Once the student is in control of the texts, then the texts can be manipulated, alternative arguments can be constructed and student understanding of the relevant area or topic increased. Often, a student merely hands in a precis of a string of articles, texts and cases and calls it an essay. This is not an essay presenting a serious argument for consideration, supported by evidence and it will not attract a good mark. However, the precis, or summaries, if they are well prepared, can provide the basis of argument construction and good written work. In an exam situation, as well as in coursework, students often take a lot of time discussing the facts and the outcomes of cases or the description of argument in texts, but often demonstrating little appreciation of the issues raised by the cases and little understanding of their relevance or application to the question. This is not because they are not capable of understanding but because they did not spend the proper time thinking about what the question was asking, preparing the texts to be used and constructing argument in written form. 8.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, readers should: • be aware of the differences in approach that need to be adopted for essays and problem questions; • have confidence preparing for both types of assessment; • be able to structure work effectively; • be able to bring together the skills of reading and argument construction and demonstrate competency in writing. 8.3 PREPARATION AND STRUCTURING OF ESSAYS In answering a law essay question students are required to produced a piece of work offering a sustained argument concerning a particular question. Generally speaking, essay questions are set in the following formats: (a) A question is set to be answered. (b) A quotation is given with the bland request to discuss. (c) A quotation is given and there is a request to extract issues. Generally, an essay involves discussion in the formal sense of laying out an argument. In fact, the Latin stem of discuss is ‘discutere’ which means to ‘to dash to pieces’, a rather forceful way of describing argument. The more usual way of describing the meaning of the word ‘discuss’ is ‘to investigate or examine by argument, to sift, and to debate’. The word is often wrongly used and understood to mean just idly talking. Reading many student essays does lead one to suspect that students are idly and haphazardly just writing and wasting their hard work. Each type of essay question requires a different approach, but the same general structure is required and the same store of information can be used. This also holds true in relation to problem questions, which are discussed at the end of this chapter.

DOI link for Once the student is in control of the texts, then the texts can be manipulated, alternative arguments can be constructed and student understanding of the relevant area or topic increased. Often, a student merely hands in a precis of a string of articles, texts and cases and calls it an essay. This is not an essay presenting a serious argument for consideration, supported by evidence and it will not attract a good mark. However, the precis, or summaries, if they are well prepared, can provide the basis of argument construction and good written work. In an exam situation, as well as in coursework, students often take a lot of time discussing the facts and the outcomes of cases or the description of argument in texts, but often demonstrating little appreciation of the issues raised by the cases and little understanding of their relevance or application to the question. This is not because they are not capable of understanding but because they did not spend the proper time thinking about what the question was asking, preparing the texts to be used and constructing argument in written form. 8.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, readers should: • be aware of the differences in approach that need to be adopted for essays and problem questions; • have confidence preparing for both types of assessment; • be able to structure work effectively; • be able to bring together the skills of reading and argument construction and demonstrate competency in writing. 8.3 PREPARATION AND STRUCTURING OF ESSAYS In answering a law essay question students are required to produced a piece of work offering a sustained argument concerning a particular question. Generally speaking, essay questions are set in the following formats: (a) A question is set to be answered. (b) A quotation is given with the bland request to discuss. (c) A quotation is given and there is a request to extract issues. Generally, an essay involves discussion in the formal sense of laying out an argument. In fact, the Latin stem of discuss is ‘discutere’ which means to ‘to dash to pieces’, a rather forceful way of describing argument. The more usual way of describing the meaning of the word ‘discuss’ is ‘to investigate or examine by argument, to sift, and to debate’. The word is often wrongly used and understood to mean just idly talking. Reading many student essays does lead one to suspect that students are idly and haphazardly just writing and wasting their hard work. Each type of essay question requires a different approach, but the same general structure is required and the same store of information can be used. This also holds true in relation to problem questions, which are discussed at the end of this chapter.

Once the student is in control of the texts, then the texts can be manipulated, alternative arguments can be constructed and student understanding of the relevant area or topic increased. Often, a student merely hands in a precis of a string of articles, texts and cases and calls it an essay. This is not an essay presenting a serious argument for consideration, supported by evidence and it will not attract a good mark. However, the precis, or summaries, if they are well prepared, can provide the basis of argument construction and good written work. In an exam situation, as well as in coursework, students often take a lot of time discussing the facts and the outcomes of cases or the description of argument in texts, but often demonstrating little appreciation of the issues raised by the cases and little understanding of their relevance or application to the question. This is not because they are not capable of understanding but because they did not spend the proper time thinking about what the question was asking, preparing the texts to be used and constructing argument in written form. 8.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, readers should: • be aware of the differences in approach that need to be adopted for essays and problem questions; • have confidence preparing for both types of assessment; • be able to structure work effectively; • be able to bring together the skills of reading and argument construction and demonstrate competency in writing. 8.3 PREPARATION AND STRUCTURING OF ESSAYS In answering a law essay question students are required to produced a piece of work offering a sustained argument concerning a particular question. Generally speaking, essay questions are set in the following formats: (a) A question is set to be answered. (b) A quotation is given with the bland request to discuss. (c) A quotation is given and there is a request to extract issues. Generally, an essay involves discussion in the formal sense of laying out an argument. In fact, the Latin stem of discuss is ‘discutere’ which means to ‘to dash to pieces’, a rather forceful way of describing argument. The more usual way of describing the meaning of the word ‘discuss’ is ‘to investigate or examine by argument, to sift, and to debate’. The word is often wrongly used and understood to mean just idly talking. Reading many student essays does lead one to suspect that students are idly and haphazardly just writing and wasting their hard work. Each type of essay question requires a different approach, but the same general structure is required and the same store of information can be used. This also holds true in relation to problem questions, which are discussed at the end of this chapter.