John Bell (on “English Legal Methods” section of the Faculty Intranet) Writing for the LLM, especially in exams

What am I expected to do? Syllabus and learning outcomes What must I cover and what should I achieve? Faculty Marking Criteria Generic statements of levels of achievement How will I be assessed? Form and Conduct Notice Content of paper, number of questions, what you are allowed to take with you into the examination room Past Papers

LLM Programme Specification ( Official Faculty Documents) By the end of the programme students should be able to demonstrate: 1. Knowledge and understanding (a) Knowledge and understanding at an advanced level of the subject areas chosen for study, including a critical awareness of current issues and debates at the forefront of the areas concerned. (b) The ability to understand and make use of a range of perspectives on legal issues, viewed from the various and complementary perspectives of legal doctrine, history, philosophy and sociology

Faculty Marking criteria (Official Faculty Documents)

How will I be assessed? Form and Conduct Notice This year’s format of paper and permitted materials Past examination papers Faculty Resources – Documents Papers Examiners’ reports (commentaries) E.g. Jurisprudence

Essay questions The purpose of an essay question is to show that you can formulate a reasoned opinion on a particular aspect of the law. It is not “all I know on....” Know what is relevant to this question and don’t include what is irrelevant, but interesting Your aim should be to present a reasoned defence of a point of view. So know what you want to say before writing. Marshal the evidence for and against your point of view At Masters level you need to know why the law is as you say it is

Essay structure Introduction Clear message Clear structure related to message Evidence drawn from statutes, cases & scholarly writing to support the message Aware of cases and literature which opposes your view and can explain how to refute it Requires careful planning BEFORE you write

Essay question : example ‘In EU competition law proceedings, certain rights of the defence refer only to contentious proceedings which follow the delivery of the statement of objections but other rights must be respected even during the preliminary enquiry.’ Discuss, with reference to the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU. You can disagree with the quotation The quotation gives you the framework for the answer

Problem questions: purpose To test knowledge of the law by demonstrating the ability to to present advice in a logical order which reflects the legal significance of the issues distinguish relevant from irrelevant facts, to identify relevant facts which are missing, to identify which matters are governed by settled law To identify which matters are legally controversial. You are not asked to provide an answer, but to show how you would approach finding an answer.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma are the only three manufacturers of top security paper shredders in the world. Alpha is an American company, Beta is a French company and Gamma is an Italian co-operative. Delta is a UK company that purchases shredders from all three suppliers. The managing directors of Alpha, Beta and Gamma meet every December at an annual trade fair in Dusseldorf and discuss market trends and economic forecasts. In a conversation in December 2011, Alpha’s managing director indicated the prices that his company was likely to charge in Beta’s and Gamma’s managing directors listened attentively but stayed silent and did not give any information about their future prices. Alpha’s managing director then told the managing directors of Beta and Gamma, that he would ring them in February 2012 to check the prices that they had set. Over the past five years, the prices charged by Alpha, Beta and Gamma have been identical and the annual increases in the prices of the top security shredders in 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been well above the rate of inflation. Advise: (i) the EU Commission as to any possible infringements of EU competition law and as to any procedural steps it should take; and (ii) Delta, as to its rights and any possible remedies under EU Law

Practice makes perfect Timed essays Regular activity One question, to time then look up Examiners’ Report Know how much you can write in the time Revision schedules Glanville Williams, Learning the Law, (13 th edn), chs 6,7,8,9,10 N. McBride, Letters to a Law Student (3 rd edn), chs. 19, 20,21, 22, 23

FAQs What must I remember? Depends on what you are allowed Citing cases: by name or distinctive facts What do I do if I run out of time? Note form answers How many authorities do I cite “nulle ensaumple est si fort come resoun” (Shareshull J., 1345)