This document provides the course outline for LA369 English Legal Reading and Research at the Faculty of Law. The course aims to develop students' legal reading, research, communication, and analytical skills. It will cover topics such as legal systems, precedent, legislation, and emerging fields of law. The course involves weekly lectures and workshops over 16 weeks. Students will complete reflective reports and group presentations. The course does not require textbooks but recommends two for additional reference. Classes will be held on Mondays at 9:30am, except for weeks 10-15 which will start at 9:00am to make up for public holidays.

1. FACULTY
OF
LAW
LA369
ENGLISH
LEGAL
READING
AND
RESEARCH
(SEC8100/04)
(3
credits)
COURSE
OUTLINE
–
Semester
2,
2010
INSTRUCTOR
Name:
Mr
Chacrit
Sitdhiwej
Loca4on:
Room
617,
Faculty
of
Law
Building,
Rangsit
Centre
Telephone:
02
696
5129
(work)
email:
schacrit@tu.ac.th
facebook:
hOp://www.facebook.com/schacrit/
Course
Website:
hOp://www.minidot.net/
1

2. COURSE
OBJECTIVES
KNOWLEDGE
AND
UNDERSTANDING
According
to
the
Course
Descrip4on,
this
course
is
designed
to
“provide
a
prac4cal
forum
for
studying
and
prac4sing
reading
documents
in
the
legal
profession
eg
textbooks,
ar4cles
and
law
reports
of
different
jurisdic4ons.
Students
will
also
be
given
prac4ces
in
researching
laws
of
foreign
jurisdic4ons.”
COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
The
con4nuing
development
of
good
inter-­‐personal
and
communica4on
skills
is
widely
recognised
as
important
for
all
graduates.
This
course
specifically
seeks
to
develop
students’
abili4es
to
work
in
groups,
make
group
presenta4ons
and
write
personal
reflec4on
reports.
GRADUATE
ATTRIBUTES
This
course
aims
to
provide
students
with
a
number
of
graduate
aOributes,
including:
Knowledge
To
develop
an
understanding
of:
•
the
arrangements
of
collec4ons
of
the
major
legal
systems
of
the
world;
•
the
fundamental
arrangements
of
the
common
law
precedent;
•
the
precedent
and
principle
in
the
European
Court
of
Jus4ce;
•
the
rela4onship
between
the
European
Community
law
and
English
law;
•
the
use
of
legisla4on
and
cases;
and
•
the
selected
emerging
fields
of
law
such
as
compara4ve
law,
cyber
law,
energy
law,
environmental
law,
gene4c
law,
planning
law
and
the
Law
of
the
Sea.
Intellectual
and
Social
CapabiliVes
To
develop:
•
the
skills
to
find,
cite
and
use
the
sources
of
law
of
major
legal
systems
of
the
world;
•
the
cogni4ve
skills
to
analyse,
evaluate
and
synthesise
informa4on
from
a
wide
variety
of
sources
and
experiences
arising
among
class
par4cipants
so
as
to
iden4fy
and
address
appropriate
legal
and
related
issues;
•
an
awareness
and
apprecia4on
of
the
poli4cal
and
socio-­‐economic
context
of
the
selected
emerging
fields
of
law;
•
cri4cal
thinking
and
problem
solving
skills;
•
oral
and
wriOen
communica4on
skills
of
high
order,
including
the
use
of
appropriate
modern
communica4on
technologies;
•
the
capacity
and
commitment
to
learn
and
maintain
intellectual
curiosity,
and
to
engage
in
life-­‐long
personal
and
professional
learning;
and
•
familiarity
and
proficiency
in
legal
research
techniques,
including
the
appropriate
use
of
modern
research
technologies.
AWtudes
and
Values
To
develop:
•
the
capacity
to
be
informed,
responsible
and
cri4cally
discrimina4ng
in
rela4on
to
the
development
and
applica4on
of
English
legal
reading
and
research;
and
•
an
understanding
of
social
and
cultural
diversity,
and
sensi4vity
of
the
opera4on
of
the
law
and
legal
structures
in
development
and
applica4on
of
law.
COURSE
OVERVIEW
READING
A
set
of
reading
materials
will
be
provided.
You
must
read
the
materials
for
each
class
prior
to
your
par4cipa4on
in
that
class.
2

3. Textbooks
There
are
no
recent
general
textbooks
on
English
legal
reading
and
research.
However,
two
texts
are
recommended.
These
are:
•
Ian
Mcleod,
Legal
method,
Palgrave
MacMillan
law
masters
(Hamshire,
2007);
and
•
Emily
Finch
and
Stefan
Fafinski,
Legal
skills
(Oxford,
2007).
CLASSES
Students
in
this
course
are
expected
to
aOend
all
classes
throughout
the
semester.
Each
class
involves
one
3
hour
lecture/workshop
each
week
for
16
weeks.
Classes
will
be
held
at
9.30am
in
Room
SC3037
every
Monday
from
8
November
2010.
Please
note
that
week
10
to
15
classes
will
be
held
at
9.00am.
This
is
to
make
up
the
missing
week
5,
8
and
9
classes,
as
required
by
the
University’s
policies
and
rules.
Topics
Week Date Reflec*on Lecture/WorkshopLecture/Workshop Wrap-­‐up/Assignment
1 8/11/2010 Pre-­‐test Introduc2onIntroduc2on -­‐
2 15/11/2010 -­‐
• Course
arrangements
• SWOT
analysis
(1)
• Personal
SWOT
analysis
• Course
arrangements
• SWOT
analysis
(1)
• Personal
SWOT
analysis
-­‐
3 22/11/2010 •Pre-­‐test
results
•Personal
SWOT
analysis
results
Class
SWOT
analysisClass
SWOT
analysis Experience
with
Google
4 29/11/2010
SWOT
analysis
results
Personal
reflec2onPersonal
reflec2on
Experience
with
Wikipedia
5 6/12/2010 NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)
6 13/12/2010
Experience
with
Google
and
Wikipedia
• Basic
electronic
research
techniques
• Mastering
Google
and
Wikipedia
• Basic
electronic
research
techniques
• Mastering
Google
and
Wikipedia Job
hun2ng
experience
7 20/12/2010
Job
hun2ng
experience
Entering
the
legal
workforce
(1)Entering
the
legal
workforce
(1)Entering
the
legal
workforce
(1)
8 27/12/2010 NO
CLASS
(mid-­‐term
exam)NO
CLASS
(mid-­‐term
exam)NO
CLASS
(mid-­‐term
exam)NO
CLASS
(mid-­‐term
exam)
9 3/1/2011 NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)NO
CLASS
(public
holiday)
10 10/1/2011 Job
hun2ng Entering
the
legal
workforce
(2)
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
11 17/1/2011 Job
hun2ng
The
regula2on
of
biotechnology
and
nanotechnology
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
12 24/1/2011 Personal
reflec2on English
law
and
courts NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
13 31/1/2011 Personal
reflec2on EC
law
and
English
law
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
14 7/2/2011 Personal
reflec2on The
precedent
and
its
effects
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
15 14/2/2011 Personal
reflec2on Anatomy
of
cases
and
statutes
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
NB:
These
six
classes
start
at
9.00am
16 21/2/2011 FINAL
EXAM
(Start
at
9.30am)FINAL
EXAM
(Start
at
9.30am)FINAL
EXAM
(Start
at
9.30am)FINAL
EXAM
(Start
at
9.30am)
3

4. MINIDOT
AND
FACEBOOK
minidot
<hOp://www.minidot.net/>
is
the
website
the
instructor
has
created
and
used
to
aid
student
learning
experience.
It
provides
students
with
an
access
to
certain
course
contents
and
materials
through
the
internet.
Par4cularly,
the
instructor
olen
posts
videocasts
of
his
certain
past
lectures
on
minidot.
Students
can
watch
these
videocasts
at
their
convenient
4me.
Facebook,
the
world’s
most
popular
social
network,
allows
students
and
the
instructor
to
communicate
and
share
their
views
fast
and
conveniently.
The
instructor’s
Facebook
site
is
at
hOp://www.facebook.com/
schacrit/.
Students
are
encouraged
to
take
advantage
of
these
online
services.
CONSULTATION
AND
COMMUNICATION
Please
check
your
email,
Facebook
and
minidot
regularly.
Course-­‐related
announcements
are
communicated
via
these
tools.
The
instructor
will
be
available
for
consulta4on
in
Room
LA617
from
1.00pm
to
4.00pm
every
Tuesday.
In
order
to
develop
your
communica4on
skills
of
high
order
through
the
use
of
appropriate
modern
communica4on
technologies,
you
are
encouraged
to
contact
the
instructor
via
email
or
Facebook.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment
for
this
course
will
be
made
up
of:
(1)
class
aOendance;
(2)
class
par4cipa4on;
(3)
personal
reflec4on;
and
(4)
final
exam.
Students
must
sa4sfy
all
the
requirements
to
pass
the
course.
CLASS
ATTENDANCE
(5%)
AOendance
at
classes
is
compulsory
and
assessed
in
order
to
provide
you
with
a
beOer
founda4on
for
undertaking
your
personal
reflec4on
and
final
exam.
There
are
13
classes
for
the
semester.
Ten
out
of
13
class
aOendance
is
required
as
a
compulsory
requirement
of
undertaking
the
final
exam.
Students
will
be
marked
pass
or
fail
at
each
lecture.
You
must
a_end
at
least
ten
classes
to
pass
your
overall
class
a_endance
and
to
be
eligible
to
undertake
your
final
exam.
There
will
be
an
aOendance
sheet
to
sign
as
proof
of
aOendance
at
each
class.
It
is
essenVal
that
you
sign
this
sheet
every
week.
If
you
do
not
sign
the
sheet
for
the
relevant
week
you
will
be
deemed
to
have
not
aOended.
Class
aOendance
will
be
worth
5%
of
your
final
mark.
Students
who
do
not
sa4sfy
the
requirements
will
be
permiOed
to
pass
only
on
the
submission
of
wriOen
work
in
lieu
of
class
aOendance
and
if
a
genuine
reason
is
given
for
missing
more
than
the
allowed
number
of
classes.
CLASS
PARTICIPATION
(30%)
Each
class
the
instructor
will
note
if
you
are
present
and
will
assess
your
level
of
par4cipa4on
in
the
class
ac4vi4es.
AOendance
alone
is
not
equivalent
to
par4cipa4on.
Each
week
you
will
be
assigned
one
of
the
following
grades,
based
on
evidence
of
prepara4on
for
the
class
and
your
contribu4on
to
the
ac4vi4es:
Excellent
(7.5-­‐10),
Good
(5-­‐7),
Poor
(1-­‐4)
or
Zero
(0).
At
the
end
of
semester,
the
best
ten
of
the
16
class
marks
will
be
taken
and
averaged
for
your
par4cipa4on
mark.
This
will
be
worth
30%
of
your
final
mark.
Class
ac4vi4es
over
the
semester
are
designed
to
improve
students’
knowledge
and
understanding,
communica4on
skills
and
graduate
aOributes
men4oned
earlier
in
the
Course
Objec4ves.
Par4cipa4on
marks
provide
a
basis
for
assessing
students’
ability
to
intelligently
discuss
and
debate
the
course
maOers
and
their
applica4on.
Par4cipa4on
marks
also
assess
students’
oral
communica4on
skills.
4

5. A
guide
to
the
award
of
par4cipa4on
is
as
follows:
Zero
(0)
–
no
evidence
of
prepara4on
or
contribu4on
to
small
group
of
larger
class
discussion.
Poor
(1-­‐4)
–
evidence
of
some
prepara4on
but
no
or
very
liOle
contribu4on
to
small
group
or
larger
class
discussion;
poor
quality
of
contribu4on
displaying
liOle
understanding
of
the
issues
and
demonstra4ng
poor
oral
communica4on
and
legal
skills.
Good
(5-­‐7)
–
evidence
of
good
prepara4on,
ac4ve
contribu4on
to
small
group
discussion;
contribu4on
of
a
quality
that
displays
a
reasonable
to
good
understanding
of
the
course
maOers,
and
good
oral
communica4on
and
legal
skills.
Excellent
(7.5-­‐10)
–
evidence
of
thorough
prepara4on,
ac4ve
contribu4on
to
small
group
discussion
and
par4cipa4on
in
the
larger
class;
high
level
understanding
of
the
course
maOers
and
cri4cal
analysis,
evidence
of
excellent
oral
and
legal
skills.
PERSONAL
REFLECTION
(35%)
A
set
of
personal
reflec4on,
comprising
a
learning
journal
and
a
compilaVon
of
terms
and
expressions
learned
in
the
course,
must
be
submiOed
by
4.30pm
on
Friday
25
February
2011.
This
will
be
worth
35%
of
your
final
mark.
The
personal
reflec4on
is
designed
to
promote
each
student’s
abili4es
to
realise
and
understand
his/her
strengths
and
weaknesses
in
rela4on
to
English
legal
reading
and
research,
and
to
keep
pace
of
his/her
development
in
rela4on
to
the
course,
as
well
as
his/her
academic
and
professional
capaci4es,
while
being
aware
of
the
relevant
opportuni4es
and
threats.
The
personal
reflec4on
will
also
assess
wriOen
communica4on
skills
–
the
ability
of
students
to
write
clearly
and
concisely
about
their
strengths,
weaknesses,
opportuni4es
and
threats,
as
well
as
their
development.
FINAL
EXAM
(30%)
Final
exam
will
be
held
at
the
last
class
ie
on
Monday
21
February
2011.
This
will
be
worth
30%
of
your
final
mark.
PLAGIARISM
AND
OTHER
FORMS
OF
CHEATING
Plagiarism
is
a
serious
act
of
academic
misconduct.
Plagiarism
is
a
serious
maOer
and
is
treated
as
such
by
the
Faculty
of
Law
and
the
University.
Please
be
aware
that
‘academic
dishonesty’
(which
goes
beyond
plagiarism)
can
be
a
ground
for
refusal
by
the
industry
to
admit
a
person
to
prac4ce
as
a
legal
prac44oner.
Plagiarism
and
academic
honesty
are
also
essen4ally
aspects
of
ethical
and
honest
behaviour,
which
are
central
to
the
prac4ce
of
law
and
an
understanding
of
what
it
is
to
be
a
lawyer.
The
instructor
adheres
strictly
to
the
Faculty
of
Law’s
and
the
University’s
policies,
rules
and
guidelines
on
examina4ons,
assessment,
plagiarism
and
chea4ng
in
examina4ons
and
related
forms
of
assessment.
5