Students

LAW 483 – Law Journals

2014 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Ilija Vickovich
Contact via ilija.vickovich@mq.edu.au
W3A 624
Mon 10am-12pm
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
6cp in LAW units at 300 level (P) and permission of Executive Dean of Faculty
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
Under the supervision of the editors of Macquarie Law School's journals, this unit is limited to approximately 15 students per semester, who are selected on the basis of their academic results, experience and writing ability. Each student completes a range of tasks with respect to the Journal, which include communicating with authors and reviewers; checking articles for accuracy and compliance with style; editing and proofreading of accepted articles in the production process; and potentially writing a case note or book review. Classes on editing, research and writing are provided, and students also meet regularly with the editors.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Written Work 1 30% Week 7
Written Work 2 30% Week 10
Class Participation 30% During semester
Portfolio 10% Week 13

Written Work 1

Due: Week 7
Weighting: 30%

Once the proposal for the first written work is presented and accepted, students will proceed to write their fully referenced written work (max 2,000 words plus footnotes) to a publishable standard and submit the work to the unit convenor in week 7 (after the conclusion of the mid-semester break).


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style

Written Work 2

Due: Week 10
Weighting: 30%

Once students have been allocated a submitted article from an author for carriage towards potential publication in a journal edition, they will commence working on their second written work, a Critical Review of the article (max 2,000 words plus footnotes). They will submit it to the unit convenor in week 10 and (if confirmed by the convenor) also present the same in a short oral presentation at an appropriate editorial meeting of the journal.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard

Class Participation

Due: During semester
Weighting: 30%

1.       Students will be assessed on their participation in the seminar classes of weeks 1-4, their understanding of required readings and contributions to class discussion and exercises on substantive materials (15%).

2.       Students will also be assessed on their participation in the editorial meetings as required by the editors of the journals, their carriage of submitted works, communications with authors and reviewers and their attendance to journal production matters in a competent and timely manner (15%).


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Portfolio

Due: Week 13
Weighting: 10%

Students are required to create and submit a Portfolio during the semester as a record of their activities and work. It should also contain appropriate reflection statements. Further information about the contents of the Portfolio will be provided by the unit convenor. The format of the Portfolio will be at the discretion of the student.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Delivery and Resources

Delivery and Resources

1.       Australian Guide to Legal Citation 3rd ed

2.  Readings and other documents will be available through iLearn.

Unit Schedule

Unit Schedule

Week

Topic

Comment

1

 

Introduction to Law Journals; Relevant Issues

 

2

 

Macquarie Law Journals Process and Precedents

 Proposal for Written Work 1 due

3

 

Writing, Editing and Reviewing Skills

Editorial Meeting 

4

 

Legal Referencing and Citation

 

5

 

Legal Referencing and Citation

 

6

 

Field Trip

Editorial Meeting 

7

Article Review and Editing

 

Written Work 1 due

 

 

Mid Semester Break

 

8

 

Article Review and Editing

Editorial Meeting 

9

 

Article Review and Editing

 

10

 

Article Review and Editing

Written Work 2 due

11

 

Article Review and Editing

Editorial Meeting 

12

 

Article Review and Editing

 

13

 

Article Review and Editing

Portfolio due

Editorial Meeting 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 2
  • Class Participation
  • Portfolio

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard

Assessment task

  • Portfolio

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 1
  • Written Work 2
  • Class Participation

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 1
  • Written Work 2
  • Portfolio

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 1
  • Written Work 2
  • Class Participation

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Define and describe the production and peer review processes of an academic law journal
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to proofread, edit, check and critique legal academic works in terms of substance and style
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 1
  • Written Work 2
  • Class Participation
  • Portfolio

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Critique legal academic articles and other works
  • Produce written academic work to a publishable standard
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment tasks

  • Written Work 1
  • Class Participation
  • Portfolio

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Recognise and identify the fundamentals of legal academic publishing
  • Develop a capacity to collaborate effectively and develop interpersonal and communication skills as part of an editorial team

Assessment task

  • Class Participation