Skills Level 4 Lectures Journal Reflections

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Kirandeep Kaur

Lecture 1- Module Introduction • What did I do today? • Today I attended my first skills lecture for Level 4 Law LLB and I received my module guide. I was introduced to the Skills Module assessments criteria, necessary resources required and started to discuss issues on law and morality.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt the importance of essential skills required to do well in this module, tutors who will be teaching this module and the module learning outcomes.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• As it was an introductory lecture, all the information about resources, assessments and module guide would be provided in this lecture and no preparation was required. I therefore only brought with me my notepad and pen to this lecture to take down

important notes and was the best preparation I could do for this lecture.

• Why did I do those things well? • My experience in education has taught me the skills to bring to lectures or seminars note making learning material which will assist in learning the module and understanding key information at the start of the module. I knew even though there was no

preparation it was important to take notes down as there would be a lot of important information discussed in this lecture.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The major difficulty I had was trying to understand what the module Skills is about. I had a lot of questions which needed to be answered but was unsure would they be answered in this lecture. During this lecture we were told of the essential learning

resources required for the module for instance Westlaw, Lexis and other internet resources. My other issue during the lecture was where to access core reading material and reading list for this module.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I feel as it is the start of the course and so far my research on the subject of the skills module is weak, I trust my tutors who advised me and my fellow students that we will eventually know more about the module and essential core material in this lecture

therefore there wasn’t much preparation I could do apart from bring pen and paper to assist in taking notes during this introductory lecture.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• As I know more about this module after the introductory lecture I feel I have more material to research and work around to prepare for the next lecture on skill. As with my upcoming introductory lectures in other modules, I am more aware about how to

access course material assessments and information on Moodle which was discussed in this introductory lecture (Criminal, Tort and Contract). Therefore I will now know what the assessments are for each module and reduces the amount of questions I will have for these upcoming introductory lectures in each module.

• Towards the end of the lecture we discussed and differentiated between Law and morality therefore I know that I will be reading up on this further in the resource material in provided such as online research in Lexis and Westlaw while I buy my core reading material books. I also therefore will know what to read up on follow my assessment requirements in my module guide.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Understanding what Moodle is and how to access the material on Moodle not only with Skills module but my other modules (Contract, Tort and Criminal). I understand the importance of not only material in the library but also online material from sources

such as Westlaw and Lexis. These will assist me with all my assessments and I understand the importance of online research from resources like the websites discussed.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will be making the most of exploring online research skills further by accessing them and reading the guides on Moodle provided. I will also reflect to my module guide to understand the assessments further in skills and link them to how I could use them in

the assessments especially for my secondary material and resources (i.e. Journal articles). This skill will then be used further in my module assessments in particular coursework for contract and tort as its worth 50% of the final mark for the module.

• How may these skills help future career?• I understand Solicitors use Lexis database as a good resource therefore the more familiar I am with using online research skills in Lexis and Westlaw at level 4, the more I will gain knowledge and use it in everyday life in the legal recruitment world.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • Research more on Lexis and Westlaw and explore Summons search engine as they have key material related to my course modules especially secondary material such as Journal Articles and Case Commentary in key areas of the assessment and for basic

understanding of the module principles required at Level 4 Law LLB Course. I would read up on Law and Morality issues and therefore I would be more prepared. However in the next lecture in Skills we will be discussing these issues further so I feel as for introductory lecture if it was to happen again I did the best possible preparation and intend to expand on what I have learnt about Skills assessment for future lectures.

Lecture 2- Law and Morality • What did I do today? • Today’s lecture went into detail of differentiating between law and morality in particular the Hart and Devlin debates.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt the various theories surrounding the legal system and the aspects of the debates between law and morality.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapters 26, 27 and 28 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn which was in depth discussion of law and morality and its differences.

• Why did I do those things well? • I read my previous lecture notes on accessing all the key information related to the course in our module guides and Moodle. Therefore I knew what text book I needed to access and the reading material preparation for the lecture was

listed in the reading list on Moodle which helped me in the direct where to read and prepare material for the lecture. I also did background reading to get to grips with the topics discussed in the lecture therefore I could concentrate and the gist of the Hart and Devlin debate and the legal and social issues that surrounded it where discussed during the lecture in depth which I felt was useful as I had prepared by reading the required material so I was on track with the topics discussed in the lecture.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• During my preparation, I felt it was difficult to draw everything together as there was a lot of information in the textbooks chapters which I was required to read. However the lecture helped me to see the consolidating ideas of law and

morality which helped with my understanding of the topics and refresh my memory on the reading preparation I did before the lecture.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The main reason why I had these difficulties was I tended to just read everything as in the chapters which led to difficulties of memorising everything therefore my notes where muddled. Even though I prepared I didn’t allow myself to

think, stop and analysis what I was reading so my notes were muddled with excess information for the lecture. In particular the this difficulty can be seen when I tried to understand the key debates and it was only in the lecture I understood the key points through discussion of relevant points therefore helped in consolidating my knowledge related to the reading material.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I understand in order to deal with the difficulty I faced during my preparation, I will ensure I read more consistently and analysis and highlight key points in the reading material.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• A key skill I learnt from this lecture is analysis is important to having consistent and relevant notes. During the lecture I realised what where the key aspects of the debates and this developed my understanding of analysis skills for future

reading material. This lecture provided me with a good example of reading text and understanding relevant notes and raised awareness of my stage of analysis that I will be required to complete for future lecture preparation.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will ensure to make consistent notes with relevant material and then comment in my notes why it is relevant to the topic; this will therefore improve my analysis skill. In particularly I will also be attempting practices and mock assessments

which will highlight how gopd my analysis skills are at university undergraduate level and highlight if I need any help or support to improve my analysing skills.

• How may these skills help future career?• Analysing skills are important for not only legal careers but problem scenarios. One of the skills required to ensure you do well in guaranteeing a job offer is demonstrating analysing skills in previous experience through either work

experience or education. Another time its important is during assessment centres where the test could be group exercise or situation judgmental test which require skills of analysis.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would take notes more consistently taking into consideration what the topic is about, how it relates to the topic and key to understanding and developing a better understanding. This would have ensured I had clear notes and a better

understanding not just about the legal principles but the legal and social aspects of the debates in order to avoid confusion and muddled ideas surrounding the topic of law and morality.

Lecture 3 – Classifying law and introduction to sources of law and Lexis workshop• What did I do today? • This lecture went into detail of the sources of law and differences among them. I understood and refreshed my memory and added to my notes on the difference between common and civil law. This lecture also provided details of distinguishing common law from equity.

I was introduced on how to access Lexis search engine for case law, legislation and journals.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• Common law is based on English law and Civil law originates from Roman law. Common law and equity both remain distinct and equity is regarded as ‘gloss on the common law’ as well as judges are in limit to award equity remedy. I also understood how to access

journals on the lexis search engine which I was unsure of before and learnt the simpler method.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read more consistently and took notes through my reading material in the core textbook chapter 6 of Elliot & Quinn. I refreshed my memory of what I knew about the lexis search engine and had ago myself researching and accessing the material online to see what I

could do by myself.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood from my previous lecture that it was important to use skills of analysis when reading material for preparation of the upcoming lecture. Therefore I already had my notes in order and elaborated of the notes through in depth interaction through the lecture. I

also knew that the second part of the lecture was focused on the Lexis search engine basic methods of searching material online therefore I realised what I knew already and knew my weaker areas of research which was searching for online journals.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I had to identify different sources of law which was daunting however as I read on and went to the lecture I realised that its not necessary to use all source of law for one situation. At first Lexis looked very confusing but I realised once you become familiar with its use you

can get around it and access important material.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I treated all the sources of law as one topic when in fact they have their individuality in terms of identifying the law and resolving disputes. I only accessed Lexis twice and was put off by the various search engines which I did not understand what they were required for.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will ensure that I have basic and foundation understanding of the history of each source of law and then attempt to understand their principle. Using principle of each source of law can cause confusion when applying it to scenarios and questions as through time and

case law sources of law have developed to provide similar access and don’t vary in their use only dependant on the situation they are used for. I will also become more familiar with Lexis Journal search box as I now know a simpler way to search journal.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• It is important to do background reading than solely rely on one textbook especially as I realise the core textbook only relies on discussing the principles not in depth discussion in to the background of the source of law. Therefore my research skills have developed and I

should access more reading material related to the topic which can help develop better knowledge and understanding not just for coursework material but general gist of principles of sources of law. I also developed my understanding how to use lexis in particular the journal search box.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Not to solely rely on the reading list and I will access more material through online and library material as it is important in particular for the course. This will help access better research material and help with my understanding of topic in upcoming lectures. I also realise

the importance of using lexis search engine for not only research material for lectures but coursework as it goes into more in depth discussions and analysis.

• How may these skills help future career?• Research skills are vital for job offers and career progression as commercial awareness is important for careers. Interviewers require evidence that the candidates have researched into companies’ values and the job role in order to be culturally fit for the position applied

for. It is also beneficial for career progression as it is important to not telly on one piece of research material for instance the company website as they can be biased about their company progression and therefore newspaper articles like the Times can give key information to showing the company is financially doing bad and criticised for the way it treat their employees. Therefore research is essential for knowing whether company is financially and socially in a position to provide a good career progression in the future. Lexis also identifies news of solicitor’s law firms which would be ideal for the legal field of work for work placements and will be ideal to impress the interviewers either through the application form or face to face interviews

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would ensure that I do not stick to the reading list and I should ensure to access other research material I have available to. In particular Lexis search engine is good for journal articles and my understanding has further developed on using Lexis for not only the student

research for the degree but employability with job offers in the legal field to show commercial awareness.

Lecture 4 – Reading case law and Legislation; Common law and equity • What did I do today?• In the lecture we were introduced how to deal with reading and reviewing legislations. Other concepts of reading and analysing legislation were also discussed for instance, case law how legislation plays a part in the case law decision. In the lecture we also

touched upon statutory interpretation, there was also discussion of internal and external aids.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I developed my understanding of legal sources and how many of them are used for instance the internal aid and external aids. I developed my awareness by learning overall the legal systems history is, for instance how some law principle were not initially used

when making judgements for instance the external aid of Hansard. The reasons were outlined and it Hansards use was established in the case of ‘Pepper v Hart’. The second part of the lecture was looking at the law search engine Westlaw. This part of the lecture was discussed more in detail in order to prepare for the summative assessment ‘Legal Component Exercise’. There was also a slideshow demonstrating what research will be required for the assessment exercise. This lecture was very useful and I have learned a lot which will be required for the assessment exercise.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the required chapter of the text book Elliot & Quinn chapter 1 and 7. I also researched on Westlaw not only trying to familiarise myself with the search engine before this lecture but to do background reading on the history of important key cases case law

which have made substantial impact in the courts therefore introducing and amending legislation.

• Why did I do those things well? • I learnt from my previous lecture that its important to do background research in order to expand on knowledge of a certain topic area. This particularly was exercised when I was doing my research on Westlaw about key cases such as Pepper v Hart which I came

across in my key text book. Therefore I was prepared when there was discussion in the lecture about this case and understood the changes of the legal system and its history

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I was confused on what the assessment requirements as it’s a research task and we haven’t been given the question or the exercise as of yet. However I did prepare as much as possible by having a browse on Westlaw, Lexis and Summon for my lecture and

seminar research which helped me understand better the legal research methods.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The main reason was I did not know exactly what was required and how research would be conducted for instance essay question or problem solving. However even though we haven’t had the questions but the lecture has helped me to understand the

assessment will be split into two parts one online research one part requiring to go into the library and research. This has improved my awareness of what the component will be set out and there is no word count. Therefore it is difficult to understand and prepare for an overview of the assessment for instance what is required with not having access to the questions in the assessment.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• Personally I feel that I may have to try and not over think as I was anticipating essay questions for the legal exercise component, therefore its best to keep an open mind on the assessment when not knowing what the questions are as I am now trying to understand

the research legal search engines as we are told in this lecture this will be necessary to complete the assessment and pass, that engine is Westlaw.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• I understand that online research is vital and that electronic printed material research will be developed through the summative assessment. Therefore my awareness of the course assessment has developed.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will carry on researching online mainly focused on Westlaw as we were told during the lecture this is the search engine that will be vital to pass the legal exercise component as one of the parts of the assessments is focused on researching the Westlaw database.

• How may these skills help future career?• Research skills online are vital for a legal career as the status of cases is regularly updated on the Westlaw database. Another important reason is Westlaw covers a lot of ground in American law cases unlike Westlaw, this will help with my aspirations for

discovering American law through my work experience which I am hoping to do later this year and when I enter second year to try and guarantee myself a place as an intern with the university. Building my experience in Westlaw will help my access American cases and legislation which I will have difficulty accessing elsewhere therefore using west law will not only help my with assessment this year in Skills and other modules, it will also help with me demonstrating during my work experience I have access and knowledge of American legal databases.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would primarily use Westlaw for my research as it’s the primary source of online legal search engine that I will be tested on during my assessment. I understand the importance of using lexis for journals but I will now start to use Westlaw as the main source of

research.

Lecture 5 – Sources of law: creating legislation; using a Law library: Using electronic resources for legal research.

• What did I do today? • In this lecture we looked at how to develop reading legislation by understanding the layout of legislation and identify the elements of legislations. The second part of the lecture was led by the student representative of Westlaw going

into more detail of searching journals on the Westlaw database.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt important information about legislation and was given a hand out of the sample legislation of the explosives act to make clear exactly how to read legislations.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I looked in the core textbook reading Chapter 2 and 4 where I made myself more familiar with example legislations and the common theme, therefore in the lecture when we were identifying on the hand out the key elements it felt like

second nature and I could easily identify the key legislation elements.

• Why did I do those things well? • I did extensive research on how judges draft legislation not just through my core textbook but also through the search engine of Summon. On Summon I asked the database knowing I had reliable research and notes when accessing

approve ebooks for law. Therefore I had the opportunity not to see just one draft legislation in my core textbook but also to see various examples which helped me prepare and become familiar with the element of legislation for the lecture which was surrounding identifying key elements in legislations.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• Initially I had difficulties in understanding what the legislation layout was and the reasoning. However I began my background research into the reason for the layout in Standard English than the actual legislation elements by name

which helped with my understanding of the legislation drafting and reading. This was accessed through other textbooks on line (ebooks) which were legislation specific unlike the core textbook which online identified the key elements and I felt I didn’t understand it fully initially. However reading various textbooks online I understood what the textbook was outlining regarding legislation layouts and elements.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I felt it was complex to get to grips with as I am not familiar with reading legislation but just stating legislations so far in my education. Therefore this was new and I felt it would take a while to get to grips with therefore I researched

various legislation to become familiar.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will be able to identify the elements more clearly as I feel I am now more familiar and able to approach legislations when reading and analysing their social and legal history.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• I felt drafting skills for legislation and analysis have developed. My legal skills and terminology has also developed. In particularly in the future I will be using legislation, I now know the correct format to say and cite legislation parts.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will explore more legislation terminology and look at examples of legislation to improve my awareness of legal skills required for the assessments.

• How may these skills help future career?• Legal jobs will require familiarity with legal terminology therefore during my work placement applications I will continue to put emphasis on my knowledge and awareness of legal terminology and my fast research and analysing skills.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would go over the terminology and revise it thoroughly as I had a brief outline of the terminology and elements memorised. This would help me identify legislation layout and elements more easily and make me more aware of the

legal elements and skills required when drafting legislation as well as identifying legislation elements.

Lecture 6 – Sources of Law: Interpreting legislation

• What did I do today? • In this lecture we looked at statutory interpretation rules and principles such as the literal, golden, mischief and purposive approach. The lecture looked into key cases to understand how these rules are used and when

they are required to be used. We also looked at law reporting and the importance of reporting cases in the court hierarchy.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• How rules are available for judges to assist in interpreting legislation therefore the outcome of each individual case relies on what rule is used when correctly and required while recognising parliament is the supreme law

maker.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the core textbook chapter 3 of Elliot & Quinn as well as research of key cases on the Westlaw database. This helped me get to grips with rules available to judges to assist in interpreting legislations.

• Why did I do those things well? • I prepared and realised the importance of learning key terminology from the previous lecture which required exploring legal terms in order to understand how to identify legislation layout. This approach was similarly

used for preparing for this lecture.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I couldn’t understand how judges would apply the rules as there were so many factors other than legal reasons to take into consideration. For instance would having the rules available be open for the judge to interpret

how he wishes and sees the legislation? This was one of the difficulties I felt while I researched surrounding this topic.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I felt I didn’t acknowledge one of the common themes during all the lectures I had is that the law is not black and white and the is a lot of grey areas in the law therefore it is not certain how cases will be decided nor is it

certain all cases will be decided differently and leaving the cases to be opened to unlimited interpretation as it is important to recognise parliament is the supreme law maker.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will keep an open mind and keep the phrase the law is not ‘black and white’, therefore not straight forward and that cases can go either way at the judge’s and courts discretion when applying these rules.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• A major skill I developed is debating that the legal system although recognise law is the supreme law maker, individual judges can lead a outcome of a case to individual beliefs of how they see parliament intended the

legislation to be interpreted and reason for it to be in force.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I intend to read journal articles to evaluate the discussions scholars and academic writers have especially suggestions of reforms that should be taken into consideration.

• How may these skills help future career?• Evaluation is important as it not only consists of analysis a problem but reflecting on its possible outcome. Therefore this skill is vital for any career progression and is essential for a law field of work where I have found

that you have to make room to manoeuvre through legal principles.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would ensure to read more research identifying where the law has gone either way in key cases, therefore I will read journal articles related to key case in statutory interpretation rules and principles.

Lecture 7- Sources of Law: The doctrine of judicial precedent • What did I do today? • This lectured primary focus was judicial precedent elements and gave a good overview of understanding how judges use judicial precedent when considering cases in the court and what

they are bound to follow which is judge accordingly by what court they are and then determines what powers they can exercise.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• The powers the courts have and the hierarchy system.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapter 1 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn as well as online journals on Westlaw which was in depth discussion of the doctrine of

judicial precedent.

• Why did I do those things well? • I prepared and realised the importance of wider reading from my previous lecture which required exploring legal terms in order to understand how to identify legislation layout. This

approach was similarly used for preparing for this lecture.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The difficulties that arose when preparing where limited as I understood this topic more easily due to my extensive research. However, if I was to criticise the length of time it had taken to

find the research, it would be one of my difficulties I could outline therefore the speed of finding journals on Westlaw which are relevant to the preparation is a weakness that needs to be looked at.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• A reason for the difficulty was my weakness with the familiarity of using Westlaw which extended unnecessary length of time it taken to find the journals for the topics of doctrine of

judicial precedent.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will attend Westlaw workshops to understand and refresh my memory on searching journal articles relevant to the topics the research and wider reading is required for.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Increase in speeding research for topics in a set length of time, therefore working under pressure and time management.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Try to identify easier ways to search journal articles and deal with harder parts of research required in order to perform better and improve time management with research online.

• How may these skills help future career?• Time management and working under pressure to retrieve research material is important for not only the law field of work but other various careers. It is important to select important

relevant research material without going over the time limit set.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would seek assistance from Westlaw workshops and Westlaw representatives in order to understand how I could improve the speed of research online.

Lecture 8 – Sources of Law: The Law of the European Union• What did I do today? • This lectured primary focus was the law of the European Union and gave a good overview of understanding how judges use and recognise the EU when considering cases in the court and what they are

bound to follow which is judge accordingly by what court they are and then determines what powers they can exercise.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• The powers of the European Union

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapter 5 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn as well as online journals on Westlaw which was in depth discussion of the law of the European Union.

• Why did I do those things well? • I attended the Westlaw workshop which helped me improve my search techniques the law search engine therefore I had enough time to select relevant information in relation to the lecture thus saving

time.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• Distinguishing Parliament legislation and the conflict faced with the European Union when some legislation and cases seek to access their rights when the Parliament fails to give right to a certain party.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The case law summaries did not give enough information therefore when I had to examine the full case reports when considering conflicts between Parliament and the European Union.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• Use textbooks as a basis for understand the foundations of the legal principles before examining certain journal articles as it led to confusion and may have assisted in not reading full case reports.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Evaluating my research sources and how their importance varies in order to identify and understanding issues which were discussed in the lecture.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Treat all research tools equally and acknowledge their use in researching.

• How may these skills help future career?• Using and crediting sources is important for research and preparing discussion as the use of sources in the correct way can save time and effectively give relevant information and understanding easier

and quicker.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • Start with my textbooks in order to understand the foundations of the principles before entering the discussions of the European Union.

Lecture 9 – Referencing • What did I do today? • This lecture went into detail of how to reference in law assessments. This helped and refreshed my memory and added to my notes on how to reference and to give credit to all the sources I use in my assessments.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• The importance of referencing and acknowledging all sources used in assessments. This is not just for evidence but also to achieve a higher mark.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I looked at the referencing system that is used on the Law course which is Oscola and downloaded a quick use guide to get a grasp of the basics of referencing with this system.

• Why did I do those things well? • I had a better understanding of what is required with this referencing system unlike other referencing system such as Harvard which requires different methods to references and crediting sources.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The difficulty I faced was trying to understand how to reference different types of sources as I am only familiar with referencing books at A Level History essay standard whereas Law Undergraduate level essay

require more evaluation of different sources such as newspaper articles, law commission reports, cases and journal articles.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I have never attempted to reference a law essay at undergraduate level so I felt it was difficult to understand when it would be appropriate to use these references in terms of relevance of acknowledging wider

source than just textbooks.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will attempt referencing in my formative assessments in order to ensure that I understand what is required and needs to be improved when using the Oscola reference system.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• It is an important skill to acknowledge sources through the Oscola reference system. This is important for evidence for any legal arguments presented in law essays.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To practice referencing through formative assessments in order to understand how improvements could be made before attempting to reference summative assessments as errors in referencing can reduce marks

• How may these skills help future career?• Referencing is important skill for evaluation and evidence of constructing legal arguments therefore this skill will help to demonstrate advocate arguments as well as expanding legal argument in summative

assessments.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would look into detail of the sources that are required to be referenced with the Oscola system in the full guide online as the overview helped me to understand the requirements but not fully understand the use

of using these sources in referencing law essays.

Lecture 10 –Theories of Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights

• What did I do today? • This lectured primary focus was the theories of rights on the European Convention on Human Rights when considering cases in the court and what they are bound to follow which is judge accordingly by what

court they are and then determines what powers they can exercise.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• The powers of the European Convention on Human Rights

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapters 15 and 16 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn as well as online journals on Westlaw which was in depth discussion of the law of the European

Convention on Human Rights.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood from my previous lectures the importance of understanding the key principles starting with the textbooks in order to have better research material and wider material accessed online.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The confusion at times how the European law related to the English and Wales legal system however reviewing my notes and comparing them to my lecture notes helped me to draw the comparison and the

relevance’s.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• My familiarity with the European law was weak however I eventually understood with further reading that helped my understanding of the relevance through case law.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• Start to research in depth with my weaker areas of the law in order to get on top with understanding the relevance of the topics discussed in lectures.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• My analysis skills and reading legislation has improved with reviewing the European laws when in comparison to the English and Wales legal system.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To further review and research case law which links to both European law and the English and wales system. This will help with my understanding of how courts make decisions in cases when taking into

consideration the two legal systems.

• How may these skills help future career?• Comparison and identifying relevant sources shows skills of analysis in terms of reaching decisions in problem question which ultimately are the skills to be used in real life problem situations.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • To review all forms of notes not just lecture or preparation notes in understanding the principles of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Lecture 11 + 12 – Personnel of Law: The Judges and the Legal Profession

• What did I do today? • This lectured primary focus was the role of judges especially when considering cases in the court and what they are bound to follow which is judge accordingly by what court they are and then determines

what powers they can exercise. The other roles such as barristers, solicitors and legal executives were also taken into consideration.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I understood the appointment of judges and their position in different courts. The different stages required for solicitors, barristers and legal executives to be qualified for their roles in the legal field of work.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapters 10 and 11 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood the basic routes and the qualifications and experience required through the research I carried out by reading the key chapters in my textbook.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• How in this day and age taking into consideration the current social and economic factors may affect these routes of qualifying for the legal routes of Judges, Solicitors, Barristers and Legal executives.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The textbook did not cover these factors therefore it was important to research online articles.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• The importance of researching key figures and statistics when looking at qualifying for the legal profession discussed in the lecture.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The importance of understanding the competition in the legal field of work therefore the importance of having commercial awareness skills to keep on top of changing times and factors affecting the

competition on the legal route to qualifying for a legal profession.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To ensure I have commercial awareness and not to complete the basic steps in order to qualify for the legal profession as other factors such as experience is taken into consideration not just academic

performance.

• How may these skills help future career?• I will show that I spent time being involved with commercial awareness and not just academic research, therefore this skill will help me achieve experience and show I can perform more than the required

academic route required for the legal professions discussed in the lecture.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would research the social and legal factors affecting the route for qualifying for a legal profession which would help me be more commercially aware.

Lecture 13 & 14 – The Criminal Justice System & Civil Justice System

• What did I do today? • In the lecture we were introduced to understanding and comparison of the criminal justice system and civil justice system.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• The two systems vary and differ therefore it is important to identify the systems and not to confuse the two systems.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• To help with my preparation for the lecture, I read chapter 19 and 22 of my core text book by Elliot & Quinn as well as online journals on Westlaw which was in depth discussion of the two systems similarities

and differences.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood from my previous lectures the importance of understanding the key principles starting with the textbooks in order to have better research material and wider material accessed online.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The confusion at times in differentiating the Criminal Justice System with the Civil Justice System however reviewing my notes and comparing them to my lecture notes helped me to draw the comparison and

the relevance’s.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• My familiarity with the Civil Justice System was weak however I eventually understood with further reading that helped my understanding of the relevance through case law of how the system operates in

England and Wales.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• Start to research in depth with my weaker areas of the law in order to get on top with understanding the relevance of the topics discussed in lectures.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• My analysis skills and evaluation has improved with reviewing the comparison of the criminal and civil system in regards to the English and Wales legal system.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To further review and research case law which links to both Criminal and Civil system. This will help with my understanding of how courts make decisions in cases when taking into consideration the two legal

systems.

• How may these skills help future career?• Comparison and identifying relevant sources shows skills of analysis in terms of reaching decisions in problem question which ultimately are the skills to be used in real life problem situations.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • To review all forms of notes not just lecture or preparation notes in understanding the principles of the criminal and civil legal system in England and Wales.

Lecture 15 & 16 – Funding of legal services & Miscarriage of Justice

• What did I do today? • In this lecture we looked at the funding of legal services and miscarriage of justice.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt the importance of information regarding the funding of legal services and miscarriage of justice.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the required chapter of the text book Elliot & Quinn chapter 18 and 17.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood from my previous lectures the importance of understanding the key principles starting with the textbooks in order to have better research material and wider material accessed

online

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• How in this day and age taking into consideration the current social and economic factors may affect both the legal funding aspect and miscarriage of justice.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The textbook did not cover these factors therefore it was important to research online articles.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• By researching I will ensure that I can understand external factors which will greater my understanding surrounding these topics.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Understanding that it is important to make your own evaluation on the topics with evidence supported not just academic evaluations to support points and understanding of certain topics.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To think of my own points and to introduce critical thinking into my work so I can understand the topic better

• How may these skills help future career?• Critical thinking is important aspect of planning future and anticipating events

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • To review all forms of notes and put more of my own views on the topic into the notes and support my points and ideas.

Lecture 17 & 18 – Referencing & Tribunals and Alternative Disputes Resolution

• What did I do today? • The lecture involved looking over referencing and answering common questions regarding the system. Also the lecture looked into detail surrounding Tribunals and Alternative Disputes Resolution.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I reviewed what I knew about referencing and learnt easier ways to reference by using Latin terms such as ‘IBID’. The lecture helped me in identifying detail of procedures for Tribunals and Alternative Disputes.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the required chapter of the text book Elliot & Quinn chapter 23 & 25. I also reviewed my notes on referencing and acknowledged my weaker areas of referencing.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood the importance of identifying more than knowing and reviewing the knowledge I had on referencing. As for preparation for tribunal and alternative dispute resolution I understood the importance of reading

and comparing my knowledge to the lecture notes I undertaken to help with my understanding of the legal principles and paths in tribunals and alternative disputes resolution.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• Unlike my other lectures, I understood more than basic preparation as I came across more guided journal articles in order to understand the theories of tribunals and alternative dispute resolution. The preparation for the

lecture on referencing was more difficult as my only concern was with reciting references which were repetitive in my assessments; therefore this concern was not regarding understanding the use of referencing.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I understood the basic elements of referencing regarding the Oscola system therefore difficulties arose in how I could expand on my knowledge of use of referencing.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will research online and see forums in regards to my concerns on referencing as I was unaware of the use of IBID and other Latin words before the lecture. This definitely resolved my concern of reciting authority in my

referencing and has saved my time for future assessments when I use referencing.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• A better understanding of referencing assessments and saving time by using Latin terms, not only to spend that time improving the content and reviewing the assessment but also to make it more appealing to the reader

of the assessment to find the authorities referenced.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will make sure in my upcoming assessments which require authorities to be recited to be referenced with a simpler formula as I am aware my Analysing Legal Text component will require reciting of authority on same

pages of the case report.

• How may these skills help future career?• Making the content of my assessments consistent through referencing will show greater knowledge of referencing and understanding of adapting to different referencing systems.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would approach the lecture with an open mind of how I could further my skills of referencing beyond the university requirement by browsing online forums in regards to the Oscola referencing system. Also I would make

sure they are valid forums and valid information by not relying on one source of information.

Lecture 19 & 20 – Recap: Case Summarising & Statutory Interpretation and Negotiations.

• What did I do today? • This lecture helped me refresh the use of statutory interpretation and case summarising. A review the negotiation skills required.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I understood the elements required for the Analysing legal text component and importance of using the required skills to pass the component. The negotiation exercise helped me in understanding different methods of

pursuing legal rights and better understanding of applying the methods to factual like situations.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I looked over my notes from previous lectures on statutory interpretation and case summarising. I read the required chapter of the text book Elliot & Quinn chapter 24 &25 in regards to negotiation part of the lecture.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood in order to refresh my memory I needed to look over my previous notes to greater my knowledge and understanding of what skills are required for the Analysing Legal Texts component. Reading the chapters of

the Elliot & Quinn book ensured I understood the methods of negotiation involved in legal cases.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I had difficulty preparing in regards to the skills element for the assessments. For instance, are we only required to use one set of rules in statutory interpretation or the usage is unlimited. Therefore I reviewed all the stator

interpretation methods. My other concern was in regards to using the methods in negotiations for factual legal questions.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I was new to the assessment criteria and did not understand fully what was required and allowed. Another reason I had difficulties with my lack of familiarity with the subjects and topics discussed in regards to the negotiation

lecture.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will ensure that I read and answer the questions stated in my assessment as it is very easy to drift away with what is required of me to pass this skills component of assessment (Analysing Legal Text). I will also practice

problem questions in regards to negotiation exercises to greater my knowledge and understanding of the methods.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The skills I had developed were to ensure I will be practising and familiarity with problem questions. Ensuring that I stick to the questions, will make sure my assessment answers are consist and not packed with unnecessary

information and knowledge of topics that I will not be assessed on.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Consistency skills are important with practise and reading. It is only with practise I can improve the required skills for future assessments and career prospects.

• How may these skills help future career?• It is important to remain consistent through a job role therefore focusing and attention to detail is important with the skill of consistency.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would read the question and stick to answering the question in the component; this would have saved unnecessary questions in regards to being competent in the Analysing Legal Texts component for skills. Practising more

problem questions in regards to negotiations would help me understand the methods better and greater my knowledge.

Lecture 21 & 22 – Consolidating Session and Critical Analysis • What did I do today? • The consolidation session required understanding what is required for the legal analysing text component and skills required for critical analysis.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• What I learnt from this lecture was how to apply the skills of critical thinking to my upcoming formative assessment in skills and the importance of using and testing these skills in my formative

assessment.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I ensure that I referred to my previous notes and understood my strengths and weaknesses in regards to the skills required for the assessment of Analysing legal text component.

• Why did I do those things well? • I made use of my experience so far in skills and understood that this lecture in particular would help address my weakness in attempting the Analysing Legal texts. Therefore this also meant that I could

address any issues that would set back my mark for the skills assessment.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I had difficulties in understanding how I could apply the stator rules to the assessment.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I had difficulties with critical thinking in regards to applying stator interpretation.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will ensure that I make use of formative assessments and practise my skills and I understand I have the knowledge but I am hesitant in applying the knowledge as part of the critical analysis skills

required for this assessment.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The skills I developed was highlighting and reviewing my strengths and weaknesses.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Acknowledge my strengths but work harder to improve my weaknesses.

• How may these skills help future career?• In understanding what my weaknesses are is a good skill in regards to criticising and ensuring I can appeal better to my employers in the future.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would try to attempt and work at weakness in practise problem questions in regards to applying statutory interpretation.

Lecture 23 & 24: Case Summarising R v Davis • What did I do today? • In this lecture I had the opportunity to test my knowledge of highlighting where statutory interpretation rules apply in the case of R v Davis.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• How to apply the purposive approach rule in future cases as that is my weakness and affected my overall preparation answer mark.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the case frequently and attempted the question with the knowledge I had of statutory interpretation. I looked over my notes from previous lectures in order to assist me in answer and

preparing for the answer that would be discussed in the lecture.

• Why did I do those things well? • I had the opportunity form my previous lecture to understand that my weakness was applying the statutory interpretation rules to cases therefore I need to attempt questions set to assist me in

understanding what I could improve on for my upcoming formative and most importantly summative assessment (Analysing Legal Text assessment).

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• Assessing my preparation answer and understanding if I was on the right tracks of applying the law.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• A major reason why I had these difficulties was due to confusion of if I was applying the statutory rules correctly.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will keep submitting attempts in order to self-evaluate myself and performance.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Self-evaluating and understanding the purposive approach application in cases

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• See feedback from seminar tutors in regards to self assessing and this would familiarise my strengths and weaknesses.

• How may these skills help future career?• Self evaluation of answers will assist in eliminating common errors and understanding what I could do to expand on my knowledge and skills required.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • Attempt more questions to self-evaluate my weaknesses and eliminate my errors.

Lecture 25 & 26: Formative assessment – R v T• What did I do today? • I had the opportunity to have my answer reviewed in regards to the application of stator rules to the case analysis in the lecture by the module leader.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I understood that my overall application of stator interpretation was satisfactory however I should use better definitions of the rules in my future assessments.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I read the case continuously and had the opportunity to clarify I fi was using stator interpretation correctly.

• Why did I do those things well? • I expanded on my experience of preparing for the lecture in order to discuss and understand how to improve my weaker areas of critical analysis.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• Overall the difficulties for preparing for this formative assessment have decreased over time but I still felt hesitant in my use of story interpretation.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• A major reason why I had these difficulties was due to ensuring I was applying the statutory rules correctly and lack of confidence in my answers as misleading integrations would not be correct and

ultimately be off point.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will make sure that I have my answers checked regularly which will build my confidence in approaching answering the questions.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• I made use of taking on board common pitfalls students may encounter on applying stator interpretation which were common in majority of my use of statutory interpretation to case and

preparation for my answers.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Avoid common mistakes by reviewing my answers.

• How may these skills help future career?• Comparisons of skills and approaches to problems can help in understanding better skills and requirements of problem questions.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would ensure that I discuss with my other students problems they face (without collusion) and how they deal with overcoming those common pitfalls.

Lecture 27 & 28: Getting ready for your Moot – advocacy and court room etiquette

• What did I do today? • Today I had the opportunity to review my knowledge of mooting and understanding what I need to do in regards to being competent in the mooting assessment.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt form the lecture the importance of court room equity and what bad mooting and court room equity through videos shown by the module leader (common pitfalls of students not performing

well in the moots).

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I made use of reviewing my additional notes which I made for preparing for my previous mock moots and internal moots as well as understanding my weaknesses. I also did research on my weaker

areas of mooting and had the opportunity to keep an open mind to what would be required for the mooting assessment.

• Why did I do those things well? • I had a practice run in approaching mooting situations therefore I was able to understand what is required of me in the moot and how to prepare.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I overall didn’t come across major issues however I did have difficulties in regards of what would be required in a level 4 skills assessment.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I have never attempted a level 4 mooting assessment therefore I wasn’t sure what was expected.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will prepare like any other standard of moot and not underestimate the requirements of a moot in regarding to the level the moots will be assessed during.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• Research skills and understanding what would be required during mooting assessment

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To ensure I continue my research for future assessments as this will prepare me for future assessment enquires and unanswered questions.

• How may these skills help future career?• Research is important therefore preparing with research will give confidence and ultimately preparing research for a moot assessment would be vital to a career of legal advocacy or similar roles in

communication.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • Not underestimate the requirements for the mooting assessment.

Lecture 29 – Introduction to the Employment & Jobs Team – Lesley Taylor

• What did I do today? • I met Lesley Taylor and had better understanding of the commercial world in regard to employability and what workers are looking for in potential employees.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt the importance of gaining as much experience as possible and not leaving it till I finish university/degree.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I prepared a range of skills I have and what I could improve to father the skills I currently have obtained from my experience in educational and employment.

• Why did I do those things well? • I understood the importance of knowing what sort of potential employee I will be therefore I needed to demonstrate this by emplacing my skills and understanding my weaknesses.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I wasn’t too sure what to expect in terms of would I be over prepared for this lecture or under prepared.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I wasn’t sure if I was commercially aware of the current job climate in detail.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will do more extensive research of individual sectors of employment that interest me; to understand further what employers of that sector would like to see from their potential employee.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• I developed my skills on commercial awareness and the importance of acting as soon as possible in finding experience not from paid but to volunteer experience.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will begin to look extensively for volunteer experience which previously I did not pay as much attention to and only focused on paid experience and understand the importance of any type of

experience.

• How may these skills help future career?• Looking for available volunteer experience will help improve and expand on the skills I already have obtained. Potentially volunteer experience may help me land a paid experience job. • If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would ensure that I look at the volunteer sector of work such as Citizens Advice Centre and Pro Bono work to understand what skills are required for volunteer work and the requirements.

Lecture 30 & 31 – Developing an application strategy for legal jobs

• What did I do today? • I made use of understanding the legal job market in terms of the application process and requirements for vacation schemes.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt form the lecture the importance of emphasising time and effort on application forms for vacation schemes.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I used my commercial awareness in order to understand the starting point of developing strategies for legal jobs.

• Why did I do those things well? • I attended careers sessions, did extensive research and made use of previous lecture on commercial awareness.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• I wasn’t sure if my research was up to date.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• The reason why I had difficulty in preparing for the lecture was due to my lack of commercial awareness to legal applications.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will look at valid sources such as LawCarers.Net and avoid law forums which have biased reasoning and detail of application strategies.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The skills I have developed is the importance of commercial awareness in the legal market.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To use the stories and ensure I am the right candidate when applying to law firms for vacation schemes.

• How may these skills help future career?• Obtaining experience form vacation schemes will help with my experience and evidence of landing myself a training contract and support my training contract application to law firms in the

future.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would look at better valid law source websites to ensure my commercial awareness is up to date.

Lecture 32 & 33 – Completing a Skills Audit and CV's

• What did I do today? • I prepared a skills audit for the lecture and had the opportunity to understand what good CV’s are consistent of.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I understood from the lecture my strengths and weaknesses in regards to employability and experience.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I prepared the skills audit and had it reviewed by the module leader.

• Why did I do those things well? • I have been working to improve my skills and experience for employability and been attending career sessions in regards to improving my CV and put emphasis on my skills.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• At first I had problems identifying examples where I have used my experience of skills. However toward the end of completing the skills audit I became familiar with specific examples.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• It was hard to identify good examples and what would attract employers in persuading I have obtained the skills I listed in my audit.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will have confidence and continue to list example when I use my skills in educational and employment situations.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The skills I have developed was selecting specific examples in support of evidence of skill for potential employers and understanding my CV is updated and made good use of.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• I will be continued to add to my experience folder of any potential situations that would stand me out to other candidates to future employers.

• How may these skills help future career?• Employability will increase with outlining specific situations and making use of identifying my skills in real life scenarios with supported evidence of making use of my skills.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would ensure I keep a skill experience folder as it is important to keep experience and skills I obtain obtained regularly to put me in the right emphasis of the skills I have and able to

demonstrate to future employers I am the right candidate.

Lecture 34 & 35 – Exam Preparation • What did I do today? • I reviewed my current techniques of approaching examination styled questions.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• That I should continue to use my current exam techniques and ensure I receive feedback on past paper answers as this will ultimately prepare me if I can apply the law correctly and to what

extent.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I reviewed my examination techniques and what I am doing correctly in order to revise for the upcoming exams.

• Why did I do those things well? • I reviewed my current techniques of examination preparation from previous education therefore I found it was very easy to prepare for this lecture.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• The only difficulty I had knew whether my techniques would work for undergraduate level examinations in the real summative assessment.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I have never attempted summative undergraduate level examination before so it could be due to my confidence.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• Ensure I review my mock and formative assessments.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• The skill I have developed is to keep confidence in practices attempts at examination questions.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• Take part in more examination questions and to receive the reviews on attempted question answers.

• How may these skills help future career?• The skill of receiving feedback will help me improve my ability in problems and expand on my skills.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would make sure I take part in more practice attempts to build my confidence and reduce my nerves for the examination period.

Lecture 36 & 37 – Using Social Media for employability, networking and submitting your ePortfolio

• What did I do today? • I was taken through various methods of using social media for employability and how it can enable a person to expand skills as well as opportunities of obtaining experience and jobs

opportunities.

• What did I learn from the lecture?• I learnt the importance of networking and staying up to date with social media changes as well as employers business and organisation to expand commercial awareness.

• What did I do well preparing for the lecture?• I looked at my social media accounts which currently are used for commercial awareness and see what I could improve on to expand on my networking.

• Why did I do those things well? • I already had experience of networking through social media so I just need to expand on techniques to network.

• What difficulties did I have during preparation and the lecture?• One difficulty I had in regards to preparation was of using methods of networking with law firms.

• Why did I have those difficulties?• I have lacked confidence to connect with legal professions due to lack of experience.

• How will I overcome those difficulties in the future?• I will be more confident and make myself more appealing.

• What skills did I develop/gain from the lecture?• I developed skills of networking skills and commercial understanding.

• How do I plan to further improve those skills?• To contact potential law firms who looking to give work experience.

• How may these skills help future career?• Possibility I may have chance to show I am eligible for a training contract through extensive experience in a legal field of work.

• If I had to prepare and participate in this session again, what would I do differently and why? • I would be confident in approaching my profile in regards to networking with law firms.