Hi! My name is Ayshea O’Brien and I’m the Programme Leader for the Law and Business degrees, here at Pearson College. I studied Law both at undergraduate and postgraduate level as well as having undertaken professional qualifications. I have also been teaching Law for 17.5 years. So, after approximately 25 years in the field I have a few tips to help you ace your legal studies. Let’s start with Seminars and 5 key points to help you succeed.
Prepare for Seminars. Your Tutor is not only helping you to understand the area but is also showing you how to answer (structure) a question on that topic. Remember, your Tutor most likely has had input in writing your exam and could be marking it, so they are effectively showing you what they want to see! You can help yourself therefore by preparing beforehand which will maximise your understanding within the class.
Attendance is clearly key bearing in mind the above. If you miss a seminar either listen to the recording or catch up the work, you missed as soon as possible.
Your Tutor does not expect you to understand everything and expects you to get questions they ask you wrong. Don’t be afraid then to answer questions during seminars. Your tutor will be able to understand why you reached the conclusion you did and will be able to help you with your understanding. If you stay silent it is very difficult for your Tutor to gauge your understanding.
Throw yourself into any group work set by your tutor during the seminar. If you understand the area you will be able to explain it to group members who may not. If you don’t understand the task set your group members will be able to clarify. Peer to peer learning is a very effective tool.
Keep a folder of notes where you write up your seminars/ answers. This will be a crucial tool and revision aid to help you maximise your attendance, participation and ultimately knowledge from topic to topic.