Question on doing Law

[FinalFantasy]

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does Law need very high lvl english to do?
If u can communicate well, but not very good when it comes to writing essays for english and stuff, would law be too hard?

[felafel]

law requires lots and lots of reading.

and when you read, you should be absorbing not only WHAT is written but HOW.

so i would think yes it does require good english, but this is developed as you begin reading

[FinalFantasy]

ahh, reading!
i fall asleep when i pick up a book... lol

[azn_spirit]

Reading...mmm..yeah thats expected of course Law is all about books books and more books why else would lawyers have those mini-law librarys in their offices =).

Well what about the writing essays and communicating??? =( If I go into law and find out that I need one hell of essay writing skills and damn good communication skills...I' m transfering the first chance I get out of there. =D My english is crap for all I know.

Damn..I just hope good English skills AREN'T expected from starting Law students. Better if they just go "oh ok we'll just start doing easy essays and easy reading coz ur new then we'll progress to the hard essays" rather than "Ok we all assume you have great english skills coz u got 99 so and so ...so lets give all of yous hard essays and reading to do"

[1000words]

Originally Posted by Asquithian

You don't do many essays in law. You mainly are asked to write advices coupled with small essay questions.

*gasp!* don't get caught for misrep! Perhaps wait until you take on your electives or were you referring to exams? In my experience, law essays featured in every subject that I did both throughout the teaching period and also in the exams. My understanding was that law essays allowed students to analyse the policy and reasoning behind certain legal principles.

A high level of oral and written English provides for a very strong advantage. However, as felafel mentioned, it's something that is developed throughout your law degree if you're keen. Of course, the earlier, the better.

[azn_spirit]

Phew .. thank you Asquithian and 1000words, guess thats one less thing I need to worry about Law seems so much like its filled with essays though with all the reading required, oh wells guess I just need to find out =(.

I'm a science-based person btw, doing subjects like biology, physics and maths ext 2, just worried about going into a course where its all humanities and there is NO wrong or right answer and a hell lot of reading is required.

[1000words]

Originally Posted by Asquithian

For contract law we wrote NO essays. Only had to write advice for assessment.

Lucky thing Essays take up significant time I found.

[FinalFantasy]

so it's ok if ur really crap @ english and stuff? is there lots of oral assessments? i mean.. i am very crap at speaking as well lol

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by FinalFantasy

so it's ok if ur really crap @ english and stuff? is there lots of oral assessments? i mean.. i am very crap at speaking as well lol

i am unaware of a large amount of oral assessments in law. normally, it is a number of quizzes, casenotes, assignments and final exams.

however, having said that, to be a competent lawyer, one expects you to be able to speak. otherwise, how on earth are you going to pass job interviews?

[FinalFantasy]

well yea i mean.. i CAN speak and communicate.. but i can't do it eloquently and stuff..

[FinalFantasy]

Originally Posted by Asquithian

try not to say 'and stuff' in your interview

hahaha alright.

[1000words]

Originally Posted by azn_spirit

I'm a science-based person btw, doing subjects like biology, physics and maths ext 2, just worried about going into a course where its all humanities and there is NO wrong or right answer and a hell lot of reading is required.

I know exactly where you're coming from being a science-based person too. Not to worry although perhaps expect a short 'transition' period I like to call trial and error

[MoonlightSonata]

I wouldn't worry about excessive essay writing, but English is very important. There is no subject in the HSC more vital to law than English, even Legal Studies. This is for a number of reasons, including:

- the most obvious: law is expressed and passed on through language, recorded and written down for us to interpret and use; you need to be able to understand and wield that language effectively
- as Chief Justice Spigelman once commented, our adversarial system is "a manifestation of the power of Socratic dialogue" - and that entails the ability to communicate ideas to persuade and validate the truth using language
- there is not an excessive amount of reading however the difficulty of the reading is the most pertinent part: it can be very complicated, deep and verbose
- being articulate and clear are essential; two skills that you develop through a sound grasp of the English language
- advocacy might be said to be the art of persuassion. While you may not necessarily want to be a lawyer at the end of your degree, expressing your arguments in exams, assignments, and verbally in class participation and presentations all entails making use of the vast toolkit of words our language has to offer. Precision, clarity and semantic certainty go towards interpreting and applying the law.

[Suvat]

Proficiency in the english language is essential in law, however do not confuse english with HSC english

[PwarYuex]

Originally Posted by FinalFantasy

ahh, reading!
i fall asleep when i pick up a book... lol

have you ever seen a photo of a lawyer's office? google it.