Undergraduate Laws
Pre-course Exercises
Pre-Course Exercises
Law could be described as a set of rules which governs the way we live in our society.
No matter where you live, what gender you are, how you earn your living or whether you are rich or poor, you are faced with rules every day and will have been since childhood. You may not be aware of this, but you are already an expert on rules. You make them, obey them, evade them and avoid them. You may have questioned the fairness of some of the rules you have encountered and, possibly, demanded that exceptions be made or exemptions granted.
Not all of these rules will have been legal rules. For example, there may be household rules which you are expected to obey. Perhaps there is a rule in your house that you do not eat between meals, play music after 10pm or turn the television on before 6pm!
Your school/college/workplace will have its own rules. When you play games, for example, football or chess, you must abide by the rules of those games. You follow the rules of language when you speak, read or think.
What you will be doing over the next few years whilst you study for your law degree is developing and enhancing those skills you already have including, for example, thinking logically and critically, carrying out research, distinguishing what is relevant and what is not, evaluating information and developing your analytical skills. You will also be learning to communicate fluently, precisely and concisely.
The following exercises have been devised as a ‘taster’ to encourage you to consider the type of skills you will be expected to develop as you go through the laws programme but, more importantly, they are meant to be a ‘fun’ introduction into the world of rules. Don’t worry if you don’t get the answers right as they are meant primarily to get you thinking and we hope you enjoy doing them.