FE1 Exam Thread (Read 1st post!) NOTICE: YOU MAY SWAP EXAM GRIDS

Jentle Grenade

vickyplumx wrote: »

Hey ! New here. Been studying for a good month now with manuals and college notes. Decided today to do propert instead of eu. 1st 4 and really wanna get 3. Doing equity, contract, property and tort. Good choices ?

Also doing equity, contract, property and tort. My last four so no choice! I've only been seriously studying for the last two weeks though and feel like I'm at a disadvantage already. Using Independent notes and materials which seem like a nice guide.

Milkypops

Jentle Grenade wrote: »

Also doing equity, contract, property and tort. My last four so no choice! I've only been seriously studying for the last two weeks though and feel like I'm at a disadvantage already. Using Independent notes and materials which seem like a nice guide.

you definitely aren't you've got about 2 months left to study...i wouldnt be worrying this early in the game.

Right Turn Clyde

Milkypops wrote: »

you definitely aren't you've got about 2 months left to study...i wouldnt be worrying this early in the game.

I'm doing my first four. Contract, criminal, equity and property. I'll only be starting on Monday. Is that crazy? I'm not working so I'll be studying full time. I've only just finished my law degree so I still have access to the library until September. So I'll have all the key texts at my disposal. I'll also be picking up some second-hand manuals. Do you think I'm pushing it?

Milkypops

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

I'm doing my first four. Contract, criminal, equity and property. I'll only be starting on Monday. Is that crazy? I'm not working so I'll be studying full time. I've only just finished my law degree so I still have access to the library until September. So I'll have all the key texts at my disposal. I'll also be picking up some second-hand manuals. Do you think I'm pushing it?

no not at all your first one isnt until 25th september and ye have days off in between this time aswell...you have 2 full months to study..just go hell for leather for these two months and you should be fine...dont go learning off reams of notes learn the key points of law and cases and be able to apply them to the question and youll be grand!

Legal125

Hey, can anyone shed some light on Q2 and Q4 of April 2014 tort paper... Just Wondering if anyone that has done course might know... Thanks

Milkypops

Legal125 wrote: »

Hey, can anyone shed some light on Q2 and Q4 of April 2014 tort paper... Just Wondering if anyone that has done course might know... Thanks

do you want to pm me the paper or even the quesitons and il look at them for ya!

Redo91

Had my 46 in property rechecked but no luck. Really frustrating as I was convinced I had it passed. Was my favourite/best subject in college so it was the one I was least worried about failing before and after sitting it yet it was the only one I failed. Like my other 3 exams I used at least 3/4 examples of case law per question and even included some academic comments I had learned off even though I was told this was only necessary if you wanted to do really well rather than just get the bare 50%. Was really relaxed sitting contract (my final exam) as I was really happy with how the first 3 went and thought I had them passed so the pressure was off.

Really disappointed that all I got from the Law Society was a letter confirming my grade and no feedback whatsoever. For the price of getting it rechecked I expected some feedback at least. For some bizarre reason it costs more to get your exam rechecked than it does to sit the exam and have it corrected the first time. People have said these exams are a bit of a money racket and now I can see why.

I will write to the Law Society asking them if there any chance of getting some feedback. As I said I am really confused as to how I failed considering I felt this was my best exam and I passed the other 3. Property is seen as one of the more passable exams and I have heard of people passing with 4 good questions. I did 5 good questions and failed. The only reason I can think off that I failed is due to my poor handwriting. If this was indeed the reason I failed at least I could work on improving that. Instead I have no idea why I failed an exam I thought I passed. A few lines of explanation would be sufficient to give me some idea of what I need to work on.

tiger_cub

Redo91 wrote: »

Had my 46 in property rechecked but no luck. Really frustrating as I was convinced I had it passed. Was my favourite/best subject in college so it was the one I was least worried about failing before and after sitting it yet it was the only one I failed. Like my other 3 exams I used at least 3/4 examples of case law per question and even included some academic comments I had learned off even though I was told this was only necessary if you wanted to do really well rather than just get the bare 50%. Was really relaxed sitting contract (my final exam) as I was really happy with how the first 3 went and thought I had them passed so the pressure was off.

Really disappointed that all I got from the Law Society was a letter confirming my grade and no feedback whatsoever. For the price of getting it rechecked I expected some feedback at least. For some bizarre reason it costs more to get your exam rechecked than it does to sit the exam and have it corrected the first time. People have said these exams are a bit of a money racket and now I can see why.

I will write to the Law Society asking them if there any chance of getting some feedback. As I said I am really confused as to how I failed considering I felt this was my best exam and I passed the other 3. Property is seen as one of the more passable exams and I have heard of people passing with 4 good questions. I did 5 good questions and failed. The only reason I can think off that I failed is due to my poor handwriting. If this was indeed the reason I failed at least I could work on improving that. Instead I have no idea why I failed an exam I thought I passed. A few lines of explanation would be sufficient to give me some idea of what I need to work on.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I scraped by with 50% in what should have been my "best" subject. I work in that area everyday and had 3 months of study behind me for it. In another subject I didn't even own a manual and took a friend's manual literally the day before the exam (when she was learning night before notes) and did 7 topics. Lucky enough that I got the 5 questions on the day but got 45%. It just goes to show that these exams are complete BS with no consistency in grading whatsoever! I genuinely hadn't a rashers what I was talking about in the 45% exam, and would nearly consider myself an expert in the 50% exam.

Also got my recheck today with one line! It's a bit ridiculous.

Chin up and don't even try to rationalise the marking/grading etc. or it will drive you demented!

Redo91

tiger_cub wrote: »

Don't be too hard on yourself. I scraped by with 50% in what should have been my "best" subject. I work in that area everyday and had 3 months of study behind me for it. In another subject I didn't even own a manual and took a friend's manual literally the day before the exam (when she was learning night before notes) and did 7 topics. Lucky enough that I got the 5 questions on the day but got 45%. It just goes to show that these exams are complete BS with no consistency in grading whatsoever! I genuinely hadn't a rashers what I was talking about in the 45% exam, and would nearly consider myself an expert in the 50% exam.

Also got my recheck today with one line! It's a bit ridiculous.

Chin up and don't even try to rationalise the marking/grading etc. or it will drive you demented!

There seems to be a real pattern of people working their proverbial off studying for one exam and putting in very little effort for another who end up doing better/not much worse in the latter. I don't want to sound bitter and take away from the achievements of those who have passed the lot but sometimes I wonder if there is some bloke who goes around a room and sticks whatever number between 40-70 that comes into his head on each transcript. It's so frustrating and for such important exams the organisation (rearranging the Spring exams this year for example) and marking of these exams is a bit of a farce.

Would I be wasting my time writing to the Law Society asking for a bit of constructive feedback as to why I failed or will they not oblige under any circumstances? I expected something for the €115 (I think that was the figure) I paid.

Right Turn Clyde

Milkypops wrote: »

no not at all your first one isnt until 25th september and ye have days off in between this time aswell...you have 2 full months to study..just go hell for leather for these two months and you should be fine...dont go learning off reams of notes learn the key points of law and cases and be able to apply them to the question and youll be grand!

Great, thanks for the vote of confidence! I spent the morning going through my text books and college notes. It seems I haven't forgotten everything. Hopefully I'll be okay.

LawCQ91

Redo91 wrote: »

Had my 46 in property rechecked but no luck. Really frustrating as I was convinced I had it passed. Was my favourite/best subject in college so it was the one I was least worried about failing before and after sitting it yet it was the only one I failed. Like my other 3 exams I used at least 3/4 examples of case law per question and even included some academic comments I had learned off even though I was told this was only necessary if you wanted to do really well rather than just get the bare 50%. Was really relaxed sitting contract (my final exam) as I was really happy with how the first 3 went and thought I had them passed so the pressure was off.

Really disappointed that all I got from the Law Society was a letter confirming my grade and no feedback whatsoever. For the price of getting it rechecked I expected some feedback at least. For some bizarre reason it costs more to get your exam rechecked than it does to sit the exam and have it corrected the first time. People have said these exams are a bit of a money racket and now I can see why.

I will write to the Law Society asking them if there any chance of getting some feedback. As I said I am really confused as to how I failed considering I felt this was my best exam and I passed the other 3. Property is seen as one of the more passable exams and I have heard of people passing with 4 good questions. I did 5 good questions and failed. The only reason I can think off that I failed is due to my poor handwriting. If this was indeed the reason I failed at least I could work on improving that. Instead I have no idea why I failed an exam I thought I passed. A few lines of explanation would be sufficient to give me some idea of what I need to work on.

Hi redo, I replied to you when you were getting it checked , sorry it didn't went up . As I was saying to you the last time, I too think property was my best subject and I was happy how it went. I would have thought I got way higher than what I did, considering the work I have put in it .. I had 2 very good questions where I remembered 90% of the cases knew what I was talking about, applied to the facts etc!, 2 good questions , and one ok but good enough question... At no point I waffled! I knew my stuff !! Maybe property had a reputation of being easy, so the examiner marked it extra hard recently.. That's just my take!

Redo91

LawCQ91 wrote: »

Hi redo, I replied to you when you were getting it checked , sorry it didn't went up . As I was saying to you the last time, I too think property was my best subject and I was happy how it went. I would have thought I got way higher than what I did, considering the work I have put in it .. I had 2 very good questions where I remembered 90% of the cases knew what I was talking about, applied to the facts etc!, 2 good questions , and one ok but good enough question... At no point I waffled! I knew my stuff !! Maybe property had a reputation of being easy, so the examiner marked it extra hard recently.. That's just my take!

Just after realising I never responded to your first reply. Sorry about that I meant to as you gave great advice. As I said earlier what I'm mostly disappointed with at this stage is the lack of feedback to my recheck. If I felt the exam went badly and I failed then at least I would know where I went wrong and what I need to improve on. However I really don't know what I did wrong to fail and what I need to change in my approach in order to pass next time. I spoke to a friend of mine after the exam who included very similar cases to me and came to much the same conclusions in the problem questions. I failed property and it was his best subject! There is just no consistency or pattern to the marking of these exams!

MissM89

Hi there - does any have an up to date property grid that they would be willing to send on? I have grids for other subjects which I can share too! Would really appreciate it! Thanks.

Right Turn Clyde

What are people's preferred manuals?

kel.lynch

Hi there,

Not a regular boards.ie user, but have been reading through this (and the old) thread, and just have a couple of questions! I recently completed my law degree and will be sitting 6 FE-1s this September (Company, Property, Contract, Criminal, E.U and Equity). I am studying at home full-time with past papers, examiners reports (both bought from Law Soc from April 2012-April 2014), university notes and the textbooks (I bought most of the central texts for myself).

In relation to the Companies Act that we're allowed to bring into the exam, the Acts themselves are totalling 788 pages to print, which should be doable (I am doing my utmost to avoid paying €75+ for the book with the Acts in). However I'm just wondering are there many Stat. Inst. included that we are permitted to bring in also? Also, what is the process with regards to our material - is this checked on the way in or...?

Also, in relation to the mention of 'grids' here, I would be grateful if somebody could shine some light on this for me please? I am presuming it is something to do with what has previously come up?

Cheers

Dave Freeman

Independent College are the best manuals by far I would say

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

What are people's preferred manuals?

Right Turn Clyde

Dave Freeman wrote: »

Independent College are the best manuals by far I would say

Thanks. Since asking that question I've come across a full set of Griffith manuals for next to nothing (my girlfriend's cousin has the full set). I'm tempted to go with them because I'm very short on cash. But I don't want to shoot myself in the foot for the sake of a few quid. Saying that, I studied all of this stuff as an undergrad, so the Griffith manuals should do what I want them to do, i.e. refresh my memory.

saor19

kel.lynch wrote: »

Hi there,

Not a regular boards.ie user, but have been reading through this (and the old) thread, and just have a couple of questions! I recently completed my law degree and will be sitting 6 FE-1s this September (Company, Property, Contract, Criminal, E.U and Equity). I am studying at home full-time with past papers, examiners reports (both bought from Law Soc from April 2012-April 2014), university notes and the textbooks (I bought most of the central texts for myself).

In relation to the Companies Act that we're allowed to bring into the exam, the Acts themselves are totalling 788 pages to print, which should be doable (I am doing my utmost to avoid paying €75+ for the book with the Acts in). However I'm just wondering are there many Stat. Inst. included that we are permitted to bring in also? Also, what is the process with regards to our material - is this checked on the way in or...?

Also, in relation to the mention of 'grids' here, I would be grateful if somebody could shine some light on this for me please? I am presuming it is something to do with what has previously come up?

Cheers

Hi,

You aren't allowed bring in your own printed version of the acts. You must either buy the book or buy the acts from the state publications office. I'd recommend the book though as it highlights where ammendments have been made at each section & what these are. You are allowed to highlight and tab as much as you want in as many colours as you want but no writing on the sources at all! You can hand in the source the day before (which is what they tell you to do) & it'll be on your desk when you enter the exam hall. Alternatively, in the last few sittings anyway, you could hand in the source on the day and you'd have it half an hour into the exam.

Yep grids show what topics came up in what sittings. Some exams are more predictable than others but I wouldn't rely completely on any of them!

Hope that helps :-)

vickyplumx

Would anyone have a tort grid or property grid ? Please please please !

kel.lynch

saor19 wrote: »

Hi,

You aren't allowed bring in your own printed version of the acts. You must either buy the book or buy the acts from the state publications office. I'd recommend the book though as it highlights where ammendments have been made at each section & what these are. You are allowed to highlight and tab as much as you want in as many colours as you want but no writing on the sources at all! You can hand in the source the day before (which is what they tell you to do) & it'll be on your desk when you enter the exam hall. Alternatively, in the last few sittings anyway, you could hand in the source on the day and you'd have it half an hour into the exam.

Yep grids show what topics came up in what sittings. Some exams are more predictable than others but I wouldn't rely completely on any of them!

Hope that helps :-)

Thanks so much, that's really helpful - I wasn't aware that you couldn't print them.

Where exactly do you hand in the sources - do you know?

Thanks so much

add727

--homeslice-- wrote: »

I was worried about city too about a month and a half before the exams because I thought it was all over the place but I did the extra cram revision day they run before the exams and found that I knew a lot more than I thought! I agree the city manual isn't laid out amazingly but just stick to it - I think it'd be a bit mad to start with a new manual at this stage! I did really really well in the exam in the end so your man really knows his stuff!

Yeah, a few people I've mentioned my concerns to have said to trust the lecturer and his style, that he really knows his stuff and work with him on it so think I'm just going to do that! To be fair, he does seem to be extremely familiar with the examiner's style and teaches from that point of view, rather than just teaching a topic and then looking to past exam papers once it's covered. I think it's just a question on getting in on his style more than anything else. Be grand!

saor19

kel.lynch wrote: »

Thanks so much, that's really helpful - I wasn't aware that you couldn't print them.

Where exactly do you hand in the sources - do you know?

Thanks so much

In the fe1 exam areain the Red Cow, theres a table but don't worry there will be plenty of people to point you in the right direction! Also although it says no drinks allowed, you can take in a bottle of something as long as its not in a flask can or cup.

--homeslice--

add727 wrote: »

Yeah, a few people I've mentioned my concerns to have said to trust the lecturer and his style, that he really knows his stuff and work with him on it so think I'm just going to do that! To be fair, he does seem to be extremely familiar with the examiner's style and teaches from that point of view, rather than just teaching a topic and then looking to past exam papers once it's covered. I think it's just a question on getting in on his style more than anything else. Be grand!

100%, he's not teaching you like a college lecturer would, he's teaching you what you need to know to get Carolan to pass you!

dashdoll

Would anyone have a copy of an up to date grid for Criminal, Contract and Property? I have ones to swap for Company and Equity.

Thanks a mil.

kel.lynch

saor19 wrote: »

In the fe1 exam areain the Red Cow, theres a table but don't worry there will be plenty of people to point you in the right direction! Also although it says no drinks allowed, you can take in a bottle of something as long as its not in a flask can or cup.

Super helpful, thank you. Do I have to bring the sources the day before every exam or can I drop all of them in on the first day I'm there??

Dave Freeman

Well I would say that you should be fine since you just completed the undergraduate course. However some of the Griffith manuals are very hard to follow whereas the Independent College ones are better written and more updated.

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

Thanks. Since asking that question I've come across a full set of Griffith manuals for next to nothing (my girlfriend's cousin has the full set). I'm tempted to go with them because I'm very short on cash. But I don't want to shoot myself in the foot for the sake of a few quid. Saying that, I studied all of this stuff as an undergrad, so the Griffith manuals should do what I want them to do, i.e. refresh my memory.

saor19

kel.lynch wrote: »

Super helpful, thank you. Do I have to bring the sources the day before every exam or can I drop all of them in on the first day I'm there??

I'm not sure because I used my sources during study so didn't leave any in too early. They are generally very accommodating though in saying that I'd email and ask just for peace of mind & so as not to be caught out!

kel.lynch

saor19 wrote: »

I'm not sure because I used my sources during study so didn't leave any in too early. They are generally very accommodating though in saying that I'd email and ask just for peace of mind & so as not to be caught out!

Thanks for all of your help Saor19

saor19

kel.lynch wrote: »

Thanks for all of your help Saor19

No probs :-) I had a lot of help from guys on this thread my first time round!

Legalgrad

Anyone an up to date grid for Tort or March or April 14 answers?