First Class Introduction to English Law and Legal Method (Complete) Notes is applicable to all UK LLB syllabuses outlining: the Sources of Law & Court Structure; Legal reading, writing, and thinking; Legal research and referencing; Cases & Precedent; Statues & Interpretation; Jurisprudence; Judicia...
Introduction to English Law and
Legal Method
Table of Contents
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 3
LECTURE 2: THE SOURCES OF LAW & COURT STRUCTURE..............................................................................4
LECTURE 3: LEGAL READING, WRITING, AND THINKING.................................................................................7
LECTURE 4: LEGAL RESEARCH AND REFERENCING........................................................................................10
LECTURE 5: CASES & PRECEDENT................................................................................................................. 11
LECTURE 6.2: STATUES & INTERPRETATION................................................................................................. 17
LECTURE 8: JURISPRUDENCE........................................................................................................................ 24
LECTURE 9: JUDICIAL DIVERSITY & IMPLICIT BIAS......................................................................................... 28
LECTURE 10: ESSAY WRITING & ASSESSMENT CRITERIA...............................................................................33
WRITING. A SKILL ACQUIRED THROUGH DOING........................................................................................... 33
NOMINALLY OUT OF 100. MARKS OVER 80 ARE RARE..................................................................................34
PERCENTAGE OF YEAR ACHIEVING OVERALL GRADES IN THE YEAR 2020-2021 ALL MODULES.......................34
IN AN ESSAY WE WANT TO SEE:................................................................................................................... 34
AS A GENERAL RULE OF THUMB YOU SHOULD SHOW RECOGNITION OF DETAIL, COMPLEXITY AND
AMBIGUITY IN THE LAW, AND COMMENTARY ON IT...................................................................................34
AN ESSAY REQUIRES THAT YOU TAKE A VIEW AND THEN DEFEND IT............................................................34
(2) ASSESSMENT CRITERIA........................................................................................................................... 34
SEE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA DOCUMENT...................................................................................................... 34
(A) KNOWLEDGE: ACCURATE, DETAILED AND COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONCEPTS, VALUES,
PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF LAW WHICH ARE RELEVANT TO ANSWERING THE QUESTION.............................34
(B) RESEARCH SKILLS: YOU HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU CAN FIND BOTH THE RELEVANT LAW (THE
PRIMARY MATERIALS) AND THE ACADEMIC COMMENTARY UPON IT (SECONDARY MATERIALS)..................34
(C) ANALYSIS: THIS IS CENTRAL TO ESSAY WRITING. IT’S WHAT GET YOU FROM A 2:2 TO A 2:1....................34
DESCRIPTION WHO / WHAT / WHEN / WHERE?........................................................................................... 34
ANALYSIS WHY / HOW / WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?..........................................................................35
(D) AUTONOMY: PRIMARILY THIS MEANS THAT YOUR ANSWER MUST BE YOUR OWN WORK, NOT
PLAGIARISM............................................................................................................................................... 35
(E) COMMUNICATION: THE CLARITY OF YOUR EXPRESSION.........................................................................35
(F) IT SKILLS: MUCH OF THE LAW AND ACADEMIC COMMENTARY IS ONLINE, SO BY USING IT YOU WILL
SHOW YOU HAVE SATISFIED THIS ELEMENT................................................................................................. 35
TYPES OF QUESTION.................................................................................................................................... 35
(I) DISCUSS.................................................................................................................................................. 35
THIS REQUIRES YOU TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUES OR CONTROVERSIES ARISING FROM A PARTICULAR AREA OF
LAW AND GIVE AN OPINION ON THEM........................................................................................................ 35
(II) EVALUATE.............................................................................................................................................. 35
,EVALUATING SOMETHING INVOLVES MAKING A VALUE JUDGMENT ABOUT SOMETHING............................35
(III) ASSESS.................................................................................................................................................. 35
AN ASSESSMENT WILL USUALLY REQUIRE SOME MEASURING AND WEIGHING............................................35
(IV) ANALYSE OR EXAMINE.......................................................................................................................... 35
ALTHOUGH ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE FORMS OF ANALYSIS. YOU MAY BE EXPLICITLY ASKED TO ANALYSE OR
EXAMINE AN AREA OF LAW......................................................................................................................... 35
(2) PLANNING............................................................................................................................................. 35
ONCE YOU’VE ANALYSED THE QUESTION, IT IS IMPORTANT TO PLAN WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE
BEFORE YOU START WRITING...................................................................................................................... 35
1) IT WILL HELP YOU IDENTIFY WHAT LAW AND COMMENTARY ARE RELEVANT TO ANSWERING THE
QUESTION................................................................................................................................................... 35
2) IT WILL ENABLE YOU STRUCTURE YOU ESSAY, MAKING YOU ARGUMENT CLEARER AND STRONGER........35
3) IT WILL ENABLE YOU TO IDENTIFY THINGS YOU NEED TO RESEARCH FURTHER IN ORDER TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION................................................................................................................................................... 35
4) IT WILL HELP YOU CRITICISES WHAT YOUR ARGUMENT WILL BE..............................................................35
SOURCES..................................................................................................................................................... 35
IN ORDER TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY YOU NEED TO HAVE REGARD TO THE RELEVANT SOURCES...................36
BE CONSCIOUS OF HOW AUTHORITATIVE A SOURCE IS................................................................................36
REFERENCE OBSESSIVELY............................................................................................................................ 36
BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND AN END.............................................................................................................. 36
THE BEGINNING IS YOUR INTRODUCTION. THIS SHOULD SUMMARISE YOUR ARGUMENT; THE POINTS YOU
ARE GOING TO MAKE AND THE CONCLUSION YOU ARE GOING TO ARGUE TOWARDS..................................36
THE MIDDLE IS THE BODY OF YOUR ESSAY. THIS IS WHERE YOU CONDUCT YOUR ANALYSIS AND CONSTRUCT
YOUR ARGUMENT....................................................................................................................................... 36
THE CONCLUSION SUMMARISES WHAT YOU’VE SAID, THE OVERALL ARGUMENT YOU’VE MADE AND THE
POINTS YOU’VE MADE IN THE COURSE OF IT............................................................................................... 36
A CONCLUSION NEVER CONTAINS ANY NEW INFORMATION.......................................................................36
YOU CAN BREAK YOUR ARGUMENT DOWN INTO SUBSECTIONS BY USING SUBHEADINGS, TO MAKE ITS
STRUCTURE CLEAR...................................................................................................................................... 36
SECTIONS WILL BE BROKEN DOWN FURTHER INTO A SERIES OF PARAGRAPHS. AS A GENERAL RULE OF
THUMB, GENERALLY EACH NEW POINT OR IDEA SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN PARAGRAPH................................36
(4) SUBSTANCE............................................................................................................................................ 36
(A) YOUR AUDIENCE.................................................................................................................................... 36
ASSUME THAT YOUR EXAMINER IS A LAWYER AND THEY WILL UNDERSTAND LEGAL TERMINOLOGY, BUT
THEY WILL NEED YOU TO SHOW THAT YOU KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE LAW.........................................36
(B) MAKING YOUR ARGUMENT FLOW CLEARLY............................................................................................ 36
SOME TRICKS YOU CAN USE:....................................................................................................................... 36
TOPIC SENTENCE – A CLEAR AND SIMPLE SENTENCE AT THE START OF A PARAGRAPH THAT MAKES IT
OBVIOUS WHAT IDEA THE PARAGRAPH WILL BE ABOUT..............................................................................36
LINK BACK – AT THE END OF EVERY PARAGRAPH ASK YOURSELF WHAT THAT PARAGRAPH IS ADDING TO THE
ARGUMENT, AND THEN TELL THE READER/EXAMINER. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD WAY TO CHECK THAT WHAT
YOU SAY IS RELEVANT TO ANSWERING THE QUESTION, AND SHOWING THAT IT IS TO THE EXAMINER........37
,SIGNPOSTING – PARTICULARLY IN LONGER ESSAYS, SIGNPOSTING IS IMPORTANT. THIS CAN BE JUST USING
APPROPRIATE SUBHEADINGS. BUT IT CAN ALSO INVOLVE WRITING LITTLE MINI INTRODUCTIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS AT THE END OF SECTIONS, TO SHOW HOW THE SECTION RELATES TO THE OVERARCHING
ARGUMENT YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE...................................................................................................... 37
BUILD A LEGO TOWER, DON’T PULL A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT.......................................................................37
(C) QUOTATIONS......................................................................................................................................... 37
USE FOR SUPPORT BUT DON’T LET THEM DOMINATE THE SUBSTANCE........................................................37
CONSIDER PARAPHRASING, WITH APPROPRIATE REFERENCING..................................................................37
(D) STYLE..................................................................................................................................................... 37
USE FORMAL ENGLISH, BUT DON’T SWALLOW A THESAURUS......................................................................37
USE OF COMMAS........................................................................................................................................ 37
FIRST OR THIRD PERSON............................................................................................................................. 37
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES TO BOTH........................................................................................... 37
ADOPT A STYLE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.......................................................................................... 37
RELEVANCY IS KEY....................................................................................................................................... 37
ANALYSIS, NOT JUST DESCRIPTION.............................................................................................................. 37
PROOF READ............................................................................................................................................... 37
WORK OUT WHAT THE QUESTION WANTS YOU TO DO................................................................................37
WHAT AREA OF THE LAW IT WANTS YOU TO DISCUSS.................................................................................37
FROM WHAT PERSPECTIVE YOU ARE EXPECTED TO ANALYSE IT...................................................................37
MAKE SURE WHAT YOU WRITE IS RELEVANT TO THE QUESTION ASKED.......................................................37
MAKE SURE THE LAW YOU DISCUSS IS RELEVANT........................................................................................37
MAKE SURE THE SOURCES YOU CONSULT AND CITE ARE RELEVANT TO THE ARGUMENT YOU ARE MAKING. 37
MAKES SURE YOUR DISCUSSION AND ARGUMENT IS RELEVANT TO ANALYSING THE QUESTION ASKED.......37
TO GET THE HIGHER MARKS YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO GO BEYOND SIMPLY DESCRIBING WHAT THE LAW IS
AND ANALYSE IT......................................................................................................................................... 38
LECTURE 11: PROBLEM QUESTIONS............................................................................................................. 38
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................ 38
LECTURE 12: COMPARATIVE LAW................................................................................................................ 42
LAW IN PRACTICE – GUEST LECTURE............................................................................................................ 45
LECTURE 13: COMMON LAW VERSUS CIVIL LAW SYSTEMS (FROM ENGLISH SYSTEM)...................................46
LECTURE 14: MOOTING SKILLS..................................................................................................................... 46
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................... 46
RESEARCH PLANNING.................................................................................................................................. 47
LECTURE 15: MOOTING PREPARATION........................................................................................................ 48
Lecture 1: Introduction
Critical analysis
Why is the law the way it is?
Considering different perspectives to evaluate the law
, Developing your own critical perspective
Broad theme = WHY – laws exist for a reason, do you agree with the law etc.
Considering differing interpretations on the law – not just what it is or what is wrong with it.
Certainty, flexibility, and justice
Law and morality
Does law need to be moral to be valid
Judicial freedom and diversity
To what extent should judges be representative of sciety
Where is the law?
Library and IT Class
Legal research and referencing
Advice on being good students of the law
Study skills
Assessment – writing courses. Academic Development for Students HUB – Home
(sharepoint.com)
Problem Questions
Essay Writing
Assessments
Lecture 2: The Sources of Law & Court Structure
Why do we have law?
Chaos – without law there would be a war of law against all
Anarchy
Rule of law: people are governed by this by agreement or not (no choice)
Tyranny/rule by law – tyrants make the laws fo r others, but they themselves are not bound
by which they create
The English legal system
A legal system is more than rules or laws. It is also the way in which law is administrated, who has
the power to create, interpret, apply and change the law.
Different levels (each differs) e.g. UK, English, Scottish, wales, northern irish
E.g. Scottish criminal law differs – guilty, not guilty and not proven.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller legalwarrior1. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $17.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
