Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW1003: Criminal Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

In this module you will cover the core elements of some of the major crimes in the law of England and Wales. The emphasis will be on understanding how the criminal law can be applied to real-life ‘problem’ scenarios. You will also be encouraged to reflect on whether or not the law could be improved, and even propose some creative new approaches. In particular, the module aims to enable you to:

(a) Communicate knowledge and understanding of the major principles and controversies of the criminal law syllabus

(b) Identify the relevant issues from the criminal law syllabus which arise in a problem or essay question

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the criminal law syllabus, using appropriate concepts, interpretative techniques and terminology; 2. Identify and analyse (with guidance) the general concepts and principles underpinning criminal law, together with related theories and academic commentary; 3. Research a legal question and demonstrate competence in applying criminal law in order to formulate and evaluate a response to it; 4. Demonstrate understanding of some of the relevant legal practice, social, economic, political, historical, philosophical, ethical and cultural contexts within which the criminal law operates;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of legal rules, concepts, values and principles, and the capability to explain and discuss the relationships among them; 6. Make an informed judgement about the merits and relevance of particular information and make reasoned choices between alternative solutions or arguments; 7. Communicate technical legal information and argument effectively and concisely, in a manner appropriate to the discipline;
Personal and Key Skills	8. Take responsibility for own learning (with support), and to work effectively with others within a group, meeting obligations to the other members of the group; 9. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of resources with some guidance; 10. Manage time efficiently in preparing for learning activities, and to work independently within a limited time frame to complete a specified task.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The basic components of criminal liability
Murder
Manslaughter
Non-fatal offences
Sexual offences
Property offences
Defences

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
58	242	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22	22 x 1 hour Lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	13.5	9 x 1.5 hour Seminars
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	9	9 x 1 hour Q&A Sessions
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	13.5	9 x 1.5 hour syndicate workshops
Guided Independent Study	18	Preparation for syndicate meetings: case reading exercises x 9
Guided Independent Study	18	Preparation for syndicate meetings: self-test questions x 9
Guided Independent Study	18	Preparation for syndicate meetings: preparing problem or essay question x 9
Guided Independent Study	18	Further reading x 9
Guided Independent Study	9	9 x 1 hour syndicate workshops
Guided Independent Study	110	Preparation for summative assessment x 1
Guided Independent Study	51	Preparation for formative assessments x 2

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).