Essay writing and Problem writing skills DR ALISON

Essay writing and Problem writing skills DR ALISON YOUNG

Aims and Purposes of this Session �Lost in translation! Different educational cultures approach questions in different ways �Revision preparation Different institutions examine in different ways

MARKING CRITERION First Pass: 60 -69 Pass: 50 -59 Fail: 0 -49 Attention to the question asked Acute Attention Normally attention (may include good answer to a different question) To the relevant subject area but not to the specific question asked Knowledge and understanding of Deep and detailed and the question asked knowledge of the context Clear and fairly detailed, with knowledge of the surrounding law Fair, with knowledge Some knowledge and of the surrounding law understanding Comprehensiveness and accuracy Excellent with no or almost no substantial errors or omissions Good with few substantial errors or omissions Reasonable with possibly some substantial errors or omissions Clarity, structure, argument and integration of information, ideas and expression Identification of one or more possible lines of argument Familiarity with and application of theoretical arguments Critical analysis Excellent and appropriate Clear and appropriate Reasonably clear and Some – likely to be unclear or appropriate inappropriate Yes No Good appreciation Reasonable appreciation Likely to be scanty and Negligible weak Substantial, with a personal contribution for a high First Required, with a Not required significant degree required for a high 2(i) Weaknesses, commonly including substantial errors and omissions Not required

What is an essay? �Essay as arrangement: Gives an accurate account of relevant facts and law �Essay as viewpoint: Provides the opinion of the author �Essay as argument: Integrates the opinion of the author and relevant law and facts to provide a reasoned argument in response to the question

Silly Example! �Essay question: What is your name? �Essay as arrangement Gives an account of different meanings of ‘name’ �Essay as viewpoint Provides the opinion of the author that anyone other than her closest friends should not call her by a shortened version of her name! �Essay as argument Integrates information about different meanings of ‘name’ with evaluations of their use in different circumstances to provide a reasoned argument as to what your name is in different situations, why, and the implications for our understanding of ‘names’.

Serious Example In 2004 Gil Carlos Rodriguez Iglesias, then the President of the Court of Justice, argued extrajudicially that it is right to establish ‘a distinction between the political and the legal monitoring of the principle of subsidiarity, and . . . [to argue] that subsidiarity is a principle of an essentially political nature. This argument will avoid bringing the Court too close to the political arena and having it decide on political “hot potatoes” which are very often difficult to adjudicate on legal grounds’. Do you agree with his view?

Serious Example In 2004 Gil Carlos Rodriguez Iglesias, then the President of the Court of Justice, argued extrajudicially that it is right to establish ‘a distinction between the political and the legal monitoring of the principle of subsidiarity, and . . . [to argue] that subsidiarity is a principle of an essentially political nature. This argument will avoid bringing the Court too close to the political arena and having it decide on political “hot potatoes” which are very often difficult to adjudicate on legal grounds’. Do you agree with his view? � Essay as Arrangement Presentation of relevant facts about subsidiarity and discussion of political and legal enforcement � Essay as Opinion that the lack of enforcement of subsidiarity is not because this is a ‘political’ topic but because of ‘institutional incestuousness'! � Essay as Argument Provides an assessment of whether Rodriguez is right - is there a distinction and should subsidiarity be regarded as a political principle?

Essay writing process �Analyse the question �Think through the different arguments you could make and how you would use legal information to support these arguments �Evaluate the relative merits of the arguments you could make �Adopt a particular position and be prepared to defend it �THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER!!!

Serious Example In 2004 Gil Carlos Rodriguez Iglesias, then the President of the Court of Justice, argued extrajudicially that it is right to establish ‘a distinction between the political and the legal monitoring of the principle of subsidiarity, and . . . [to argue] that subsidiarity is a principle of an essentially political nature. This argument will avoid bringing the Court too close to the political arena and having it decide on political “hot potatoes” which are very often difficult to adjudicate on legal grounds’. Do you agree with his view?

Essay writing process Introduction Oxford myth – the introduction IS the conclusion!’ �Explain the issues in the question �Explain the argument you are going to make �Explain how you are going to make this argument

Essay writing process Main body of the argument �The importance of ‘sign-posting’ 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Set out your argument, explain its weaknesses explain how you will overcome these weaknesses Set out the opposite position to your argument, explain its weaknesses and the defend your own argument Set out traditional polar arguments, explain their weaknesses and explain why you adopt one particular position, or why these polar arguments are mistaken Set out weaknesses of the current law, explain possible ways in which the law can be reformed and evaluate these reforms Explain the criteria you will use to evaluate a particular area of the law, justify why these criteria are valid and then evaluate the current law according to these criteria

Essay writing process Conclusion �DO NOT just reiterate the points you have just made �Place your argument in its larger legal or social context �Suggest other possible legal ramifications of your argument

Implications for revision �DO NOT just memorise facts!! �DO Think about possible issues that may arise in this area of the law Practise making arguments around these issues Practise evaluating these arguments Focus on looking at past questions and writing plans and essays in response to these questions Think about connections between different areas of the law

Problem Questions CLEO �Claim What does the applicant want and from whom? � Defence/prosecution/applicant/defendant � Particular remedy? �Law What law can she rely on to support her claim? Case law/statute/case law interpreting statutory provisions �Evaluation How strong is her legal argument? What are the weaknesses in her legal argument and how can they be overcome? �Outcome What remedy, if any can be claimed?

How to answer a problem question �Identify the legal issues Separate out each claimant and the person they can bring an action against Group together the relevant facts for each claimant �Identify the relevant law Determine how case law and statute approaches these issues � Think through issues and not merely the outcome of particular cases � Are there precedents for and against the outcome that you want? Which case is stronger and why? � If the precedents clearly do not support the outcome that you want, is there any valid criticism of these precedents in dissenting judgments or in academic commentary? How can you use these effectively? �Importance of planning

How to answer a problem question �Things to avoid Narrative �Do NOT give a complete account of every case that you have read and describe the case before looking at the issues that arise �Do NOT give long-winded descriptions of cases that you need to refer to in order to answer the question – DO use the facts and reasoning that are relevant to help you to answer the problem question.

How to answer a problem question �Things to avoid Irrelevant information � Do NOT provide an account of academic criticism and controversy unless that is relevant to the argument you need to make � NB YOU ONLY NEED TO REFER TO THE LAW THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE SPECIFIC LEGAL ISSUES THAT ARE RAISED IN THE PROBLEM AND NOT AN ACCOUNT OF ALL LAW THAT YOU HAVE READ OR ALL OF THE LAW RELATING TO THIS TOPIC!!!

How to answer a problem question �Things to include Set out the outline of the legal issues and the resolution you will be arguing for in your introduction Explore different possibilities – if the outcome is controversial explore the different possibilities and likelihood of success as opposed to choosing one and excluding other options without explaining why Be prepared to analyse multiple causes of action Use academic criticism wisely to help strengthen a claim that the law ought to be modified when required to help you answer the problem question

Implications for revision �DO NOT just memorise long lists of cases and statutes �DO Ensure you understand how cases and statutes relate to one another to provide a series of questions and answers Use flow-charts or diagrams if they help you Integrate legal tests with evaluations and criticisms of these tests Practise practise!