13 replies to this topic

[davedavedave]

I was wondering if current/past students could give me some insight on the class structures at their schools, specifically:

-average class sizes (1L, 2L, 3L)
-usual types of classes (i.e. lecture vs. seminar)
-grading scheme (i.e. one exam worth 100%?)
-frequency of assignments, essays and presentations
-use of computers for exams
-etc.

I'm looking specifically for information on Osgoode and Western.

I searched and found some, but not all of the info. I'm looking for and some of it seemed a bit dated. I also figured most applicants on this forum would find this thread helpful.

[Lawgirl20]

I can do it for 1L at Osgoode. First years are divided into 4 sections, with 75 people per section. Therefore, class sizes are 75. All classes are lecture style. In addition, Legal Process and one of Torts, Contracts, Criminal, or State and Citizen will have 1 additional hour of seminar each week. Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Law (first semester classes) and Property (second semester) have 100% exams (although some sections had a small no downside-risk exam). State and Citizen (full year) has a 100% exam in April but some sections have a no downside-risk exam in December. Legal Process (legal writing and civil procedure) has a mix of assignments and an exam. We had a case brief, predictive analysis, and dispute resolution assignment in first semester for that class. In the winter, we write a memo, a factum, a moot, and a civil procedure exam.
All exams can be done on a computer; in fact, most students do this.

I think I covered everything. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[Fork2]

Lawgirl20, on 26 January 2012 - 05:03 PM, said:

I can do it for 1L at Osgoode. First years are divided into 4 sections, with 75 people per section. Therefore, class sizes are 75. All classes are lecture style. In addition, Legal Process and one of Torts, Contracts, Criminal, or State and Citizen will have 1 additional hour of seminar each week. Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Law (first semester classes) and Property (second semester) have 100% exams (although some sections had a small no downside-risk exam). State and Citizen (full year) has a 100% exam in April but some sections have a no downside-risk exam in December. Legal Process (legal writing and civil procedure) has a mix of assignments and an exam. We had a case brief, predictive analysis, and dispute resolution assignment in first semester for that class. In the winter, we write a memo, a factum, a moot, and a civil procedure exam.
All exams can be done on a computer; in fact, most students do this.

I think I covered everything. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Thanks Lawgirl. This is helpful. Do you mind if I asked you a few specific question about exams? Like the poster I've gleaned a bit of information from these threads. It seems like some are open book exams, some allow you to bring in material you made? Could you give me some insight into that process? I've never written an exam like that. And, from the Osgoode perspective, of course.

Thanks

[George Bluth]

Western:

1L:
- Total cohort is ~180, split into 10 small groups of 18
- You take 5 full-year substantive law courses (property, torts, criminal, contracts, constitutional)
- One of those courses will be your small group course taught by your small group prof
- The others will be a mix of multiple small groups - usually 3 or 4 total (so max 80 students)
- The 5 substantive courses have 30% midterms in December and 70% finals in April
- You also take Foundations of Canadian Law with the entire cohort in fall semester (the evaluation scheme was different this year than last, and may change again)
- you also take Ethics with the entire cohort in spring semester, with a 100% final
- In fall semester you have 3 LRWA written assignments
- In January you take only LRWA - you have to write a memo, a factum, and do a moot (all on the same problem)
- All exams can be computer-written

One major advantage to Western is that all of your substantive law courses are full-year, meaning that your first December exams are more of a practice run, and they won't make or break your mark.

In upper-years, courses are semestered, so they either have 100% finals, or some mix of a midterm and final, or paper and final depending on the course. In January term, you take one intensive course that usually culminates in a paper. Alternative, you can do a competitive moot for credit in January.

[jmcazabon]

Sorta wish this was just a thread about SES and law school.

Don't cha know you the quality of your education has already been pre-determined by capitalist relationships of exploitation?

[Lawgirl20]

Osgoode_inshallah, on 26 January 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:

Thanks Lawgirl. This is helpful. Do you mind if I asked you a few specific question about exams? Like the poster I've gleaned a bit of information from these threads. It seems like some are open book exams, some allow you to bring in material you made? Could you give me some insight into that process? I've never written an exam like that. And, from the Osgoode perspective, of course.

Thanks

No problem! Almost all exams are "open book". In some classes, this means that you can bring in unlimited notes (your summary), casebooks, or any other materials. In other classes, the professor might give you a specific number of pages that you can bring in (this seems to be rare though; more often than not it is completely open book). There are also some rare classes that are closed book, but the majority of classes are open book.

In terms of the exam writing process, pretty much nobody has written an exam like this going into it, so don't worry. Most profs do practice midterms in first semester to help you understand the law school exam writing process. The whole "open book" thing is somewhat misleading as well because law school exams are so rushed for time that your summary is really just there to fall back on in case you get stuck on a principle or want to note the exact wording of something. You prepare so well before the exam (hopefully) that you should rarely need to refer to your notes.

Just remember, like I said, the law school exam writing process is unfamiliar to everyone in first year and you will have plenty of opportunities to learn the style and such.

[whereverjustice]

I graduated from Osgoode in June. I had one closed-book exam in 1L; all of the others were open-book. I did all of them on my laptop. Nearly all of them were 100% finals, though there was usually an optional paper which would account for part (30-50%) of the grade.

Class sizes in 2L and 3L were all over the map. I prefer the traditional lecture-style course so I only wound up taking one seminar in upper year. The seminar had about 20 people. The lecture classes had anywhere from 20 to ~80. The determinant is the demand for the course, so Business Associations had more students than Advanced Torts.

[davedavedave]

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful.

[johnalm]

100% exams! wow-im dont know if I want osgoode so much now...

Anyone can answer for Queens?

Edited by johnalm, 27 January 2012 - 12:32 PM.

[Lawgirl20]

johnalm, on 27 January 2012 - 12:28 PM, said:

100% exams! wow-im dont know if I want osgoode so much now...

Anyone can answer for Queens?

I'm pretty sure every law school does 100% exams for most classes, especially in first year. The concept is not unique to Osgoode. 100% exams are going to be part of law school wherever you go.

[erinl2]

Lawgirl is right, JohnAlm. You'll have 100% exams at every law school for many/most classes.

I think in my three years of law school I only had one closed book exam. In my upper year classes, I had a fairly equal mix of exam-based and paper-based assessment. I actually preferred the exam-based classes because I was confident that I likely had a better chance of being at the upper end of the curve. At the end of three years, I compared my grades in both and found that I did equally well in both types of classes, so it didn't really matter. You might get a class or two that have a take home exam. All of my exams, by the way, were done on the computer. I can't imagine doing a law exam by hand.

[Therumpshaker]

I know you're not interested in Ottawa but I have no 100% exams.

[George Bluth]

Lawgirl20, on 27 January 2012 - 03:52 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure every law school does 100% exams for most classes, especially in first year. The concept is not unique to Osgoode. 100% exams are going to be part of law school wherever you go.

As I posted above, Western's 1L substantive courses have 30%/70% exams, which gives 1Ls quite a bit more breathing room in December knowing that their first law school exams won't make or break their final grades.

[Lawgirl20]

George Bluth, on 27 January 2012 - 11:33 PM, said:

As I posted above, Western's 1L substantive courses have 30%/70% exams, which gives 1Ls quite a bit more breathing room in December knowing that their first law school exams won't make or break their final grades.

Sorry, I should have been more clear. By 100% exams, I meant that the entire mark for a class is based on exams (whether it be 1 100% exam or 2 exams of 30% and 70%).