ORAL PRESENTATION ASSESSMENT COMPONENT
LW593 EU LAW 2009/10
As module convenor for the 15 credit module LW593 EU Law in 2009/10 (Anneli is
taking over for 2010/11), I have been asked to submit a brief report providing
feedback on the oral presentation assessment component for this module. As part of
the curriculum review process, KLS decided that LW593 should incorporate an oral
skills assessment component. This type of assessment did not feature in the
predecessor 30 credit module LW511 European Law.
Description of the assessment: students are required to submit a 15 minute joint
presentation on a designated leading judgment of the Court of Justice within an
allotted seminar. They are expected to relay the basic background facts, the key
elements of the Advocate General’s (AG) opinion and the Court’s judgment as well as
provide a brief comment/evaluation on the Court’s judgment (in terms of its impact
and reasoning). Whilst it is up to the students how they wish to structure and deliver
their presentation, it is recommended that labour is evenly and rationally divided so
that for instance one student deals with the background facts and analyses the AG
opinion, whilst the other focuses on the judgment and evaluates its impact and
reasoning.
Marking: seminar leaders mark the presentation using a standardised marksheet (see
overleaf for template). Students are marked on the basis of the following criteria
(equally weighted):
 Knowledge and understanding of the case
 Analysis and evaluation of the case
 Degree of clarity and logical structuring of presentation
 Degree of effective oral communication (including audibility, pacing of
presentation).
Weighting of oral assessment: 10% of overall marks (remainder 80% exam and 10%
essay).
Feedback: Students receive a copy of the marksheet which serves as feedback. This
was completed within 2 weeks of the final round of presentations, so some 3-4 weeks
prior to the exam.
Recording: Each presentation is intended to be video-recorded for quality audit
purposes, although this is not guaranteed for technical reasons. The recordings are
made also with the intention of making this available for inspection by the students of
the specific seminar group on moodle. This is done in order to enable students to
reflect on how to improve upon their oral communication skills.
No oral presentation resits in LW593: Where a student fails their oral presentation
due to poor performance or because they missed their presentation slot, then there is
no opportunity to resit the oral presentation. Students only resit the exam in LW593 if
their overall first round mark for all the assessments is below 40%. Students are to
send in concession claims to the summer Exam Board if they fail their oral assessment
– it is for the Exam Board to take such claims into account and to take action as
appropriate.
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General comments: The oral assessment component appeared to work well overall,
and students seemed to like working with the case material (original documentation),
appreciating the broader legal and non-legal skills dimensions. The joint presentation
format requires students to coordinate with a fellow student, which adds in another
skill to this exercise in terms of planning. The presentations were integrated within the
seminars and became effectively one of the seminar questions relevant to the
particular seminar topic to be addressed. All students are required to read the relevant
case prior to the seminar. Time management in each seminar needs to be strictly
adhered to in order that the other seminar questions (usually between 3-5) receive an
airing. Attendance at seminars was reportedly very good, and it is reasonable to
assume that the case presentations had some part to play in this.
Improvements needed and anticipated for 2010/11: students need more
information/reassurance at the beginning of the module in addition to the detailed info
provided in the module outline. A link with the UELTS support on presentations is
desirable in this regard.
Assessment for Oral Presentation in LW593 EU Law
Student:
Seminar question:
Seminar group:
Seminar leader:
Quality assessed
1. Degree of knowledge and understanding of the case
Date of oral
presentation:
Mark (out of 10)
2. Degree of analysis and evaluation of the judgment
3. Degree of clarity of analysis and logical structuring of
presentation
4. Degree of effective oral communication (including
audibility,appropriate pace of presentation)
Overall Mark (average of
above)
Additional Comments (where necessary) – including noting if student presented the
first oral presentation of their seminar group.
MHR Aug.2010
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