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Help ! Law degree

Hey guys ,

Basically I've been on a two year gap before going uni due to health and financial issues. I'm gonna be starting Law this year in September. I feel like I'm kinda rusty on my skills e.g reading, writing since I've been not able to really do anything. Any opinions on how to get back on track cause tbh Law school is gonna be hard so I wanna try and be somewhat ready. I'm scared I'll mess up. Also any suggestions on any pre-reads before starting law ?:/
You could go and sit in the public gallery at the Law Courts as a starting point!
Reply 2
Original post by Simbasoul
You could go and sit in the public gallery at the Law Courts as a starting point!


No don't do that. That's bloody pointless! How will that help in reading and writing.
Original post by nabid61
No don't do that. That's bloody pointless! How will that help in reading and writing.

It might help with getting back on track - I was looking at Shahwar's request holistically, not just the bit about things to read....!
Read some technical books.

Oxford Dictionary of Science is my personal fav; and what I used to get all technical. Reading literature, including fiction, works to get the vocab juices pumping -- make sure it's some good stuff, not bloody Andy McNab. Avoid newspapers/magazines/online journalism which are all sloppy and *****y (excluding the FT).

Big thing with academic law is it is very different from other academic disciplines. The writing style is very straight, direct and "brutalistic". No flowery stuff, no hiding behind polysyllabic words. Get to the point and get out.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Shahwar
Hey guys ,

Basically I've been on a two year gap before going uni due to health and financial issues. I'm gonna be starting Law this year in September. I feel like I'm kinda rusty on my skills e.g reading, writing since I've been not able to really do anything. Any opinions on how to get back on track cause tbh Law school is gonna be hard so I wanna try and be somewhat ready. I'm scared I'll mess up. Also any suggestions on any pre-reads before starting law ?:/


I'm in the same boat as you. I took a bit of time off for various reasons and now I'm doing law but with a foundation year. To be honest, it's been tricky getting back in the swing of writing essays and such else, but I recommend taking advantage of any study skills/writing advice session that your university will run. Don'y ever think a question about the best way to write it will be a silly one, speak to your lectures or advisers no matter what the problem might be.
As for pre-reading. I would suggest looking at what module's are going to be taken. I got a book on the English Legal System and it covers pretty much all the basics when it comes to law and I do refer to it for terminology if I get lost at any point.
You're not going to get it all right in the first few months. You need to get used to it all again, but as long as you're dedicated to the topic and put the time and work in it will totally pay off!
Good Luck!
I am not sure what that means, but if I had to guess, I would say it probably is.
Reply 7
Thank you sm for the advice :smile:
Good luck to you aswell, hope you're getting on well👍🏻
Original post by hollyxjay
I'm in the same boat as you. I took a bit of time off for various reasons and now I'm doing law but with a foundation year. To be honest, it's been tricky getting back in the swing of writing essays and such else, but I recommend taking advantage of any study skills/writing advice session that your university will run. Don'y ever think a question about the best way to write it will be a silly one, speak to your lectures or advisers no matter what the problem might be.
As for pre-reading. I would suggest looking at what module's are going to be taken. I got a book on the English Legal System and it covers pretty much all the basics when it comes to law and I do refer to it for terminology if I get lost at any point.
You're not going to get it all right in the first few months. You need to get used to it all again, but as long as you're dedicated to the topic and put the time and work in it will totally pay off!
Good Luck!

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