Course Coordinator:
Dr Colette Langos
Room 221 Ligertood
Email: colette.langos@adelaide.edu.au

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyse the foundational principles of their chosen thesis topic;
2. Undertake complex legal research with primary and secondary materials;
3. Critique the operation of law from a policy perspective and/or apply the law to complex issues, devising practical solutions for real-world access to justice challenges;
4. Structure and sustain cohesive written arguments for a legal audience; and
5. Reflect on their abilities to effectively and independently undertake individual work.

There are no required resources for this course.

Recommended Text:

Students should ensure they have access to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, 2018), either in hard copy or online.

A course MyUni page will be used to communicate announcements and provide the submission portal for students' completed dissertations. 

There are no lectures and seminars for this course, as students will meet and communicate to discuss the work with their allocated dissertation supervisor, on a regular basis to be agreed between them.

There will be a general MyUni course page, through which students will receive communication, but no course material.

There are no scheduled learning activities. It is expected that the supervisor and student will initially agree on a provisional timetable for
submission of drafts. If any issues arise during the semester, students should bring them to the attention of the Dissertation Coordinator as soon as possible.

As this is a six unit course, students are expected to spend up to 24 hours a week during term time in the preparation of their dissertation.

Students will choose to undertake one of the following two assessment options:

Traditional Dissertation:

Assessment item	% of final mark	Dates	Length	Individual or Group Activity?	Redeemable?	Learning Outcomes
Dissertation	100%	Friday, week 12, 2pm	12,000 words maximum	Individual	No	1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Research Project

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Outcome
Practical Output	Individual	Friday, week 12	50%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Exegesis	Individual	Friday, week 12	50% 6,000 words maximum	1, 2, 3, 4, 5

See Assessment Detail below.

Length of Dissertation or Exegesis:

The appropriate length of the dissertation or exegesis will depend on the nature of the research undertaken. For a doctrinal analysis, a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words would be expected. For an exegesis providing the intellectual justification for and reporting the results of a project with a substantial empirical or applied component, 5,000-6,000 words would be expected.

The word limit for the dissertation/exegesis is strictly enforced. In presenting their dissertation/exegesis, candidates are required to incorporate a signed statement as to the length of their work. Word limits include the main text of the dissertation/exegesis and substantive footnotes, while the title page, bibliography, table of contents, required declarations, and standard footnote references are excluded).

A substantive footnote is any footnote which includes sentences (full or partial), whether alongside or without a citation, but does not include the standard footnote references as set out in the AGLC in Chapters 1.2 'Introductory Signals for Citations', 1.3 'Sources Referring to Other Sources' and 1.4 'Subsequent References'.

Style:

Citations and footnotes should follow the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, 2018).

Presentation:

The dissertation/exegesis must be presented in the following format:
-The margins on the left and right hand side of the page should be approximately 2.5cm.
-Any one of the following fonts is acceptable: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Palatino.
-The font size for the main text must be at least 12 pt.
-The font size for footnotes must be at least 10pt.
-The main body of the text should be double spaced.
-For general rules relating to line spacing for quotations follow the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
-Footnotes may be single spaced.
-The dissertation/exegesis must contain a title page, table of contents and a bibliography.
-Formatting for the Headings and Bibliography should follow the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
-Pages should be numbered.

Declaration and Acknowledgement

The dissertation/exegesis will have incorporated in it a signed statement to the effect that to the best of the candidate's knowledge and belief the dissertation/exegesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except when due reference is made in the text of the dissertation/exegesis, together with an acknowledgment of any help given or work carried out by another person or organisation. There should also be included a signed statement as to the word length of the dissertation/exegsis.

Due Date - Dissertations or Practical Outputs/Exegeses must be completed and submitted by 2pm Friday, Week 12.

Extensions - Requests for an extension of time should be based only upon special or unforeseen personal or research circumstances. As the dissertation must be engaged with, researched and written over a period of 12 weeks, significant circumstances will be required for an extension to be granted. Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with the University's Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy.

Grade
The dissertation/exegesis supervisor and an independent examiner will mark the student's work. Having reached a mark independently, the supervisor and independent examiner will agree a final mark between them. If the supervisor and independent examiner cannot agree on a final mark, a further examiner will be appointed, and a majority position reached.

Dissertations/Exegeses must be submitted electonically on MyUni.

Upon request of the examiner(s), students may also need to submit up two (2) printed copies of their Dissertation or Exegesis to the Dissertation Coordinator. Should this be needed, students can elect to bind (comb, plastic, spiral, wire or wire-o bound types are appropriate) their copies, but binding is not required.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student feedback

The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.