LAW SCHOOL ESSAY REQUIREMENTS 2015-16
B.A. Legal Studies (Final Year)
2nd & Final Corporate Law
2nd & Final Civil Law
LL.B. (Years 2 & 3 Full-Time) (Years 3 & 4 Part-Time)
• Students in each of the programme years listed above are required to write one extended
essay during this academic year.
• Students must choose their essay topic from the list of topics in the subjects for which the
student is registered in the year in question. (However 2nd Civil Law and 2nd Corporate
Law students are permitted to choose their essay topic from the titles listed in 1st year Tort, Contract and Constitutional Law - in addition to the available 2nd year essay titles).
• Essay topics in each subject are available on Blackboard. Only essays on the prescribed
topics will be accepted, unless by prior written agreement with the lecturer in the subject.
Essays on topics that have not been agreed in advance with the relevant lecturer will not be
graded and will not satisfy the essay requirement.
• For Final Year BA (Legal Studies) the essay accounts for 50% of the marks obtained in the
subject within which the essay is submitted.
• For Final Corporate Law, the essay accounts for 20% of the marks obtained in the subject
within which the essay is submitted.
• In the LL.B and 2nd Corporate Law and 2nd & Final Civil Law the essay counts as 5 ECTS.
• Student should note that essay results will not be communicated to students in advance of
their Summer results
Word Limit
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LL.B. and 2nd Corporate Law and 2nd & Final Civil Law students must write an essay of
5,000 words in length (including footnotes/endnotes but excluding bibliography and cover
page).
Final BA (Legal Studies) and Final Corporate Law students must write an essay of 2,500
words (including footnotes/endnotes but excluding bibliography and cover page).
A penalty may be imposed where a student exceeds the word limit. Students who think they
may exceed the word limit must consult the lecturer concerned in this regard prior to
submitting their essays.
Essays must meet certain standards in terms of both content and presentation (see notes on
format below).
Essay Registration
• Students must inform the Law School of their essay choice by registering on Blackboard.
• Online Registration will begin at 9am on Wednesday October 21st 2015 and will close at
5pm on Wednesday November 4th 2015.
• In order to ensure fair distribution of essays among lecturers, a cap has been placed on each
set of subject titles so only a certain number of students will be able to register for any given
subject. The system works on a first come first served basis.
• In exceptional circumstances students may request a change of essay title, this is at the
discretion and approval of the lecturer in question. If approval is granted, students should
contact the School of Law Administration Office (Nicola Gavin on ext. 2389 or TB406) to
make the necessary registration changes. Please note that changes to essay titles cannot be
made after semester 1 provisional results are released.
Submission
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•
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Students must lodge the completed essay in both hard copy and electronic format by the
deadline of 9.30am Friday 26th February 2016.
A printed hard copy of the essay must be deposited in the boxes provided on Floor 2
(beside the lifts) of Tower 2 by the deadline above.
An electronic copy of the essay must also be submitted via Blackboard. This must be in
Microsoft Word (not Works) format, and consist of one file only.
Students must also complete and sign the mandatory essay cover sheet and plagiarism
declaration (available on Blackboard) and staple it to the hard copy of their essay
The cover page of the essay must have the following data:
• Student name,
• I.D. number,
• Year of course,
• Title of relevant subject (i.e. Tort, Criminal etc.),
• Name of lecturer,
• Title of essay and word count.
An Essay template is provided on Blackboard. Students should enter the required personal
details (above) on the template and should also ensure that they enter their name and ID
number in the template footer.
Essays will not be returned by the School under any circumstances as they are required to be
retained as examination material under the University’s procedures. Students are strongly
advised to retain a hard copy and a soft copy for their own use.
Penalties For Late Submission
It is entirely the responsibility of the student to register for an essay and to submit the essay
on time. Where an essay is not submitted on time, the following penalties will apply.
Essays deposited after 9.30am on Friday 26th February 2016 are deemed late and are subject
to the following penalties:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Essays submitted after 9.30am on Friday, 26th February 2016 shall incur a penalty
deduction of 10% (This deduction will represent 10% of the mark actually obtained for
the essay).
Essays submitted after 9.30am on Friday 4th March 2016 shall incur a penalty
deduction of 20% (This deduction will represent 10% of the mark actually obtained for
the essay).
Essays submitted after 9.30am on Friday 11th March 2016 will be capped at 40%.
Further, it may not be possible to correct such late essays in which case the essay would
be considered at the repeat examination session in August thus requiring the student to
enter for Autumn exams and pay the appropriate repeat exam fee.
Essays submitted to the Autumn Examination session are capped at 40%
Essays submitted after 9.30am on Friday 29th July 2016 will not be considered at the
Autumn exam board and students will therefore be unable to progress where the essay
has an ECTS weighting. This means that students will not be able to continue to the next
year of their programme, and final year students will not be able to graduate.
Where an essay counts towards the marks in a particular subject, failure to submit prior
to the July deadline may mean that the student forfeits all essay marks in that
subject.
Time extensions may be allowed to students only in exceptional circumstances, and in no case
will time extensions be granted beyond the Autumn deadline. An application for a time
extension must be made in person to the Head of the Law School.
Formatting
Essays must be typed in double spacing on A4 paper with margins of one inch on the left-hand
side, at the top and at the bottom of the page. There should also be a generous margin on the
right-hand side. Pages should be numbered and typing checked before submission. Please
consult and follow the Law Stylesheet, available on Blackboard.
Each essay must include footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography. The notes must include
references for all cases, books, articles and other materials cited, paraphrased, or otherwise
relied on in the text of the essay. The bibliography must include a list of all books, articles and
reports consulted during the research for the essay or mentioned in it. Cases and secondary
works must be cited in the appropriate manner in both notes and bibliography.
NOTE: The Essay Template available on Blackboard is formatted in line with the Law School
requirements.
Content
An essay must show clear evidence of original and independent research. Mere repetition of
material found in textbooks, lecture notes, or published articles will not be sufficient, even for a
bare pass mark. Students are expected to investigate their topic carefully, using primary legal
sources (cases and statutes) as well as secondary literature (books, periodicals and reports).
NOTE: Students may, if they wish, email a one page essay plan to the relevant lecturer for
feedback purposes. Students wishing to submit an essay plan must do so by 5pm on Friday
27th November 2015.
Marking Standards
The following is offered as a guide to students, although it should be noted that it is not
comprehensive and examiners may consider additional qualities:
Honours will be awarded on the basis of:
 independent analysis of texts and legal materials relevant to the essay topic;
 a well-structured and persuasive argument;
 informed judgement and evidence of wide reading;
 a clear understanding of legal concepts;
 a broad and accurate historical/contextual sense;
 intelligent and illuminating use of quotation and reference;
 a fluent and precise command of English and of legal terminology;
 a clear differentiation between Irish law and that of other jurisdictions.
A Pass mark will be awarded on the basis of:
 a coherent presentation of the area of law;
 evidence of limited, essential reading;
 limited competence with legal concepts;
 some detailed allusion to relevant texts.
A Fail will result from:
 plagiarism;
 serious lack of content, detail;
 little or no evidence of coherent thinking;
 apparent misunderstanding of basic legal concepts;
 apparent ignorance of essential texts or materials;
 incompetent writing.
Erasmus/Maine Exchange
Students participating in Erasmus or Maine exchanges, whether for a year or a semester are
not obliged to submit an essay for the year in which they are abroad.
Moot Court Competitions
Students who participate in an external Moot Court competition may write an essay on the
legal issues arising in that competition. It is essential that students who wish to take this option
receive the prior written consent of the relevant lecturer in advance of registering for their
essay.
Plagiarism
Students should note that there will be heavy penalties, including disciplinary proceedings
where appropriate, for plagiarism (taking passages from another person’s work, published or
otherwise, without acknowledgement). All work submitted must be the student’s own work
and students must sign a declaration to this effect on the mandatory essay cover sheet
(available on Blackboard). Copying from another student’s work or facilitating another student
to copy your work is strictly prohibited and will be subject to the appropriate procedures. For
the procedure applicable in cases of plagiarism please see the University’s Code of Practice
on Plagiarism below.
Code of Practice for Dealing with Plagiarism
This Plagiarism Code comes into effect at the start of the 2015/16 academic year.
1.0 Purpose
To set out the code of practice for dealing with issues of student plagiarism.
2.0 Description
Plagiarism is the act of copying, including or directly quoting from the work of another without
adequate acknowledgement, in order to obtain benefit, credit or gain. Plagiarism can apply to
many materials, such as words, ideas, images, information, data, approaches or methods.
Sources of plagiarism can include books, journals, reports, websites, essay mills, another
student, or another person.
Self-plagiarism, or auto-plagiarism, is where a student re-uses work previously submitted to
another course within the University or in another Institution.
All work submitted by students for assessment, for publication or for (public) presentation, is
accepted on the understanding that it is their own work and contains their own original
contribution, except where explicitly referenced using the accepted norms and formats of the
appropriate academic discipline.
Plagiarism can arise through poor academic practice or ignorance of accepted norms of the
academic discipline. Schools should ensure that resources and education around good
academic practice is available to students at all levels.
The Plagiarism Penalty Grid (included in this document) will be made available to all students.
Cases in which students facilitate others to copy their work shall also be subject to the
procedures outlined here.
2.1 Procedures
Each School will appoint at least one plagiarism advisor, who is normally a member of
academic staff. These advisors are Designated Authorities, as described in the Student Code of
Conduct, and have responsibility and authority for dealing with suspected and reported cases
of plagiarism.
A list of the current plagiarism advisors will be maintained and made available to all academic
staff of the University.
A member of teaching staff who suspects plagiarism is welcome to speak with an appropriate
plagiarism advisor, in confidence, about the case. At this point, the staff member is free not to
continue with a formal report.
If a staff member decides to formally report a suspected case of plagiarism, a short report shall
be prepared including a (marked-up) copy of the student work, along with any evidence for
suspecting plagiarism. This report should be forwarded to the plagiarism advisor.
The plagiarism advisor shall conduct an initial investigation of the alleged plagiarism, to
determine if there is a case to be made. If the advisor concludes that there is no case of
plagiarism, the reporting member of staff will be notified, with a clear statement of the reasons
for the decision.
If the plagiarism advisor decides that the case is one of plagiarism, he/she will make an initial
assessment of the case using the penalty grid (step 1).
If the points, according to the penalty grid, are in the lower two bands (up to 379) the advisor
may conduct an informal interview with the student to discuss the suspected case. If the
advisor is satisfied that the case exists, an appropriate penalty will be selected from the grid
(step 2).
If the points, according to the penalty grid, are more than 524, the advisor should refer the case
to the discipline committee, in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.
In all other cases (points in the bands 380-524), the student will be invited to attend an
interview with the plagiarism adviser and an additional member of staff. The invitation may be
by email or letter, and will include an explanation of the purpose of the meeting, including a
copy of the marked-up piece of work. The student may be accompanied at the interview by a
“friend”.
The additional member of staff may be another plagiarism advisor, the member of staff who
reported the case, or another senior member of staff from the School.
Where a student does not engage with the process, by not responding or by refusing to attend
an interview, the case will be referred to the discipline committee.
At the interview, the student will be given a clear explanation of what has been alleged, shown
a copy of his/her work, given the opportunity to justify the work and be invited to admit or
deny responsibility.
Following the interview, if the advisor is satisfied that the case exists, an appropriate penalty
will be selected from the grid (step 2). After a penalty has been decided, the advisor will
perform a fairness check to consider the impact of the penalty on the student’s overall
performance. If the impact is incommensurate with the offence, the advisor may choose to
adjust the penalty. In all cases, the student will be notified by the advisor, in writing, of the
decision and any penalty imposed.
The plagiarism advisor will write a report, recording the decision and any penalty, which
should be lodged centrally. This report is confidential and will not reflect upon the student’s
record. It will be used to determine if a second or subsequent offence has occurred, and for
statistical information only.
It may be appropriate for incidents of plagiarism to be made known to relevant academic and
support staff where this is required for the proper administration of academic programmes
and academic decision making. Such sharing of information with appropriate staff does not
breach confidentiality.
3.0 Responsibilities
Name
Plagiarism
Committee:
Head of School:
Plagiarism
Advisor:
Discipline
Committee:
Responsibility
Policy Owner
Each School will appoint at least one plagiarism advisor, who is
normally a member of academic staff.
To make decisions on student plagiarism based on the policy, as
a designated authority.
To deal with severe cases, in accordance with the Student Code
of Conduct
4.0 Related Documents
The Student Code of Conduct.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/codeofconduct/
Plagiarism Penalty Grid
Step 1: Assign Points Based on the Following Criteria
History
1st Time
2nd Time
3rd/+ Time
100 points
150 points
200 points
Amount/Extent
Below 5% OR less than two sentences
As above but with critical aspects*
plagiarised
Between 5% and 20% OR more than
two sentences but not more than two
paragraphs
As above but with critical aspects*
plagiarised
Between 20% and 50% OR more than
two paragraphs but not more than five
paragraphs
As above but with critical aspects*
plagiarised
Above 50% OR more than 5 paragraphs
Submission purchased from essay mill
or ghostwriting service
80 points
105 points
105 points
130 points
130 points
160 points
160 points
225 points
* Critical aspects are key ideas central to the assignment
Level/Stage
1st year
Undergraduate (not 1st or final year)
Final year/Postgraduate
Value of Assignment
Standard assignment
Large project (e.g. final year dissertation, thesis)
70 points
115 points
140 points
30 points
115 points
Additional Characteristics (to be used only in extreme cases)
Evidence of deliberate attempt to disguise plagiarism by changing words, sentences or
references to avoid detection: 40 points.
Step 2: Award penalties based on the points
Summative Work
In all cases a formal warning is given and a record made contributing to the student’s previous
history.
Points
280-329
330-379
380-479
480-524
525+
Available Penalties (select one)
No further action beyond formal warning
Assignment awarded 0% - resubmission required, with no penalty on mark
No further action beyond formal warning
Assignment awarded 0% - resubmission required, with no penalty on mark
Assignment awarded 0% - resubmission required but mark capped or
reduced*
Assignment awarded 0% - resubmission required but mark capped or reduced
Assignment awarded 0% - no opportunity to resubmit
Assignment awarded 0% - no opportunity to resubmit
Case referred to Discipline Committee
Formative Work
280-379
Informal warning
380+
Formal warning, with record made contributing to the student’s
previous history
* Normally, marks will be capped at the pass mark for the assignment.