Introductory description
To develop competence in the practical, performative and ethical arts of appellate court advocacy and forensic (i.e. ‘court room’) rhetoric
Module web page
Module aims
To develop competence in the practical, performative and ethical arts of appellate court advocacy and forensic (i.e. 'court room') rhetoric
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
A demonstration moot will be performed within the first three
weeks of term, with a staff member acting as judge
Origins of mooting and rhetorical controversies
The example of celebrated rhetoricians and advocates of the
past
Nature of mooting in modern educational contexts
Forensic rhetoric - on invention, arrangement, memory,
delivery and style
Judging a moot
The conversational ideal and the function of formality
On judicial style
Practice in "fair hearing"
Logos/Logic I - on binding authority
Logos/Logic II - on persuasive authority
Rhetorical ethos and the limits of logos / logic
Appreciating the difference between a logical audit and an
ethical audit of the outcomes of judicial statements, focusing
on particular cases e.g. Re A (Separation of Conjoined Twins)
Metaphor as logical method
Gesture, costume and staging of forensic performance
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Perform with technical competence, imagination and professionalism in methods of mooting and the arts of appellate court advocacy.
- Demonstrate sophisticated practical awareness of the ethical aspects of the roles and responsibilities of courtroom advocates and judges.
- Show critical familiarity with classical, renaissance and modern theories and techniques of forensic rhetoric and the ability to take the initiative in implementing such insights in practice.
- Work well as part of a team in the production of a project outcome in the form of a moot trial and to communicate complex ideas clearly in the context of group work.
- Evidence a developing reflective appreciation of personal competence in the art of advocacy and the ability to manage his or her own learning and to devise a sustainable scheme of term-long task management.
Indicative reading list
John Snape and Gary Watt, How to Moot: A Student Guide to
Mooting 2nd edn (OUP, 2010)
Iain Morley QC, The Devil's Advocate 3rd edn (Sweet &
Maxwell, 2015)
Adrian Whitfield QC, The Art of Persuasion: Tradition and
Technique (Middle Temple, 2015)
Richard Du Cann, The Art of the Advocate (Penguin Law, 1993)
Sam Leith, You Talkin' To Me?: Rhetoric from Aristotle to
Obama (Profile Books, 2012)
Aristotle, The Art of Rhetoric
Thomas Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique (1560)
Quentin Skinner, Forensic Shakespeare (OUP, 2014)
Robert and Susan Cockcroft et al, Persuading People: An
Introduction to Rhetoric 3rd edn (Palgrave, 2014)
Wayne C Booth, The Rhetoric of Rhetoric, 2004
Gleeson and Higgins (eds), Rediscovering Rhetoric: Law, Language, and the Practice of Persuasion (Federation Press, 2008)
James Boyd White, The Legal Imagination (Boston: Little, Brown, 1973)
Subject specific skills
No subject specific skills defined for this module.
Transferable skills
No transferable skills defined for this module.
Study time
| Type |
Required |
| Lectures |
18 sessions of 1 hour (12%)
|
| Seminars |
7 sessions of 1 hour (5%)
|
| Private study |
125 hours (83%)
|
| Total |
150 hours |
Private study description
No private study requirements defined for this module.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group C
|
Weighting |
Study time |
Eligible for self-certification |
|
Reflective Journal
|
50%
|
|
No
|
|
This should present:
- your engagement with the subject matter of the module The Art of Advocacy and how your approach to the subject changes over the course of your studies
- the links that you make between the subject matter covered in the module (both in preparatory reading and the classes) and your everyday life. This might include links to things that you note in the built environment, whilst reading, in popular culture or things that come to mind whilst waiting for the bus!
|
|
|
Performed moot exercise
|
50%
|
|
No
|
|
Performed moot exercise 50% (video-recorded) - including Moot skeleton arguments (max 1,000 words) and post-performance reflections (max 500 words)
|
Feedback on assessment
Feedback via Tabula
Past exam papers for LA384
Courses
This module is Optional for:
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M130 Undergraduate Law
-
ULAA-M300 Undergraduate Law
-
Year 2 of
M300 Law
-
Year 3 of
M300 Law
-
ULAA-M105 Undergraduate Law (3 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
M105 Law (3 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
M105 Law (3 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M131 Undergraduate Law (4 Year)
-
ULAA-M106 Undergraduate Law (4 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
M106 Law (4 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
M106 Law (4 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 4 of
M106 Law (4 year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
ULAA-M104 Undergraduate Law (Year Abroad)
-
Year 2 of
M104 Law (Year Abroad)
-
Year 4 of
M104 Law (Year Abroad)
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M132 Undergraduate Law (Year Abroad)
-
ULAA-M108 Undergraduate Law (Year Abroad) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
M108 Law (Year Abroad) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 4 of
M108 Law (Year Abroad) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
ULAA-ML33 Undergraduate Law and Sociology
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M133 Undergraduate Law with French Law
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M10A Undergraduate Law with French Law (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M134 Undergraduate Law with German Law
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M10C Undergraduate Law with German Law (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
ULAA-M110 Undergraduate Law with Humanities (3 Year)
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M136 Undergraduate Law with Humanities (3 Year)
-
Year 3 of
ULAA-M113 Undergraduate Law with Humanities (4 Year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 2 of
ULAA-M115 Undergraduate Law with Social Sciences (3 Year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
UPHA-V7MW Undergraduate Politics, Philosophy and Law
-
Year 2 of
V7MW Politics, Philosophy and Law
-
Year 3 of
V7MW Politics, Philosophy and Law
-
Year 4 of
UPHA-V7MX Undergraduate Politics, Philosophy and Law (with Intercalated Year)
This module is Unusual option for:
-
Year 3 of
UPHA-V7MW Undergraduate Politics, Philosophy and Law
This module is Option list A for:
-
Year 4 of
ULAA-M10A Undergraduate Law with French Law (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 4 of
ULAA-M10C Undergraduate Law with German Law (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 4 of
ULAA-M113 Undergraduate Law with Humanities (4 Year) (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
ULAA-M115 Undergraduate Law with Social Sciences (3 Year) (Qualifying Degree)
This module is Option list B for:
-
ULAA-ML34 BA in Law and Sociology (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 3 of
ML34 Law and Sociology (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 4 of
ML34 Law and Sociology (Qualifying Degree)
-
Year 5 of
ULAA-ML35 BA in Law and Sociology (Qualifying Degree) (with Intercalated year)
-
Year 4 of
ULAA-ML33 Undergraduate Law and Sociology
This module is Option list E for:
-
Year 2 of
UPHA-V7MW Undergraduate Politics, Philosophy and Law