Legal Research Symposium (L5)

Course Overview

This course provides a forum for all students to engage with and develop extended writing as a capstone to their degree. Students are expected to participate actively in  a research symposium format. Student writing takes the form of a series of critiques of selected contemporary papers.

When taken at level 5, i.e. not as a Final Project, the Legal Research Symposium qualifies for the Core Attribute Communicating in Public and Professional Contexts (C).

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Directed study.

12-15 scheduled hours, the exact number varying according to the balance of 1:1s, 2:1s, or small groups. The plan will be confirmed by the start of the course, taking into account student numbers and   the proposed topics, readings, and specific tasks.

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 300

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE.

Summative Assessments

Students are expected to participate fully in the symposium and will be graded in part on the quality of their constructive contribution (or not). They are also expected to present in relation to one paper, and to provide three written critiques. Each of these components carries 20% of the available mark.  a portfolio of critiques of assigned papers. In both cases, students must present their work at least once and will be graded in part on the basis of the presentation.

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in Course Syllabi or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• A series of contemporary papers will be selected for the Symposium.

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• The papers will be selected each year depending on research trends, areas of contemporary interest, and faculty expertise.