1st Year and CertHE
Message from Barrister Ayesha Iqbal – Criminal Law
To one of the most interesting batch of students I have ever taught,
We are nearing the end of the Academic Year and I hope throughout the year, you were not only able to increase your knowledge in Criminal Law classes, but have also developed critical analysis skills. I hope you have learnt not to accept any statement, may it be a law or an opinion on face value but decide independently, what your opinion on this law is. If you have been able to do that, then I truly believe that you are on the right path, up the ladder of success not just on the LLB Programme, but in the profession as well.
Following are a few tips that you need to be mindful of for the exams:
Time Management: This year as you have 2 questions to complete in 2 hours, the UOL has been generous with the time duration. However, this does not mean that you have added time per question. For each question, the target time is 45 minutes. The extra 15 minutes should be used in case you have slow typing speed.
Past paper practice: This cannot be overstated. The more you practice, the better your understanding and application skills and you will be able to score better. You will have to perfect two topics for this year: OAPA and one more topic of your choice. However, you have to keep in mind, that OAPA does not just include the relevant sections, it also includes defences. So, you cannot
ignore defences, Affirmative and Failure of Proof.
Read the exam question at least twice. The first reading may identify the broader issues but the second reading without fail helps you identify
narrower issues which you may have missed. Underline the key word, or issues and then proceed to attempt the question.
If you are attempting an essay question, make sure you have enough material on academic debate revolving around the area of law, or you can critically evaluate the law with discussing both aspects of the law. If you do not, I would
strongly advise against attempting essay questions.
Good luck!
And I am sure if you truly
put in the effort, you will do well.
