VCE 3/4 LEGAL STUDIES Unit 3, Area of Study 1 Parliament and the Citizen

Parliament and the citizen is widely regarded as one of the easier area of studies you will encounter in Legal Studies. It is also possibly the most relevant and applicable to everyday life, as it provides a brief understanding into the principles behind the Australian parliamentary system and its basic operation. Beyond this, the unit looks at the involvement of Australian citizens in the parliamentary process (such as through voting or petitions). All of this area ties in nicely with the over-riding theme of Unit 3, which is Law-making. Once you have learned about Parliament and its various processes and principles, the area then directs you to apply this in the context of parliament as a law-maker. This looks at how laws are passed through parliament as well as the various reasons why they may need to be changed in the first place, and how citizens can involve themselves in this process. Finally, it wouldnt be Legal Studies if you werent finally asked to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of parliament as a law-making body. [Refer to the Study Design for more specific key knowledge points.]

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Elements you should have no trouble with:

These are key knowledge components which are fairly easy to understand and memorize. There are no real complexities, nuances or specifics that are likely to trip you up here. The structure of the Commonwealth and Victorian Parliaments The purposes of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament Reasons why laws need to change The role of the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) The means by which individuals can influence changes in the law Petitions/Demonstrations/Media

Elements to look out for:

These are key knowledge components which are harder to understand and explain in an exam situation. They are more nuanced in nature and have little complexities and specifics which can cost marks if not included in a response. These also often need examples to clarify a point. It would pay to put time and effort into perfecting your understanding of these concepts as well as noting details. Principles of the Australian Parliamentary System: These are often quite hard to explain and justify. You must provide fairly high levels of detail, and in particular, understanding and explaining how they are upheld is difficult. The legislative process of a bill through the Parliament: There are many stages which you need to know for this section, and within each stage, there are specificities which must be mentioned in responses. Strengths and weaknesses of Parliament as a law-maker: Strengths and weaknesses are generally a little more difficult as they demand good explanations to attain full marks. Just naming a strength or a weakness is not enough. Evaluating the effectiveness of methods of influencing change: Evaluations are essentially strengths and weaknesses as well, but they require you to talk about both sides of the argument. So when talking about petitions, for example, you would need to be able to talk about a strength, and then what a weakness of this strength (depending on the question).

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Other general tips:

These are tips and pieces of advice that are generally applicable to all of Legal Studies, but the following are the ones apply most to AOS 1, Unit 3. Carefully read the relevant parts of the study design, including the unit and area summaries. This will give you a clear idea of the purpose of each section, and the umbrella area it relates to, hopefully leading to a better and broader understanding of the concepts and ideas. Read the key skills and key knowledge thoroughly so you know what can and cant be specifically asked, and the way in which examiners can ask it. Learn the various implications of terms such as Critically Evaluate, Distinguish etc. in the context of questions (Command Terms). More about this is posted on the Activate Education Facebook page. When studying strengths and weaknesses of anything in legal studies, try find a strength, and link it to a conjugate weakness. That way it will be easier to remember the two as a pair, and your writing will also flow much better and sound a lot more cohesive in analysis questions. Generally, textbooks and other resources will give many elements for a particular topic. For example, when discussing the role of the Upper House, your textbook may present you with 4-5 roles. It is in your best interest to pick 3 (or 4) of the most obvious and easy to remember ones, rather than try to remember every single reason given.

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