1L Part Time

[throwaway1001 36]

20 hours ago, ProfReader said:

 

How is one "cheating" but not the other? By your definition of cheating, isn't the first merely cheating more than the second?

Because one is used as a complement and one is a substitute for work. This is entirely subjective. I don't consider copying a summary from X website directly in your notes with having done a note summary and using another to fill any holes/add material on the same level. I consider these substantially different, you may not. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by throwaway1001

[ProfReader 2150]

That is a very convenient theory that you have come up with to justify your actions and complain about others.

Edited May 17, 2020 by ProfReader

[throwaway1001 36]

12 minutes ago, ProfReader said:

That is a very convenient theory that you have come up with to justify your actions and complain about others.

It is what it is. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by throwaway1001

[Luckycharm 1868]

23 hours ago, throwaway1001 said:

I did it. I don't think I ever used someone else's summary for a case. I did use their final notes to puff up mines. Some people do all the summaries and some don't. At the end of the day, its about if you understand the issues (but if you ask me, those people are only setting themselves up to fail). The only class where we had "volume cases" was Contract.

Disclaimer : 1L PCLF

What does PCLF stand for?

 

PCLF

AcronymDefinition

PCLFPlanning and Conservation League Foundation (Sacramento, CA)

PCLFPolk County Library Federation (Balsam Lake, WI)

PCLFPortland Community Liberation Front (Portland, OR)

PCLFPeritoneal Cavity Lavage Fluid

PCLFPhiladelphia Christian Leaders Fellowship (Pennsylvania)

Edited May 17, 2020 by Luckycharm

[Isla 19]

Programme de common law en français (French JD program)

[easttowest 1600]

2 hours ago, throwaway1001 said:

Because one is used as a complement and one is a substitute for work. This is entirely subjective. I don't consider copying a summary from X website directly in your notes with having done a note summary and using another to fill any holes/add material on the same level. I consider these substantially different, you may not. 

Nobody asked or required you to make your own summary. Technically, a 100% exam course requires zero work; all you have to do is show up and write the exam like everybody else.

I've just never heard a law student call using an old summary "cheating"; they often look down their nose out of a sense of superiority to justify how hard they perceive themselves working, but cheating? It's an open-book exam! 

 

[Aschenbach 377]

On 5/16/2020 at 5:41 PM, ArchivesandMuseums said:

I do not know, but do we really need to brief "every case"? I am not sure...

It depends person to person. In first term I read every case and briefed it religiously in addition to creating my own CANs. It was a bit too much. I switched strategies in second term. Still read cases, stopped briefing, and built my CAN/outline as I went along. It was great because by the end of the term I had pretty much all my CANs done so all I had to do was use them to practice exams with. I found this worked out better for me.

I also know people who didn’t read cases AND used other people’s CANs. They seem to be doing fine. I wouldn’t consider this cheating since at the end of the day you are tested in application of the law and not on the content of cases assigned. I personally didn’t feel comfortable doing this because I learn best through reading the case and taking the main point and summarizing it in my own words. The process of creating a CAN also helps me see the bigger picture and how the body of cases fits into that area of law.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Aschenbach

[binggou 4]

15 hours ago, capitalttruth said:

The learning strategist I talked to this week said I can try the first three weeks full time to see if I can get an impression of the workload, and then if I feel overwhelmed, I can drop down to part time by the end of September and get half of my tuition back. She added the caveat that 3 weeks may not be enough time to get an accurate impression of how intense the workload is toward exam time.

Do you know if this is an option available to all students (who are eligible for part-time), or was that specifically a consideration extended to you after talking with UOttawa? I've been having a lot of the same questions/concerns as what you described in your OP.

[capitalttruth 655]

41 minutes ago, Aschenbach said:

It depends person to person. In first term I read every case and briefed it religiously in addition to creating my own CANs. It was a bit too much. I switched strategies in second term. Still read cases, stopped briefing, and built my CAN/outline as I went along. It was great because by the end of the term I had pretty much all my CANs done so all I had to do was use them to practice exams with. I found this worked out better for me.

I also know people who didn’t read cases AND used other people’s CANs. They seem to be doing fine. I wouldn’t consider this cheating since at the end of the day you are tested in application of the law and not on the content of cases assigned. I personally didn’t feel comfortable doing this because I learn best through reading the case and taking the main point and summarizing it in my own words. The process of creating a CAN also helps me see the bigger picture and how the body of cases fits into that area of law.

If I were to just read cases without briefing them for the purposes of creating my own CANS, would this be a more efficient way to achieve success? For some reason, I have this impression that case briefing is an important element of studying along with everything else.

[capitalttruth 655]

32 minutes ago, binggou said:

Do you know if this is an option available to all students (who are eligible for part-time), or was that specifically a consideration extended to you after talking with UOttawa? I've been having a lot of the same questions/concerns as what you described in your OP.

It's just apart of the normal accommodations I've received throughout undergrad, grad school, LSAT etc. It may also be extended to you if there is documentation. Talk to Jessica Simon at the Equity and Academic Success Committee. https://commonlaw.uottawa.ca/en/people/simon-jessica

[binggou 4]

8 minutes ago, capitalttruth said:

It's just apart of the normal accommodations I've received throughout undergrad, grad school, LSAT etc. It may also be extended to you if there is documentation. Talk to Jessica Simon at the Equity and Academic Success Committee. https://commonlaw.uottawa.ca/en/people/simon-jessica

Great to know, thanks!

[Aschenbach 377]

2 hours ago, capitalttruth said:

If I were to just read cases without briefing them for the purposes of creating my own CANS, would this be a more efficient way to achieve success? For some reason, I have this impression that case briefing is an important element of studying along with everything else.

It really depends. I think to start you should do as much as you can and figure out what works for you. I started off briefing cases and then making my CANs close to the end of first term, but I found that this wasn't the best use of my time so in second term I CAN'ed as the term progressed. Every time I read a case I updated my CAN (preferably before lecture). Then after a lecture, I would revise my CAN with whatever the professor said.

Again, you would probably want to start off by briefing cases, CAN'ing, and taking notes, but feel free to adjust as you go on. I did all this in first term but my process got streamlined to just reading cases, CAN'ing and revising my CAN based on the lecture. Note that I only did above average and not like top student in my class or anything, but I did improve in second term even though I did less work. Everyone's process is different though, so the challenge is figuring out the process that fits best with your learning style.

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Aschenbach

[HopefulE 29]

Does uOttawa have a database of previous years' syllabi for the various profs? I found course descriptions and grading schemes through the course search engine, but I am thinking of schedules that outline cases/readings/assignments/tests for each week.

Such a schedule might clarify whether the workload will be too much.

[capitalttruth 655]

13 minutes ago, HopefulE said:

Does uOttawa have a database of previous years' syllabi for the various profs? I found course descriptions and grading schemes through the course search engine, but I am thinking of schedules that outline cases/readings/assignments/tests for each week.

Such a schedule might clarify whether the workload will be too much.

I've been looking, for sure. Found an old Property syllabus with Prof. De Beer. Around 45 pages a week, I've heard Contracts and Torts have a similar reading length per week. Constitutional and Crim are a little longer, around 70-80 (?) per week. From what I can gather the average amount of reading per week is 250-300 pages, which is a lot but definitely manageable if you're only doing law school related stuff. 

[easttowest 1600]

You’ll quickly get a sense who you need to read for. Some profs (Blair, Mayeda, Gruben) spoon-feed the reading material, so you may find reading beforehand redundant. 

That said, I generally liked to have read the material for my own peace of mind for the exam. I eventually did over 90% (probably 100%) of the assigned reading in Torts, Contracts, Property, and Crim, though not necessarily before class. I read well under 50% for Pubcon because I made my summary from Charterpedia. 

Regarding summaries, I hated making them. I made two summaries in 1L and otherwise just tabbed my textbooks to hell. 

 

 

[capitalttruth 655]

6 hours ago, easttowest said:

You’ll quickly get a sense who you need to read for. Some profs (Blair, Mayeda, Gruben) spoon-feed the reading material, so you may find reading beforehand redundant. 

That said, I generally liked to have read the material for my own peace of mind for the exam. I eventually did over 90% (probably 100%) of the assigned reading in Torts, Contracts, Property, and Crim, though not necessarily before class. I read well under 50% for Pubcon because I made my summary from Charterpedia. 

Regarding summaries, I hated making them. I made two summaries in 1L and otherwise just tabbed my textbooks to hell. 

 

 

If you don't mind me asking, why did you hate making summaries? Was this harder to do depending on the class?

[easttowest 1600]

28 minutes ago, capitalttruth said:

If you don't mind me asking, why did you hate making summaries? Was this harder to do depending on the class?

No, I just found it boring and redundant since in 1L all the content was already in my textbooks. I don't recommend you going in planning on doing what I did though.