Good textbooks????

[kristieevans]

Hey,

My teacher isn't supplying us with a legal studies textbook for our HSC year, and so I was wondering whether there are any REALLY good textbooks that might be worth looking into for my personal study?

Thanks in advance

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey,

My teacher isn't supplying us with a legal studies textbook for our HSC year, and so I was wondering whether there are any REALLY good textbooks that might be worth looking into for my personal study?

Thanks in advance

Hi there,

When it comes to legal there are a few options for textbooks - this is not an exhaustive list just the ones I am aware of and my opinion of each:

My school used Cambridge Legal Studies HSC (3rd edition - i believe a fourth edition recently came out)
pretty thick in terms of content sometimes a bit wordy and contains sections that are irrelevant sometimes. I've heard most of my friends used this one and they thought it was fine. I didnt read it cos I was lazy but the parts I did read before the exam seemed a bit long and wishy washy. Sometimes I found that parts that were important were not touched on enough.

Another thing is that it doesnt contain nearly enough LCMT which you need to sort of look for yourself or your teacher will give you some. Another thing is that the law is constantly updating and reforming and so by the time a new textbook comes out it could be out of date in terms of legislation changes/common law changes - updates in international law etc. that could be used in your notes/essays which won't be in the textbook.
Another thing is that it doesn't contain all of the options topics (understandable since not every school does each topic) it only contains the major ones like family and world order but (since I did world order and shelter) I found the world order section was not super helpful and didn't help me establish judgements and arguments properly. Also for shelter there was the online version that none of us had access to since we rented the textbooks. So we had to rely only on our teacher and anything we found ourselves.

Another one was Cambridge Checkpoints HSC Legal Studies 2016-18
This is a super condensed version of the legal studies textbook and it has some past hsc questions and possible answers. This is definitely not one you use by itself if you use it it is definitely not enough detail. It has some useful stats and LCM but very limited. Good for a basic understanding or light revision imo.

Pearson HSC Legal Studies by David Hamper
Not too sure about this one since I havent used it, but seems to be just another textbook.

ATARNotes Legal Studies Notes
Definitely a more condensed version than the textbook. Is normally kept as up to date as possible when changes in the law happen.
I didnt have this resource when I did my HSC so can't attest too much.
Only contains core topics and not options but really good and extensive for crime and human rights. Also contains heaps of study tricks, exam tips and techniques.

If anything i would definitely say have a browse at the notes sections of ATARNotes - definitely a range of free resources for you to study!!
Hope this helps: sorry i couldn't recommend anything but Im sure you'll smash legal!

[chelseam]

Hey there,

My school used the Cambridge Legal Studies HSC (4th edition), and I completely agree with what Isaac's said about it. I also use the Excel HSC Legal Studies book, which has pretty good info and tables that can help build your arguments but personally, I think the information is a little outdated in some areas and not always helpful. I found that the Checkpoints book was a little brief in detail but has good practice for multiple choice and potential essay questions.

I think the Atarnotes Legal Studies Course Notes are really great though! It covers everything you'll need for Crime and Human Rights, especially all the tricky/annoying details that I know a lot of people struggle with, has heaps of evidence that you can use or research further, and the formatting is really great with helping to build your arguments. 10/10 would recommend!! 

[kristieevans]

Thank you - I'll definitely look into those textbooks you both recommended. 

[elysepopplewell]

Hey there,

My school used the Cambridge Legal Studies HSC (4th edition), and I completely agree with what Isaac's said about it. I also use the Excel HSC Legal Studies book, which has pretty good info and tables that can help build your arguments but personally, I think the information is a little outdated in some areas and not always helpful. I found that the Checkpoints book was a little brief in detail but has good practice for multiple choice and potential essay questions.

I think the Atarnotes Legal Studies Course Notes are really great though! It covers everything you'll need for Crime and Human Rights, especially all the tricky/annoying details that I know a lot of people struggle with, has heaps of evidence that you can use or research further, and the formatting is really great with helping to build your arguments. 10/10 would recommend!! 

So happy with this review! Thanks Chelsea. I really appreciate it, and will be around to help in the lead up to legal next week!