a number of issues, provide an
overall conclusion – ANSWERING THE QUESTION
• Step 10 - Complete citations, and bibliography
• Step 11 - Review, polish and submit
• Tip – In your assignment and exam cite the cases in referred
to in lectures and in the subject guide (lecturers are looking
for this)
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Please note the above process may not apply to the first Legal Institutions assignment.
• Example 1 assignment structure
Reasons People Fail In Exams
• Don’t pick the issues
• Poor time management - running out of time
• Use the reading time to allocate the time for each question,
and stop that question when the time is up!
• Remember the easiest marks are the first 80% of the
allocated marks for that question, don’t go over time
chasing the other 20%.
• Don’t structure their answers and use IRAC
• Tip - Following exam apply for an interview with the
lecturer to see what they are looking for and what you can
do to improve
Pre Exam Preparation
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Start preparing for the exam at least 6 weeks before the exam.
Prepare for the exam like it is a closed book exam! Open book exams
give a false sense of security, you don’t have time to look for things
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Step 1 - Summarize each lecture/topic of the course to a maximum of 1
– 1.5 pages
Step 2 – Review and start memorizing your notes (key sections of
legislation, principles and cases)
Step 3 – Time yourself – how long does it take you to hand write 1 page
of typed notes. Plan your time and answers accordingly.
Step 4 – Review past exam papers and do two questions on each topic
(allow 2 hours for each question)
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Prepare complete answers by hand
Practice applying the law to the facts
Pre Exam Preparation
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Step 5 – Do at least two complete exam papers under exam conditions
(that’s 6 hours)
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Do this under exam conditions, by hand.
This puts you in exam gives you an idea of time limitations.
Practice applying the law to the questions. Critical!
Step 6 – Prepare an overview “MAP” of the course linking relevant
principles etc. This locks in the course
Step 7 – Print out and bind the subject guide and your notes
Step 8 – Tab the relevant sections of your notes, legislation and
prescribed text for quick reference in the exam.
Step 9 - Calculate the time you can spend on each question and part
thereof
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3 hour exam with 4 questions = 45 mins a question
Less 5 mins reading = 40 mins a question
At 20 marks for 40 mins - a 5 mark part to a a question is worth 10 mins of
time
Pre Exam Summaries
• Example 2 – Tax Subject Guide
• Example 3 – Lecture summary
In The Exam
• Step 1 - Carefully read each question
• Step 2 - Choose the questions you want to
answer
• Step 3 - Read the question again – highlight
the issues
• Step 4 – Prepare an answer plan
• Step 5 – Answer the question for each issue
using IRAC
In The Exam
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Step 6 – When the allocated time is up for that question, stop and move to next
question. This is critical. The first 70% - 80% of the marks are the easiest to get.
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Running over time, equals less time for next question, equals less marks, and can lead to
panicking in the exam. Eg in a 3 hour exam with 4 questions worth 20 marks each (ie 45mins
a question), just running 5 mins over for each of the first three questions, means you have
30% (15 mins) less time to spend on the last question, which is also worth 20 marks.
Don’t run over time on a question chasing the final couple of marks for that question. Pen
down move on to the next question.
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Step 8 – Write legibly – allows examiner to give more marks. Write on every
second line if you have bad hand writing.
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Tips – the examiner wants you to succeed, they want to give you marks.
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If you can’t remember a case name, state the principle – the examiner will give you marks
for this
Provide structured answers (quality not quantity)
Underling key cases citations and legislative sections – helps examiner
If you are running out of time at a bare minimum:
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State the issues – they will give you marks for this
State relevant principle and case citation – more marks
Student Questionnaires
• See student questionnaires.
Lecturers Questionnaires
• 5 Lecturers questionnaires
• 6 Lecturer questionnaires closed book exams
What you get out of the course
• An ability to get straight to the issue of work
related problems
• An appreciation of your time, and time
management
• A new career in law/or appreciation of the law in
your current role
• Alternatively, greater career opportunity based
on the respect the workforce has for law on your
CV
• Personal satisfaction. Studying law is immensely
rewarding
What you get from the course
• An opportunity to meet a range of people you
would not normally meet (my library friend)
• A different way of thinking
• Admission to an incredibly well respected
profession
• Two success stories
– Graduation ceremony
– Admission ceremony
Questions
• Questions
• Enjoy your studies and good luck