Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
LANCASHIRE LAW SCHOOL
COURSEWORK GUIDE
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
Scope of the Guide
This Guide applies to all coursework assessment submitted for the LLB, Combined
Honours, CPE and LLM programmes in Lancashire Law School. It covers both essay
type courseworks and problem question courseworks.
It aims to give you consistent guidance on how to prepare, write and submit your
courseworks. The preparation of this Guide was prompted by the observation that many
students had a continuing weakness in referencing, presenting and structuring of
courseworks. Much of the material covered in this Guide will have been addressed in
other places, such as Lawyers’ Skills, personal tutor sessions or other skills courses that
you have taken in the past. The problem seems to be that students do not consistently
apply what they have previously learnt to their work in other parts of the course.
We regard this as unfortunate as many students who are putting a lot of effort into their
work are losing important marks on these basic criteria.
Using the Guide
Apply it in your work - Your tutors will expect you to read and apply the guidance
contained here. We will use the Guide both in advising you in advance of the assessment
and to help feedback to you why you obtained the mark you did and how you can
improve your performance in the future.
Fill in the checklist on page 3 – before you submit any coursework, go through the
points listed there and make sure that you have addressed all the issues.
Use it for feedback – if you receive a marker’s comment on your frontsheet that, for
example, ‘You do not cite sources accurately’ – refer back to this Guide. Look at what is
expected of you and use the comment and guidance to improve your work for your next
assessment.
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
Coursework Checklist
Fill this out in relation to each coursework you submit.
In this coursework;
□
I have followed any subject specific guidance
□
I have adhered to the word limit
□
I have presented my work properly
□
I have proof-read my work
□
I have used a good range of sources
□
I have cited material fully and accurately
□
I have included a bibliography
□
I have structured my work
□
I have answered the question set
□
I have attempted to analyse/evaluate the material
□
I have submitted the work in the proper form and kept an electronic copy
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
1.
Subject specific guidance
This Guide only contains general guidance on e.g. writing and citation. In addition you
may receive subject specific guidance in a particular module on e.g. the range or type of
sources you will be expected to use or the structure to be adopted.
This guidance comes from the people who will be marking your work. At the risk of
stating the obvious, this subject guidance is valuable information and you need to ensure
that you have observed it in your work.
2.
Word limit
2.1
We are sometimes asked the question, ‘How much over the word limit am I
allowed to go?’ The answer is - not at all. Anything that you write that goes beyond the
word limit will not be regarded as part of your assessment and will not be credited.
2.2
There is no minimum number of words that you need to write but bear in mind
that the word limit is indicating your opportunity to show your knowledge. If you write
significantly less than you are allowed to (e.g. only 2000 words for a 3000 word
coursework) then you are not taking full advantage of that opportunity.
2.3
What counts as contributing to your word count? All quotations do. The
bibliography does not. Footnotes do not, but only as long as you restrict their use to
citation and very marginal comment. Do not try to circumvent the word limit by making
substantive points in your footnotes.
2.4
Do not forget that you need to put the word count on the frontsheet, see section 10
below.
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
3.
Presentation
3.1
It is required of you that you;

Word process the work

Use double line spacing

Use font size 12

Put all case names in italics

Number all pages

Put your Student ID number only on the work. Your name should be on the
coversheet only.
3.2
In addition, you will find that your work looks neater and more professional if
you;

Use a serif font (such as Times New Roman) rather than a sans-serif font (such
as Arial).

Use the ‘Justified’ text alignment, rather than the ‘Left’ alignment.
If you don’t know how to do any of these things, the Help menu in Microsoft Word is
very useful.
3.3
For short quotes (less than two lines), just include them in the body of your work.
For longer quotes (more than two lines), add a space above and below the quote; indent
the quote; use single line spacing, e.g.
‘Unquestionably, judicial review has caught the imagination of those affected by
controversial public decisions (and perhaps more importantly their legal advisors)
and the number of applications for judicial review continues to grow apace.’
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
4.
Proof-reading
It is essential that the first draft of your work is not the version that you submit. A first
draft is likely to contain spelling errors, grammatical errors, gaps in citation, incoherent
passages of writing etc.
Spell-checking – the spell-check tool on your word-processor is very useful, but it
4.1
will not pick up all mistakes, e.g. there/their. The grammar-check tool will pick up some
mistakes, but is less accurate than the spell-checker. You need to supplement by carefully
proof –reading and revising.
4.2
It is best to leave time after you have finished a draft to revise it.

You will proof your work more objectively if you leave time (even if it is just
overnight) in between finishing writing and proof -reading.

You will need time to make any revisions.

This obviously relies on your time-management skills.
4.3
When proof-reading look out for mistakes or areas for improvement in all the
issues covered by this Guide; spelling, grammar, structure, writing style, relevance and
scope of answer, use of authority and citation, and analysis. Ask yourself if you have
addressed all these issues.
4.4
A useful tip on picking up grammar, coherence and writing style mistakes is to
read your work out loud. This tends to make absurdities, or style mistakes such as very
long sentences, really stand out.
4.5
Common grammatical errors that crop up are;

misuse of apostrophes, e.g. ‘Judge’s often argue …’

failing to put proper nouns in capital letters, e.g. ‘the european commission’

mixing plural/singular, e.g. ‘Defendants, in some cases, gives evidence of …’

mixing past/present, e.g. ‘In the past, the House of Lords provides guidance…’
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
4.6
Common style errors that occur are;

overlong paragraphs

overlong sentences

incomplete sentences (with no main verb)

contractions, e.g. wasn’t rather than was not

slang/colloquialisms

generalisations, e.g. ‘many people argue …’

use of the first person – e.g. ‘… therefore I think …’ (N.B. you should not avoid
expressing opinions – see section 9 below)
5.
Using sources
5.1
You need to read a good range of sources. There is no magic number of sources
that you need to look at to feel that you have done ‘enough’. You do need to consider as a
minimum;
your textbook; material identified as key reading for your seminar on the subject;
material identified as key reading for the assessment; primary sources that are central
to answering the question; some further reading that in your judgment puts you in a
position to effectively answer the question.
5.2
Once you have read a good range of sources you need to use them effectively to
gain credit for all that work. This means using authority to support your assertions. Do
not limit your use of authority to quotations. There are three main ways of showing the
reader that you have used an authority in your work.
[N.B. these examples use the footnote method of citation. See section 6 below for the
alternative Harvard method].
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
Reporting - As Professor Smith argues, conventions regulate important constitutional
relationships.1
Referencing - Conventions regulate important constitutional relationships.2
Quoting – It has been argued that ‘Conventions, regulating as they do fundamental
relationships within the UK constitution, are key to understanding that constitution’.3
5.3
You always need to provide a full bibliography at the end of your answer. This
includes everything that you have read as preparation for the assessment (and nothing
that you have not looked at yourself).

Have separate lists for cases, statutes and weblinks. Books, journals and reports
may be in the same list.

Authored works should be listed in alphabetical order of authors’ surnames.

Use the OSCOLA system (see below) for details of the sources you reference in
your bibliography.
5.4
Plagiarism (the practice of passing off other peoples’ work as your own) is a
serious academic offence. If you are suspected of plagiarism you will be subject to an
investigation. If found guilty there are a range of sanctions that the University can impose
on you, including terminating your degree.
Plagiarism has been identified as a major problem in higher education across the world.
Universities have therefore invested heavily in techniques and applications to detect
plagiarism
R. Smith, ‘The Importance of Conventions’ [2002] Journal of Government Law 55, 61.
Smith, above n.1, 61.
3
Smith, above n.1, 61.
1
2
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
So, it is serious and cheats are increasingly likely to be caught; how can you make sure
that you avoid any allegation of plagiarism in your own work? The simple answer is to
reference your sources every time you have used them to make a point and to cite your
sources accurately (i.e. just follow the instructions in sections 5 and 6 of this Guide).
6.
Citation
There are two aspects to citation
a) the form in which you insert the citation into your work, and
b) the format in which you provide details of the publication you have used.
6.1
Footnotes v Harvard method
There are two principal methods of inserting citations in to your work; the footnote
method and the Harvard method. The footnote method has been the traditional method
used in legal writing. The Harvard method is used in most criminological and socio-legal
writing. Your module tutor may indicate which of the two methods you must use in your
coursework. It is important that you do not mix the methods.
6.1.1 Footnotes
This method is illustrated in the examples from section 5 above. A superscript number is
inserted into the text and the detailed reference appears at the foot of the page.
To do this using Microsoft Word - click on ‘Insert’ – click on ‘Reference’ – click on
‘Footnote’, and then write your detailed reference.
6.1.2 Harvard method
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
This involves putting the name, date and page number of the reference in brackets at the
end of the section where you have used the authority, for example;
As Professor Smith argues, conventions regulate important constitutional relationships
(Smith, 2002, p.61).
It has been argued that ‘Conventions, regulating as they do fundamental relationships
within the UK constitution, are key to understanding that constitution’, (Smith, 2002,
p.61).
The full details of the reference are then found in the bibliography.
It is not appropriate to cite your module handbook or lecture notes as a source.
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
6.2
Citation Format
You need to cite fully and precisely, each time you use a source. The School has adopted
the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Resources (OSCOLA). You can access the full
guide to citation, plus online tutorial and frequently asked questions at
http://www.competition-law.ox.ac.uk/published/oscola.shtml
The following gives you a summary of the OSCOLA approach to citing the most
common types of materials that you will use within your work. You should refer to the
full guide if you are using other sources (e.g. Law Commission reports, statutory
instruments etc)
Citation of Acts. Title, year of publication
Children Act 1975
Citation of Cases. Names of Parties in italics (sometimes only one name is given if the
case is a criminal one), year, volume number, publication abbreviation, page number.
Fox v Chief Constable of Gwent [1985] 1 WLR 1126
Rottman v MPC [2002] UKHL 20
Citation of Journals. Name of author, title of article, year, volume number, publication
abbreviation, first page number, page number of the particular section you are referring
to.
P. Craig, ‘Constitutional Foundations, the Rule of Law and Supremacy’ [2003]
PL 92, 96
Citation of Books. Author, title in italics, (edition publisher, place of publication date),
page numbers if only a part of the text is being referred to.
J. Holder & M. Lee, Environmental Protection, Law and Policy (2nd edn Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge 2007), 40-55.
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
Internet sources. Name of the site, date of issue (if available), web address, date of
access
Ministry
of
Justice
–
About
the
UK
Supreme
Court
(2008)
http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/supreme-court-about.htm , accessed 23/05/09.
6.3
Secondary citation
If quoting or referencing a work you have not read yourself, the footnote should read
(eg):
I. Armstrong, Constitutional Conventions (Ultra Publications, London 1998) 245,
cited in R. Smith, ‘The Importance of Conventions’ [2002] Journal of
Government Law 55, 61.’
Or (Harvard system): ‘Armstrong (1998: 245), cited in Smith (2002: 61).’
If using the Harvard system, you will need a list of ‘References’ (or ‘Other References’) works which you cite but have not read - as well as a ‘Bibliography’ of works which you
have read.
7.
Structure
7.1
Planning – You will need to plan the structure of your answer before you write
the coursework. This will enable you to check that the structure is clear and logical, and
that it addresses all the points raised by the question. This will also focus your further
reading onto those parts of the answer that require more depth and detail.
7.2
Introduction & Conclusion – Your introduction must indicate that you know
what is required to answer the question and indicate how you will answer it, i.e. outline
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
to the reader the direction and structure of your answer. Your conclusion must draw the
threads of the argument together, summarises the answer and does not introduce new
material or arguments. You may want to refer back to the terms of the question in your
conclusion to show that you have stayed ‘on track’.
7.3
Linking phrases – Your coursework should be a narrative essay rather than a
report style answer (unless otherwise indicated). This means that you should use linking
phrases to produce a coherent narrative and to signpost the structure to the reader, e.g.,
‘Having outlined the traditional view of Parliamentary supremacy, the principal
challenges to that view will be explored, First, the manner and form theory argues that
…’
7.4
Signposting the structure – Your coursework needs to have a logical structure,
with clearly distinct sections dealing with different aspects of the question. Unless you
are told otherwise, you should not use numbered paragraphs and sub-paragraphs (as is
common in reports), but it is acceptable to use a limited number of headings. Otherwise,
you should use linking phrases to produce a coherent narrative and to signpost the
structure to the reader, e.g., ‘Having outlined the traditional view of Parliamentary
supremacy, the principal challenges to that view will be explored, First, the manner and
form theory argues that …’
8.
Answering the question
8.1
Interpreting the question – if you do not address all the issues raised by the
question you will produce incomplete or irrelevant work. Make sure that your work
answers the specific demands of the question through your planning (Section 7 above)
and your ‘interrogation’ of its wording (8.2 below).
8.2
Using key phrases from the question – can help ensure that you are addressing
the particular demands of the question. To take a simple example
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
‘The rule of law and the separation of powers are not significant features of the UK
constitution. They are not consistently applied and do not perform key roles in
limiting State power’.
Discuss.
The question contains key phrases ‘rule of law’ and ‘separation of power’ that identify
the subject matter of the question. You will need to outline and illustrate these concepts.
The other key phrases (‘not significant features’, ‘not consistently applied’, ‘do not
perform key roles’) are assertions. You will need to further explore the subject from the
perspective of these assertions, e.g.. is the separation of powers a significant feature of
the UK constitution? What is the evidence for and against that proposition?
Problem questions – require a different approach to essay questions. A useful
8.3
technique for making sure that you answer the question properly is
9.

Identify the legal issues raised by the scenario

Outline the relevant legal provisions

Apply the provisions to the scenario

Advise your client of the implications
Analysis
A progressively better quality of analysis will be required of you over your programme of
study. A level one question might ask you to ‘discuss’; a level two or three question may
ask you to ‘critically discuss’ or ‘critically evaluate’. At any level, though, you will not
get good marks unless you analyse the material in some way. So, on a practical level,
how can you do this?
9.1
Get the basics right – if you follow the advice in this Guide, particularly sections
5-8, you will inevitably be undertaking some evaluation. You will be selecting relevant
source materials, engaging with the question, considering the validity of any assertions
etc.
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Lancashire Law School – Coursework Guide
Bring your sources together – reading a good range of sources and bringing
9.2
together those different views and perspectives in your answer (often called synthesis) is
an excellent form of analysis.
Develop/strengthen an evaluative approach – There is no mystery about
9.3
undertaking analysis. Examples of what you can do to develop the analytical elements of
your work are;

comparing and contrasting - this could be comparing authors’ views, approaches
in different legal systems, the legal position before and after a reform etc.

using benchmarks – there may be some standard that you can compare the current
law to, e.g. human rights standards, Law Commission proposals, general values of
the legal systems such as clarity, consistency, impartiality.

proposing alternatives – as long as these are linked to your analysis of what is
wrong with the current position.
10.
Submission

Always keep a copy of your work

Fill in all the details required on the frontsheet, including
o Seminar tutor’s name
o Word count (N.B. your actual word count not an estimate)
o Student ID number and your name
o Sign the declaration as to plagiarism

Post the work in the Law box opposite HB216.

Take a deep breath and … relax.
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