The law - A critical analysis - Why? Surely, I should know by now!

Blog post by Al Edmond

Having completed an Honours (Open) degree and two masters’ degrees in Social Sciences and Forensic Psychology and Criminology with the OU, I also gained a masters degree in Managing Health and Social Welfare with the University of Bradford. It seemed I would know about critical analysis by now! I am just about to complete my LLB with the OU, having completed these degrees and now having completed two level one modules, two level two modules and one level three module so far for the LLB, with my academic background you would think I would know why critical analysis would be so vital to the discipline of Law.

Journeying through the different levels of the LLB, the concept of critical analysis becomes much more part of the feedback provided by tutors. They expect a high standard of analysis within your marked work and you soon realise that this is important, or if you do not then you will surely potentially drop many marks. This was brought home by several marks that I achieved that could have certainly been a grade higher if I had only listened to the tutors. I think the mantra here is if all else fails, listen to the tutor and read the feedback thoroughly!

I tried several times to design a checklist that I felt was logical and covered the essentials for completing any critical analysis I might undertake at any level of study I am currently engaged with. I considered previous tutors’ feedback, discussions with student colleagues, and seeking out any advice and guidance that might assist. I came up with my final version, and I would like to share the bones of it with you.

The first step after completing any independent research or reading the relevant module materials provided is to start by passing each piece through PROMPT which equates to Presentation, Relevance, Objectivity, Method, Provenance and Timeliness (The Open University (OU), 2023)[i]. I firstly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each article and I adapt Lewins force field analysis (Henderson, Philips, and Lewis, 2003, p.36)[ii] which was part of my final management project for the University of Bradford. This forces values to the strengths and weaknesses, which allows for an objective view of what is more forceful, the strengths or weaknesses.

The second step is to look at the relevance and reliability of the sources, the third step is to see if there are similarities between two articles for and against a topic. The fourth step is to really focus in on the differences that stand out from the comparable articles, and the fifth step is to seek out any potential different reasoning behind the topic in question, this might mean refining my search terms.

I found through refinement of the five-step method it provides enough information, without going overboard, to enable me to demonstrate in a marked piece of work clearly that critical analysis has been utilised well and, hey presto, higher marks come with that strategy. I found I have increased my marks during the last two 30-point level three modules as I have given myself and the tutors what is expected by critical analysis within the study of law. I am not sure what degree classification I will be awarded, but whatever it is, with better use of critical analysis, I am sure I could have gone one classification higher!

References 

[i] The Open University (2023), ‘TMA 02 preparation, ‘Guidance notes’ W340 Law society and culture. Available at: https://Learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2161641&section=1.3  (accessed: 25 January 2024).

[ii] Henderson, E., Phillips, K and Lewis, P. (2003) Managing People in Health and Social Care, Module 1, book 4, Milton Keynes: The Open University.ilton (F1).

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Al Edmonds

Al left school and joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1978 as a Physical Training Instructor and served for 12 years, on leaving the RAF Al joined the West Yorkshire Ambulance Service (WYMAS) as a direct entry paramedic and continued to practice his paramedic skills until 2007, when Al joined the London Ambulance Service as a senior manager running a team of 100 individuals providing emergency call taking and emergency ambulance despatch for the population of Greater London. Al completed his career by taking on the duty manager role for several well-known hotel chains over a period of 7 years, and Al is now retired from over 40 years of employment. Al has been an OU student since 1998 and maybe the LLB will be a last hoorah for Al?

Al is a sport fanatic and follows Formula 1; American Football, Athletics, English Football, Cricket, Golf, and any other sport you can mention. Al’s sporting heroes are Michael Johnson (Athlete), Colin Jackson (Athlete), Patrick Mahomes (American Football Quarterback and Lewis Hamilton (F1).