• Research Essay
Research Essay
Value: 40%
Due date: 09-Jan-2016
Return date: 1-Feb-2016
Length: 2500 words
Submission method options
Task
This essay is an opportunity to provide advice to someone about how to deal with a hypothetical problem they have in the cyberlaw area. Example legal papers will be loaded onto Interact2 in Week 1 and discussed in the lecture that week. (DO NOT USE THE GURU BOB SCENARIO)

A selection of hypothetical client issues will be loaded onto Interact. The student is to choose one of these to be reviewed and an example will be provided for discussion.
The student’s task is to read the hypothetical problem in light of current legislation and provide a response to the client based on the prevailing legal opinion. This will incorporate current case law, judicial decision and other legal reference sources.
The student’s task is to advise their client as to the best decision based on:
• Facts provided
• Legislation
• Prevailing Case law.
Rationale
This assignment is intended to:
• Assess your ability to summarise basic legal foundations
• Assess your ability to critically evaluate current legislation and prevailing legal opinion
• Demonstrate your ability to debate legal distinctions
Marking criteria
Marking Criteria Marks
Quality of legal research methodology employed by the student:
• Has the student answered the question
• There is evidence of conducting research and wider reading
• The research is up to date and cites recent and relevant case law
• What is the depth of the paper /40
Critique on the topic/case:
• is balanced, including both positive and negative comments in the discussion.
• is logically argued and opinions/claims are supported with evidence from the general body of knowledge
• Has provided a considered and in-depth analysis of the judgment in a case /40
Presentation:
• Clarity of written expression, correct grammar, accurate spelling and punctuation
• Has adopted an appropriate structure for your work with appropriate paragraphing and sub-headings
• Cites references accurately and appropriately, in support of the findings
• Demonstrates a clarity of expression and use of appropriate terminology;
• Demonstrates an accurate spelling and grammar;
• Uses footnotes appropriately.
• Adheres to guidelines stated in the Presentation section of the Subject Outline /10
Referencing is accurate:
• In the body of the critique
• In the list of References
• Includes relevant case law /10
Total /100
Marking Rubric
Criteria HD DI CR PS FL Marks
Quality of legal research methodology employed by the student
Student has presented a clear, comprehensive, and in depth answer with evidence of extensive wider research from up-to-date and relevant resources. Student has gone into a good amount of depth in their answer with a clear and well-reasoned response to the topic with evidence of research from a wide range of sources that are both up-to-date and relevant. Student’s answer has some depth and has produced a well-reasoned response to the topic with evidence of research relevant to the topic and mostly up-to-date. Student has addressed the topic but requires more depth. Evidence is present but is not all up-to-date or relevant. Student has failed to produce a clear answer to the question with evidence of wide research scarce or not present. /40
Critique on the topic/case
Student has produced an in-depth and comprehensive critique that is both balanced and logically argued. All claims are supported with evidence from a wide range of sources and the student’s response is well-reasoned and considered. Student has produced an in-depth balanced critique with logical well-reasoned arguments that are supported by evidence from a good range of sources. Student’s critique is well-reasoned and in-depth but slightly unbalanced. Arguments are logical and supported by evidence. Student has critiqued the article but lacks balance. They’ve presented arguments that are logically argued but lack clear support. Analysis lacks depth. Student’s critique is unbalanced, the arguments unsupported and not logically argued and analysis has no depth. /40
Presentation Writing demonstrates clarity of intention, purpose, and approach to the topic.
Written expression is clear, fluent and well-structured:
• Sentences are well structured, with good use of vocabulary, and with minimal or no grammatical and punctuation errors.
• Paragraphs are structured to present a flow of ideas.
• The written piece is well-formatted with minimal or no spelling or proofreading errors.
• Language is used to convey a clear meaning to the intended audience.
Writing style conveys a clear and meaningful interpretation of the task, based on confidence in knowledge and ability to clearly communicate complex concepts and ideas.
Presented in 1.5 line spacing, with wide margins, page numbers and suitable type-size. Written expression is clear, well-structured and understandable:
• Sentences are well structured, with good use of vocabulary, and contain minimal grammatical and punctuation errors.
• Paragraphs are well structured and assist in presenting a flow of ideas, despite a small amount of repetition.
• Formatting has been well considered and contains few spelling or proofreading errors.
• The purpose of the writing is identified and explained. The language used has meaning to both themselves and their intended audience.
Writing style is well suited to the purpose of the task and the intended audience. Writing conveys the intended meaning and required level of detail of knowledge
Written expression is clear, well-structured and understandable:
• Sentences are well structured, with good use of vocabulary, and contain few grammatical and punctuation errors.
• Paragraphs are well structured and assist in presenting a flow of ideas, despite a small amount of repetition.
• Formatting has been considered and contains few spelling or proofreading errors.
• The purpose of the writing is identified and explained. The language used has meaning to both themselves and their intended audience.
Writing style is suited to the purpose of the task and the intended audience. Writing conveys the intended meaning and required level of detail of knowledge
Some issues with submission or formatting. Written expression is clear, well-structured and understandable:
• Sentence structure could use some work, with some grammatical errors present.
• Paragraphs are mostly structured in a way that demonstrates thought and planning
• The written piece is adequately formatted but contains some spelling or proofreading errors.
• The purpose of the writing is identified and explained.
Writing style is suited to the purpose of the task and the intended audience. Writing conveys the intended meaning but requires more detail and evidence of knowledge.
Some issues with submission or formatting. Writing lacks clarity of expression, structure or purpose:
• Sentences are poorly structured, with inappropriate vocabulary and frequent grammatical and punctuation errors.
• Paragraphs do not assist in presenting a flow of ideas.
• The written piece is poorly formatted with frequent spelling or proofreading errors.
• The language used does little to convey meaning
Writing style is focused on information without conveying a meaningful interpretation of the topic. Deviates significantly from the required in the submission format /10
Referencing is accurate Excellent independent identification of an extensive range of literature which is: relevant; current; authoritative; and which includes multiple publication types. Substantially exceeds the minimum number of required references, demonstrating excellent skills in searching for relevant and credible literature. Excellent linkage and integration. Has developed and justified using own ideas based on publications which have been thoroughly analysed, applied and discussed to illustrate and justify the discussion. Minimum of 8 references. Some (but not all) of the literature is not: relevant; current; or authoritative; and may not include multiple publication types. Clear evidence of application of readings relevant to the subject. Some attempt to integrate information from publications with own writing. Minimum of 6 references. Some (but not all) of the literature is not: relevant; current; or authoritative; and may not include multiple publication types. Some evidence of application of readings relevant to the subject. Some attempt to integrate information from publications with own writing. Some content from publications is presented uncritically, in a purely descriptive way and indicates limitations of understanding or a limited ability to compare and link information from several sources. Minimum of 4 references. Some of the literature is not: relevant; current; or authoritative; and may not include multiple publication types. Student has attempted to apply or integrate information from publications into own writing. Most content from publications is presented uncritically, in a purely descriptive way and indicates limitations of understanding or a limited ability to compare and link information from some sources. Little of no evidence of attempt to search for and independently identify relevant, current or authoritative literature. Less than 8 overall references have been used. Little or no attempt to compare or link information from several sources. Content from publications is listed without integration with student writing and without identifying similarities or differences. /10
Presentation
Use an appropriate essay format, with correct grammatical protocols and accurate spelling, punctuation and word count.
Feel free to use headings where you think this is appropriate.
Refer to the Presentation section of this Subject Outline.