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LAW1112 Legal Writing and Research

Semester 1, 2022 Online
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Law and Justice
Grading basis : Graded
Course fee schedule : /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BBLA or BBBL or BCLW or BCLA or LLBP or BALW or BABL or BART or BEDU or BSED
Enrolment is not permitted in LAW1112 if LAW1201 has been previously completed

Overview

This course is a foundation course for the Bachelor of Laws programs. It provides students with the introductory skills necessary to then complete remaining law courses. This is a core course in the Bachelor of Laws programs.

This course provides students with an introduction to the key skills necessary to undertake their substantive law courses, including legal citation, legal research, problem-solving, legal writing, analysis, synthesis, reflection and evaluation. Students will continue to build and develop these skills as they progress through other core courses in the Law program.

Course learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate [explain and apply] an understanding of a coherent body of knowledge relevant to: legal systems and the role of lawyers; language history, including academic and professional legal writing conventions; and the broader contexts within which legal issues arise [in this area] (PO1/TLO1).
  2. identify and articulate legal issues [relating to legal systems and, the role of lawyers; apply legal reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses to legal issues; engage in analysis and make a reasoned choice amongst alternatives (PO3/TLO3).
  3. Demonstrate the intellectual and practical skills needed to identify, research in an ethical manner, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues (PO4/TLO4).
  4. Communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (PO5/TLO5).
  5. Learn and work independently, reflect on and assess their own capabilities and performance, and make use of feedback as appropriate, to support personal and professional development (PO6/TLO6).

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Introduction to ethical legal study and law 10.00
2. Writing ‘right’: grammar, plain English and academic integrity 25.00
3. Introduction to legal research and secondary sources 10.00
4. Case law research 20.00
5. Putting it into practice: context, purpose and writing processes 15.00
6. Statute law research 15.00
7. Researching beyond Australia 5.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Corbett-Jarvis, N & Grigg, B Latest Edn, Effective legal writing: a practical guide, Latest edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
(Available as an electronic resource through USQ Library page.)
Mann, T (ed.) Latest edn, Oxford Australian law dictionary, Latest edn, Oxford ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, South Melbourne, Victoria.
(Available as an electronic resource through USQ Library page.)
Journal of International Law, Melbourne, Victoria (latest edition is essential). (View-only PDF version available for download from Melbourne ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Law Review website.).
Melbourne ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Law Review Association & Melbourne Journal of International Law 2018, Australian guide to legal citation, 4th edn, Melbourne ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Law Review Association & Melbourne Journal of International Law, Melbourne, Victoria (latest edition is essential).

Student workload expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.

Assessment details

Description Weighting (%) Course learning outcomes
ASSIGNMENT 1 30 1,4,5
RESEARCH ONLINE TEST 30 3
ASSIGNMENT 2 40 1,2,3,4,5
Date printed 10 February 2023