DICTAadvice
The Elusive 72
Many of you will
have wondered,
‘how on earth
does one get a
first?’. Clement
Fung shares
some essay-writing
tactics that will get
you that ‘elusive
72’.
S
eventy-two percent. First class. Distinction. This elusive grade boundary captures all our gazes but most
of us never taste the joy of stepping beyond it. Statistically, Bristol law school is ‘designed’ so that most of us
will score in the 2.1 range, thus rendering only a fortunate
few the blessing of ever breaking past the seventy-two
percent.
Prior to exams, coursework will be the most valuable
opportunity to develop your legal skills and understanding of the law, especially for MA and LLM students. So
how do you write first-class essays, you may ask? Obviously every student thinks and writes differently, but
here are a few universal ingredients that, when applied
together, have aided my friends and I to successfully
overcome the elusive seventy-two percent barrier at Bristol law school.
1. Start Early.
14 | DICTA 2013
No seriously, start early and what early means is
two weeks (or more) before the deadline. Yes, I start my
essays two weeks beforehand because, unfortunately, I
am not a natural essay writer so what I lack in ability I
make up for with time. Why two weeks? Well, it takes
one week to conduct thorough research, several days
to write, and a several more to edit (never hand in your
first draft!). Thinking about the essay material bit-by-bit
every day for two weeks allows the subject matter and the
various perspectives from different authors to sink into
your mind. Meanwhi K