LASC Workshops

Legal Academic Skills Centre Workshops

Intensive Workshop Series

Legal Analysis and Skills for Writing Essays and Exams

The academic skills workshop series takes place over ten days.  Each session is 2 hours and covers an important skill for success in the program.  We are running the series 4 times in August – September and the topics covered will include:

1.Strategies for reading legal materials

2.Critical engagement with your material and taking effective notes to prepare for class discussion, exams, and essays

3.Reading case law

4.Reading case law continued

5.Common law legal reasoning

6.Strategies for Writing Legal Research Papers – setting a research question and structuring your argument

7.Paraphrasing and referencing (Footnotes)

8.Weaving your sources into your document

9.Formatting your document according to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation

10.Preparing for weekend take-home exams and writing an answer to a hypothetical problem

You need to register if you want to attend.

  • Series 1 of the workshops begins on Monday 24 July and runs until Friday 4 August.  There are no spaces left in the morning session but there are  spaces in the afternoon session from 2 – 4 PM.  Please REGISTER if you are interested:
  • Series 2 of the workshop series begins on Wednesday 16 August and runs until Tuesday 29 August from 10 AM – 12 PM in room 608 of the law school. No spaces left.
  • Series 3 begins on Wednesday 23 August and runs until Tuesday 5 September from 2 PM – 4 PM in room 317. No spaces left.
  • Series 4 begins on Wednesday 23 August and runs until Tuesday 5 September from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM in room G08. Spaces left – please REGISTER

Standalone Sessions

Chantal Morton also runs standalone sessions on legal analysis and writing essays and exams.  These sessions are fast-paced workshops designed for people already familiar with the basic elements of the common law legal system and writing for law.

Essays Saturday Date to be Confirmed  (Zoom)  

The essay workshop is appropriate for someone new to writing an 8,000 legal research paper for Melbourne Law School. Topics covered include:

    • Setting a research question
    • Critical engagement with the material
    • Developing an argument
    • Structuring your analysis
    • When to footnote
    • Formatting your document according to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting

Exams Saturday Date to be Confirmed (Zoom) 

The exam workshop is primarily designed for people who are new to the common law legal system.

    • Preparing for the exam (review and exam ready notes)
    • Managing your time over the weekend
    • Answering hypothetical problems
    • Answering exam essay questions

2023 July Winter Writing Camp

2023 8-Session Series

The new and improved (I hope!) Writing Camp ran in July 2023.  You will find all the materials in the LASC Canvas community.   You need to be enrolled in the community to access our resources.  All unimelb students can self-enroll by following the instructions here.

Each session included an opportunity to socialise with your colleagues, an explanation of a grammar principle and how it is important for clear legal writing, and an opportunity to practice and get some feedback.

Topics:

    • modifiers (how to use them and where to put them)
    • active and passive voice (and when to use these techniques)
    • pronouns and referents/antecedents
    • indefinite and definite articles
    • nominalisations
    • Subject-verb agreement
    • concise writing
    • persuasive writing