Students are required to present opening oral submissions based on a short written outline of argument produced in pairs. Individually, students must then peer review a different colleague's presentation.

For this assignment, TWO components must be completed:

• Part A requires coordination with your partner (to write the outline of arguments and ensure content of presentations do not overlap).
• Part B must be completed individually.

Complete Due Dates and Times will be specified in the Assignment Task Sheet.

Students have the option to choose their partner for this assignment, but failure to do so by end of Week 4 will result in the Unit Coordinator allocating partners. If you find a partner yourself, you must let the unit coordinator know by email before COB Friday of week 4.

Part A: Written Submission and Recorded Oral Presentation

Each partnership, working together as Senior and Junior Counsel, must prepare a written outline of arguments for the court. Both Senior and Junior Counsel must then make an oral presentation of 4-6 minutes each, speaking to their allocated part of the written submission. The oral submissions must be recorded, uploaded to YouTube and the link submitted for marking on the written outline. The submissions can be recorded together using programs such as Zoom (highly recommended) or separately. If recording together, it is up to each pair to work out a suitable and convenient time to record. While a courtroom setting is not required, students should make the effort to present themselves professionally for the video, and to deliver their submissions effectively. Part A will assess knowledge and understanding of the relevant law, communication skills and teamwork skills.

Part B: Peer Review of a Colleague's Presentation

Part B requires students to view the presentation of a colleague (emailed out by the Unit Coordinator in Week 8) and provide brief constructive feedback on the presentation for the benefit of their colleague. As the peer review is dependent on the submission of Part A, this part of the assignment is to be submitted by each student no later than 11pm, Friday of Week 8. This will allow students time to watch the oral presentation emailed to them by the Unit Coordinator.

The peer review does not count towards the mark of the student being reviewed. A mark is awarded to the reviewer for the quality of their feedback. The peer review will be provided to the student being reviewed as extra feedback in addition to the marker's feedback.

Full details of the assignment task, rationale, due date and marking criteria will be made available on the Assignment 1 link on the unit Moodle site. Please ensure that you read all of the information on the Assignment page and Task Sheet.

These criteria are a general guide only as to the standard expected at the various levels. It is not necessarily the case that all criteria will be met at a particular standard, as there may be superior performance on one of the criteria and not so satisfactory performance on another. A more detailed criteria sheet for both Part A and Part B is provided in the Assignment Task Sheet.

High Distinction standard

· the assignment is very well written/spoken and clearly expressed

· there is a demonstrated appreciation and understanding of the issues involved

· the assignment is well structured and logically organised

· demonstrated mastery of referencing system

· there is evidence of a comprehensive analysis of the issues

Distinction standard

· the assignment is well written/spoken and expressed

· the assignment is structured and logical

· the issues have been reasonably well identified and appreciated

· there is correct use of referencing

· issues have been analysed

Credit standard

· the assignment is generally well written/spoken and expressed

· the assignment is structured and sequential

· referencing is satisfactory

· issues are identified and addressed

· there has been an attempt to analyse some of the issues

Pass standard

· the assignment is able to be followed and understood

· the assignment could perhaps be better organised and structured

· the referencing may need improvement

· issues may need to be identified and addressed in more depth

· analysis when present may be incorrect

Fail standard

· the assignment is sometimes significantly short of the required length

· the expression is poor and difficult to understand

· the assignment is poorly organised

· there has been a failure to address the issues in the question

· referencing is generally inadequate

This task requires students to produce a Learning Diary incorporating a series of short 'reflection notes' produced throughout the term documenting their learning experiences in the unit. It encourages students to review and consolidate learning, to evaluate their performance, and to plan future learning based on past learning experience.

As a reflective exercise it should be commenced at the start of term and students are encouraged to make brief notes each week on learning methods, styles and development of understanding/knowledge. These notes can be incorporated into the submitted learning diary. The assessment task sheet will outline particular prompts and activities that must be included in the submitted diary.

Students are encouraged to publish their brief notes/thoughts on the Weekly Reflections and Check-In forum on the Torts B Moodle site. Publishing your diary notes on the forum is not an assessable component of the task but will provide an opportunity to track your progress over the unit and work on your communication, collaboration and self-management skills. The sharing of experiences in the unit will also allow you to compare your experiences with those of your colleagues.

The task is not intended to be an overly time consuming exercise. However, you may find it a challenging task as it encourages you to become an active learner who, rather than simply memorise or summarise material, thinks deeply about 'how', 'why' and 'what' you're learning.

The submitted learning diary should be no less than 1000 words, but for those who really embrace the task, the word count may be higher. The focus should be on providing quality reflections on your 'thinking and doing' in the unit, rather than on producing a certain quantity. In your diary, you are also free to incorporate diagrams or pictures to represent the key ideas along with written prose. Alternatively, you may wish to present all or some of your learning diary in video format.

Full details of the assignment task, rationale and due date will be provided on the unit Moodle site.

Marks will be given for quality of reflections, presentation and completeness. These criteria are a general guide as to the standard expected at the various levels. Please see the assignment task sheet for more detailed marking criteria.

High Distinction:

The learning diary

• shows deep learning on the topics and the "big picture";
• proficiently demonstrates reflection and incorporates personal touch and applications;
• considers concepts and topics from various perspectives (eg. different contexts, areas of law, disciplines etc);
• demonstrates creative solutions and critical thinking skills;
• is well-focused; with arguments or perspectives explained very well;
• demonstrates clear steps in the developmental learning process.

Distinction:

The learning diary

• shows wider learning and reflection;
• makes connections between topics, and personal context and previous experiences;
• demonstrated attempt to analyse the issues from a number of different perspectives
• is coherent and focused with arguments or perspectives clearly stated;
• demonstrates steps in the author's learning process.

Credit:

The learning diary:

• shows learning of the topics;
• makes some connections between topics, and personal context and previous experiences;
• provides some personal perspectives and reflection on these;
• some analysis present, but tends to be from a limited number of perspectives;
• is organised, but not deep enough to be very insightful about the author's learning process.

Pass:

The learning diary:

• shows some reflection;
• minimal evidence of using multiple perspectives in analysing concepts/topics or ideas;
• demonstrates consideration of events, concepts or topics but using a relatively descriptive style of language;
• shows some misunderstanding of central concepts;
• is largely a descriptive "report" with author's development gained from the learning process hardly observable.

Fail:

The learning diary:

• shows grave misunderstanding of topics;
• does not show any original thinking or perspectives and is chaotic in organisation and presentation of ideas
• entries are mere descriptions of events or theoretical knowledge rather than showing a sequence of learning steps
• little or no effort put in the work.