Should I do legal studies?

[antho13ny]

Can anyone give me som insight into legal studies for vce?
Is it interesting?
Workload?
What study scores have people got for it?

Thanks

[upandgo]

im currently doing 3/4 and i find it extremely interesting, but mainly because i aspire to study law in the future  if the legal system interests you then it'd be beneficial to do VCE legal studies (it's easier to do well in subject you find enjoyable and interesting- well for me anyway  ). however, legal studies requires alot of writing/essays, as the end of year exam consists of 13 written response questions (some of which require a certain amount of depth to get full marks).

for workload, i'd say revision + answering exam type questions regularly is essential... homework differs depending on your school (my teacher only makes us do revision activities and practice SACs). in terms of study scores, legal scales down (by 1 i think, best to check the 2015 scaling report), but with consistent work and effort it's certainly possible to attain a high score and escape the scaling.

for more info on the course and units 1-4 it'd be better to check the VCE legal studies study design

[antho13ny]

Thanks for your reply!
Are you doing Australian history as well by any chance?

[upandgo]

Thanks for your reply!
Are you doing Australian history as well by any chance?

no worries! nah i dont do aus. history, but there's most likely someone who does on atarnotes who can help you out 

[antho13ny]

Also how would someone compare legal to further? I would be happy to do either but can only do one. Which could I score better in? I know that further is extremely competitive and easy to lose marks

[Glasses]

Also how would someone compare legal to further? I would be happy to do either but can only do one. Which could I score better in? I know that further is extremely competitive and easy to lose marks

I don't do further (or any maths for that matter...), but I can also confirm that legal is an awesome subject (in my opinion anyway)
If your graduation year is 2018, you might have a different study design to the current one, however there doesn't seem to be any drastic changes (content-wise) with the legal study designs, so the current one should still give you a fair indication of whether you'll enjoy the subject (and it might even be the study design you use).

What other subjects are you planning on doing? Are you doing any other maths? And would you say you're a strong maths student? Based on what I've read and seen, I'd probably say that legal would require more work than further, but that is definitely subjective, and dependent on the individual's strengths. I think that anyone who is interested in legal, and is willing to put in the required effort, definitely has the potential to do well in the subject. In contrast, if you're a strong maths student, you might not have to put in as much effort to get those higher scores in further - however that being said, small errors and mistakes can potentially have a substantial influence, study-score wise, in further, whilst this isn't so much the case in legal.

Ultimately, I'd go for the subject that you think you'll enjoy the most. If I were doing my subject selection again, I'd still (absolutely) pick legal, because I find it really interesting, and I enjoy subjects where you can apply what you learn to normal life. But obviously the decision is yours to make

One more thing - do you have any idea what you might want to do or study post-year 12? Because prerequisites should also be taken into account!

[clarke54321]

Also how would someone compare legal to further? I would be happy to do either but can only do one. Which could I score better in? I know that further is extremely competitive and easy to lose marks

Hi!

I am in year 11 and am finishing both Legal Studies and Further 3/4 this year so hopefully can give you an insight.

In regards to Legal Studies, it is very content heavy. I usually go through the process of doing the textbook questions (collecting content), doing practice VCAA questions and then practice SACs. There is lots of writing involved, especially if you are really willing to go that extra mile and aim for high scores. In my personal opinion, the amount of content won't be a worry if you find it genuinely interesting.

In some ways, I find it easier to do better in Legal Studies than Further Maths. In Legal Studies you are assessed on your writing and the way you express yourself. In Further Maths, like all maths, it is very black and white. You are right or you are wrong. This suits some people, but if you're more English inclined, Legal is probably a better subject option.

In saying this, Further Maths is a good subject to do if you are willing to put in the time and effort and not discount it as an 'easy' subject. It is usually those who view it as an 'easy' subject who often become victim to losing marks here and there. If you do lots of practice papers you become exposed to the tricks that questions can present and hence, will be more likely to recognise when a question is trying to fool you.

I hope this helps! 

[clarke54321]

Is legal studies as competitive as further? I hear further is extremely easy to drop marks and get above 40 because of the competitiveness..
Thanks

In my experience, legal studies is not as competitive as further maths is. Further is generally more competitive because people who do methods and spesh also do this subject. Yet, this all depends on the cohort and the school.

[@caitlyn]

honestly if you are not interested in law, dont go there. I regret it 

[EEEEEEP]

Can anyone give me som insight into legal studies for vce?
Is it interesting?
Workload?
What study scores have people got for it?

Thanks

How interesting something is, is quite subjective.  If you like knowing what goes behind the scenes of crimes and decisions, then great!

Workload isn't too bad. Some research (news articles/analysis), standard textbook reading!