VCE Legal Studies Question Thread

[thechicken103]

I used cost and time also.

Same here

[maddihanna]

Anybody want to throw out a few ideas for this question?

Outline the role of the Governor-General. In what important way does the role differ to that of the Governor of Victoria?

I know the main differences e.g state and federal level, power to withhold royal assent etc etc
But my textbook isn't giving me much more!
Thanks in advance

[M_BONG]

Anybody want to throw out a few ideas for this question?

Outline the role of the Governor-General. In what important way does the role differ to that of the Governor of Victoria?

I know the main differences e.g state and federal level, power to withhold royal assent etc etc
But my textbook isn't giving me much more!
Thanks in advance

I mean it's a really bad question and shouldn't be worth more than 2 or 3 marks.
You can take this as a "no duh" question and write - "the Governor of Victoria designates and prorogues parliamentary sessions for the Parliament of Victoria whilst also acting as the head of the executive for Victoria; whereas the Governor-General acts as the the Queen's Representative for Australia, designating and proroguing parliamentary sessions for the Commonwealth parliament." But I would argue this wouldn't be necessary

The main difference is that the Governors have limited reserve powers whereas Governors-General have arguable more Constitutional reserve powers (such as withholding Royal Assent as you correctly mentioned). I would make it clear to the examiner that you know the Governor-General is on a Federal level whereas the Governor is on a State level.

The main catch (where people will likely lose marks) in this question is forgetting to outline the role of the Governor-General...

[maddihanna]

Me again! Just wondering if somebody could help me out with this question?
Thank you in advance!

Identify two checks and balances that operate in our system of government to ensure the separation of powers is followed. (2 marks)

[iClinton]

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of parliament as a law-making body, (No dot points)

[lisax3]

Can someone please help me on this question? How do I structure it and what do I write?
It's worth 5 marks

[vanessa14]

Can someone please help me on this question? How do I structure it and what do I write?
It's worth 5 marks

I had the same question  and I didnt know how to answer it on the SAC.

[lido]

Hi, how do you explain the difference between representative and responsible government exam-style?

[Alter]

Hi, how do you explain the difference between representative and responsible government exam-style?

It depends on the marks, but I'd just go so far as providing a definition and brief explanation of what both of the concepts mean. If you were really low on time then you could go to the chief difference between the two, but this would just basically be a shorter definition (and you might use a word such as "whereas" to signal you're showing a difference in the concepts. However, this is a question more likely to be at the start of the exam.

E.g:
Responsible government is a parliamentary principle which refers to the government being accountable/answerable for its actions. The government is answerable to parliament, and parliament to the people. To ensure accountability, there is public scrutiny of the legislative process (proceedings transcribed in Hansard; question time; parliamentary sessions are open to the public).

Representative government is another principle that refers to a government as reflecting the wishes of the voters of Australia. It ensures that there is a government made up of representatives who are chosen by the people (e.g. members of the Legislative Council are directly elected by and reflect the wishes of the majority of voters in Victoria). If a government is no longer representative, it will not be re-elected come the next election.

[lisax3]

How do you know whether you're putting too much detail or too less in your answers?

[meganrobyn]

It depends on the marks, but I'd just go so far as providing a definition and brief explanation of what both of the concepts mean. If you were really low on time then you could go to the chief difference between the two, but this would just basically be a shorter definition (and you might use a word such as "whereas" to signal you're showing a difference in the concepts. However, this is a question more likely to be at the start of the exam.

E.g:
Responsible government is a parliamentary principle which refers to the government being accountable/answerable for its actions. The government is answerable to parliament, and parliament to the people. To ensure accountability, there is public scrutiny of the legislative process (proceedings transcribed in Hansard; question time; parliamentary sessions are open to the public).

Representative government is another principle that refers to a government as reflecting the wishes of the voters of Australia. It ensures that there is a government made up of representatives who are chosen by the people (e.g. members of the Legislative Council are directly elected by and reflect the wishes of the majority of voters in Victoria). If a government is no longer representative, it will not be re-elected come the next election.

I really like your two definitions - but be careful, because you're not actually addressing the (hypothesised) task word of 'differentiate'. This is just two definitions, with differences implied -and they have to be explicit. Addressing the task word would involve going into the specific differences between them, and then *using* the definitions as illustrative detail for each point. Just as much detail and just as long, but structured quite differently.

[meganrobyn]

How do you know whether you're putting too much detail or too less in your answers?

You're putting too much in if you can't answer the question within the allocated time (assuming you write at normal to fast speed and haven't chucked a bunch of irrelevant stuff in, too). You're putting too little in if you're consistently writing under time or fewer than approx 3-5 lines per mark (depending on the task word).

[meganrobyn]

So how would I differentiate between the two? I'm struggling to phrase it.

You just say what the differences are. You know what the two definitions are - just go through them and find the contrasts.

[thaaanyan]

hey guys,
so i basically have the same problem lido i don't know how to distinguish between the two through similarities and differences, i was told to just stick "in contrast" in the middle of my two definitions and leave it be. so i tried to fix it by starting out by pointing out a similarity, then talking about the differences and then ending on a similarity again in the answer below??? it that right??? is a "distinguish" task word that wants similarities/differences only??  if you could pretty please mark this/help me understand what i'm doing wrong it would be a great help! thank you very much!!!!

Distinguish between representative and responsible government. (4 marks? 2 marks? what do you think the mark allocation would be?)

The principles of representative and responsible government similarly seek to protect and allow for the continued existence of democratic structures and functions; however in essence they refer to different qualities within Australia’s parliamentary structure.  Representative government refers to an elected government that characterizes the views of the majority of people. This is seen through the fact that the government consists of elected members of parliament who are chosen by the people through democratic means. Responsible government in contrast, refers to a government which is accountable to the parliament, and therefore is answerable to the people, for its actions. This is seen, for example, through the parliamentary process of ministerial accountability, as ministers are responsible for their portfolios and can be called on in Parliament to explain their actions. Australia’s democracy exercises both these principles in a complementary manner; if a government makes legislation which is not reflective of the people’s needs – and is therefore not representative, it is likely it will be voted out of office come next election – allowing the government to be  held accountable.

[meganrobyn]

hey guys,
so i basically have the same problem lido i don't know how to distinguish between the two through similarities and differences, i was told to just stick "in contrast" in the middle of my two definitions and leave it be. so i tried to fix it by starting out by pointing out a similarity, then talking about the differences and then ending on a similarity again in the answer below??? it that right??? is a "distinguish" task word that wants similarities/differences only??  if you could pretty please mark this/help me understand what i'm doing wrong it would be a great help! thank you very much!!!!

Distinguish between representative and responsible government. (4 marks? 2 marks? what do you think the mark allocation would be?)

The principles of representative and responsible government similarly seek to protect and allow for the continued existence of democratic structures and functions; however in essence they refer to different qualities within Australia’s parliamentary structure.  Representative government refers to an elected government that characterizes the views of the majority of people. This is seen through the fact that the government consists of elected members of parliament who are chosen by the people through democratic means. Responsible government in contrast, refers to a government which is accountable to the parliament, and therefore is answerable to the people, for its actions. This is seen, for example, through the parliamentary process of ministerial accountability, as ministers are responsible for their portfolios and can be called on in Parliament to explain their actions. Australia’s democracy exercises both these principles in a complementary manner; if a government makes legislation which is not reflective of the people’s needs – and is therefore not representative, it is likely it will be voted out of office come next election – allowing the government to be  held accountable.

I think probably 2 marks - maybe 3. If it says 'compare' you need both sims and diffs; if it says 'distinguish', just diffs.

I like your last sentence, and the start of your first one. The end of your first sentence is a little vague, and in the middle it's not clear why being elected and being accountable are different: aren't elections one way of enforcing accountability? And the examples haven't been used to illustrate your differences - you're using them as stock examples of your definitions, yes?

If it helps you to start with the two definitions then by all means do it and get that content down, but the comparison part really needs to be about figuring out what point you want to make that involves the two of them and saying it with the two things in the one sentence (repeat for further points). Maybe the reason you're having trouble is you're not sure what the differences are, and not because you're not sure how to write/structure them...?