Module Directory

This module is designed for students who have not had any previous knowledge of UK law. Students will be introduced to the general principles of the legal system and develop an understanding of how the law operates in practice. This module will provide them with knowledge and skills at foundation level upon which to build their undergraduate programme. The topics in this module provide a sound foundation on which students can build their knowledge and understanding, throughout their undergraduate degree at the University of Essex.

The module firstly introduces the basic legal skills required to undertake the Law Pathway, and undergraduate law study. It then moves on to consider the foundations of the legal system including the law-making process, the hierarchy of the courts, and statutory interpretation. The module then considers several substantive areas of law, providing students with an opportunity to apply the skills and processes they have developed in the first part of the module, to real world and hypothetical scenarios. As the modules draws to a conclusion, students will be introduced to key assessment and assessment preparation skills to help them prepare for their assignments on this module, and future modules on their undergraduate programme.

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to the fundamental principles of law and provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the basic principles of English law, including the legal system, sources of law, and the hierarchy of the court system.


• To develop students’ critical thinking skills by encouraging them to analyse legal issues, construct legal arguments, and apply legal principles to a range of scenarios.


• To develop students’ research skills by providing them with opportunities to conduct independent research and produce written work that demonstrates their understanding of legal concepts.


• To develop students’ practical legal skills by providing them with opportunities to practise legal research, problem analysis, interviewing, advising, writing, advocacy, and negotiation. These transferable skills are relevant to many professions and will ensure students become more effective undergraduate students and eventual graduate employees.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of English law, including the legal system, sources of law, and the hierarchy of the court system.


2. Identify and analyse a range of substantive and procedural legal issues.


3. Undertake appropriate legal research and critique a range of legal and non-legal sources.


4. Construct, evaluate and defend legal arguments through written discussion and/or oral presentation.


5. Identify and apply appropriate legal processes and substantive law to a range of scenarios.


6. Have an awareness of, and utilise, the necessary skills, knowledge, and understanding required to proceed to more complex legal studies.

Skills for your professional life (Transferable Skills)

By the end of this module, students will have practised the following transferrable skills:

• Critical thinking – ability to recognise/verify reliable information, data or sources, and collate, synthesise or draw (logical) conclusions or lessons based on independent (complex) analysis of facts and evidence.


• Presentation and communication – ability to clearly explain and coherently convey ideas or argue a point or challenge/defend a decision/position in verbal or written form.


• Problem solving – ability to create, produce and/or advocate actionable solutions or recommendations and critical decisions for resolution of difficult or complicated situations (especially by ‘thinking outside the box’ or ‘on your feet’).


• Organisation management – personal planning for setting targets and prioritisation, managing goals/tasks/expectations, attention to detail, measuring and monitoring progress/outputs.


• Resilience and adaptability – capacity to deal with criticism, assess risks, build/retain confidence, appropriately respond/adjust and work/overcome/thrive in diverse, challenging, new or high-pressure environments and conditions.


• People skills – capacity for personal effectiveness, interaction, intercession, empathy, compassion, negotiation, teamwork, collaboration, flexibility, conflict management, etc.


• Commercial and sector awareness – gain insights and critical knowledge of key/current developments within selected practice areas and contexts.


• Sustainability awareness – understanding and learning to leverage legal thinking, tools or practices to drive transformative action and promote systemic change or meaningful impact for sustainable development; integrate principles of sustainability (justice) into a wider understanding of the interrelationship between social, economic and environmental impacts, especially in the context of the global economy.

Syllabus

The syllabus on this module is divided into three core sections: Legal Skills, Legal Systems, and an Introduction to Law.

Legal Skills introduces the following topics which will be further developed during the Research and Academic Skills Development module:

• Critical Skills


• Legal Research


• Legal Writing (IRAC)


• Referencing and Citations

Legal Systems

• Core aspects of the legal system


• Law making in the UK (Statute Law)


• The Court System (Hierarchy, precedent, and statutory interpretation)

An Introduction to Law

• Public Law


• Criminal Law


• The Law of Obligations (including Contract and Tort Law)


• Property Law


• Human Rights Law

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour lecture per week.
• One 2-hour seminar per week.

Teaching and learning on the Law Pathway offers students the ability to develop the foundation knowledge, skills, and competences, to study an undergraduate LLB course, through a curriculum that is purposely designed to provide an exceptional learning experience. All teaching, learning and assessment materials will be available to both staff and students via Moodle in a consistent and user-friendly manner.

Students will be expected to undertake the guided reading, preparation, and research, necessary for the module.

Lectures

The lectures will primarily focus on sharing of academic theory and concepts to ensure students develop a sound knowledge and understanding of their discipline and master an appreciation of current and relevant research in the subject area.

Seminars

Seminars aim to bring legal knowledge and understanding ‘to life’ by relating it to current issues and practice. In seminars students will develop skills of legal application, analysis and problem solving through a variety of activities including quizzes, problem scenarios and essay-style questions. During the seminars students will also undertake activities developing their writing and presenting skills in preparation for the modules assessments.

Learning will be supplemented by essential and supplementary reading materials that should be completed prior to the seminars.

Academic support hour

Each week students have the opportunity to meet with the Module Leader to discuss any aspect(s) of their study in relation to this module. Students are encouraged to attend in order to clarify any questions, issues or concerns they may have.