University of Liverpool LLM Legal Methodology Module learning outcomes

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

Interpret the main elements in a statute; Explain the significance of precedent in case law; Summarise the key points in primary and secondary legal texts; Analyse judicial reasoning and the application of rules in legal decisions; Conduct effective research to gather and process information about the law applicable in a given situation; Take appropriate account of the interrelationship between English law and European Community law; Construct an effective argument in relation to a legal problem.

Week 7: Writing the Final Project Report Learning objectives for Week 7
This week you will learn about the following topics:

Laying out the argument in detail Backing propositions with proofs Referencing secondary materials Matching the conclusion to the question Summarising legal issues, arguments, and evidence in the introduction

Introduction
This weeks work gives detailed advice on how to write up a successful Final Project Report. This is your opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the complete range of legal methodology skills and as such it plays a substantial part in your assessment for this module. For the Assessment this week, the Discussion Question focusses on the key issues brought out in the secondary sources that you will be reading about the Factortame litigation. You will also complete a Hand-in Assignment.

Reading
Textbook J. Tillotson Extracts from European Community Law: Text, Cases and Materials, 2nd edn. 1996, Cavendish Publishing in S. Hanson Legal Method & Reasoning 2nd edn., Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2003, 452467.

Hand-in Assignment Read the following extracts, which are located in Appendix 3 of the textbook: J. Tillotson Extracts from European Community Law: Text, Cases and Materials, 2nd edn. 1996, Cavendish Publishing in S. Hanson Legal Method & Reasoning 2nd edn., Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2003, 452467. Then answer the following question: How important was the Factortame litigation in: the development of the lawfrom the creation of Community law rights for private parties to the provision of effective remedies for such individuals in their national courts (Tillotson, as cited in Hanson, 2003, at 462)? Use the Turnitin link below to submit your assignment. Individual Project Continue working on the research and preparation for your Project. You will complete and submit your Final Project Report next week.

Lecture Note University of Liverpool LLM Legal Methodology Week 7: Writing the Final Project Report Laying out the argument in detail
Link to audio file By now, you should be very well prepared to complete the writing for the Final Project Report that you are required to submit this week. Even if you are already quite an accomplished report writer, there are no doubt some improvements you can still make to your approach and style. Since this module is designed to make sure that your legal methodology skills are honed to perfection, this final stagewriting up your research reportis the capstone for all that went before. No matter how good your critical thinking, analytical ability, and research skills are, if you cannot write a well-structured and convincing argument in response to a legal problem question, those skills are likely to be wasted. So it really is worthwhile making sure that you know how to construct a good research report. There is something to be said for writing the main part of the Report first and leaving the introduction until last. This is common practice in the preparation of business reports for management, in which the corporate summary that will appear at the beginning is often written when the full business argument, with all its supporting data and graphs, has been completed. The main lines and the detail of the argument you intend to present in your Project Report will now be clear to you from all the careful notes you have made and diagrams you have drawn. You will also have refined this argument in your Project Outline and will know how you intend to make your case logically, step by step. At this stage, it is important to balance what is necessary to the argument against how much time and space you have to make it. You need to prioritise the importance of the elements in your argument accordingly and make sure they are presented in an orderly way to build the strength of the case you are making.

Backing propositions with proofs

Link to audio file Your argument will consist of a series of propositions based on the facts of the case, and these propositions need to be fully supported by proofs. This requires a careful analysis that will identify the primary and secondary legal issues raised by the facts in each part of the problem question and a methodical presentation of the applicable legal rules from case law and legislation. You need to be meticulous about referencing the specific parts of

the European Community treaties, EC legislation, European Court of Justice opinions, UK statutes, delegated legislation, and case law that you are relying on for the proofs you need. Remember that the principles of the European and UK legal systems are somewhat different, and you must show that you understand how they interacted to produce the legal outcomes that emerged from this litigation. Take care to reference the primary materials you use properly so that the origin of the proof you are giving is clear to the reader. Apart from using the primary sources, you will also probably need to provide additional support for your case in the form of arguments from the secondary materials you have studied. Arguments that have been made by recognised legal authorities can be very useful in adding strength to your propositions.

Referencing secondary materials

Link to audio file Any secondary materialstextbooks, journal articles, academic papers, etc. that you have used as sources for ideas, arguments, quotations, and so on in your Project Report must be carefully referenced. This is good academic practice for a couple reasons. It is designed to allow readers of your work to identify where the points in your argument came from so that they can research the background to the argument for themselves, to make a critique or perhaps build on some ideas in your work. Citing references also avoids any possible accusation that you have knowingly stolen somebody elses thoughts and offered them as your own original contribution to the literature on the subject. There are standard methods for referencing secondary materials and you should follow the style recommended by the University of Liverpool Law School. You learnt about this in detail in your Student Readiness Course. If you need to review the material, you will find it in the file named Legal Citation in the Student Readiness Course materials. Basically, you need to list the sources you have used at the end of your Project, in alphabetical order by author, and format your reference in the Law Schools recommended style. In the text of your Project, you can then refer to any of these sources by simply giving the authors name and the date of publication, with page numbers if necessary.

Matching the conclusion to the question

Link to audio file Your conclusion will be a summary of your argument that is specifically designed to provide a detailed and comprehensive answer to the question posed. You should begin by stating your positioni.e., summing up where you stand on the key issues raised by the question as a result of all the research you have done. Then you must briefly review the steps in your main argument. This will involve an orderly presentation of the issues and the legal rules applied to them. Your line of argument should be laid out logically so

that it leads directly to the solution of the question. Finally, you will show in a few well-chosen sentences exactly how the consequences of your argument provide a complete answer to the question.

Summarising legal issues, arguments, and evidence in the introduction

Link to audio file Of course, you do not have to write the introduction last, if you prefer a different approach. However, since the introduction lets the reader know the whole story in brief right at the beginning, there is a logical reason for writing it once you have the story complete. As the overture to your main work, the introduction has a very important role to play in whetting the readers appetite for the detailed argument you are going to present in the body of the Project. You should start by giving a clear explanation of the question with all its legal implications. In this particular case, there are political and constitutional implications as well. Then you need to give a general analysis of the issues and the areas of law they involve. Without going into detail, you should provide a preliminary guide to the argument you intend to make in answer to the question, with a brief summary of the evidence you will be offering to support your thesis. The introduction should not be too long. Just use it to show that you have understood the legal importance of the question and that you have collected the appropriate evidence to support a well-argued response that will lead to a convincing conclusion.

In summary
This Weeks work has concentrated on giving you specific advice on how to write up an effective Final Project Report. As the culmination of your study for this important introductory module, the Project gives you the opportunity to show that you have mastered the key skills of legal methodology. You have learnt how to read primary and secondary legal materials, identify the relevant facts and analyse the legal issues in a case, understand the application of the appropriate legal rules, and appreciate the argument on which a judgement is based. You have also learnt how to research the materials you need to construct your own argument and how to present the argument logically with full supporting evidence. The Project pulls all these skills together in one coherent exercise where you can demonstrate your ability to answer a real problem question convincingly. Next Week you will complete and turn in your Final Project Report.