Advice on preparatory reading for new students before
enrolment
Now you have been accepted for a place at Cardiff Law School, you may wish to know what you might read in
preparation for studying law at Cardiff. In preparing this guidance we are aware of spending constraints. We
have therefore tried to restrict our recommendations to books that are not too expensive and may be of
continuing use to you during your first year of study.
A Guide to Studying Law
Your first impulse might be to start reading a law book. However, our first recommendation is a book about
studying law rather than a book full of law. Nicholas J McBride, Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to
Studying Law at University Longman. This is a book that not only prepares you for university study, but will
also be useful during your first year of study. It is £16.99 new, but you may be able to find it cheaper on
Amazon, new or second hand or borrow it from a library. Although there is a 2010 edition, an earlier edition
would be fine.
In addition, you may like to buy the recommended text for Legal Foundations, one of the compulsory modules
for year 1 law students. Carr H, Carter S & Horsey K, Skills for Law Students (Oxford University Press
2009) is accompanied by an excellent website which includes inter-active exercises designed to develop your
general and subject specific study skills. Working through the activities accompanying Part 1 of the book should
give you a head start once you begin your law studies.
Preparatory Reading
The study of law requires a lot of reading, so it might be a good idea to get into training before enrolling, but
this does not mean you should read only law. A student of law is better for having broader intellectual horizons
than just law. McBride gives some non-law pre-university reading. The Very Short Introduction series
published by Oxford University Press is a rich source of “tasters” for all sorts of subjects. They are all £7.99
(but remember Amazon). You can explore these at
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/series/general/vsi.do
Two titles are of direct relevance to your first year law studies:
Raymond Wacks, Law: A Very Short Introduction is a good overview of law.
Tony Wright, British Politics: A Very Short Introduction in the same series is a background to studying Public
Law in your first year, especially if you are not very familiar with the British political system.
Your time will not be wasted if you try something on such areas as philosophy (perhaps ethics or logic), social
sciences, history – something that interests you. These books are meant to be accessible to the general reader,
which does not mean that they will be easy, but they may be rewarding and thought-provoking and lead you to
explore further.
Introductions to Law
There are many introductory books to law, which give an introduction to the legal system and a brief account of
different areas of law. There is nothing wrong with these books, but most of them will simply duplicate what
you will study at Cardiff in greater depth. For the few weeks before you enrol, your time and money might be
better invested elsewhere.
If you would like to get started before enrolment, then try reading the first chapter or two of books that are
recommended for your modules. Some of those recommendations are set out below.
LLB LAW PROGRAMMES
Students joining Year 1 of Single and Integrated honours LLB programmes at Cardiff will study very similar
law modules:
Law as a single subject (M100)
Legal Foundations [30] (30 credits)
Contract [30] (30 credits)
Public Law [30] (30 credits)
Criminal Law [30] (30 credits)
Law with another subject:
Criminology / French / German / Politics /
Sociology / Welsh
Legal Foundations [20] (20 credits)
Contract [20] (20 credits)
Public Law [20] (20 credits)
Criminal Law [20] (20 credits)
plus modules to the value of 40 credits in your other
subject
There are two types of law books for students. Textbooks provide the foundation for the
study of the subject; “cases and materials” books reproduce reports of cases and other
materials which you may be required to read. You should certainly buy a textbook. Whether
you buy a cases and materials book may depend on how you prefer to study. It may be
wiser to wait until you come to Cardiff – the Student Law Society will hold a second hand
book sale in the first week of the semester where you should be able to pick up some of your
books.
There are textbooks for most of the areas that you will study. They are the starting point, the
foundation of your study. In the subjects that you study in the first year there is a bewildering
variety of textbooks. Since every law student must study the first year subjects, publishers of
academic books want to cash in on these “high volume” subjects and they all have their
titles. Most of the textbooks are adequate, although they may differ in their emphasis and in
their depth and detail. Put yourself in the position of the academic faced with recommending
reading. On the one hand, she knows that the student cannot be expected to choose for
himself, on the other hand she recognises that there is not much to choose between the
books. Indeed, Book A may be stronger than Book B in some ways, but Book B may be
stronger in others. Welcome to the university world of uncertainty, where one book is not
“the best” and there may be no “right answer”.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Always buy and consult the editions
recommended. Earlier editions may mislead you with out of date law
LEGAL FOUNDATIONS [20] and [30]
Unfortunately, no single book covers all the aspects of these modules, however, we recommend that you buy the
following as your 'core' book for the legal method and skills elements of the courses.
‘Core’ text on legal method and skills:
Holland J & Webb J, Learning Legal Rules, 8th Edition (Oxford University Press, 2013)
Additional text on legal method and skills:
You may also wish to buy the following book which offers a more practical approach. The book is accompanied
by excellent online resource centre and includes inter-active exercises allowing you to test and practice your
developing skills.
Carr H Carter S & Horsey K, Skills for Law Students (Oxford University Press, 2009)
You will also need to read widely on the legal system of England and Wales. While there’s no set textbook for
this element of the course, the following is up-to-date and covers relevant topics at a reasonable level of detail.
Recommended text on the English Legal System:
Slapper G & Kelly D, The English Legal System, 14th Edition (Routledge-Cavendish, 2013)
CL4302 CRIMINAL LAW [30]
And
CL4202 CRIMINAL LAW [20]
BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE 2013-14:
Textbook
You are recommended to purchase
De Than and Heaton Criminal Law 4th edition 2013 [Oxford University Press]
This book covers the basic principles of Criminal Law in a clear, easily accessible style.
However, your reading throughout the year will obviously not be restricted to this one
textbook. Reading for each tutorial will include a number of cases and/or academic articles –
these additional resources are vitally important to your success in this module!
Do not be tempted to purchase an earlier edition of the recommended textbook. Criminal
Law, in common with many other areas of law, is constantly changing and developing and
even the most recent edition of a textbook may be out of date by the time it is published. The
textbook is supported by an online resource centre, to which you will have access, which
contains various resources, including self assessment tests and updates on significant
developments in the law.
Statute Books
You will also need to purchase a statute book:
Blackstone's Statutes on Criminal Law edited by P R Glazebrook [Oxford University
Press]
New editions of the statute book are published annually. The 23nd edition (2013-14) was
published in August 2013. You may be able to purchase second hand copies of previous
editions, but you are advised to purchase only editions published since 2010 which
contain the relevant provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
The statute book may be taken into the examination at the end of the year, but you are
advised to purchase your copy at the beginning of the year as you will need to refer to it in
tutorials throughout the year. Please note that books taken into the examination must be
unmarked, save that highlighting and underlining are permitted – so avoid any temptation to
write notes on the book during the year. If you intend to purchase a second hand copy, make
sure it has not been annotated in any way. .
Other recommended textbooks
There are several other textbooks on Criminal Law which are available in the Law Library
and which you will find it useful to consult from time to time. Different authors often adopt
different approaches to the same topic and it is always useful to read as widely around a
subject as time allows (Please note that the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 introduced
significant reform to the law relating to voluntary manslaughter which came into effect
in October 2010. Please therefore exercise caution if you refer to any textbooks
published before 2009.)
The following are amongst the major texts you may wish to consult to widen your reading:
Ormerod Smith & Hogan Criminal Law, 13th ed 2011 [Oxford University Press]. This is
the standard, traditional text on Criminal law, which covers the subject in depth. It is one
of the most authoritative textbooks to which reference may be made in Law Commission
Reports and judgments.
Card Cross and Jones Criminal Law 20th ed 2012 [Oxford University Press]. A relatively
up to date textbook that provides comprehensive coverage of the syllabus.
Allen, Textbook on Criminal Law, 12th ed 2013 [Oxford University Press]. This up to date
textbook provides a thorough coverage of the syllabus, providing considerably more detail
and analysis than the recommended text. You may well find it useful to consult once you
have a good grasp of the basic principles of criminal law
Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law, 7th ed 2013 [Oxford University Press]. This
concentrates almost exclusively on the principles and policies underlying the criminal law.
You may find this useful to refer to once you have studied a particular topic in the
standard text.
Herring Great Debates: Criminal Law 2009 [Palgrave MacMillan]. This book provides an
introduction to some of the more advanced writing and debates on Criminal Law. You will
need to have a grasp of the basic principles of Criminal Law before you refer to this text,
but you may find it useful, particularly in developing the analysis skills required for essay
writing.
Herring Criminal Law: Text, Cases and Materials 5th ed 2012 [Oxford University Press]
This book contains text, cases and materials and will therefore give you access to a wider
variety of material, including critical perspectives from various leading commentators.
Further Reading
In 1989 the Law Commission published a draft criminal code and commentary upon it. Most
textbooks and casebooks contain the relevant provisions of the code, but the entire document
is available for consultation in the law library:
Law Commission, Criminal Law: A Criminal Code for England and Wales - [Law
Commission No 177]
Volume 1: Report and Draft Criminal Code Bill
Volume 2: Commentary on the Draft Criminal Code Bill
See more recently (NB Reports published post 1995 can be read or downloaded from the Law
Commission website http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/pubs.htm )
Law Commission No 218: Legislating the Criminal Code - Offences Against the Person
and General Principles. (1993)
Law Commission No 229: Legislating the Criminal Code - Intoxication and Criminal
Liability (1995).
The Law Commission has produced several Reports on specific areas of Criminal Law. See
for example:
Law Commission No 300: Inchoate Liability for Assisting and Encouraging Crime (2006).
Law Commission No 304: Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide (2006)
Law Commission No 305 Participating in Crime (2007)
Law Commission No 318 Conspiracy and Attempts (2009)
These reports (together with any relevant preceding consultation papers) will be referred to at
various times throughout the module.
The main periodical dealing with Criminal Law is the Criminal Law Review which is issued
monthly. This contains commentaries, in the form of articles and case notes, on current
developments in Criminal law. The Criminal Law Review can be accessed via the Westlaw
database and copies are available in the law library. You will, of course, be referred to
specific articles in this and other periodicals throughout the year, but it is also a good idea to
browse through the latest edition of the Criminal Law Review each month.
As can be seen from the above, there is no shortage of textbooks, casebooks and other
secondary legal material available for you to read. But remember that what you have to
achieve is an understanding of the law through its primary sources - i.e. law reports and
statutes, and in doing so learn how to discover what the law is (since what you learn this year
of what the law is may not be true next year or the year after). The writers of textbooks and
articles are merely commentators on the law. Their views and commentaries will certainly
help you understand the existing law, but you will find that their views are not always
unanimous and must, therefore, sometimes be erroneous. This means that you cannot rely
exclusively on such material. For example, reading what a commentator has to say about a
certain case or statute is not the same as reading the law report or statutory provision
yourself. There is, therefore, no substitute for reading the law report of key cases and statutes
in full. Further guidance will be provided in tutorials.
PUBLIC LAW CL4204 CL4304
All students should access and study the National Archives’ excellent on-line exhibition entitled ‘Citizenship:
A History of People Rights and Power in
Britain’: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/
This takes between one and two hours to read but it is a most informative guide to key political events in
forging the United Kingdom Constitution, and includes electronic versions of many key constitutional
documents such as the Domesday Book and Magna Carta.