Taking law further

Planning to study law at university? Read this first

Read this article from the Guardian to make sure you're on the right path.

Are you cut out for a law degree?

Have a look at s.2(1) Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

If you are a budding lawyer and thinking of taking your legal studies to degree and beyond have a look at this article  from the Guardian. It poses a set of legal questions which are similar to the type you may be faced at a University interview. It would be worth getting your brain around the reasoning and research required with scenarios like this so you'll have more idea what to expect.

University applications and the LNAT exam

The LNAT exam is an aptitude test for the following universities: 

• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• Durham University
• NUI Maynooth (mature entry only)
• University of Glasgow
• King's College London
• University of Manchester
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University College London

The LNAT is a 2¼ hour test in two sections which is completed on a computer at one of 500 test centres throughout the world. Section A consists of 42 multiple choice questions. The questions are based on 12 argumentative passages, with 3 or 4 multiple choice questions on each. You have 95 minutes to answer all of these questions.  For Section B you have 40 minutes to answer one essay questions out of a choice of three on a range of subjects. You have to demonstrate your ability to argue economically to a conclusion with a good command of written English. 

LNAT is an aptitude test and therefore you cannot revise specific material, however you do need to prepare by using practice papers. For more information about how to prepare you can download this official LNAT preparation guide. 

Harvard referencing 

As you go through college and towards university the written work you produce is likely to increase in formality. You will be told that plagiarism (copying someone else's work or using their ideas without saying where they came from) is unacceptable and can have some serious consequences.

Whenever you find an idea of fact that you want to use in a piece of written work you need to read it carefully and be able to restate it in your own words. You also need to put an acknowledge in your work as to where you have found it by putting a reference which will allow the reader to go and find exactly where you found the information. Using other peoples ideas to support what you are saying is a very important academic skill and is in no way cheating.

One of the most common ways of referencing is called the Harvard system. Your references need to be set out in a certain format in a special style so that all work created using this system are consistent and so it is easy for someone else to check your research. References have a slightly different format depending on the source of the article, for example a

The reference for this website article for example would be:
Harwood, S. (2013). Harvard referencing. Available: http://alevellawresources.blogspot.co.uk/p/taking-law-further.html. Last accessed 19th Aug 2013.

Where as a reference for a book would look like this: 
Tolkien, J.R.R., (1954). Lord of the rings. 12th ed. England: Waterstones


There are lots of useful websites which will help you set out your references such as:
http://www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/index.htm
http://www.ukessays.com/tool-box/harvard-referencing-generator/
http://www.harvardgenerator.com/

A final word of caution, checking whether you have copied text from the internet is a simple as copying sections of your work and pasting it into a Google search. It will be checked and if you copy you will be found out.