Advice and Tips for Prelim LEgal studies (1 Viewer)

[BabyBlueVamp]

Hi,
Can you give me some advice and tips for studying and preparing for Prelim Legal studies.. How to answer questions during exams, etc
what books are good for preparing.. etc

 

[-tal-]

Don't go in taking legal lightly. It can be very hard if you don't know your stuff. If you did commerce in years 9 & 10, it becomes much easier because you have basic knowledge needed to answer multiple choice questions.

Learn the legal terminology, anyone can write an essay on crime, but not everyone can write about the technicalities of it.

Lots of common sense is involved, you can figure out most of it without learning it. But legal is after all a content based subject, so just remember all of it and you're good to go.

The first topic is easy (goes for every subject) but don't let this lull you into thinking prelim is easy. It gets harder - concentrate on the easy stuff so you smash everyone in the first assessment.

I can't teach you how to answer questions in exams, it's like English, you'll know what to write. Legal is also much easier if you're proficient in English

Most legal textbooks for prelim are very good. Excel in particular. Just get your hands on as many books as possible.

Just reading over the notes and making sure you can kick the syllabus' ass is very important.

 

[jeff.wong]

Prelims don't really count so would just take it easy until HSC comes around, however as -tal- said terminology and common sense are great for prelims. Make sure you understand all those Latin terms and jargons.

 

[same person]

It's fine if you didn't do commerce in 9 and 10, cause i managed just fine haha

and also, just be aware that some of the topics can get a little dry, but if you stick it out it gets better

 

[jasmineIStheSEX]

i never did commerce in 9 or 10 and i managed year 11 legal studies pretty ok!

 

[possessionless]

i never did commerce in 9 or 10 and i managed year 11 legal studies pretty ok!

same

 

[binary star]

I found it quite tedious.. and repetitive, but not particularly hard. Advice: be prepared to cram, and to write essays that are at least 7 pages.

 

[cxlxoxk]

Prelim - Learn the basics, chill out till Term 4 (Year 12 starts).

HSC - Do 1 billion multiple choice practice questions, try to get better scores every time, learn your weaknesses, do questions on your weakness. Learn to write good essays like there is no tomorrow. Short answer isn't too important, just know your stuff!

 

[Bulldog4lyf]

My teacher said that doing Commerce in yrs 9 and 10 helps a lot, I wish I had done it because I hated Electronics.

 

[dux&src]

Legal notions:
law
rules
custom
justice
fairness

yr 11 legal studies students should be able to answer these.

 

[FlyingHigh26]

Legal Studies can be a tough subject for some people due to the level of content that is required; especially in essays or exams. One thing you need to learn is to be able to fill a booklet completely with legal terms and definitions in relation to your case study. It doesn't necessarily need to be in a perfect essay form, but it does need to flow into each other to enforce a full argument. I personally learnt that not including certain cases or not relating them towards the question was throwing away easy points.

Year 11 legal studies feels a little cruisy, and some people will tell you it is, but if you don't understand a lot of the stuff you do, or don't remember some of the cases you can really struggle, especially in an exam scenario. If you do get the chance in your class, or even in your own time, study things like the Anti-terrorism act in relation to the erosion of human rights, understand the structure and layout of the UN, and some of its international bodies such as the ICJ, ICC, Security Council and most of the international conventions and instruments, especially things such as ICCPR, ICESCR, UDHR, Geneva Convention. Most of these things not only deepens your understanding of the theory, but these can be vital in the HSC exam if the question pops up.

My last tip would be do not get thrown off by the questions, especially the HSC questions. They tend to be very broad, and inspecific into what they actually want you to write. Use it to your advantage; having such a broad question allows you to get more points by including more information and case studies in relation to the question. You rarely will ever get marked down for including irrelevant material if the question is very broad.

By the way, I got all of these tips from a HSC Senior Marker, and they definately helped me a lot.

Good luck for the rest of the year! Hoped some of this info helped...

 

[X2RADialbomber]

Most of the stuff that you study in prelim really helps for Year 12. (E.g. Court Structures, Human Rights, International Law)

 

[syekotk]

Don't stress out too much if you don't know everything in year 11, you learn most of the basic concepts all over again in the HSC course (you do need a vague idea of it though).

The most important thing you must remember is to give examples for every question, whether it's case law, media reports, statutes or anything else. You won't ever get full marks in the HSC (or the prelim course) without examples.

When you get to international law, there are two words that you have to tattoo onto your forehead; "state sovereignty" This will form the basis for every arguement you're going to be giving on the effectiveness of international law as well it's enforceability.

All in all, don't worry too much about the prelim course, do well in your assessments (that being said if you screw one up it's not the end of the world) and pay attention in class and you'll be fine (don't fall behind with your notes, in no time you're like 40 pages behind)