Module LAW3047A for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3047A: Comparative Law Dissertation
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The aim of the Comparative Law Dissertation module is to give you the opportunity to develop further your independent research and argumentation skills, and to acquire knowledge on a discrete set of legal issues chosen by you. The module also aims to encourage and inspire you to engage critically with legal research and scholarship on a specific research question. It further aims to give you the opportunity to engage in comparative work, namely to identify, collect, and process research materials from the jurisdiction of England and Wales as compared with the study abroad jurisdiction in which you have spent your third year. It provides particularly good practice in carrying out and presenting legal research if you are considering post-graduate degrees.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Identify, define and construct a critical analysis of a discrete research topic in Law from a comparative perspective and using comparative methodology; 2. Identify and define key research questions and hypotheses about the chosen comparative research topic; 3. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the selected legal issues acquired through independent research and study; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Integrate and assess information from a comprehensive range of relevant legal materials; 5. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of a range of complex legal issues and their contextual implications, where relevant; 6. Evaluate critically the materials considered and used for the Dissertation; |
Personal and Key Skills | 7. Plan and undertake tasks efficiently, to reflect critically on the learning process and to make effective use of feedback from the supervision process; 8. Work independently, to manage time efficiently and meet strict deadlines; 9. Develop and structure an argument over a sustained piece of writing and in an effective manner; |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
You will choose your research area at the end of your second year and fill in the form that is sent to you by email. You are expected to use the summer months to do some background reading, but no written work is expected of you. No supervision takes place over the summer.
You will confirm the research question at the start of term 1 of your final year. The allocation of supervisors is confirmed by the module convenor at the start of term. As this is a Comparative Dissertation, your topic and research must involve a comparative dimension and comparative methodology.
This module is essentially facilitated through individual supervision. From September to submission in March, you will have a number of meetings with your supervisor, following a schedule set out in the module handbook. There will be a combined total of six 1.5 hour sessions of taught content, although students will not necessarily have to engage with all of this. In addition, there will be six 2 hour peer support sessions, where students will have the opportunity to discuss their progress in a supportive environment, facilitated by a postgraduate student.
ELE is used to provide you with materials and to enable the module convenor to communicate with you throughout the duration of the module.
You will have to keep a ‘learning log’ to reflect on your research as it progresses. This is a formative part of the module (i.e. non-assessed) and you are encouraged to write regular entries in your journal each week to monitor and reflect on how your research is developing. As a rough guide you may wish to write 200 words in your reflective learning log per week. You and your supervisor may wish to discuss this during supervision meetings.
NOTE: If you think that as part of your research you will need to carry out interviews, issue questionnaires or undertake any other form of interaction with people, you MUST discuss this with your supervisor and ensure ethical compliance. Any such research may only proceed once ethics clearance has been acquired.
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 |
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24 | 276 | 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 activity | 3 | Individual Supervision meetings; a minimum of three hours contact is expected over the year. |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 21 | Six 1.5 hour training sessions on research preparation, skills and legal academic writing and six 2 hour facilitated peer support sessions. |
Guided Independent study | 12 | Learning log |
Guided independent study | 30 | Identifying and locating research materials |
Guided independent study | 117 | Carrying out research, reading and taking notes |
Guided Independent study | 117 | Drafting and writing up |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
There will one joint ELE page with Dissertation LAW3047
Other Learning Resources
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Learning Log | You are expected to write about 200 words per week in your log. | 1-2, 4, 6-9 | You may discuss with your supervisor specific issues arising in your research and noted in your log; peer feedback available through research discussion meetings. |
A sample may be submitted to your supervisor for feedback as set out in the module handbook. | 2,500 words | 1-9 | Individual oral and/or written feedback from supervisor during supervision meetings as set out in the module handbook. |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Comparative Dissertation | 100 | 12,000 words | 1-9 | Written feedback and (if needed) individual meeting with supervisor |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Comparative Dissertation | Comparative Dissertation(12,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Re-assessment notes
It is expected that students who fail their dissertation will re-submit it on the same topic to reflect on and learn from the feedback they will have received on the dissertation originally submitted. Any derogation from this will have to be discussed with and approved by the module convenor.
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
- S Geoffrey, An Introduction to Comparative Law Theory and Method (Hart, 2014)
- PG Monateri, Methods of Comparative Law (E Elgar, 2012)
- M Bussani and U Mattei (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law (CUP, 2012)
- A Harding and E Örücü (eds), Comparative Law in the 21st Century (Kluwer, 2002)
- R Huxley-Binns et al, Unlocking legal learning, (Hodder Arnold 2005), ch.5
- M Salter and J Mason, Writing Law Dissertations: an Introduction and Guide to the Conduct of Legal Research (Longman, 2007)
- M McConville, Research Methods for Law (Edinburgh University Press, 2007)
- R Banaker and M Travers, Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research (Hart, 2005)