Hey all,
So I have my Legal Studies Task 1 Next week. It's based on a case SINGH V R and I've been given the transcript and a few news articles surrounding it. I've been told to focus on Law Reform and the case. It is based on the theme " The effectiveness of legal and non legal measures in achieving justice.
I'm going to assume I will need to research the influence of media and the public outcries regarding the case. I'm a bit lost as to how to structure a legal studies essay however, in Prelims I've followed the structure of Intro, stating facts and laws etc then a judgement/analysis and received a 17/20 for my Prelim. Should I take into any other considerations while writing the essay? 600 words approx.
I've studied the facts of the case and done some extra research. What should be my primary goal when writing the essay?
Regards, Wales
Hey Wales! Super interesting case that one, spurred a heck of a lot of discussion and a major review of defences to murder in NSW. The subsequent reviews are what got rid of the 'Gay Panic' defence in NSW!
Your primary goal in the first stages of writing this essay will be to come up with ways you can tie the case to your arguments on justice (for example, does the use of the provocation defence represent justice being achieved, or is it restrictive to the retribution for the victim? You can
read my guide on coming up with a strong Thesis, this is the main idea that carries through your response and so it
must be strong! Essentially, you need to ask yourself in an overall sense,
Was justice achieved in this case? Why/why not? That will be your Thesis.
As one idea for structure, you could do:
Intro
How Law Reform Has Protected Offenders
How Law Reform Has Protected Victims
How Law Reform Has Protected Society
ConclusionHowever, your word limit is a little short for this structure to be super effective in my opinion, so you might be better off doing:
Intro (100)
Effective Law Reform (200)
Ineffective Law Reform (200)
Conclusion (100)In any case, in Year 12, an entire paragraph on facts is completely unnecessary. Facts are unnecessary in Year 12 because your focus must be on presenting a really strong argument!
So start your research, and focus on developing your opinions/arguments. That's the
most important aspect of a Legal Studies essay