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FourStepProcess-COMMONERRORS_sem22013311.pdf

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COMMON ERRORS WHEM ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE A CASE STUDY

Four Step Process As an overall comment, most of the problems seem to be caused by students failing to engage with the materials or staff until the week before the assignment becomes due and starting their assignments late (we can tell this by looking on the metadata in students' assignments). Generally students in this situation don't answer the question (as they don't have a good enough grasp of the law to know what is being asked of them), they haven't taken the time to learn how to reference, they don't read the comprehensive instructions or unit outline with sufficient care and they go to the most accessible source of material (the internet) which often ends in a poor result (see more about internet resources below). 1. The BIG errors (errors that relate to substance)

 Not reading the question or instructions as to the topics being assessed with sufficient care. We know this seems pretty obvious but it is a very common error.

SOLUTION: Read the question carefully. Ask yourself what does the question want you to discuss? In a four step process methodology, the question will identify and narrow the area of law you should be discussing. Also look for any additional instruction that comes with the assignment and pay attention. We are not out to ambush students – just to reward those who do the work set.

 Lack of focus - writing about the whole topic instead of the key areas. SOLUTION: As stated above, pay careful attention to what the question is directing you to do. When you are attempting to resolve a case study the facts will also raise particular issues or points of law more than others. Focus your answer on what is relevant. An example of this would be if you were asked to discuss the law in relation to ‘agreement’ as an element of an enforceable contract. If the facts were about the display of items for sale in a store window, then the rule in relation to acceptance via instant communication and facsimiles may be of little relevance so should not be discussed in any detail, if at all. A discussion of the other elements ‘consideration’ or ‘intention’ would not be at all pertinent.

 Poor use of four step process, most notably inadequate application of the law to the facts of the case study. A practical example of this is an answer that simply repeatsthe facts of the question in step 3 or alternatively where there is no detail or explanation of the application to facts (the ‘why’) just a bare conclusion.

SOLUTION: What this might indicate to the marker is that the lack of skill is due to the student not practicing at home or seeking assistance and feedback from their allocated tutor. In Business Law 100 this will also indicate that a student has probably not been completing the computer based tutorials, which assists students to develop deductive reasoning skills and model the application of facts to law as one would do in step 3 of the four step process. Ask yourself if you are taking these steps from the beginning of the course, so you have time to learn and practice and ask your tutor or the Senior Tutor on Blackboard questions in a timely manner (not the night before the assignment is due)

 Poor or no referencing. This is actually extremely important, as failure to properly acknowledge your sources can in some circumstances be classified as academic misconduct which has serious consequences.

SOLUTION: You should note that the Communication Skills Centre produces materials on referencing and the library also produces referencing guides that you should read before you submit your assignment. This document is not to be used in substitution for those sources, rather it should serve as a specific guide to answering legal questions.

Firstly, you must provide references in your assignment. You have been told not to research outside of the course materials. This means that you must reference the textbook and course materials where appropriate. Providing a single reference at the end of your assignment is not sufficient. You need to show the marker which parts of your assignment are sourced from elsewhere. If you don’t adequately reference we can’t tell which are your ideas and which are someone else’s. It is vital that for each component taken from somewhere else you provide either a footnote or an in-text reference. For this unit you can use the Chicago method or the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC). Curtin University generally uses the Chicago method and lawyers the AGLC. The choice is yours.Where you take a direct quote from the textbook it should appear in quotation marks. At the end of the quote you should provide your reference e.g. (Smith 2007, 25). In this example, Smith is the author, the book was published in 2007 and the specific quote that you have taken comes from page 25 of that source. You must provide the page number in your references. Where you take an idea/concept from someone else’s work you should also provide a reference. For example, look at p55 of the text, point 2.2. If the paragraph in your assignment read:

For sale of good contracts, where there is the sale of generic goods (where parties specify what is traded by referring only to the category or type of good), the seller only has to deliver goods that belong to that class.

You would need to provide a reference for this. Your chain of ideas has been sourced from elsewhere. While the exact wording of the paragraphs is not the same, they are sufficiently similar to warrant a reference. If in doubt, provide a reference.

Where you discuss the law (i.e. cases) it is not usually necessary to provide a reference. As the law is what it is, if discussing the cases with your own language (which will develop as you read cases and hear about them in the lectures) then you don’t need to provide a reference. However, as above, if you take a direct quote from a case study in the text then you should provide a reference.

One of the other points on this list is poor or incomplete case citation. There is substantial information in the materials about how to cite a case properly. In assignments we expect students to cite cases fully (i.e. all the year volume report numbers, abbreviations and page numbers). Most often errors in referencing are incidental or clearly inadvertent. In the event of a level one incident of plagiarism occurring, a student may be contacted by the University and required to undertake further training or remedial work in relation to referencing. Where the lack of correct referencing appears to contravene the University policy on plagiarism, the student’s paper will be referred to the Unit Coordinator and dealt with according to University policy. This may amount to academic misconduct. An important aspect of the University Plagiarism Policy is recognition that not all plagiarism is intentional or involves cheating. If students are not learning as expected, they will be made aware of their difficulties and helped to improve. Those who deliberately choose to cheat by way of plagiarism, however, will be identified and dealt with accordingly. You are strongly advised to understand your responsibilities in relation to correct referencing.

 Basic spelling, grammatical and typographical errors. SOLUTION: Use your spell check in Word before you submit your assignment. An even better strategy is to have someone who is not doing the course read over your assignment. This is an excellent way to check the clarity and logic of your argument, even if they cannot assist with the more technical aspects. Poor use of cases in assignments. The most common example of this is an answer that simply cites the case name after stating a rule of law and nothing more. Solution: This can be a little tricky to gauge the first time you attempt an answer, but have a look at the case summaries in the back of the FPBL source book. It is this structure that you need to include in your answer (although probably briefer unless the facts of the case study you are attempting to resolve are exactly on point): a summary of the facts, the outcome and importantly the reason for deciding – that is the legal principle that can be drawn from that case.

 Incorrect or incomplete case citations. SOLUTION: There is substantial information in the materials about how to cite a case properly. In assignments we expect students to cite cases fully (i.e. the year, volume/report numbers, abbreviations and page numbers).

 Explanations of rules of law without reference to authority. This is where an answer describes or explains the rule of law and either provides no citation or cites an author. SOLUTION: You must cite as either a case (judge made law) or a section of legislation (enacted law) as authority for any principle of law you explain. Remember the law comes from two sources, cases and legislation. This is why it is the law, not because a commentator or lecturer says so.

 Poor use of paragraphs and headings. Paragraphs are important as they help convey your sense and depth of understanding. A new paragraph should be used for a new idea or point you wish to make. SOLUTION: You can access general writing skills material and advice through the CBS communications skills centre. They can be contacted via the learning hub on Blackboard. You can also ask you allocated tutor for more specific advice in relation to law and how this might work (but remember that staff cannot ‘mark’ a draft of the assignment as mentioned in the unit outline).

 Not using the materials provided for the unit. This includes using texts which have not been recommended for use when studying the unit (e.g. complex and often outdated contract tomes etc) as well as material off the internet which is often not from an quality source(i.e. Wikipedia) or irrelevant. SOLUTION: Look to the prescribed text – the Lambiris FPBL materials, the lectures & unit materials on Blackboard – and/or the recommended texts or websites. This is sufficient for your learning in this unit. We don’t want to discourage independent research but this is an introduction to law course. You do not need to go beyond the materials provided. In our experience, when students who a new to studying the law research outside of the prescribed or recommended legal sources, they often become more confused because they are looking either at wrong or outdated law, rules we are not studying or explanations that are complex and in more detail than is required in an introductory context.

 Asking for extensions because you have been busy (poor time management), have decided to take a holiday or forgot.

SOLUTION: Be organised! All the timelines have been provided for you in the study calendar at the end of the unit outline. If a difficulty arises, contact us early. Please be aware of the policy for the granting of extensions, deferred assessment and late penalties contained in the unit outline. Extensions and deferments are only granted in extenuating circumstances with supporting documentation. You may be wondering why this is a ‘big one’. It is really important to ensure fairness and equity for all students. This requires the application of this policy in a consistent way (much like the doctrine of precedent!)

2. The “minor” errors (the errors that the lecturers/teaching assistants/markers will sweat)

 Students asking questions on Blackboard/by email about matters that have already been provided to them in the unit outline and instruction sheet provided with the assignment question. We are sure that most of these questions are due to oversight or when someone wants clarification of a point, however some of the questions are so basic (i.e. asking for due dates and times which are on the study calendar) that it can seem to tutors that the student will not (is lazy) or cannot read instructions, and that they are asking this type of question just because it is easier than reading up on it themselves. SOLUTION: READ the unit outline – or if you would prefer we have recorded a vodcast recording about what is contained in the unit outline for you which is available on Blackboard.

 Daily requests for your mark (from the due date onwards). SOLUTION: The unit outline sets out the turnaround time from the receipt of your assignment. This is usually no longer than two weeks. Please understand that your lecturer/teaching assistant/marker will usually have more than one student and teach a number of courses within the University. If your assignment has not been returned to you by the end of the two weeks, please contact us.

 Poor formatting and presentation. Some common examples and suggestions for change are:

o Incorrect assignment heading i.e. putting assignment 1 when its assignment 2 etc. Proof read!

o Sending the assignment in a different format from what is requested and detailed in the unit outline. Check the unit outline when you are setting up your document.

o Assignments submitted with a non identifying file name i.e. “My assignment”. Remember there are guidelines on Blackboard about how to submit your assignment. Make sure the name of your file is something that your tutor can identify as yours (i.e. this is not just for your benefit. We will have a lot of “Business Law assignment one” files otherwise)

o Poor use of page breaks e.g. a paragraph heading at the bottom of a page and then the paragraph starts next page. Complete your assignment in time so you can leave it for at least a day before the final proof reading. You will be amazed by what errors you will pick up.

o Incorrect formatting for quotes (i.e. should it be indented?). Check out the materials provided by the library and CBS Communications Skills Centre for more on this type of detail.

o Writing out the question at the beginning of the assignment. You can assume that the marker knows the question and do not need to do this.

o Multiple files submitted. Make sure your assignment is submitted as one file not two, including the cover sheet.

3. And a real bug bear....

 Sending emails from your own email account and not your Curtin student account.