Choosing your modules for Law
Making module choices is probably one of the most important decisions you'll make as a law student, so the fact that you're thinking carefully about this decision is a good thing!
If you are studying for a law degree in the UK, you get the option of selecting your modules in your final year of study. Your final year is also worth the most, in terms of marks out of all the three years of your degree. The combination of all these factors, make choosing your modules, a very important decision. I personally believe the particular selection of modules I picked in my final year made all the difference, in fact if I had done any other modules other than the ones I picked, I probably would not have made a first. So these are a few tips that might come in handy!
Well, I wouldn't say there is an exact choice of courses that can propel one to achieve high marks. But I’d say the secret is to choose modules you really love! And you'd realise that you'd do best on those modules because you enjoy them, so working hard on it wouldn't feel like work at all because it's what you love!
There are three things I think determine whether you would potentially like a module:
a) Is it an area you've had some interest in before? Essentially, do you generally like that area or find it interesting? I picked Family law in my final year because I had interned in a Family law firm the previous year so I had developed a bit of interest in Family law and this ended up making a huge difference, because the topics weren’t so new to me when I started the course, which made them easier to understand.
b) The teacher taking the module- do you like their style of teaching or not? Do you find them easy to understand/follow in class? Are they approachable? I had this one teacher in my second year, and at the start of his class, he said, "if you don't like my style of teaching, please don't take my course." And I think that was pretty good advice!
c) Is the course exam assessed or coursework assessed and which do you prefer? This also depends on what semester the course will be running in. For example, in the first semester where you have only a month (i.e. the Christmas Break) to prepare for your exams, I wouldn't advise taking on too many coursework assessed modules because you might not have enough time to work through them, as opposed to the second semester where you have two months to prepare (including the Easter break) which gives you plenty of time for research if you're doing coursework assessed modules.
I'll also advise attending any talks/seminars organised by your school of law on choosing your modules if possible. I remember attending these and it gave me a better perspective on the courses I picked. Former students were also part of the talks and they gave us more information on the different courses, which I found very helpful, so I'd really advise that you attend these if available.
Also, speak to students that have taken the courses you're interested in. You can also speak to the lecturers themselves or check the course outlines on your university website for more information about the course which could be helpful in making your decision. In my final year, I chose modules that I thought I'd enjoy, with exception to Commercial law which I only did because you need it for law school- yes! before I forget, if you're thinking of doing Nigerian law school after your LLB- you need to have done Evidence and Commercial law or else you'd have to take these modules again when you get to law school which can be a lot of stress.
While everyone is different in terms of what they like, I will however personally recommend Jurisprudence. I genuinely believe Jurisprudence is for the cool kids only lol, I tell all my friends that didn’t do Juris at uni that they didn’t really study law lol. But really though, I’d recommend Jurisprudence, only if you love it though ;)
Overall, don't fret too much about the choices, I'm sure you'll be fine!
Most importantly! Pray to God to guide you on the modules to choose to propel you to your desired grades/goals. I mentioned this last but it's the most important point. I remember praying for direction on what courses to take, and I ended up being so thankful for the module choices I made (there is an entire post on this actually- it’s ‘Trusting God with the little things’ you can find it on my blog here). Yes, I think I covered everything! And Goodluck on the rest of your degree :)
You can do this!
Tunrie xx
