Legal Studies 2017 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• directly answer the question, addressing all key terms and aspects of the question, rather than writing everything they know about the topic or a narrative response (telling a story)
• address the key words – for example, explain, assess, evaluate
• engage with the question consistently throughout their responses
• write a plan for each of their extended responses to assist in structuring the responses in a logical sequence
• clearly identify the question being answered – part (a) or part (b)
• answer two questions from two different Options (Section III), and those Options should be syllabus topics they have studied at school
• engage with any stimulus material, and use the material to guide and strengthen their responses
• use relevant legal terminology to improve their responses
• ensure that legislation and case law is correct and relevant
• make sound/balanced judgements that support statements on effectiveness
• use up-to-date examples of legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents
• discuss relevant aspects of legislation rather than just mentioning an Act
• outline the legal principle of a case rather than retelling the facts of the case
• integrate legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents that are specific and linked to the question into their responses.

Students should expect:

• questions of varying difficulty
• to be able to achieve full marks within the allocated space in the short answer questions
• to be required to support their responses using examples (contemporary case studies and legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents).

Students can prepare for this examination by:

• revising the syllabus so they are aware of key syllabus terms – for example, what the contemporary issues are in the Options, the principal focus in Crime
• writing plans for questions from past HSC exam papers
• reviewing the case studies they have covered, and ensuring that they have both Australian and international examples.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a variety of labour rights, such as remuneration, leave, dismissal, safety, discrimination, terms of employment and enterprise agreements
• outline the relationship between trade unions and the protection of labour rights, including in international instruments
• identify the limitations of a trade union in terms of the degree of protection afforded, such as being able to lobby or put pressure on the government, or as an advocate in relation to legal proceedings within the workplace.

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• know what the common law is and how it works in comparison to statute law
• differentiate between the way in which the common law can enforce a human right and the way in which it can promote a human right
• use relevant examples to illustrate the relationship between the common law and the enforcement and promotion of human rights, such as the right to a fair trial (Dietrich v The Queen), recognition of land rights and native title (Mabo v Queensland), and prosecution of human trafficking violators (Wei Tang).

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• state a human rights issue(s), such as loss of liberty and right to education; give examples, such as child soldiers and child marriage; and demonstrate an extensive knowledge of the issue
• use relevant legal responses such as international instruments, legislation, intergovernmental organisations, courts and tribunals and law enforcement agencies as a basis to provide a judgement based on criteria (enforceability, responsiveness, resource efficiency, access, protecting individual rights)
• understand the inherent limitations of each response to a human rights issue, such as the roles of state sovereignty, political will and enforceability
• provide succinct arguments that address both legal and non-legal responses.

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of bail and remand
• provide a chronological approach to recent bail reforms, thus crafting a logical and cohesive response
• assess the role of bail and remand within the criminal justice system
• demonstrate an understanding of the way in which the criminal justice system balances the rights of individuals and community interests
• demonstrate a knowledge and an understanding of other areas of the criminal justice system that involve tension, including, but not limited to, police powers, mandatory sentencing, terrorism laws including preventative detention, parole, charge negotiation, and young or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders
• make a clear and concise argument supported by cases and legislation, and include contemporary cases studies
• refer to the role of the media in creating tension – for example, radio announcers and knee-jerk reactions to events.

General feedback

Students approached the Options’ questions with a range of knowledge and information encompassing domestic and international legal and non-legal responses. Most students were able to communicate using topic-specific terminology and to present logical and cohesive responses.

The key distinguishing features of the responses were the depth of knowledge exhibited and the integration of an informed judgement that was supported by a range of legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents.

The level of engagement with the key words in the questions was also a key means of differentiating between responses. Students need to be conscious of the different requirements of ‘evaluate’ and ‘assess’ questions.

Questions 25–31(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a broad understanding of a contemporary issue identified in the syllabus
• refer to relevant examples that demonstrated change over time
• focus their response on the legal system
• integrate the theme of the stimulus statement into their response – that is, explain the concept of ‘constant change’ and the way in which justice is achieved through strategies being revised and applied differently as circumstances and ideas about justice change
• incorporate legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents that are linked effectively to a judgement throughout their response
• make an informed judgement, using criteria, on the way in which law reforms seek to achieve justice or are not made, with respect to a contemporary issue(s).

Questions 25–31(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• discuss in detail a range of legal and non-legal measures, demonstrating an extensive knowledge of these measures
• provide informed judgements on the effectiveness of relevant legal and non-legal measures throughout their response
• base these judgements on assessments of this effectiveness, made throughout the response, that use criteria such as accessibility, enforceability and relative levels of justice
• integrate examples from relevant legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents to support the judgements.