Describe what you managed to learn in your first week of Law lessons

Written by Conor Newman (Sept 2007)

Plan

Introduction
-What is this essay trying to do?
-What did I learn in my first week of law lessons?

Main Body

-Read and précis
-The Rules of the laws department
-Lawsblog activity
-Essay writing
-Buzan method
-Homework rules

Conclusion
-Sum up main points.
-Most important thing that I learnt?

Introduction

This essay will attempt to describe and explain the various concepts that were introduced to Block G during the first week of Law lessons. During that induction week, a range of skills that would be essential for one to progress in Law were put forward, some of which were familiar, others being entirely new.

Read and Précis

A skill that is fundamental to the Laws department in general, but in particular the subject of Law, is the ability to read and précis ones work. This is a technique that involves reading through a piece of text several times so that you can understand its key concepts and arguments. Then, a summary or précis must be written in as cogent a manner as possible, in your own words so that one can gain a proper understanding of what the original writer was trying to say. However, this précis must be a mere fraction of the size of the original, but retaining its key ideas, so that the précis becomes easy to remember and easier to “digest”, as it were.
The ultimate goal of this technique is to allow students to work independently at home, so that when they come into class they understand the key concepts and know all the facts. This allows students to more easily discuss and debate the topics at hand; as they already know the information and so do not need to waste time in class learning it.
Personally, I believe this technique will be an invaluable one in my studies; it will enable me to participate fully in class discussions. It also highlights the transition from GCSE to A-level work-no longer are we being “spoon fed” information. It gives us a greater level of freedom and also means that those that want to work and do well, have to put in that much more effort. I had never heard of the concept of read and précis before, so it was one of the most important things that I learnt in this first week.

The Buzan method

Going hand in hand with read and précis is the so-called Buzan method, another important skill that I learnt in my first week of Law lessons. This is a method of absorbing information that was developed by Tony Buzan, an advocate of such techniques such as mindmaps and mnemonics. The method itself is quite simple: read a passage of text for roughly 15 minutes, and then summarise the main points of the text.  Then, you should take a break for a similar period of time. Tony Buzan argues that the Human Brain can only stay focused on one thing for very short periods of time, and that over time it becomes more and more difficult to remember things unless one repeatedly goes over it. Therefore, by taking breaks periodically during study it helps to keep the mind fresh and focused when you come back to the work you did previously. After the fifteen minute break, you re-read your summary, checking for any additions you can make, and then continue to read, and so on.
The benefits of this method are obvious. Not only does it break down note-taking and revising into smaller sections so that it can be more easily understood, but it also means that you are left with a set of comprehensive and detailed notes for when it comes to revision for the exam.
I believe that the Buzan method is certainly an interesting take on reading and précis, and I can see it working for the majority of students. However, problems may arise when it comes to auditory learners, who find it difficult to learn when simply looking at a page of text. This method really focuses on and would be of more help to kinaesthetic learners, with whom repeated note taking is an efficient form of learning. I may find myself using a slightly different approach to précis, as I learn better by writing briefer notes and using colour, than simply summarising a piece of text in a simple paragraph. However, it is a good foundation to build upon so that I can adapt it to suit my own learning style.

The Rules of the Laws Department

Another important thing that I learnt in the first week of law lessons were the rules of the laws department. Although similar to the overall College rules and the rules of other departments, there are some very important differences which I learnt.
Firstly, students in the Laws department must read and précis the chapters relevant to the topic at hand before coming to class. This is very important as it means that students will be able to better participate in class discussions without being bogged down in note-taking in class time.
Going hand in hand with the read and précis work is also the rule that states that students must print off and bring to class any lesson materials that may be needed during the lecture. This is important because it means that the laws department does not need to use vast resources on all the students in the department, and it also means students have more independence and have to rely more on themselves than being spoon fed things. I think this rule may prove to be an effective one, as I like the idea of being given more independence in my studies, and the opportunity to take my learning into my own hands.
Another important rule that I learnt in the inaugural week was that homework deadlines could not be changed, and that no excuses are acceptable. Although this is a rather harsh rule, it is also a beneficial one in the end. It is preparing the students for the deadlines of University and the workplace, whereby if you are late or miss a deadline, you don’t simply get an extension; you are thrown off the course or sacked. So, although trying to meet deadlines in laws work will be extremely tough, I think it is a necessary challenge in preparing us for later life.
Finally, an important rule in the Laws department is that mobile phones should be switched off in the classroom. Although this does apply across the college, it is much stricter in the Laws department. The reason for this is that lectures in Law can be much more important than in other subjects, as they may deal with vital issues that you will not find in the textbooks, for example the opinions of the class will not be found anywhere else but during the lecture, so for the lesson to be interrupted half way through is detrimental to the learning of everyone.

Essay writing

Although the essay writing skills that we were taught in our first week were relatively familiar to me, there were several key additions that were new.
Firstly, the use of sub-headings. Whenever I have written an essay in the past, the use of sub-headings was virtually forbidden, but the addition of them in Law essays is, to me, a logical one. They add a level of structure and cohesion that is not often found in most essays, and they make an essay much more cogent and easier to read.
Secondly, the use of a bibliography was relatively new to me, as I had not used one personally in the past. A bibliography is a list at the end of an essay that tells the reader what texts were used to write the essay. This is vital when essay writing because it proves to the person reading or marking the work that you have not plagiarised your ideas from others, and also shows that you may have gone outside the set textbook for your ideas.

Lawsblog activity

The lawsblog activity was a piece of homework set during our first week of law lessons. It involved going on the lawsblog, as designed by Dr Peter Jepson, and utilise its resources to answer a set of simple questions. Its main purpose was obviously to familiarise students with the lawsblog, so that when it comes to using it in the curriculum proper, we will know exactly what to do. However, I personally feel that the lawsblog is rather self-explanatory in its layout, although there were several questions which took a little while to find the answers to.
From this activity, I learnt much about the lawsblog itself, such as how to find the different lesson materials for the term, and how to find out when all the separate homework assignments are due in for.

Library Tour

The final thing that I learnt in my first week of law lessons was how to use the library. This was achieved by completing a challenging library exercise, which involved answering a set of questions by finding the relevant books in the law section of the library. This proved quite difficult, as there are a variety of books with similar titles! However, it was an excellent way of introducing the students to the intricacies of the library system. It taught me where the law section of the library is, how to take out a book from the library, and which books would help me during the course.
Conclusion

In conclusion, I learnt a variety of skills, techniques, and valuable bits of information that will prove vital during the law course. I learnt how to read and précis effectively by using the Buzan method; the various rules of the laws department which will obviously be vital during my studies. I also learnt how to write an effective law essay; how to use the lawsblog, and, finally, how to use the library. However, I think most important thing I learnt this week was the read and précis skill; I will most likely be using it so much throughout the course that mastering it this early on will prove invaluable in my studies. Overall, this inaugural week has been informative, interesting, and an excellent introduction to the field of law.