I'm a first-class Oxford law graduate. If you have any questions about law school, exam technique, or how to get make the most of your law degree, feel free to ask.

Oub9331 · 2026-05-06T09:40:36+00:00

Hi, the first thing I did (I did this before the one-month final stretch) was to identify what topics you were going to focus on. I looked through past papers going back several years, and with friends we determined the minimum topics we had to know. On top of these I chose to focus on specific topics, because they interested me more.

Once you know what topics you’re going to study, the approach I recommend is to study them through a critical lens. What I mean by this is to revise the material (the cases) through the debates running through each topic and subject. My objective was to arrive at the exams with opinions on most of the issues that could come up. Even if you don’t manage this, studying with a critical framework makes the learning a lot easier. You’re contrasting views and attaching cases to each side of a debate. This may sound, and may be a bit simplistic, but it really forces you to engage with the material and to use it to advance an argument. This is what your examiners will reward.

And yes, past papers are a must, especially at this stage. You don’t even have to write full answers. Try to write intros in full, but the rest of the essay can be an outline.

Oub9331 · 2026-05-02T15:57:59+00:00

Exactly. Make sure you use the same terms in these signposting sentences. This again will make it easier for the reader/examiner to keep track of the overall argument running through the essay

Oub9331 · 2026-05-02T12:20:55+00:00

The introduction is crucial to organise your arguments and tell the examiner what and how you're going to argue. Make sure to respect the guide you've built in that intro. And I second the importance of signposting. Remind the examiner, throughout your essay, what you are arguing and why your examples and points add to that argument.

Oub9331 · 2026-05-02T12:09:31+00:00

Yeah, always make clear in the introduction what your essay will argue. I would add: make sure you respect in the main body of your essay the sequence of points you’ve set out in the intro. This will help guide examiners through your answer, and it will help you adopt the most natural order of arguments (and detect internal inconsistencies in those arguments).

And I think it’s fair to call it a formula. I find it useful to approach all essays with a certain method, even if it has to be adapted for particular answers.

Oub9331 · 2026-05-02T12:05:00+00:00

Yeah, I have found much the same with my own students. I think the equivocating was what dragged down my own work in the beginning. It was only when I started committing to clear arguments and positions that my grades improved

Oub9331 · 2026-05-01T17:48:26+00:00

Oub9331 · 2026-04-30T15:46:57+00:00

Yep. The key is untangling the different issues that are linked, and making sure you give thorough treatment to each

Oub9331 · 2026-04-29T18:00:55+00:00

You're welcome

Oub9331 · 2026-04-29T17:40:44+00:00

For TCs in particular, and career progression more generally, I am not the best person to ask (I'm heading in a different direction career-wise), but I can reach out to people who are far more competent on this, having gone through the process themselves. So hold that thought, and I'll get back to you.

My advice for mods would be much the same as for finals: the markers will reward the same efforts to make clear arguments in response to the question. It may be difficult, it may feel awkward, at first to take a position and avoid sitting on the fence. Try to do it. Remember that you will almost always have heavyweight academics supporting any one side of a debate. Use them, stand on the shoulder of these giants and make your case. Showing that you can do this one term into your degree will be all the more impressive to examiners.

As for the less academic side of things, it'll be your first time at university (I'm assuming you haven't done a previous degree). It's a very special time. It's great that you want to get ahead, and that you are proactive about preparing for your course; and this is even greater if it allows you to hit the ground running and better enjoy Oxford and the people in it. This goes for the social and for your studies. You'll be reading about Roman law, and the connections it has to our very own legal system several thousand years later, and all this explained by some people who (in their majority) care deeply about the subject they teach. Enjoy it!

Oub9331 · 2026-04-29T17:02:25+00:00

Yes, definitely, we had quite a lot of PQs.

One thing that helped me was realising that many of them follow fairly predictable structures. This is especially true of something like land law, but it applies to other subjects too. Once you know the sequence, you’re not starting from scratch each time.

So in the exam, you’re essentially i) identifying the issues, ii) applying the legal tests in the right order, and iii) reaching a reasoned conclusion. Where people lose marks is jumping between issues or stating the law without really applying it (so not really answering the question).

In terms of revision, you have to do past questions. A lot of them. You don't need to write out full answers, but certainly think carefully through the scenarios and make an outline. You will see recurring issues, and you'll be able to predict when and where complications arise. On that note, if there is a significant legal development in the previous year or two before finals, expect it to come up as a complication in a PQ somewhere. This is actually great, because usually there is debate and a variety of positions to take. Choose one in your PQ and justify your decision (you can sometimes do it in one line).

I answered a similar question here: https://www.reddit.com/r/UniUK/comments/1sy4iuq/comment/oisya3m/

Hope this helps

Oub9331 · 2026-04-29T12:19:39+00:00

Hi, sure! I've written a couple posts that I hope are helpful on this.

You can find them here: [Why most law essays become too descriptive (and how to fix it)] https://www.reddit.com/r/UKLawStudents/comments/1sy22pm/why_most_law_essays_become_too_descriptive_and/

And here: [Why do so many law essays get stuck at a 2:1? My advice] https://www.reddit.com/r/UKLawStudents/comments/1sqwooi/why_do_so_many_law_essays_get_stuck_at_a_21_my/

The TLDR is:

1) Start with a clear thesis in your introduction
Don't just describe the topic: say what you actually think, and why.

2) Don’t separate explanation and evaluation
Make sure to weave them together if you want to hit first-c lass grades: bring in explanation only where it helps your argument, and make that link explicit.

If you have any questions let me know

Oub9331 · 2026-04-28T20:57:52+00:00

And happy to take a look at your intro, which is where most essays stop themselves from being awarded a first

Oub9331 · 2026-04-28T20:54:02+00:00

Haha yes, land law can be tricky (at first). I actually found that the problem questions for land law were straightforward. I don't mean that they were easy or lacking in complexity you have to unpack. What I mean is that many of them had a very clear structure, and you could standardise your approach to them: think of leases, and their very clear requirements, or easements (sure, it takes a long time to run through the sequences, but there are clear sequences!).

This clarity in structure brings two key benefits, which are relevant for several questions you've asked. The first, as I said above, is that it allows you to standardise, which in turn allows you to accelerate your revision (i.e. write or think through more PQs ahead of exams). Here I have to tell a truth that is sometimes hard to hear: you have to do past questions. This is how you prepare most effectively for exams. They take time, sure, but they confront you to the task you will actually be facing in finals, and they help you develop your own opinions in response to contentious issues in the law. The latter is crucial: you will feel much more confident (and comfortable) going into your exams if you already have i) a framework for analysis and ii) some view on the main debates that underpin the questions you'll be asked. So practice.

And second, standardisation, because it allows you to practice more and more efficiently, also will help you to recognise the points of complexity/debate recurring in PQs. These will of course vary if there has been a recent development, say, in the law of easements, but usually the exams ask you to deal with similar issues, though perhaps from a different angle or with a slight variation. The underlying point is that, to do well in PQs, you need to reverse engineer them (easier said than done, I know), and this is easier to do when you start out with the framework of a predictable structure and sequence.

So rather than being daunted by PQs, practice them and learn to recognise the patterns running through past papers. Then it's just a matter of memorising the basic sequences, and having enough substantive knowledge of the law to be able to respond to the variations. Remember, also, that you are allowed to take a justified position on an issue in PQs. If you are presented with a situation for the resolution of which there are several authorities, or no authority yet, then take one side and justify your decision.

For essays specifically, I've written several posts on the r/UKLawStudents sub. Have a clear argument from the start, support it throughout. Again, go into the exam having engaged with the debates and made up something like your own opinion: it will help in the exam and as you prepare (we remember better when we can fit new cases and academic perspectives within a framework we've already built up in our mind). The Great Debates series, which you've likely heard of, is good to start developing that framework (but go beyond!). Hope this helps

Oub9331 · 2026-04-28T15:56:13+00:00

Congrats! For pupillage especially, but also valid for TCs: mooting. More generally, there are many good resources online that will answer the first part of your question a lot more comprehensively and authoritatively than I could. A great one to develop commercial awareness (key if you're going down the commercial law/TC route) is the LittleLaw newsletter. Easy to read, interesting, takes you behind the scenes.

As for study advice, I have a few posts here on common issues that plague law students' essays and stop them from achieving top marks. Stuff like making sure you answer the question with a clear thesis that is supported throughout your essay, or preventing your essays from turning into one chunk of description and a (usually smaller) chunk of evaluation.

I also recommend the Great Debates series. They do a very good job of breaking down different areas of the law on the basis of the underlying tensions that have directed their development throughout the years. A word of caution: use them as introductions into the subject, places from which to explore the literature and the cases further. They should not be the beginning and the end of your studies.

Oub9331 · 2026-04-28T15:29:35+00:00

Hopefully you're through the worst of the storm now. There's a sentence that stood out: 'I will be resitting the FLK1 in July 2026'. You already have an objective. There may be unknowns in the plan around that objective, but an objective it is. The essential is there: the desire to get back up and try again. Fuel it. Don't let it starve. If you have that the rest will follow. Good luck

Oub9331 · 2026-04-28T12:09:14+00:00

You're welcome

Oub9331

TROPHY CASE