Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Learning outcomes
Syllabus
e-Learning materials
Module assessment
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Seminar worksheets
Page 3
Page 3 - 4
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Pages 5 - 6
Pages 6 - 8
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Pages 8 - 9
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Pages 10 - 12
Pages 13 - 43
Module leader
Anna Grear
Room 2.12
GrearA1@cardiff.ac.uk
Tel: (029) 2087 7467
Annette Morris
Room 2.06
MorrisA7@Cardiff.ac.uk
Tel: (029) 2087 4580
Law Library/Research
Workshop Staff
IT Workshop
Wendy Kennett
Room 0.12
KennettWA@cf.ac.uk
(029) 208 75482
Manon George
Room 3.11
GeorgeME@Cardiff.ac.uk
Tel: (029) 2087 4807
Lloyd Brown
Matthew Davies
Lynn Goodhew
Zafar Khan
Room 0.17
KhanM@Cardiff.ac.uk
Tel: (029) 2087 5718
Times when members of staff are available to see students are posted outside staff
offices.
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2
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Transferable Skills
Effectively demonstrate increasingly autonomous self-management, such as the
ability to manage time and to conduct self-directed study in the context of a
structured timetable, prescribed learning activities and task deadlines.
Effectively communicate information and ideas, both orally and in writing at a
level that demonstrates accurate and clear use of the English language and the
ability to present structured, well-reasoned and persuasive argument.
Contribute constructively and reliably to a group task.
Make use of oral and written feedback including feedback obtained through
class discussions and other informal feedback mechanisms, to make use of tutor
assessment, self-assessment and peer assessment.
Demonstrate basic IT skills and use subject specific electronic sources and
virtual learning environments.
Practical Skills
Identify and access up-to-date legislation and case law on a legal issue.
Use appropriate legal research databases to find academic journal articles of
relevance to a topic for the purposes of independently supplementing reading
lists and taught materials.
Produce written work on a taught topic that is accurately informed by previously
studied materials, coherently written, well-structured and appropriately
referenced in accordance with OSCOLA guidance.
Make an informed and coherent oral contribution to a tutorial or seminar group
discussion on a taught topic.
Locate a variety of primary and secondary materials from a module reading list
in both paper and electronic format.
Notices and module information
Important notices and announcements are posted electronically on Learning Central
- you must check this regularly, preferably daily. Your tutors may also email you with
important information about the module - check your Cardiff University email
address daily.
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SYLLABUS
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4
The module is delivered through a mixture of lectures and small group seminars.
Lectures are 50 minutes in duration; seminars run for 100 minutes. You should
expect to spend approximately 10 12 hours preparing for each seminar.
In semester one, the twice-weekly lectures introduce you to aspects of the legal
system and to key skills required for thinking like a lawyerthe main and consistent
pedagogic focus of the course. In the fortnightly seminars we concentrate in more
detail on the practice of legal thinking skills and on legal method, alongside the
development of strong, self-directed study habits. A mistake that new law students
commonly make is to think that studying law is primarily about absorbing new
information. This is a misleading assumption! The study of law is centrally concerned
with the development of a particular set of intellectual, analytical and argument-based
skillsnot simply the study of legal materials and sources. You will be marked in all
your law modules on your ability to make and to present compelling arguments
drawing upon law and/or from academic scholarship concerning the law. It is essential,
therefore, that you should choose to study independently, work intelligently and
practice the skills required for success in law. In short, you are embarking on an
intellectual training, and you can only succeed to the level required for high marks if
you fully commit to training yourself in the skills covered by this course and
fundamental to success in your other law modules.
Lectures
2 per week throughout semester 1.
10.00 am on Tuesdays
12.10pm on Wednesdays
Occasional lectures may be given in
semester 2.
Lectures are designed to deliver
efficiently information concerning
Seminars
These are the core of the course, and are
where you will do the bulk of your work.
Only through preparation for, and active
participation in seminars, will you develop the
basic skills necessary for you to succeed in
law. Skills require constant practice, within
and outside seminars. Seminars are also an
important means of constant feedback. Every
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5
BOOKS
1. Unfortunately, no single book covers all the aspects of the course, however, we
recommend that you buy the following as your 'core' book for the legal method
elements. The book is accompanied by an excellent online resource centre providing
additional support for several aspects of the course.
J Holland and J Webb, Learning Legal Rules, (8th Edn, Oxford University Press, 2013)
2. Another excellent book on legal skills is:
H Carr, S Carter and K Horsey, Skills for Law Students (Oxford University Press, 2009).
We leave the decision as to whether to buy it to you. This book is also accompanied by
excellent online resource centre and includes interactive exercises allowing you to test
and practice your developing skills. You will find that many of the exercises will help
you prepare for seminars.
3. You should buy, and work through, the excellent book on critical reasoning by Anne
Thompson: A Thompson, Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction (3rd Edn,
Routledge, 2009).
4. You should buy or have access to online, a good English dictionary. You will
frequently encounter unfamiliar language in your reading, and you need to look words
up and learn their meaning. You should also ensure that you have access to a good
Law Dictionary for words specific to law or that have a particular legal meaning
distinct from every day usage.
5. In semester 2 we focus on research and writing skills. For these elements of the
course, we recommend:
E Higgins and L Tatham, Successful Legal Writing (2nd Edn, Sweet and Maxwell, 2011).
Strong research and writing skills can make all the difference between poor or
indifferent marks and good ones. This book provides advice and guidance to help you
improve your skills and would be a wise investment.
6. You will also need to read widelyand mostly independentlyon the legal system of
England and Wales. While there is no set textbook for this element of the course, the
following is up-to-date and covers relevant topics at an appropriate level of detail.
G Slapper G and D Kelly, The English Legal System 2014 - 2015 (15th Edn) (Abingdon:
Routledge-Cavendish, 2013).
Warning! Law is a fast moving subject. Use textbooks to gain a background
understanding of a topic, but be sure to update your knowledge by researching
recent developments. We will show you how to do so during the course.
Wider/Contextual Reading:
You should not form the impression that everything you need to know is (or ever can
be) contained in one or two books. (Indeed, not everything you need to know is in
books at all: the reasoning skills that you will develop (with help, of course) rely on
constant practice, and can never be gained by reading alone. It is fundamentally
important for you to understand this from the very outset of studying law.) Dont be
afraid to use library and on-line legal resources to supplement your knowledgeand
keep up to date with current affairs by reading a quality daily newspaper. Practice
engaging critically and analytically with everything you hear, see or read in the
national media. Question everything. Be consistently active in your thought life. Above
all, strive to become autonomous: taking the initiative and responsibility for your own
learning is what distinguishes University education from what has gone before. Your
contribution to the process of your own learning and developmentand to that of your
fellow studentsis what makes University a challenging and a rewarding experience.
The more active and autonomous you are, the better! The more you engage with your
courses, the better!
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6
E-LEARNING MATERIALS
We offer a range of electronic resources designed to help you improve your legal
reasoning, writing, research and presentation skills. You can access these from
Learning Central. The Legal Foundations Learning Central pages contain interactive
skills-based exercises and links to both internal and external resources. These are filed
under Learning Materials/Skills. We hope you find them useful.
Remember, these are here to help you develop the skills you need so USE THEM!
Second and third year students frequently tell us that they didnt realise how valuable
these resources are until after they had finished the LEFO course. Practice skills from
the very outsetand never stop developing them. Be committed enough to your own
success to put in the effort and use the resources available to help you.
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7 HOW IS THE MODULE ASSESSED?
a) Summative Assessment:
Summative assessments are those that contribute to the final assessment of the
module. This module is formally assessed through a 2.5 hour exam, comprising
multiple choice and short answer questions (50%) AND a 2,500 research essay
accompanied by a research trail reflecting upon on your research strategy for the
essay (50%). For the essay component, 10% of marks are awarded for the research
trail.
Summative essay:
The summative essay and accompanying research trail must be submitted
electronically no later than 13.00 on Thursday 30 April 2015.
Full guidance on online submissions is posted on Learning Central. Note that the
essay and research trail must be submitted as one document.
Sample essays are available, along with tutors comments. You are strongly advised to
look at these before beginning work on your essay.
Select Learning Materials/Skills: Writing for Law from the menu bar and
scroll down the page.
You will also find samples of essays and their accompanying Turnitin reports in the
folder.
You are strongly advised to make use of all these resources in preparation for both
formative and summative assessments in LEFO.
Plagiarism warning!! All essays must be submitted electronically and are run
through Turnitin anti-plagiarism software so dont be tempted to use the sample
essays as anything other than as a resource for learning writing skills. We will cover
how to avoid plagiarism later in the course.
Summative exam:
This is in two sections.
Section 1 comprises 25 multiple choice questions designed to test your knowledge of
aspects of reasoning, case analysis, statutory interpretation and aspects of the legal
system of England and Wales covered in the lecture course or by your set reading
tasks.
Beware: the questions demand a level of knowledge going well beyond A Level. Do
not think that superficial understanding of your lecture notes, or residual knowledge
from A Level studies, will suffice. Youll be given an opportunity to practice answering
sample multiple choice questions typical of those in section 1 of the exam during the
course.
Section 2 of the exam tests your practical legal method skills of case analysis and
statutory interpretation. You will be given a report of a previously unstudied case and
be asked to answer up to ten short questions on it. Youll find exercises to familiarise
yourself with the format of section 2 of the exam, comprising questions on a case
report, and to help you develop your case analysis skills, on Learning Central:
Select: Learning Materials/Skills/Case analysis from the menu bar.
In addition to the e-learning exercises, you will be given an opportunity to practice
your case analysis skills in a piece of formative work to be submitted at the end of
semester 1.
b) Formative assessment
Formative assessments are designed to give you feedback on your progress through
the course, but do not contribute directly to your final mark for the module. You are
required to submit formative work in both semesters.
Semester One: A formative case analysis exercise must be submitted to the
Undergraduate Office no later than 13.00 on 12 December 2014.
Semester Two: formative coursework must be submitted in weeks 4/5 of semester
2. In addition, a mock multiple choice exam must be taken electronically in week 14.
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8
MATERIALS PACK
You should have collected a Materials Pack in addition to this handout. If you have not
got one, ask for one at the Student Support Office. The pack contains copies of many
of the cases and statutory materials you will need for seminars. You MUST bring it
with you to all seminars.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By
9 PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE
N.B. Lectures are held twice a week on Tuesdays at 10.00 am and on
Wednesdays at 12.10 EXCEPT WEEKS 9 (Semester 1) and WEEKS 3 and 4
(Semester 2) when lectures are held only on Tuesdays. Seminars run on a
fortnightly cycle as indicated below.
Week
1 w/c
39/9/14
10
c
24/11/14
Groups numbered 1
READING WEEK
READING WEEK
11 w/c
8/12/14
Week
1 w/c
26/1/15
Occasional lectures
2 w/c
2/2/15
3 w/c
9/2/15
4 w/c
16/2/15
5 w/c
23/2/15
6 w/c
2/3/25
Seminars
Seminar 5: Legal Research Skills 1: Identifying and
Accessing Information and Developing a Research
StrategyA Practical Workshop
N.B. Groups numbered 1
TUTORS TO RETURN FORMATIVE
CASENOTES
As above
N.B. Groups numbered 2
TUTORS TO RETURN FORMATIVE
CASENOTES
Seminar 6: Presenting the Law: Legal Research
and Writing Skills: Evaluating and Using Sources to
Build an Argument
Groups numbered 1
As above
Groups numbered 2
7 w/c
9/3/15
11
8 w/c
16/3/5
9 w/c
23/3/15
As above
TUTORS TO RETURN
FORMATIVE
COURSEWORK BY END
OF WEEK 9
Groups numbered 2
FORMATIVE MOCK MULTIPLE CHOICE
EXAM TO BE COMPLETED BY END OF
WEEK 14 of SEMESTER 2
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SEMINAR WORKSHEETS
13
resources
14
15
First read:
Holland & Webb, Learning Legal Rules (8th edition), pp. 76 84
You may also find it helpful to read Carr, Carter and Horsey, Skills for Law
Students, chapter 4 and to work your way through the accompanying activities
on the books website.
Then work through the online tutorial Evaluating information, which
you will find at:
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/evalinfo/tutorial2/page06.html
Alternatively, you can access this from the Cardiff University website. Select
Current students/Information resources for law/Useful websites/Research and
writing skills/Evaluating information tutorial
Finally, read and take notes from:
J Stone, The Ratio of the Ratio Decidendi (1959) 22 Modern Law Review 597620.
(This is included in your Materials Pack.)
Bring your notes with you as we will discuss them in class. In particular,
we will explore how accurate your account of the article by Stone is: Have you
captured all the main themes, sub-themes and related points accurately, in an
16
order that reflects the authors organisation of his thought? Have you understood
the argument of the relevant article? What is the authors conclusion? How is it
supported? (What reasons have been provided in support? What
sources/authorities? How logical is the argument?) Please think about these
issues as you prepare for the seminar and come ready with a) a map or bullet-list
of the articles main organisational themes and b) a brief written nutshell
statement of what you understand the argument of the article to be and ALSO c)
note down page references of examples you want to use in your discussion of the
article. For example, if you want to say that there are 4 core themes, or that the
author provides 5 reasons in support of one central point, note down relevant
page references so that your tutor and your peers can easily follow your analysis
and see where in the text you have drawn it from.
IN CLASS: After a class discussion led by your tutor about the structure and
argument of the article:
Q 1: In the light of class discussion of the structure and argument of each article,
how accurate was your analysis and understanding of it? Did you miss any key
points? If so, why? If not, why not? How did you try to ensure accuracy? What
techniques did you use to avoid inaccuracy?
Q 2: With a partner, discuss the reading techniques you applied in reading the
article. What methods did you use to ensure that your reading was accurate?
What challenges did you encounter? How did you overcome them? Were these
challenges intellectual challenges, or psychological challenges, or both? What
techniques do you use for effective reading and study?
Q 3: With a partner, discuss what you could do better next time. What new
approach or technique might you apply when next confronted with an academic
article to analyse?
Youll find further materials to help you develop effective reading techniques on
Learning Central. Select Learning Materials/Skills/Reading and Study from
the menu bar and open the relevant folder.
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EXERCISE TWO
First read:
How to Write a Law Essay and General Feedback for Students On
Coursework (both in your Materials Pack).
Q 1: You are given the following essay title:
In every society there is a tension between the desire of citizens to bring to
the attention of their fellow citizens matters which they consider to be of
importance, and the desire of citizens to be free from disorder. Critically
assess the degree to which British public order law and politics protect the
democratic importance of the freedom to protest.
a) With a partner, analyse the essay title: i) what task is the essay
requiring you to undertake? ii) simply by analysing the essay title,
list all the subject matter elements that must be covered if the
question is to be precisely and relevantly answered; iii) what does
the quotation add, if anything, to your sense of what the question is
driving at? iv) would an answer listing information about public order
law and introducing the democratic importance of the freedom to
protest be an adequate response to the question as posed? If so,
why? If not, why not? Be prepared to share you answers with the
class and your tutor.
b) Briefly draft a conclusion (a statement that we can pretend, for the
purposes of this exercise, that you have argued in support of
throughout your essay). Your draft conclusion needs to address the
question closely enough, based on what your analysis of the
question has just revealed to you. For example, you could begin
with, In conclusion, British public order law (and carry on from
there to compose a conclusion that addresses the question as
posed). (It doesnt matter, for this example, that you havent studied
this before. This is about analysing language!)
c) With a partner, write down the topics that you would logically need
to research in order to answer the question adequately. Write a list
of them together.
Q2: Referring to the materials on coursework feedback, answer the following
questions.
a) Given that this generic coursework feedback is based on years of
marking the work of literally thousands of law students, what do you
deduce about the common habits that pull marks down on law
modules?
b) How can you avoid making these common mistakes?
c) What skills do youspecifically need to develop in order to do well
in writing legal essays and courseworks? In other words, if you
reflect honestly on the coursework feedback, do you notice anything
that you tend to do and any areas where you need to improve your
own practice? If you think that you do rather well in terms of the
advice given for the improvement of marks, what aspects of the
advice (ie: the skills and practices that it drives at) can you work on
to ensure that you achieve even greater success in the future?
d) In your own words, write a short bullet point list of advice for a new
law student faced with writing an essay or coursework. When you
have finished your list, swap with a partner. Each partner should
mark points where the list is a) unclear in its advice; b) missing
something vital; c) where grammar, punctuation and spelling are
incorrect; d) useful. Once you have marked up each others advice
SEMINAR 2 Reading and Analysing cases
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INTRODUCTION
This week, we dissect a case report, learning to identify its different component
parts and to appreciate what elements of case reports are significant from a legal
perspective. Case reports may seem daunting at first but, as with all skills,
reading them becomes easier with practice. You will be required to read many
cases over the course of your legal studies (and beyond if you enter the legal
profession), so it is absolutely vital that you get to grips with how to read them at
an early stage of your studiesand continue to practice case analysis skills as
you move through your degree studies. We also discuss case analysis
methodology and a relevant reading from Glanville Williams.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this session you should be able to:
EXERCISE 1
Read:
G Williams, excerpt from Learning the Law (12th edition) pp. 95-101 ; Case/Ratio
Analysis Methodology. (These are both included in your Materials Pack.)
Q1: On page 96, how does Williams suggest that we find the ratio decidendi?
Q2: What does Williams mean by the term material facts?
Q3: On page 98, Williams summarises the facts and Wright Js conclusion in
Wilkinson v Downton. Williams identifies some facts to be irrelevant. What were
those factsand why are they irrelevant?
Q4: On pages 98-99, Williams initially frames the ratio decidendi of Wilkinson v
Downton as follows:
. . .where the defendant has wilfully told the plaintiff a lie of the character that is
likely . . . to frighten and so cause physical harm to the plaintiff, and it has in fact
caused such harm, the defendant is liable, in the absence of some ground of
justification.
But in the subsequent paragraphs, Williams criticises and modifies parts of this
ratio decidendi. Which parts of the ratio decidendi does he modify, and why does
he do so? Be sure to justify your answer by making reference to the text of the
chapter itselfrefer to a page number/page numbers if necessary to ensure that
your answer carries authority.
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Q5: On page 100, Williams states that what is really involved in finding the ratio
decidendi is a process of abstraction. What does he mean by the term process
of abstraction? Justify your answer with reference to the text, citing the text
accurately in support of your view.
Q6: On page 100, Williams applies the process of abstraction to two examples, as
follows:
CaesarTerrierDogMammalAnimalLiving Thing
Fullerhope Maternity HospitalLondonEnglandEurope
Apply the process of abstraction to the following examples:
PistolAny thing
Yacht (etc)
Cat (etc)
3 bedroom apartment (etc)
Once you have your examples, discuss with a partner any differences (if any)
between the examples making up your respective abstraction lists. What do any
differences reveal to you about the effect of interpretation and how it influences
the abstraction process?
Q7: On page 100, Williams states that the ascertainment of the ratio decidendi
of a case depends upon a process of abstraction from the totality of facts that
occurred in it. How does the process of abstraction affect the scope of the ratio
decidendi?
Q8: On page 101, what factors does Williams identify as relevant when
determining when to stop with the process of abstraction?
Q9: What is the final ratio decidendi that Williams arrives at? What does he mean
on pages 100-101 when he says that he had carried on the process of
abstraction until all the particular facts have been eliminated? What differences
are there in the 2 different formulations of the ratio that Williams offers? What
conclusions do you draw from the differences?
EXERCISE 2
Read:
Review your notes for lectures 5 and 6 and refresh your memory of Holland and
Webb, Learning Legal Rules, pages 76-84.
Fisher v Bell [1961] 1 QB 394 (included in your Materials Pack).
Some brief explanatory notes: In Fisher v Bell, the court uses the terms
offer and invitation to treat. You may not already have covered this in contract
law, so the following brief notes are designed to assist your understanding of the
case:
The distinction between an offer and an invitation to treat is pivotal for
understanding the moment at which a legally binding contract is capable of
being formed. An offer exists where one party extends to another an offer (such
20
as is made by the statement: I offer to sell you a car for three thousand
pounds). If the terms of the offer are accepted, then, subject to some additional
requirements that we dont need to go into for present purposes, a contract is
formed. However, an invitation to treat merely invites another to express an
interest in, for example, purchasing something. There are two main forms that an
invitation to treat can take:
First, a person might say to you, Ive got a fabulous car. Would you be interested
in buying it? There is no offer here that you can acceptthis merely elicits your
interestand you would need to agree a specific price before a contract could be
formed.
Secondly, there is the kind of situation where a corner shop displays cans of beer
on its shelves with a sign next to them stipulating that they cost two pounds fifty
pence. You are being invited to offer to buy the beer. When you then approach
the counter, you offer to buy the beer by saying something like Ill take this,
pleasewhich constitutes your offer to the corner shop. If your offer is accepted
(by the accepting of your money, for example) a contract is formed.
With that background information in mind, please answer the following
questions, which we will discuss in class. (You will need to bring written answers
with you for this exercise. You may need to conduct some basic research to
discover some of the answers. For example, you could search through Holland &
Webb to discover some of the more general answersor look in a book on the
English Legal System. See how much you can find out on your own!)
1
What is the full citation for this case? In which set of law reports, and
when, was this case reported?
Is this a criminal or civil case? How can you tell? How does the difference
affect the titles given to the parties (usually), and how do you pronounce
the v in between the parties names?
Who were the judges in this case? What do the abbreviations JJ and CJ
mean?
What is the function of a headnote? What does the headnote tell you
about the coverage and central concerns of the case? And what does it tell
you about the holding in the case?
What is the name of the Act of Parliament that the Court was interpreting?
What was the litigation history of the case? Where is it set out in the case
report?
10
21
11
Lord Parker CJ delivered the judgment of the court. Did the others judges
agree with the judgment? What would have happened if the other judges
had disagreed with Lord Parker CJ?
12
13
14
What were the specific words in the Act that the Court was asked to
interpret?
State the legal issue that the Court was asked to decide.
15
16
17
18
What is the difference between the outcome or decision of a case and its
ratio/rationes?
EXERCISE 3
As carefully as you can, perhaps using coloured marking pens to make the
different elements of the text clear to yourself, highlight the following elements
of the case report for Fisher v Bell (in your Materials Pack), by putting a coloured
line next to (rather than covering) the relevant sections of the text: The
headnote; the headnotes account of the facts; the headnotes account of the
litigation history of the case; the headnotes account of the holding; the
headnotes reference to any precedent cases. Then highlight: The legislative
history of the case in the main case report; the account of the case presented by
the prosecution; the defence.
Next: List on a piece of paper the distinct points made by Lord Parker CJ as he
gives his judgment. Do this in a bullet-point, nutshell style that shows you have
grasped the essence of points being made. Try to be as accurate and precise as
you can.
You can work with a partner on this element of the seminar task, discussing why
you think what you do, what the textual clues are, and refining each others
understanding of Lord Parkers judgment and the way (and the degree to which)
his conclusion is supported by the reasoning he offers.
22
23
Then Read:
Holland & Webb, Learning Legal Rules, chapters 6 and 7. You should also review
the ratio analysis methodology (in your Materials Pack).
(You may wish to reinforce your understanding by reading:
Carr, Carter & Horsey, chapters 22 and 23, and by working through the activities
on the accompanying websitebut this would be extra to your preparation time.)
It is essential that you read and analyse the two cases listed below, and
take the time to mark them up, just as you did last time for Fisher v
Bell, bringing your marked up copies to the seminar with you.
Read and Analyse:
Partridge v Crittenden [1968] 1 WLR 1204
British Car Auctions Ltd v Wright [1972] 1 WLR 1519
These two cases are included in your Materials Pack. You will need to read and
analyse the cases in
depth. Draw upon the Ratio Methodology Guide, working your way through it
systematically. You should also identify all the component elements of the case,
drawing on your learning from the last seminar, in your preparation for the
session. This should enable you to discern the structural organisation of each
judgment (what themes does the judge discuss and in what order?). What is the
judges argument? (How does the judge, in other words, handle authority and
offer reasons leading towards his or her decision in the case?) BRING THE
CASES AND YOUR WORKING NOTES TO CLASS WITH YOU.
24
3
4
6
7
What is the decisive legal similarity between Fisher v Bell and Partridge
v Crittenden?
What is the ratio/nes decidendi in Fisher v Bell? State it first at its
lowest level of abstraction, then apply the abstraction method to yield
an interpretation of the ratio/nes decidendi that fits the legally relevant
facts of Partridge v Crittenden.
What is the ratio/nes decidendi of Partridge v Crittenden?
Draft a statement of a ratio decidendi that captures both Fisher v Bell
and Partridge v Crittenden. The aim is to capture, in your own words,
as precisely as you can, a legal principle for which both cases can fairly
and jointly be said to stand.
What elements of the ratio/nes decidendi of Partridge v Crittenden
draw upon Fisher v Bell? What elements of the ratio/nes decidendi
draw upon features of fact or law that cannot reasonably be said to
emerge from an abstraction of the ration/nes decidendi of Fisher v Bell?
What two propositions of law can Partridge v Crittenden be said to
stand for future cases?
Now bring the facts of British Car Auctions v Wright within the ratio
decidendi that you drafted in response to question 4.
Now bring the facts of British Car Auctions v Wright within the ratio/nes
decidendi of Fisher v Bell and Partridge v Crittenden by applying the
abstraction process to them both. At what level/s in the abstraction
process would the ratio/nes of these authorities be said not to apply to
the facts of British Car Auctions v Wright?
25
What has this process of analysis taught you about the operation of the
doctrine of precedent? What tensions can you discern in the judgments
concerning the relationship between the doctrine of precedent and
broader social concerns of common sense? What factors can you
discern in the judgments that reflect the role of the courts in relation to
the democratic role of Parliament as the legislature? What might the
strengths and weaknesses of the doctrine of precedent be, based on
your analysis of the three cases in question (in the last seminar and in
this seminar)?
26
PREPARATION
Review your notes for lectures 9 and 10.
Read:
Holland & Webb, Learning Legal Rules, chapters 9 and 10.
J Adams & R Brownsword, Understanding Law (4th Edition, Sweet & Maxwell
2006), chapter 4.
(A scanned version of this is available on Learning Central. Select Module
Information/Reading List/Scanned Reading. Adams & Brownsword is number 2
on the list.
At a minimum, be sure to read pages 101-105.)
Fisher v Bell [1961] 1 QB 394.
(You may wish to reinforce your understanding by reading Carr, Carter & Horsey,
pp. 262 272, working through activities 4 - 8 on the accompanying website AND
chapter 20, working through the activities on the accompanying website.)
Then Read:
S 1 of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 (at the time of Fisher v
Bell). The section reads:
1 Penalties for offences in connection with dangerous weapons
(1)
Any person who manufactures, sells or hires or offers for sale or hire, or
lends or gives to any other person
(a)
any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure
applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the
knife, sometimes known as a flick knife or flick gun; or
(b)
any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath
thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and which,
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Trace Lord Parker CJs reasoning with regard to the interpretation of this
statutory provision. What authorities does he cite, and how does he use
them?
How would the outcome of the case have differed if a) the golden rule had
been followed; b) the mischief rule had been followed; c) the purposive
approach had been followed?
What differences between the golden and mischief rules are there? Would the
rules have yielded significantly different outcomes from each other in the
case of Fisher v Bell? What about the purposive approach? Would it have
yielded an outcome distinct from any of these other rules or approaches to
the interpretation of statutes?
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buyer.
(1) Where goods are put up for sale by auction in lots, each lot is prima facie
deemed to be the subject of a separate contract of sale.
(2) A sale by auction is complete when the auctioneer announces its completion
by the fall of the hammer, or in other customary manner; and until the
announcement is made any bidder may retract his bid.
(3) A sale by auction may be notified to be subject to a reserve or upset price, and
a right to bid may also be reserved expressly by or on behalf of the seller.
(4) Where a sale by auction is not notified to be subject to a right to bid by or on
behalf of the seller, it is not lawful for the seller to bid himself or to employ any
person to bid at the sale, or for the auctioneer knowingly to take any bid from the
seller or any such person.
(5) A sale contravening subsection (4) above may be treated as fraudulent by the
(6) Where, in respect of a sale by auction, a right to bid is expressly reserved (but
not otherwise) the seller or any one person on his behalf may bid at the auction.
Questions:
1
Raffles has a great friend, Charlie Jones. Charlie is a bit of character and
loves a good laugh. He asks Raffles if he can hold an event at the Raffles
Auction Room in the centre of the city.
Raffles (with some foreboding, to be fair) reluctantly agrees that his old
friend can use his place of business to hold an imaginative party event
that incorporates an auction at which Charlie himself will be the
auctioneer, and at which all the guests will be in theatrical costumes. The
auction is to raise money for a charity. During the auction, which Charlie
runs from the front of the room with much appreciation from his audience,
Charlie responds to a bidder by saying sold and squirting the bidder
unexpectedly with a water pistol filled with bright yellow paint. The bidder
is so furious about the yellow stain on his costume that he absolutely
refuses to pay the funds for the item he was bidding for. Does he have to?
Again, working with a partner, make arguments for both sides of the case
by applying the statute to the facts: first for Charlie, then for the bidder.
What is the precise legal issue raised by the case? What rules of statutory
interpretation are you using in making your arguments a) for Charlie and
b) for the bidder?
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Raffles discovers that his old friend Charlie, during his action event, has
had his wife, Zita, bidding on his behalf. Once this is discovered by some
of the partygoers, a bit of a fracas kicks off. Charlie insists that the notice
he had pinned to the entrance door should have been adequate warning.
The notice reads: My Auction party! My rules! My way! Again, working
with a partner, what is the precise legal issue here? Can you make
arguments for and against Charlie? How strong/weak are those arguments
and why?
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Your tutors will assign teams for next 2 seminar cycles LOOK AHEAD
TO SEMINARS 5 and 6 TO CHECK WHAT GENERAL PREPARATORY
READING ON RESEARCH SKILLS IS REQUIRED OVER THE CHRISTMAS
VACATION. If you are wise, you will start researching and reading for
your essay assignment, which you will see below.
In the first seminar, information specialists from the Law Library will
lead a workshop in which you will develop a research strategy enabling
you to identify and access research materials on a topical legal issue.
The seminar will be held in an IT room you will need to check the
venue for your group on Learning Central.
In the second, you will work in your teams to discuss and evaluate the
fruits of your research, present and oral report, and construct a simple
argument. The materials you find will provide the core research for your
formative and summative coursework.
Since the workload is relatively intense at the beginning of next
semester, you should make a start on the work over your vacations to
save yourselves a lot of pressure and stress next semester. In
particular, do some research and thinking about the essay topic. Begin
to plan your essay with the idea of constructing your own argument in
response to the question firmly in mind.
NB: Advance warning:
For Seminar 6 (Semester 2) you must bring with you to the class 2 copies of:
a completed introduction to your essay (see title below)
a 300 word draft of one or more points you will be including in your essay
a completed research trail.
The essay title is:
Critically evaluate the claim that there is normally ONE ratio decidendi,
AND ONE ONLY, which explains the holding on the facts, and is as such
binding. J Stone, The Ratio of the Ratio Decidendi (1959) 22 Modern Law
Review 597-620 at 602-3.
SOME HELPFUL NOTES ON THE ASSESSMENT TASK AHEAD:
(a) Your introduction: should enable the reader to foresee what will lie ahead.
A reader (or marker) must be able to see that you have interpreted the question
correctly and have identified all relevant issues raised by the question.
Importantly, a good introduction will also establish the position you will be
adopting, or argument you will be presenting throughout the essay. It should
point ahead to the conclusions you will be reaching in response to the question.
(b) The 300-word draft: should present a fully developed argument in relation
to one or two points that you will be including in your final draft of the essay. It
must be footnoted following the OSCOLA system of referencing. Its purpose is to
enable your peer reviewer to give you feedback on the extent to which you have
adopted an analytical approach to essay writing, and on your standards of
written language.
(c) The research trail: must include full bibliographical details of all sources
used. It should provide a reflective account of your research strategy. You should
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provide a very brief summary of the content of each source, outlining its
relevance to your essay and explaining why you consider it to be authoritative.
You will find a suggested format for your research trail on Learning Central under
Learning Materials/Skills/Research. A paper copy is also included in your
Materials Pack.
Referencing: The Law School requires you to use the OSCOLA system of
referencing for all your work. Youll find an on-line tutorial, Citing the law, on
Learning Central. Select Learning Materials/Skills/Writing for Law/Citing the Law.
Alternatively, click on the link below.
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/oscola/tutorial/index.html
Failure to use the OSCOLA system will lose you marks.
Plagiarism and unfair practice: you will be expected to be fully aware of the
Universitys rules on plagiarism. Here is a link to the relevant pages on the
Universitys website:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/regis/ifs/plag/index.html
Make full use of the Learning Central resources posted in Learning
Materials/Skill/ Writing for Law when preparing your essay. Youll find a useful
tutorial on avoiding plagiarism at:
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/plagiarism/tutorial/index.html
You must also read Cardiff Law Schools Student Handbook, Part H, Unfair
Assessment Practices, Referencing and Plagiarism.
FORMATIVE WORK: After Seminar 6 you will have an opportunity to
reflect upon the
feedback received and to revise your plans, introductions,
drafts and research trails before
submitting these as your second piece of
formative work for the module.
THIS FORMATIVE WORK MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN 1 WEEK
AFTER SEMINAR 6. YOUR TUTOR WILL GIVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS ON
EXACTLY WHERE AND WHEN TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK
SUMMATIVE WORK: You will receive written feedback from your tutor
before the end of week 8 of semester 2. You have a further opportunity to
reflect upon this before completing the essay and submitting it as a beautifully
crafted piece of summative
coursework for the module.
Remember! This is where step 6 comes: Higgins & Tatham, Successful Legal
Writing, chapter 9 gives excellent guidance on the process of revising your work
in response to feedback.
STEP 6: Editing and Re-drafting your work in the light of self-reflection
and/or peer/tutor feedback is the final step on the road to success.
Beware! Students who do not reflect and learn from feedback risk failing to
maximise their marks.
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SEMESTER TWO
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH and WRITING
We now begin the next phase of the course in which we aim to equip you with
the research, analytical and writing skills which will enable you to earn high
marks in all your modules. Think of your essay/problem question/presentation as
the final step of a lengthy process during which you will need to draw upon a
demanding range of skills. For the remainder of the course, well be taking you
through the process by breaking it down into a series of steps. In each of the
remaining seminars, we focus on one or more of these steps.
STEP 1: (AU) Analysing and understanding the nature of the task
ahead of you is the first step on the road to success. Unless you analyse
your essay question, your coursework question, your own dissertation
research questionwhatever you are facingyou cannot adequately
identify the research field or materials that you will need to read.
Remember to read for purpose and to stay focused on relevance.
Beware! Students who set out to answer a question without analysing it
can easily present a tell you all I know, information-led, descriptive
response instead of an argument. Such a strategy will never attract high
marks in law!
STEP 2: (IF) Identifying and finding the materials necessary to
complete a task is step 2 on the road to success. Without correctly
identifying and finding relevant materials and information information you
will not have a solid foundation of knowledge upon which to build. Go
beyond your lecture notes and textbooks: use the footnotes in textbooks
to guide you to further materials; conduct effective research searches for
relevant academic discussions; find any cases that you might need to read
in depth in order to do the subject justice. Your choices will depend, of
course, on the kind of work you have been set to do: an essay; a problem
question; a moot; a dissertation, etc.
Beware! Students who merely regurgitate lecture notes or textbooks and
who consequently fail to acquire sufficient breadth and depth of
knowledge do not achieve high marks.
STEP 3: (E) Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the
materials found through your research AND the relative weight or
authority of the sources themselves is step 3 on the road to success.
(Remember to use the evaluation of sources tool supplied with the
materials on critical and legal reasoning in your Materials Pack.)
Beware! Students who fail to reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses
of their
sources or to be selective when deciding what sources to rely
upon, do not achieve high marks. Remember that weak sources can
undermine the soundness of even well structured and logical arguments!
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leave enough time for you to edit each time with fresh eyes. (You need to
plan time gaps into your workload planning, so that you can actually see
your own errors. Aim to edit your work at least 4 or 5 times before you
hand it in). (An important aside related to editing and re-drafting: It is very
important to learn to value feedback and to be unthreatened by critical
engagement with your workincluding your own critical engagement with
it. You get a lot of feedback on this course: from your peers in seminar
exercises, from your tutors in seminars and finally, in writing on your
formative assessments. Try to develop the habit of valuing and learning
from all feedback on offerand of becoming reflective and confidently
self-aware in relation to the standard of your own work.) Strive for
excellence!
Beware! Students who do not reflect and learn from feedback on their
written work (whether in class or in response to assessments) may fail to
maximise their marks. Students who only edit once or twice severely limit
the quality of their own work!
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Identify and find sources held in hard copy in the Law Library
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NB: You should also start preparing your essay introduction, a 300-word draft of
one or more points in the essay and a research trail if you have not already done
sowhich you should have done over the Christmas break. This will be peerevaluated in Seminar 6, so you will need to bring it with you. This work, once you
have edited it in the light of feedback received in class, will be submitted as your
formative assessment work for semester 2. (You will also be given feedback from
your tutor on your formative work before you submit the completed essay as
summative coursework.)
You will be expected to have done your own initial research before this weeks
session. Without a basic understanding of the subject, and some of the
challenges of research itself, the specialised research you will be doing in this
session will be much less meaningful and useful for you.
It is often helpful to use the index of a textbook (in this case such as the index in
Slapper & Kelly, The English Legal System (or another up to date textbook)) to
familiarise yourselves with the bare bones of an assigned topic and the issues
that arise in relation to it. It is also important to find good academic articles on a
topic. For example, in relation to this particular essay assignment, it would be
sensible to revisit the article by Julius Stone from Seminar 1 (in your Materials
Pack) and build your research upon any clues you can find about the subject.
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For the future, remember that textbooks, in particular, can never be completely
up-to-date, nor are they likely to focus on assignment topics in sufficient detail
for an essay. They are, however, a valuable first port of call when you are trying
to gain an understanding of a subject areaand footnotes, in particular, can be
very useful for pointing you to further sources of research.
EXERCISE
Working in your teams, identify the materials needed to complete your essay
taskand add them to any you have been able to discover on your own over the
Christmas vacation period. Note that not all materials you identify as being
relevant will necessarily be available electronically you may need to visit the
library and find paper copies of some them.
Make sure that you keep a careful record of your research, using the Research
Trail pro-forma on LEFOs Learning Central pages. (Youll find this in Learning
Materials/Skills/Research. A paper copy is also included in your Materials Pack.)
Always record FULL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS of all items researched, using the
OSCOLA method of referencing. An on-line tutorial introducing you to OSCOLA is
available from the Law School home pages and on LEFOs Learning Central pages
(Select Learning Materials/Skills/ Research and scroll down to Citing the law.)
During this week, continue to prepare and finesse your essay plan, 300 word
draft, introduction and research trail.
As already noted twice in this Handbook, for Seminar 6 you must bring with you
to the class 2 copies of:
a completed introduction to your essay (see title below)
a 300 word draft of one or more points you will be including in your essay
a completed research trail.
The essay titleto remind you againis:
Critically evaluate the claim that there is normally ONE ratio decidendi,
AND ONE ONLY, which explains the holding on the facts, and is as such
binding. J Stone, The Ratio of the Ratio Decidendi (1959) 22 Modern Law
Review 597-620 at 602-3.
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SEMINAR 6
Legal Research and Writing Skills: Evaluating and using sources to
build an argument
(N.B. TUTORS TO ASSIGN TEAMS FOR THE MOOTING EXERCISE)
INTRODUCTION AND REMINDER
The purpose of this seminar is to help you progress from step 1 (analysing and
understanding the nature of the task ahead of you (in this case: the essay
question, which you should have been thinking carefully about for a while now)
and step 2 (identifying and finding materials, which you have practised alone
and then with some training) to step 3 (evaluating the strengths and weaknesses
of sources), to step 4 (using sources to construct a persuasive argument) and on
to step 5 (communicating a persuasive argumentin this case, orally).
Once you have collected all reasonably available and relevant information, you
must reflect upon it carefully. First, you must re-assess its relevance to your task.
Once you have filtered out any irrelevant content, you should make a judgement
about the quality of your remaining sources. This will involve questions such as:
Are the sources reliable? What factors might influence their reliability? Might the
author be biased? Where has the author drawn his/her information from? Is the
author merely repeating information that s/he has taken from another source? Is
the original source reliable? How might you check? Has the material been
published? Where? Why might this matter? What weight of authority does each
source carry? What factors might influence this?
You will see that evaluating your sources can be a demanding process. In your
teams, you will consider the sources you have researched in the light of the
questions posed above.
This seminar will also give you the chance to appreciate what you need to do to
develop your written communication skills, focusing on essay writingwith a
special emphasis (as is only proper for law training) on the construction of
persuasive, well-written, well-supported argument.
40
You should note that the Higher Education benchmarks for graduates place great
emphasis on excellent written and oral communication skills. In addition, the
discipline of law imposes its own demands on how information should be
presented and referenced. During your studies you will be asked to communicate
your ideas in many different ways, ranging from traditional essays, answering
problem questions, writing reports, oral advocacy and so on (see the mooting
exercise in the final seminar). Working on your writing skills now will earn you
extra marks in your future studies. Many modules are assessed partly or wholly
by written work as opposed to a traditional closed book exam.
In this seminar, you will be able to conduct the valuable task of reviewing
another students essay plan, 300 word draft, introduction and research trail, as
well as constructing a team report on research process and presenting a short
oral team argument addressing the essay title.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the session you should be able to:
Assess the relevance of researched material to a given task
Recognise differences in authority between materials accessed from a variety
of sources
Recognise bias in researched material
Filter out irrelevant information and information drawn from unreliable
sources
Prioritise relevant information drawn from authoritative sources.
Understand how to construct and present an authoritative argument from an
assigned position.
Be able to explain what the University defines as plagiarism and demonstrate
techniques for avoiding it
Understand the need to use the OSCOLA system of referencing and citation
Recognise the qualities of a good piece of essay writing, explaining what
makes it good
Recognise the flaws in a piece of writing, explaining why the flaws detract
from the merits of the piece
Give critical feedback to others on the merits and demerits of their piece of
writing, and on the construction and presentation of their argument.
GENERAL PREPARATION
We recommend that you should definitely read:
How to Write a Law Essay and General Feedback for Students On Coursework,
as well as the Cardiff Law School Marking?Assessment Criteria (all in your
Materials Pack).
Carr, Carter & Horsey, chapters 3 and 25, and the activities on the
accompanying website. You should also work through the activities on avoiding
plagiarism see Part 1: Study skills at 7.
In addition, make full use of the resources on Learning Central/Learning
Materials/Skills/Writing for Law. These include examples of essays written by
students in previous years together with markers comments. We also
recommend that you work through the following online tutorial to help you
evaluate your researched sources:
41
We will peer review these in class. (*If you would prefer your work to remain
anonymous, put your student number on each sheet, but omit your name.)
EXERCISE 1: Evaluating your materials
In your teams, consider at least two sources you have researched in the light of
these questions:
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provide a very brief summary of the content of each source, outlining its
relevance to your essay and explaining why you consider it to be authoritative.
You will find a suggested format for your research trail on Learning Central under
Learning Materials/Skills/Research. A paper copy is also included in your
Materials Pack.
Referencing: The Law School requires you to use the OSCOLA system of
referencing for all your work. Youll find an on-line tutorial, Citing the law, on
Learning Central. Select Learning Materials/Skills/Writing for Law/Citing the Law.
Alternatively, click on the link below.
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/oscola/tutorial/index.html
Failure to use the OSCOLA system will lose you marks.
Plagiarism and unfair practice: you will be expected to be fully aware of the
Universitys rules on plagiarism. Here is a link to the relevant pages on the
Universitys website:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/regis/ifs/plag/index.html
Make full use of the Learning Central resources posted in Learning
Materials/Skill/ Writing for Law when preparing your essay. Youll find a useful
tutorial on avoiding plagiarism at:
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/plagiarism/tutorial/index.html
You must also read Cardiff Law Schools Student Handbook, Part H, Unfair
Assessment Practices, Referencing and Plagiarism.
FORMATIVE WORK: After Seminar 6 you will have an opportunity to
reflect upon the
feedback received and to revise your plans, introductions,
drafts and research trails before
submitting these as your second piece of
formative work for the module.
THIS FORMATIVE WORK MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN 1 WEEK
AFTER SEMINAR 6. YOUR TUTOR WILL GIVE YOU INSTRUCTIONS ON
EXACTLY WHERE AND WHEN TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK.
SUMMATIVE WORK: You will receive written feedback from your tutor
before the end of week 8 of semester 2. This gives you further opportunity
to reflect on your standards of work before completing the essay and
submitting it as a beautifully crafted piece of summative coursework for
the module.
Remember! This is where step 6 comes: Higgins & Tatham, Successful Legal
Writing, chapter 9 gives excellent guidance on the process of revising your work
in response to feedback.
STEP 6: Editing and Re-drafting your work in the light of self-reflection and/or
peer/tutor feedback is the final step on the road to success.
Beware! Students who do not reflect and learn from feedback risk failing to
maximise their marks.
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ACTIVITY
Working in your teams, pool your researches. During the moot all of you must
take responsibility for some advocacy. Split the advocacy roles equitably
amongst the team. You will find that the problem raises four legal issues.
Decide who will be lead counsel for issue one. Who will be junior counsel? Who
will be lead counsel on issue two, etc? Who will take responsibility for
responding to the others sides submissions? Exactly how you split the
workload is up to you, but remember part of the exercise is to see how
effectively you can work as a team.
In class, plan your submissions for the mooting exercise and draft your
skeleton arguments for each issue.
REMEMBER THAT THESE MUST INCLUDE CITATIONS FOR ALL CASES UPON
WHICH YOU WISH TO RELY AND MUST LIST ALL STATUTORY PROVISIONS THAT
YOU WILL REFER TO. DURING THE MOOT YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO
INTRODUCE ANY CASES NOT LISTED IN YOUR SKELETON ARGUMENT.
YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SWAP YOUR SKELETON ARGUMENT WITH THE
OPPOSING TEAM AT THE END OF THE SEMINAR.
*EACH TEAM MUST EMAIL A WORD PROCESSED COPY OF THEIR
SKELETON ARGUMENT TO THEIR TUTOR AT LEAST 2 WORKING DAYS
BEFORE THEIR MOOT.
YOU MUST BRING PHOTOCOPIES OF ALL AUTHORITIES WITH YOU TO THE
MOOT AND SUBMIT THEM TO THE JUDGES. EXTRACTS WILL SUFFICE.
During the moot you will not be permitted to rely on any authorities that have
not been included in your skeleton argument.
NB: Carr, Carter & Horsey, Skills for Law Students, chapter 30 includes
examples of good and bad skeleton arguments be sure to follow the format
of the good one!
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Week 14 of Semester 2
In week 14 (week commencing 20 April 2015) you are required to sit a formative
mock exam in preparation for the summative assessment for the module, the
exam component of which will held in May/June.
FORMATIVE MOCK EXAM
AN ON-LINE MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST MUST BE COMPLETED THIS WEEK. YOUR
MARK WILL BE RECORDED AS PART OF YOUR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
FOR THE MODULE.
THE
THE
THE
ARE
The mock exam will be available from 9.00am on Monday 20 April 2015
until 5.00pm on Friday 24 April 2015.
You MUST attempt the test in one of the Universitys IT Rooms.
Attempts off-campus (including in networked Halls of Residence) may
not be recorded.
You will be permitted one attempt only and must complete the test at
one sitting. You may not return to questions once you have moved on.
You will have 30 minutes to complete the test, this being time we advise
you take over the multiple choice section of the summative exam.
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