Course Coordinator:Leon Harris (lharris@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
The course examines the skills and techniques employed by advocates, in preparation for appearances in court and other settings. This course will introduce you to the fundamental principles of practice as an advocate. You will study case preparation, written and oral advocacy techniques, appellate advocacy and the ethical duties relating to practice as an advocate in dealings with opponents, courts and tribunals. The course will prepare you for practice as an advocate and for participation in mooting and other competitions.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Online Learning Materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On-Campus Tutorials | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Online Learning Materials | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online Tutorials | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
300 Level (Graduate)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Demonstrate knowledge of relevant legal, factual and ethical matters in the practice of advocacy. |
Creative and critical thinker Ethical |
| 2 | Analyse to generate appropriate responses to legal and ethical issues and problems in the practice of advocacy. |
Creative and critical thinker Ethical |
| 3 | Communicate effectively and concisely and in a professional manner, using oral, written and non-verbal communication in the practice of advocacy. |
Creative and critical thinker Ethical |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
((LAW100 or LAW101) and (LAW105 or LAW103)) or (LAW104 or LAW107)
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Students will receive formative feedback within the teaching period through a variety of practical activities that are designed to train and test advocacy skills.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Report | Individual | 20% | 1,000 words |
Week 5 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Artefact - Professional, and Written Piece | Individual | 35% | 1,500 words |
Week 9 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Oral | Individual | 45% | 15 minutes |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | In Class |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Case Theory Report | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this exercise is for you to use a case analysis methodology to produce a report on your theory of the case and communicate the results effectively and concisely. |
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| Product: | Report | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | This is a document of 1,000 words, completed individually, which sets out your theory of the case. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Written Submission | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this exercise is for you to write a submission to the court in accordance with the formal requirements of the jurisdiction. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Professional, and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Written submission of 1,500 words, completed individually, in compliance with the formal requirements of the jurisdiction, provided on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Oral Advocacy Exercise | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | In this assessment you will present your case orally to a simulated court. |
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| Product: | Oral | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Oral presentation (15 minutes) to the examiner, who will play the role of a judicial officer. Orals will occur in the teaching period toward the end of the course. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Lee Stuesser | 2011 | An Introduction to Advocacy | 2nd | Lawbook Company |
Not applicable
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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