Doing well in exams

cat_xx

Hi all,

Just wondering if you could offer some advice. Im in my final year of my B.Corp Law degree and I am really working hard to get a high 2:1 or even a 1:1, fingers crossed. I have always put a good bit of effort into my exams however I never got the marks I really wanted (e.g getting 55-65) I spoke to my lectures about how to go about getting higher marks but they weren't really too helpful. Any advice on how to do well would be fantastic!

Thanks.

Avatargh

cat_xx wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if you could offer some advice. Im in my final year of my B.Corp Law degree and I am really working hard to get a high 2:1 or even a 1:1, fingers crossed. I have always put a good bit of effort into my exams however I never got the marks I really wanted (e.g getting 55-65) I spoke to my lectures about how to go about getting higher marks but they weren't really too helpful. Any advice on how to do well would be fantastic!

Thanks.

Read cases, not books.

chops018

It's hard to give advice here because everyone has different ways of studying that suits the individual themselves, what might be a good way of studying for them might not be so beneficial to you. So try a few ways of studying from different pieces of advice and go with what feel most comfortable with. I know it's easier said than done but if you want to do it then you will.

I personally found that when I was studying I liked to go through the areas I wasn't good at and make my own notes (sometimes this can be time consuming if the area is lengthy or if it's for multiple areas), via chapters in a book or even online research. Also try get some articles from law journals as this would give me a better understanding of the particular topic/area. I found once I had a better understanding of the law/area I would do better.

Also if you can get your hands on sample questions and get doing them this would be a great way of studying in my opinion, as sample questions from tutorials or past exams would be the most exam focused way of study, you can even ask a lecturer to have a look at them and they can tell you where you went wrong.

Another area in law is that sometimes students (including myself) just state the law and a relevant case and think that it's fine, however if the student can state the law and apply it correctly using the proper case law that you have a good understanding of (so reading the cases like the person above said would be a huge help, however this would take lot's of time so even if you got a 'cases and materials' book for the subject you are doing this would shorten down the cases greatly but include the relevant parts from the judegments.

Know the how the law developed etc and try understand the principles in the judgement and take note of how it changed. I always found once I understood the law the questions became much easier and the stuff a lot easier to remember.

Avatargh

chops018 wrote: »

Another area in law is that sometimes students (including myself) just state the law and a relevant case and think that it's fine, however if the student can state the law and apply it correctly using the proper case law that you have a good understanding of (so reading the cases like the person above said would be a huge help, however this would take lot's of time so even if you got a 'cases and materials' book for the subject you are doing this would shorten down the cases greatly but include the relevant parts from the judegments.

The person is asking how to get a high mark, or a 1st. Stating the law, and applying it correctly is about the barest of minimums one expects.

And yes, reading the cases takes lots of time; that's why people who tend to do very well have spent lots of time studying and working.

chops018

Avatargh wrote: »

The person is asking how to get a high mark, or a 1st. Stating the law, and applying it correctly is about the barest of minimums one expects.

And yes, reading the cases takes lots of time; that's why people who tend to do very well have spent lots of time studying and working.

You're just quoting one of my statements, I gave a very detailed account of what I've heard and what seems to work for me with regards studying and aiming to get a high mark. You literally just said "read cases not books", and while cases are very important, they are not the be all and end all of studying law. The judgements can be very lengthy and difficult to read, which is why I recommend only reading full judgements here and there (also read full judgements for assignments almost always), and instead use a good text or a cases and materials book.

It is extremely difficult to get a 1:1, and so the amount of studying and being prepared would be enormous, and even at that you still not might get a 1:1. In my opinion everything is important here - relevant text books (for understanding areas), nutshells (for revision), cases and materials books (for shortening of cases and aiding in further understanding), and some full cases which seem the most important, also if you could get your hands on some sample questions or answers and even past papers then this would prepare you for exams brilliantly as there is no better way to prepare than doing questions and asking a lecturer to let you know where you went wrong and ask how your mark can be improved. For bonus mark try bring in some journal/scholarly articles to the answer of the question you are asked, this will show that you researched the area outside of the reading list/curriculum.

The above person is very right, that is in saying that you should read the cases, as they are very important. But they are not the only thing to worry about and when you're in college and possibly have a part time job and other activities, and you want to get a good grade then just try find a study system that works for you and your time schedule and see how it goes, keep saying it to your lecturers and try get more help even if they aren't that good at helping they will see that your aiming for the higher mark and this could help also.

cat_xx

You have been a great help! Thank you

guerito

It's a good time of year to be asking this question cos you'll need to put the hours in. Reading the cases is key. Just reproducing a book or even synthesising a few books won't get you a first, you have to read the reports. If you haven't been doing that (and I'm assuming you haven't), here's a good start:

Get past the summary on the first page of case reports, learn to skim the judgement to find the ratio. Once you find that, read it and then work back through the judgement to follow the reasoning. Do that for each case cited in the judgement, and move on to the next case in the chain of precedent. Once you can spot the ratio straight away, just make notes on that and move on: don't bother working backward unless you have to. Do this for every topic in each subject you're doing and make bullet-point notes while doing it. Takes time at first but gets quicker the more you do it.

It gives you a different starting point and different analysis points for the questions you'll be doing in the exams at the end of year, plus your lecturers will know that you've put the work in. That alone is worth a 2:1. Take 1 or 2 minutes to plan your answers and if you're looking for a first you've done yourself no harm at all.

Hope this helps

Edit: also, like chops says, do loads of past papers. The best way to get good at something is by practising it.

32minutes

cat_xx wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if you could offer some advice. Im in my final year of my B.Corp Law degree and I am really working hard to get a high 2:1 or even a 1:1, fingers crossed. I have always put a good bit of effort into my exams however I never got the marks I really wanted (e.g getting 55-65) I spoke to my lectures about how to go about getting higher marks but they weren't really too helpful. Any advice on how to do well would be fantastic!

Thanks.

I meant to comment on this earlier as I did your course previously, however I have been busy fighting the good fight against Shatter, Howlin et al.

If I could go back and do it again then there are a couple of things I would do differently, firstly I would give more consideration to the commercial modules, yes they are usually more boring and generally take less time to study for, but then again I know a guy who got a 90 in economics and his average shot through the roof, I'm not saying focus on commerce, I'm just saying don't ignore it.

Secondly I would not be as afraid to voice my own opinion in exams, I would imagine it's refreshing for a lecturer when they read an answer that actually makes a point and substantiates it with case law, academics and actual INSIGHT, anyone can read a legal textbook, but can you interpret it, analyze it and then disagree with it for good reason?

Things I would NOT do differently, focus on quality of study over quantity. I was still in the library late most evenings when it came to study but I never pulled an all nighter or hung around the college in the morning waiting for the library to open. But when I did study, I didn't text on my phone or google on my laptop, I read books cases, made notes and that was it. And the when I went out for drinks, I didn't think about studying, I just had a good time, and I think that's also important for balance. I talked to people in my class and didn't ask them what they thought would come up, I asked them what they thought about adverse possession or separation of powers if it did come up and very often they gave me a new perspective.

And then the most important thing for me, reading the question. Everyone says it, your lecturers, parents, teachers etc but it's so true. I went back to the exam question after every single paragraph I wrote and it refocuses you.

You've gotten good advice from others here; such as knowing the background of the law, I was crap at that when I started and only got good when I did the Fe1s. I couldn't get my head around the settlement acts in property until I read about why they were needed and the purpose they served, it's not always interesting but definitely helps you remember and again focuses your answer.

And of course, citing cases, everyone loves this and you've got to be good at it. Because every statement of fact you make is only true if you can prove it.

Best of luck, and believe me there's no shortage of great people out there who got 2:1s and no shortage of people who got firsts that I wouldn't let mind my dog for a weekend, it's important but don't get too caught up with it. No one on their death thanked god for getting a first in college (I hope)