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Unit Synopsis
This unit introduces you to the study of law by examining the history out of which our law developed and examining how the law responds to the socio-legal conditions of our time. It provides you with an awareness of the institutions which are created by the law and how those institutions shape the development of the law. You will be introduced to the notion of legal reasoning: distinguishing the 'dicta' and 'obiter' of cases, precedent theory, case analysis, following and distinguishing precedent; as well as distinguishing between primary and delegated legislation. This unit introduces you to legal discourse and the conventions of the discipline which will provide a foundation for study in more advanced units.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2020
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Term 1 - 2026 Profile
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Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Portfolio | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 40% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 40% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
No previous feedback available
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Tutor reflection
The incorporation of referencing and research quiz into the unit has helped improve research and referencing skills overall. However, the JADE should also be introduced to the unit content and assessed in the quiz.
Maintain research and referencing quiz but incorporate the JADE database into the unit content and assessment.
The research and referencing quiz continues to be updated, with JADE integration ongoing.
Source: Tutor reflection
Students struggle with the mid-term assessment focused on the doctrine of precedent.
Provide further resources on the doctrine of precedent and review whether a further week could be spent on the doctrine of precedent in the unit schedule.
Additional resources and classwork on the doctrine of precedent and additional assessment preparation content was introduced.
Source: Student feedback
Target unit updating and revision towards changes to legal research platforms
A number of legal research platforms have revised their websites in 2025; unit content should guide students through these changes.
In Progress
Source: Student feedback, self-reflection
Continue ALC integration
ALC integration was well-received by students and effective in supporting good outcomes; it should be retained and developed.
In Progress
Source: Self-reflection
Combine good practice from across units and terms
As this unit is team taught and led by different Unit Coordinators each term, ensure experiences and good practice are shared between teaching staff and across terms. Continue also the process of harmonisation between First Year units.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe and discuss the rule of law, the nature of the Australian legal system and ethical responsibility
- Explain how the law is made and developed in Australia
- Demonstrate basic skills in legal research and writing using appropriate referencing standards
- Develop basic skills in critical legal thinking, reasoning and reflection.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Portfolio | • | • | ||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||