Written assignment (40%): All students are required to complete a written assignment, 2500 words, based on a topic to be released Monday 29 July 2024. The topic will cover material dealt with in the first 12 lectures of this unit of study.  This Assignment is designed to test students’ ability to identify and classify interpretive arguments, and to understand and articulate the way judges approach and resolve conflicts over the application of legal text. The Written Assignment is due 10 am Monday 16 September 2024 (Sydney, Australia time).

Drafting exercise (30%): All students are required to complete a written drafting assignment based on a topic to be released Monday 26 August 2024. Students are to produce a clear text dealing with the issues raised in the drafting instructions (and accommodate any relevant constraints), using appropriate legislative drafting form. The Drafting Exercise has a word limit of 1500 words. Students may submit explanatory/additional material, 1000 words maximum, which may be considered in assessing the draft. The Drafting Exercise is due 4pm Monday 14 October 2024 (Sydney, Australia time).

Final assignment (30%): All students are required to select ONE of the following three options for the final assessment of this unit. Regardless of which option is chosen, the assessment choice will account for 30% of the total grade. The same deadline applies to all three options, namely, 9am 11 November 2024 (Sydney, Australia time). 

• Analytical Essay:  the subject matter will be on a topic which requires students to integrate the learning over the whole unit of study. The word limit is 2000 words. The topic will be released by Monday 14 October 2024. The deadline is 9am 11 November 2024 (Sydney, Australia time).

OR

• Self-Set Research Essay:  Students may undertake research on a topic of particular interest. The topic must pose a question to be answered within the 2000 word limit.  Students proposing to undertake this option should submit a proposed question and brief explanation of the area of research they wish to investigate before 23 September 2024 and topics must be approved by Monday 14 October 2024. (Due to the consultation required to set this written assessment, anonymous submission may not be practical.)  The deadline is 9am 11 November 2024 (Sydney, Australia time).

OR

• Long Problem:  Students may choose to undertake a long problem involving actual application of statutory provisions to a hypothetical scenario. The word limit is 2000 words. The Long Problem will be released Friday 18 October 2024. The deadline is 9am 11 November 2024 (Sydney, Australia time).

Students must retain earlier drafts of their assessments on file to ensure they can demonstrate compliance with Academic Integrity requirements.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration will generally result in an extension of time but may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate, at the discretion of the co-ordinator.

Use of editors or proof-readers: In completing unsupervised assessments, students may use editors, proof-readers, and automated writing tools (including translation software, grammar checkers, reference generators and artificial intelligence), provided that all use is acknowledged and consistent with University policies and procedures including Academic Integrity Policy. Acknowledgment must be made in writing on the front of the work submitted for assessment, or in an appropriate footnote or other reference, and state the name of the person or software.

Word limit penalty: A submission that exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 1 mark for every 100 words, or part thereof, over the limit.  

For the Written Assignment (40%), the word limit includes all footnotes but excludes any bibliography.

The Drafting Exercise (30%) has a word limit of 1500 words strictly confined to the text of the draft legislation. Students may submit explanatory/additional material in footnotes, 1000 words maximum, which may be considered when assessing the draft.

For the Analytical Essay (30%), Self-Set Research Essay (30%) and the Long Problem (30%), the word limit includes all footnotes but does not include any bibliography. Students should submit a bibliography if they wish to demonstrate the research they undertake.

Each submission, referred to above, must contain a statement on the first page clearly indicating the number of words (including footnotes). There is a penalty of 5 marks for falsely stating the number of words.

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study

A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.