i got a 95 exam mark in legal and am studying law this year! I did all humanities, content heavy subjects asw. remember to apply for any schemes/adjustments you may be eligible for, it takes a lot of pressure off getting the atar. aim high but always remember there are other pathways into law or your dream uni.
if your school gets 0-2 band 6s you should be aiming to be ranked first all year, it doesn't matter what anyone else gets but you if you get the highest exam mark.
in terms of studying in the holidays I would make sure all your notes from term 1 are finalised and you are still familiar with and understand all the content. If there is something you are unsure of make sure you go back and revise it. Depending on what topic you did first you could start making essay plans (if it was crime id go through the syllabus and pick out dot points and make sure you have good notes and lcmdi for all of them). Id just be making sure to be very organised with your content and notes in the holidays as this early preparation helped me so much during trials/hsc. It wouldn't hurt to start learning the next topic, my teacher set us holiday homework for the first topic of crime (we did hr first) and just get a head start on those notes. remember to have a good break though!!
throughout the year we were always doing multiple choice questions relating to the topic which is a good way to prepare for that section in the hsc. When we did human rights, we were practicing short answers in class and i was doing some independently to study . I didnt do any full practice papers for legal, i just did sections. I spammed multiple choice in the weeks before trials until i was getting 20/20 in less than 5 minutes, I also practiced responding to short answers asw and i timed these - i made sure i was gaining time in these sections for essays. I gave the short answers to my teacher to mark and always clarified any questions i had. I never wrote any practice essays under time - throughout the year I would write practice essays (wrote 2 for the crime assessment we had) and wrote a large handup family essay. For crime I typed up essay plans and some practice paragraphs prior to trials. Essay plans were just an outline of what lcmdi i was using and some brief statements to use as points and explanations. World order was my largest regret in legal, i never wrote an essay for it (pls write an essay for every option). It really doesnt hurt to start past papers now, especially as everyone is different you may need more practice adapting essays and writing them under time. Give all to your teachers honestly, they are there to help you. Starting now will definitely give you an advantage, just remember to balane with your other subjects.
main advice for a band 6 would be
- learn the content inside out, i knew my content so well by the hsc I didnt have to revise much which took a lot of stress off
- have really good notes you can refer back to to revise and construct essays
- prior preparation is so important, being consistent across the year with your notes, going to class, doing homework etc. (the majority of effort i put in through legal was throughout the whole year, i was always working hard which lightened the load considerably)
- write essay plans for every topic of crime (this moderates the paper so its really important you do well in it)
- understand the syllabus, sort of memorise the dot points and themes and challenges so you know where the essay qs are coming from
- gain time in short answers and multiple choice, this is 35 marks of the paper you can pick up with little stress and leave more time for your options essays
- practice essay writing if you need improvement. make sure youre being clear and concise, have enough depth, incorporate and ANALYSE your lcmdi, really evaluate its effectiveness - WHY is it ineffective.. ask yourself these questions to ensure you are actually hitting the question and evaluating - make sure to incorporate criteria into this (we used the acronym PEAARJAM, ive seen others)
- if youre having trouble with structuring you essays use PLEEL (point, legislation, evidence, explanation, link)
- remember to always link to the question, have a strong focus on it
- hit the verb - if its asking you to evaluate the effectiveness you actually need to make a judgement - does this achieve justice to a moderate, minimal, successful.. extent
- brainstorm what you can write for different questions to different topics and themes and challenges. eg what would you write for a crime question on the use of discretion in the sentencing and punishment process (this is what i did instead of writing full practice essays for every single thing - id have the practice essay plan for the topic and id think of how id adapt it)
- make sure you memorise lcmdi lol
- if you arent good at writing under time, start practising now and get your teacher to mark your responses - listen to your feedback and work on applying it
- have a good base essay for options
- in the hsc remember you get a choice between 2 essays, make sure you take some time to think about this properly and choose the right one for you
i probably have a lot more advice lol but this is what i can think of for now - just the biggest thing is knowing the content and syllabus well and then you can work on your essays
every week id do my homework and write notes - this maybe consumed 4-5 hours a week (this isnt that much when theres 7 days)
coming up to assessments id dedicate more time, about 3 weeks before the exam id start studying maybe 2 hours every day or so? For human rights i just worked my way through the syllabus and made sure I knew how to answer basically any question (all this work payed off as i remembered all the content for trials and the hsc) You just have to dedicate a bit of time every week, its a balance but youll be able to figure it out.
Legal was my favourite subject so I always wanted to study it and spent a decent amount of time on it throughout the year, i was always attentive in class, answered and asked questions etc. so i think that helped a lot also.
i used edrolo - this was honestly amazing, i wrote notes from it, they provided a great summary although the content is basically the same as a textbook, its great to listen to it instead of doing a bunch of reading.
The cambridge textbook is also something i used and then just my teachers resources and quizlet.
SORRY i just realised how long this is but I hope it helps you. you 100% can achieve anything you set your mind to, you just have to work hard and be consistent. If you have any more questions or want any help throughout the year im only happy to help, i love legal evidently lol
