Command terms in legal studies

[Firemurphy]

Hey guys, when a topic asks you to "evaluate" or "critically evaluate", are you required to give your opinion at the end? That is, do you have to favour one side of the argument more and say "on balance, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses", or does "evaluate" only mean you have to give both sides of the argument without forming an opinion.
So, for example, a question asks you to "evaluate two strengths of the doctrine of precedent" do you have to form an opinion if the doctrine is good or bad?

Also, for "to what extent" questions, do you have to specifically say "to a ___ extent, I believe..." or can you imply you think that something is good to a large extent without the words "to a large extent".

Thanks in advance!
I'm a yr 11 doing 3/4 so I haven't learned this stuff in 1/2. Thanks heaps!

[brenden]

I'm not a great authority on Legal Studies so take my post with a grain of salt. This is how I approached the subject, but I didn't score as well as others.
Evaluate and critically evaluate commands are asking you for strengths and weaknesses. It would be a waste of writing, time, or allocation of marks to give your opinion after an evaluate question. If your question was "Critically evaluate the doctrine of precedent" and it was worth, say, 4 marks, I'd allocate 2 marks to strengths (2 strengths, 1 mark per strength), and the same for weaknesses. The mark breakdown would be strange if they wanted your opinion. 1 mark opinion, 3 marks on evaluation? Doesn't make sense.

Well, I suppose you don't have to specifically say "to an x extent" - but why would you imply something when you can say it explicitly? Examiners hate to guess. In fact, you should assume your examiners are mean. So mean, that if you make them guess, they'll just guess that you don't know the answer and you won't earn the marks. Protip: be as clear as you possibly can.

[AbominableMowman]

In critically evaluate questions you'd have to give the strengths and weaknesses of something, as well as giving a conclusion at the end such as 'Overall the weaknesses outweigh the strengths and the doctrine of precedent is effective blah blah blah'. I don't think you have to do this for evaluate only questions but I do it just to be on the safe side...
In to what extent questions you don't have to use 'to a ___ extent', but its better to because it is clearer in the answer.. you just have to have a set of arguments and also have a conclusion at the end. Also you should avoid using subjective terms like 'I think..' or 'I believe..'. Try to be as objective as possible when wording your answers.

[meganrobyn]

Hey guys, when a topic asks you to "evaluate" or "critically evaluate", are you required to give your opinion at the end? That is, do you have to favour one side of the argument more and say "on balance, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses", or does "evaluate" only mean you have to give both sides of the argument without forming an opinion.
So, for example, a question asks you to "evaluate two strengths of the doctrine of precedent" do you have to form an opinion if the doctrine is good or bad?

Also, for "to what extent" questions, do you have to specifically say "to a ___ extent, I believe..." or can you imply you think that something is good to a large extent without the words "to a large extent".

Thanks in advance!
I'm a yr 11 doing 3/4 so I haven't learned this stuff in 1/2. Thanks heaps!

You MUST give an opinion. You do not receive any marks for it, but you cannot receive full marks without it. The opinion/conclusion must be explicit rather than implied, and it does not need to be long but it does need to feel like it relates logically to the points you made.

All task words/phrases such as evaluate, critically examine, to what extent, analyse, etc have the same structure:

- Opinion
- Reasons for and against
- Opinion

Also, don't forget that 'bigger' questions like this are marked on overall quality rather than point-by-point, therefore the marks breakdown is not a strict "one argument = one mark". Ensure you have enough arguments to fill the marks, ensure they are quality, and then ensure you have some backup arguments in there as well.

Lastly, keep in mind what you're evaluating. For example, if you're evaluating courts overall your opinion will be on courts overall; if you're evaluating just one strength or feature of courts your opinion will be just on that strength or feature.

[brenden]

the marks breakdown is not a strict "one argument = one mark".

My study score makes sense now :')

[Firemurphy]

You MUST give an opinion. You do not receive any marks for it, but you cannot receive full marks without it. The opinion/conclusion must be explicit rather than implied, and it does not need to be long but it does need to feel like it relates logically to the points you made.

All task words/phrases such as evaluate, critically examine, to what extent, analyse, etc have the same structure:

- Opinion
- Reasons for and against
- Opinion

Also, don't forget that 'bigger' questions like this are marked on overall quality rather than point-by-point, therefore the marks breakdown is not a strict "one argument = one mark". Ensure you have enough arguments to fill the marks, ensure they are quality, and then ensure you have some backup arguments in there as well.

Lastly, keep in mind what you're evaluating. For example, if you're evaluating courts overall your opinion will be on courts overall; if you're evaluating just one strength or feature of courts your opinion will be just on that strength or feature.

Thanks a lot for clearing this up! I wish my teacher had made that clearer when teaching us this, but ah well, now I know.. There are no harms in putting our own conclusions in any question right? (ie. always form a conclusion to be on the safe side of any question, unless it's a 1-4 marker?)

Oh, and do we need to state from the outset what our opinion is (ie. do I say "the strengths of the courts far outweigh its weaknesses because ...." in the first paragraph, or should I only form my opinion near the end, where it is clear what our points were?)

[meganrobyn]

Thanks a lot for clearing this up! I wish my teacher had made that clearer when teaching us this, but ah well, now I know.. There are no harms in putting our own conclusions in any question right? (ie. always form a conclusion to be on the safe side of any question, unless it's a 1-4 marker?)

Oh, and do we need to state from the outset what our opinion is (ie. do I say "the strengths of the courts far outweigh its weaknesses because ...." in the first paragraph, or should I only form my opinion near the end, where it is clear what our points were?)

Better late than never!

The only risk with opinions is wasting time on things that don't receive marks - but I think your parameters of questions worth 5 marks and up is sensible.

Tbh, it really shouldn't matter whether your opinion is at the start or at the end or both... but I know some teachers have distinct preferences so I figure better to be safe than sorry!

My writing in this response is cliche-city. Ugh.

[meganrobyn]

My study score makes sense now :')

Naww...