Benches, Bars and Briefs Blog

Q. Is it really necessary to purchase the latest editions of text books?
A. Although it is more expensive to have the latest edition, it is important to have the most recent text book because the law is constantly changing. For example, last year’s Tort books will not be ideal for this year’s students because the Defa-mation Act 2013 has dramatically changed the law on defamation.

Q. So can I still use out of date text books?
A. Yes. They may be helpful to provide wider knowledge of the areas of law and give different information on legislation or case law which is still relevant.
 

Q. Is it true we have to do 7 hours of reading a day?!
A. Some people will do more, some people will do less. How much time you spend reading between topics is down to you. However, if you do not want to sit and read a whole stack of text books the night before an exam, it is highly recom-mended you do the compulsory and extended reading throughout the year. Sometimes the reading may be much less than 7 hours, depending on the topic. Remember; it’s quality of your study that counts, not the amount of hours you put in. If you have done the reading in less than 2 hours, do not panic, enjoy your evening off! (Tomorrow you may have tons!)

Q. There seem to be so many cases! How can I remember all of them?
A. Unless you have supersonic memory, you will not be able to remember the name of every case you read about this year. The best thing to do is to remember the key ones which can be the ones which made the rule, or recent ones which prove it to still be valid. Some cases appear in a number of topics e.g. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co., if you know these cases well you will be able to use it for more than one rule.