Law LLB: Does it really matter what Textbook you use?

Does it really matter what textbook you use when studying contract/tort Law.
I mean, so long as it’s “big” with dense, in depth material.

Reply 1

egg69

understandable have a good day :u:

Reply 2

Notoriety

Of course, you want the one most suited to your learning style and the one most up-to-date.

A voluminous book is not necessarily good, if it is written in a terse style which is difficult to follow and not very interesting. On the other end, a book which is unjustifiably abridged will cause you a lot of problems if it is not complemented by extensive wider reading.

Reply 3

veraman

Our module co-ordinators have selected particular textbooks and have run their lectures and seminars according to those books meaning, that some books won't have the same cases your tutors refer to. Of course it always helps having a text, cases and materials book to compliment your textbook whichever one you choose. And make use your law library as well, one of the best ways to find the books that suit you best.

Reply 4

Notoriety

Original post by veraman

It is unlikely your lecturers would introduce content that textbook writers have neglected.

Reply 5

veraman

Original post by Notorious_B.I.G.

It is unlikely your lecturers would introduce content that textbook writers have neglected.

Perhaps you should all the words before commenting, you aren't helpful if all you do is criticise.

Reply 6

Notoriety

Original post by veraman

Perhaps you should all the words before commenting, you aren't helpful if all you do is criticise.

OP might see your post and get the wrong impression that they have to buy the books on the reading list. What you said is partially correct. The lectures will follow the content in the books; i.e. the format. The incorrect part is saying that your lectures will cover material which textbooks will omit; the content will probably be the same. The only difference will be under which topics the content is present, i.e. the format.

It is not a criticism. It is just helping OP come to an informed conclusion. I don't know what you meant by the former part; I assume it was sarcastic.

Reply 7

Chichaldo

Original post by wla01284

Does it really matter what textbook you use when studying contract/tort Loaw.
I mean, so long as it’s “big” with dense, in depth material.

I would say yes, tutorials and such are tailored to the compulsory textbooks and they require the most up to date developments of law. Don't want to lose marks because you learnt the wrong thing

Reply 8

veraman

Original post by Notorious_B.I.G.

Yawn!

Our seminar readings require us to read specific chapters from our given textbook. Obviously, if one has chosen a different textbook it will not contain the same material the tutor wants one to read. One could supplement one's reading with extra books but it would be best to stick with the prescribed book and format, and use supplementary books to explain or breakdown topics in a friendlier fashion.

Reply 9

Notoriety

Original post by veraman

One could, one could.

If you look at my post, I said the only difference will be the format. A particular case might be found under another heading or another chapter. But a particular case or topic will be found in all of them, if all of them are up to date.

If you're reading for a law degree, you should get a lot more comfortable with people disagreeing with you. You cannot resort to ad hominem attacks when your lecturer is telling you you're wrong.

Reply 10

veraman

Only you're not my lecturer. zzzzz

Reply 11

999tigger

For a general text book, then no. get the one most suited to your learning style.

The only other circumstances where I cna think it is relevant si where the tutor asks you to learn certain chapters, but that just requires a bit of common sense.

The other scenario is where it is a specialised course and your tutor may well be the author.

Reply 12

Notoriety

Original post by veraman

Only you're not my lecturer. zzzzz

Probably better qualified than your lecturer, mate. Going off your use of one in an unironic fashion and misuse of compliment, your law school is not attracting the best of talent.

But back to the point, in a seminar where you're told to read pp 650-720, all you'd need to do is read the equivalent in your alternative textbook. Not that difficult.

Reply 13

TimmonaPortella

The person who got the highest first in my year (in one of the years, anyway) just relied on lecture notes for the basic framework, replacing textbooks, and then read cases and articles.

I think if I did undergrad again I'd do that. I wasted a lot of time on textbooks and found that in the end I got most of my real understanding from primary materials and journals.

If you use textbooks, be careful of ones that take a very theoretical line, and don't clearly distinguish between the decisions in the cases under discussion and their own evaluation and explanation of that. I had more than one book at undergrad that was actively misleading because of this.