FE1 Exam Thread (Mod Warning: NO ADS)

pandas

Look guys i know what ye are going through! i just got my last one in april after sitting it for the third time the day after paddys day...it was horrible!

Its not so much the exams that are hard its the amount of work that has to go into them but to be honest guys it will be worth it! i dont have an apprenticeship secured or anything even close to it but there is no point giving up or feeling depressed now when ye have gotten this far! fom what i have heard once ya get through these you've the hardest part behind ye!

All I know is after all the hard work iv put in there is NO WAY IN HELL i am giving up now even though there is no end in sight for me for at least another 3-4 years!

They are a lot of work but they aren't impossible! they are fine..just exams and if u prepare right for them you'll do fine!

best of luck!

Niamhb10

Hi guys im getting very confused... how exactly does this new Act change how we prepare for the Company exam? I have the independent college summer 2010 book but it doesnt shed much light on the new act. so does that mean we dont have to worry about it?

Jev/N

Niamhb10 wrote: »

Hi guys im getting very confused... how exactly does this new Act change how we prepare for the Company exam? I have the independent college summer 2010 book but it doesnt shed much light on the new act. so does that mean we dont have to worry about it?

This says what it changes...

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0020/print.html

law86

Not a huge effect on exam, only re expansion of powers of ODCE. There is a new Company Law Reform Bill upcoming, which will change quite a lot, but thankfully, it has not been passed yet, so we only have to deal with the relatively small Companies Amendment Act 2009.

Amre17

Hi all..

Looking for a bit of advice.. posting my application off today and I cant decide whether to do tort or constitutional as my final subject.. I plan to be finished the subject im working on at the min within the nexr 2 weeks and from there on in I will be spending my time on either tort or constitutional? which one would people advise to do? which has the shorter workload and the least cross over of topics in exam questions?

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance..

Niamhb10

Jev/N wrote: »

This says what it changes...

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2009/en/act/pub/0020/print.html

Thanks for that Jev/N!

Niamhb10

law86 wrote: »

Not a huge effect on exam, only re expansion of powers of ODCE. There is a new Company Law Reform Bill upcoming, which will change quite a lot, but thankfully, it has not been passed yet, so we only have to deal with the relatively small Companies Amendment Act 2009.

Thanks for your reply Law86! Seems then it wont effect exam prep that much. Was goin over Ultra Vires and was not sure if it Act abolised it or not... Thanks again.

Niamhb10

Amre17 wrote: »

Hi all..

Looking for a bit of advice.. posting my application off today and I cant decide whether to do tort or constitutional as my final subject.. I plan to be finished the subject im working on at the min within the nexr 2 weeks and from there on in I will be spending my time on either tort or constitutional? which one would people advise to do? which has the shorter workload and the least cross over of topics in exam questions?

any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance..

Hi Amre,

I have not sat either yet, but i am studying for Constitutional. There is loads to get through but it is straightforwad and there is always room to discuss opinions etc in exam answers. I have discussed the Tort exam with friends that have sat it and the general consensus was that it was harder that constitutional, much more to get through etc. Everyone is different though, depends on personal experiences... Hope that help a little bit!

law86

Ultra Vires still in, mores the pity.

Amre17

Niamhb10 wrote: »

Hi Amre,

I have not sat either yet, but i am studying for Constitutional. There is loads to get through but it is straightforwad and there is always room to discuss opinions etc in exam answers. I have discussed the Tort exam with friends that have sat it and the general consensus was that it was harder that constitutional, much more to get through etc. Everyone is different though, depends on personal experiences... Hope that help a little bit!

Thanks for the reply Niamhb.. Ive been leaning towards constitutional so i think im just guna bite the bullet, put it down and get into it as soon as possible.. do you think ive left enough time for it though? are there topics that can be left out or should i be trying to do it all?

glengirlie

Just wondered is there anything that I could possibly leave out for the Criminal FE1 this Autumn???

Cheers:)

brian__foley

mbee wrote: »

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has any information on the Griffith one day revision courses for the upcoming FE-1s. Had a look on their website but found nothing.

Just to come back on that...information appears to be up.

CluelessGirl

Future Legal Eagles....I need some study advice!

Land Law is a nightmare for me.....any tips on how I should approach it?

Thanks in advance.

law_lady

Hi guys, hope study's going well. Question - I'm using an Autumn 09 GCD manual to study Property and I'm doing Easements at the mo. I also have the Explanatory Memorandum for the 2009 Act.

I get that Wheeldon v Burrows is abolished and replaced.

What I'm confused about is what else this affects in relation to easements by implied grant. The manual does it under 5 headings, W v B being one of them. Is it a simple case of slotting in S40(2) instead of the rule in W v B? Or does this affect other implied grants of easements? All I can see in the Explanatory Memo is that it doesn't affect easements of necessity. Does this mean it DOES affect the other types? Its my first attempt at a topic which has been affected by the 2009 Act and I'm a mixture of paranoia and confusion...

Hope someone can help, thanks in advance.:o


PS @CluelessGirl

I sympathise! I'm not exactly clued in either, but what I've done so far is to start with topics that are very likely to be on the exam in some shape or form, and that are also not affected by recent legislation. Succession Law is a good place to start. It has the potential to be 2 full Qs on the exam, its kind of interesting (compared to other parts!) and for most people who did a law degree, you'd be surprised how much comes flooding back. For me, I wanted something I could take in sections, i.e. Formalities, S117, S111, etc. with breaks for chocolate in between! And I knew it defo wasn't a waste of time as a topic because its definitely in the exam in some shape or form!! Basics first, choices later!

After that, next one I did was Adverse Possession, which I also found ok.

Starting is a b*tch but once I got Succession and AP done I really felt like I was into it and could brave the trickier, less "human" aspects of the law. Best of luck!

truestblue

Any calls on Equity this year?

Thanks guys

coco13

Guys Sitting the following this Sept

EU Law
Constitutional and
Company

Am freaked out with the amount of time that I have left considering that I am only starting them now and also the fact that it is taking me so long to get through each topic. I wonder am I dwelling on things for too long? Any advice greatly appreciated? Anyone finding that it is taking a very long time to get through topics? Trying just to work from manuals as feel that making notes is taking me way too long.

Whats the routine approach? Go through the entire course first and make sure you understand it and then go back and learn it or what???

dumbyearbook

Don't get too bogged down know the core of each and every topic - its your best bet. If you have to leave out some cases do it unless you have the head v. the time for learning them all off. Journey method is good.

Hate to be a killjoy but these are the worst ones to leave together two of them would be fine but all three is a tough run e.g. be much 'nicer' if you could swap out one of these for property or contract I take it you have the rest all passed so best of luck.

coco13 wrote: »

Guys Sitting the following this Sept

EU Law
Constitutional and
Company

Am freaked out with the amount of time that I have left considering that I am only starting them now and also the fact that it is taking me so long to get through each topic. I wonder am I dwelling on things for too long? Any advice greatly appreciated? Anyone finding that it is taking a very long time to get through topics? Trying just to work from manuals as feel that making notes is taking me way too long.

Whats the routine approach? Go through the entire course first and make sure you understand it and then go back and learn it or what???

cd.galway

Hey guys hope everyone is getting on well with the study!!!

Just a few questions regarding constitutional law!!! I'm finding every topic is taking me forever to get through....i've the first few chapters done, along with SOP, the president and AG and I've done the best part of all the unspecified and specified rights....

BUT today when I attempted a few exam papers I actually was shocked at how I couldn't figure out what the bloody hell the examiner was asking!!!! And a lot of the questions included a lot of chapters!!! Getting a bit freaked...just wondering is this the general consensus or is it just me.....like could anyone go through what the problem questions in the March sitting were just so i know i'm on the right track?!!!

Also I cant seem to access the examiners articles on privacy and that could anyone help me with this too!! Also the media slant to his questions is there an article on this too?
Cheers!!

coco13

dumbyearbook wrote: »

Don't get too bogged down know the core of each and every topic - its your best bet. If you have to leave out some cases do it unless you have the head v. the time for learning them all off. Journey method is good.

Hate to be a killjoy but these are the worst ones to leave together two of them would be fine but all three is a tough run e.g. be much 'nicer' if you could swap out one of these for property or contract I take it you have the rest all passed so best of luck.

Cheers for the reply. I know. Such an ejet leaving these until the end!!!! Yeah have the rest got at this stage so kinda wanna just get em done and dusted now.. Maybe a few tight weeks study might just get me over the line in em. As you said I think the key is to know a little about everything which I find very difficult rather than knowing everything about one thing!!!! Its been my biggest downfall with all these exams.. Certainly wont work for EU and Cons!!!!!

JessieJ

Hi guys, I'm trying to get through Sexual Offences at the moment and I'm getting v confused. I understand rape under s4 is confined to penetration of the anus or mouth by the penis, or penetration of the vagina by an object. What would penetration of anus by an object fall under?

32minutes

cd.galway wrote: »

Hey guys hope everyone is getting on well with the study!!!

Just a few questions regarding constitutional law!!! I'm finding every topic is taking me forever to get through....i've the first few chapters done, along with SOP, the president and AG and I've done the best part of all the unspecified and specified rights....

BUT today when I attempted a few exam papers I actually was shocked at how I couldn't figure out what the bloody hell the examiner was asking!!!! And a lot of the questions included a lot of chapters!!! Getting a bit freaked...just wondering is this the general consensus or is it just me.....like could anyone go through what the problem questions in the March sitting were just so i know i'm on the right track?!!!

Also I cant seem to access the examiners articles on privacy and that could anyone help me with this too!! Also the media slant to his questions is there an article on this too?
Cheers!!

Don't worry about it, the examiner's reports give no indication of what the questions are linked to even though in a lot of the scenarios more than one issue could be used as the primary topic to discuss, some years the individual topics are mentioned sporadically but that's about it.

It's a bit unfair to be honest as there otherwise is no point in giving an examiners report; especially when so many others seem to be so constructive. If the point of having the reports is to make the exam more transparent and give indications of the pass/failure rate then an excel spreadsheet full of percentages would probably be easier for everyone.

I dont have any idea about the examiners publications but there are links to the exam grids here http://groups.google.com/group/fe-1-study-group/files which might be of some help

brian__foley

cd.galway wrote: »

Hey guys hope everyone is getting on well with the study!!!

Just a few questions regarding constitutional law!!! I'm finding every topic is taking me forever to get through....i've the first few chapters done, along with SOP, the president and AG and I've done the best part of all the unspecified and specified rights....

BUT today when I attempted a few exam papers I actually was shocked at how I couldn't figure out what the bloody hell the examiner was asking!!!! And a lot of the questions included a lot of chapters!!! Getting a bit freaked...just wondering is this the general consensus or is it just me.....like could anyone go through what the problem questions in the March sitting were just so i know i'm on the right track?!!!

Also I cant seem to access the examiners articles on privacy and that could anyone help me with this too!! Also the media slant to his questions is there an article on this too?
Cheers!!

Hi,

On constitutional law generally, I can say that you don't need to have dissertation level of knowledge to pass. Quite frankly, it appears that the main issue is students simply not spotting the issues in the papers and making it very, very obvious that they have not read the cases. The recurrent mistakes that students keep making re TD, Sinnott etc have really become endemic, with the examiner referring to it in at least the last three reports. It is the absence of having a general knowledge about how to use the Constitution that is crippling some people in the exam. For example, I would have discussed study approaches with a person who, with two weeks before the exam, didn't know that Article 38.1 was there to provide due process rights and thus had no idea what the Article 38.1 questions were about! I feel that if you could look at the table of contents of your textbook/manual etc and give to a complete non-lawyer a 30 second explanation of what each heading, sub-heading refers to, you'll never miss an "issue".

Once you know broadly that, say, the constitution has something to say about pre-trial publicity, or newspaper reporting on civil trials, or taking of property, then you don't need a book-level amount of case-law to get through the exam. You simply need to engage with the scenarios presented on the exam and explain the law. Knowing a little about a lot is the key and you just have to apply the skills that law students would have in respect of reducing material at X level to X/10 level - i.e. spotting ratio and the "usefellness" of the case, and leaving it that.

I'm not sure why constitutional creates such problems, but it does, and that's a fait accompli - but honestly, it's not something to worry about - you can get through the exam quite easily with a general and well founded understanding of the subject.

Re articles, you could just look at his and H.Delaney's book. I can't recall him writing anything express on media save the defamation articles in the bar review, but it is a personal interest of his.

Regards

Brian

brian__foley

JessieJ wrote: »

Hi guys, I'm trying to get through Sexual Offences at the moment and I'm getting v confused. I understand rape under s4 is confined to penetration of the anus or mouth by the penis, or penetration of the vagina by an object. What would penetration of anus by an object fall under?

If you want to understand precisely why you have to ask that question - take a look at the Dail Debates when this legislation was under debate...it's borderline shocking.

Brian010

coco13 wrote: »

Guys Sitting the following this Sept

EU Law
Constitutional and
Company

Am freaked out with the amount of time that I have left considering that I am only starting them now and also the fact that it is taking me so long to get through each topic. I wonder am I dwelling on things for too long? Any advice greatly appreciated? Anyone finding that it is taking a very long time to get through topics? Trying just to work from manuals as feel that making notes is taking me way too long.

Whats the routine approach? Go through the entire course first and make sure you understand it and then go back and learn it or what???

I left out doing notes and it made a massive difference. I found it much easier to highlight the cases and list them and go over them mentally and do mind maps to make a pattern. More often than not your brain will switch off when you're just copying stuff out!!

to8

I was really surprised when reading the EU examiner's report to find out that many students repeatedly attempt to do only 3 questions!

Seriously wtf?

Doing 3 good questions is really cutting it fine.

Also, last Constitutional paper introduced a case note question. Anyone think that will be a repeated type of q? Unfortunatley the examiner didn't even mention the fact that it was new to the paper in the report. :rolleyes: or the general reasoning behind it etc.

pansoul

Brian010 wrote: »

More often than not your brain will switch off when you're just copying stuff out!!

Good point. Much of my study is characterised by "comfort study" - making notes but not concentrating on it at all, just going through the motions and fooling myself that because there is visible product there must be valuable product.

I think I slip into such a dissociative state because my method of studying isn't sufficiently engaging. Transferring notes from manual to foolscap/laptop represents pretty low-level engagement. As such it should be regularly bolstered by something that heightens awareness and concentration, like going back over notes and questioning yourself.

Right, glad I figured that much out, even though it should've been obvious. Next step is improving my method. Wish me luck.

Hogzy

pansoul wrote: »

Good point. Much of my study is characterised by "comfort study" - making notes but not concentrating on it at all, just going through the motions and fooling myself that because there is visible product there must be valuable product.

I think I slip into such a dissociative state because my method of studying isn't sufficiently engaging. Transferring notes from manual to foolscap/laptop represents pretty low-level engagement. As such it should be regularly bolstered by something that heightens awareness and concentration, like going back over notes and questioning yourself.

Right, glad I figured that much out, even though it should've been obvious. Next step is improving my method. Wish me luck.

TBH im the exact same as ye above. This method has worked for me for my undergrad but its not working for these dirty exams.

What alternatives are there?
As a poster above you said highlight the cases and make a list of the cases and maybe have a few words to sumarise the case.
This seems only good for case law. any recommendations on how to succesfully study general facts (such as LRC recommendations & general priority points.)

My method of study could not be more inefficient. I watch the lectures as i study so it usually takes me about 3hrs for every Hour of Lecture. I watch the paragraph in the lecture then take notes from the manual but nothing is going in

Ruby83

I used to do the same..rewrite practically word for word the manuals..it got ridiculous and I actually didnt even end up using the notes for the last round of exams. Had convinced myself that if I didn't rewrite, then I wouldnt be able to remember anything. I was so pressed for time in the last round that I ended up just studying directly from the manuals and highlighting the cases and the headings. I read the chapter or if its big like directors duties I take it in sections (i.e. Model Reg 80, then Types of Directors etc), then I close the book and see what I remember from my first reading by testing myself, then I go back and re-read the section and test myself again. It usually starts coming together after a few reads and I think the key is understanding. I seem to remember most things in the exam and I basically visualise the chapter by thinking of the headings and this breaks down into the cases per heading which usually forms the structure of my answers.
Once I am at the point that I can say Directors Duties and recite the relevant cases, I use the sheet of paper I test myself on as my last minute notes before the exams.
The above works for me anyway and once I got out of the mindset that I needed to re-write the chapters in "my own notes" which ended up being word for word the manuals, then I was fine.
I'm also doing the Griffith course and I'm finding it hard to fit in the lectures now coming up to the exams. Roll on October 7th!

Hogzy

Ruby83 wrote: »

I'm also doing the Griffith course and I'm finding it hard to fit in the lectures now coming up to the exams. Roll on October 7th!

Me too. I feel its almost 2hrs wasted sometimes. Although it is handy for some occasions to have the cases explained in layman's terms.
But I feel obliged to watch the lectures because some manuals dont have everything in them.

Ruby83

Hogzy wrote: »

Me too. I feel its almost 2hrs wasted sometimes. Although it is handy for some occasions to have the cases explained in layman's terms.
But I feel obliged to watch the lectures because some manuals dont have everything in them.

True. It's a pity the lectures were off for some subjects in July and we're catching up now with double/extra lectures when its almost time to be stopping them but I suppose that's just the way its working out. Would prefer the lectures to be more towards the start of the study season without some weeks off instead of leaving some run right to the end. Saying that though, I think they are invaluable when I'm not zoned out and definitely worth it!