ATAR Notes: Forum

Uni Stuff => Faculties => Law => Topic started by: ninwa on July 01, 2010, 01:27:22 pm

Title: What law exams are like
Post by: ninwa on July 01, 2010, 01:27:22 pm
This is pretty much the format that most law exams will follow (at least at Monash, don't know how different it is for JD).

Just so people considering law know what they're getting into. xD

This is a 3-hour exam btw

(http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/1151/63076353.jpg)

(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2056/35166113.jpg)

(http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/1113/38523955.jpg)

(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/4275/18937919.jpg)

(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3826/13538517.jpg)

(http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/6048/82624488.jpg)

(http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/6839/45184363.jpg)

(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8403/76207571.jpg)

(http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9625/89779703.jpg)

edit: wow sorry about the terrible quality lol
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: laynie on July 01, 2010, 01:37:45 pm
Hmm, yeah doesn't look too bad
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: Russ on July 01, 2010, 01:47:55 pm
Post the contracts exam with the "bonus mark" for writing your student number on the front page?
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: AzureBlue on July 01, 2010, 01:50:50 pm
Illegible handwriting will be penalised?! LOL
Looks not too bad... :)
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: ninwa on July 01, 2010, 02:10:55 pm
Illegible handwriting will be penalised?! LOL

Yeah, if they can't read it they obviously won't give you the marks :P

Post the contracts exam with the "bonus mark" for writing your student number on the front page?

I don't have access to it :(
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: AzureBlue on July 01, 2010, 02:12:40 pm
Illegible handwriting will be penalised?! LOL
Yeah, if they can't read it they obviously won't give you the marks :P
What if your writing is a bit messy but still readable? You'll still get the marks you deserve, right?
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: ninwa on July 01, 2010, 02:16:03 pm
These are HD answers, i.e. what you are expected to write in the 3 hours that you get.
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: ninwa on July 01, 2010, 02:17:01 pm
What if your writing is a bit messy but still readable? You'll still get the marks you deserve, right?

Yeah of course. The penalise bit just refers to the fact that examiners won't sit there for an hour trying to decipher what it is you have written.
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: Russ on July 01, 2010, 02:27:40 pm

I don't have access to it :(

Ah damn, that thing was one of my favourite exam questions ever, despite being from a law subject.
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: AzureBlue on July 01, 2010, 02:28:33 pm
What if your writing is a bit messy but still readable? You'll still get the marks you deserve, right?
Yeah of course. The penalise bit just refers to the fact that examiners won't sit there for an hour trying to decipher what it is you have written.
Oh, good. :) Phew!
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: Cthulhu on July 02, 2010, 01:06:26 am
You all say "it doesn't look too bad" but how many of you have sat a Law exam?
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: crappy on July 02, 2010, 01:56:03 am
You all say "it doesn't look too bad" but how many of you have sat a Law exam?

lmao

exactly what I was thinking
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: laynie on July 02, 2010, 02:12:41 am
I DID BUSINESS LAW!
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: ninwa on July 02, 2010, 02:47:22 am
not really a substantive law subject though, I've seen the Monash business law stuff (maybe UoM is substantially different)
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: lynt.br on July 02, 2010, 10:48:49 am
Post the contracts exam with the "bonus mark" for writing your student number on the front page?

I'm willing to post up the 2009 exam (question 1 was basically an extended series of questions about this) but I am not sure if I'm allowed to according to Monash policy...

Essentially the question was:
a) Write out lecture name + stream number on front cover for bonus mark from the Chief Examiner.
b) What if the information for part (a) was already required of you by Monash Uni Policy?
c) The Chief Examiner tries to revoke the offer of a bonus mark, what is your legal response?


The issue with law exams isn't really difficult content, but writing to time. There is a lot you can write about and in a 2 hour exam you really have to economise your writing so you only bring up the salient issues and avoid the temptation to discuss minor points in too much detail. Most students facing an exam question can probably mentally form a HD answer, but writing one out is deceptively challenging.

Also, there are two types of questions they can ask on a law exam. Policy questions and issue-spotter questions. Policy questions are like the questions in part A of ninwa's exams. They are essentially essay questions. Issue-spotter questions are like Part B. You are given a fact scenario which raises a number of legal issues. You are then usually asks to ' Advise X about his/her legal position' and have to cite relevant legal authority wherever necessary (cases, statutes etc). I don't think Monash sets policy questions for first year law subjects any more. I didn't have to do one for semester one. I think if the exam is closed book, there is usually no policy question.

For first year exams, your exam will look more like Part B of the Constitutional Law exam ninwa posted. You will probably get two long fact situations such as these. They aren't as difficult as they seem. Usually there will be aspects of each scenario that closely resemble a case you have studied so the prominent legal issues should stand out. You also don't need to memorise case names because you are given a copy of the reading guide in closed-book exams. The main problem is just writing to time. Unlike VCE, you are not given any practice writing out full answers in tutes/lectures so you have to prepare yourself.

Also Introduction to Legal Reasoning (ILR) which is a compulsory first year subject at Monash has a slightly different exam. You will be given a long piece of legislation to study 2 weeks before the exam. It is usually 10-20 pages long. You will then get issue-spotter questions which relate to the legislation. For example, this year the legislation was an Act regulating dangerous weapons. We then got a hypothetical where a number of people had been charged under the Act and we had to advise them on their legal position.
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: Russ on July 02, 2010, 10:54:45 am
Heh, that's the one :)
Title: Re: What law exams are like
Post by: laynie on July 02, 2010, 04:19:42 pm
They aren't as difficult as they seem.
thought so.