Speaking about the duty of care in Michael and Others v Chief Constable of South Wales Police and Another [2015] UKSC 2, Lord Toulson remarked that ‘[f]rom time to time the courts have looked for some universal formula or yardstick [for determining whether a duty of care is owed], but the quest has been elusive’ [103].
To what extent do you agree with Lord Toulson’s remark about the evolution of the duty of care?
Word Count
The MAXIMUM word count for this piece is 2500 words. This does not include your bibliography or title. It does include your footnotes.
Please note that over-length work will be penalised in accordance with university regulations.
1. For work which exceeds the upper limit by up to and including 10%, the mark will be reduced by ten percent of the mark initially awarded;
2. For work which exceeds the upper limit by more than 10% and up to and including 20%, the mark will be reduced by twenty percent if the mark initially awarded;
3. For work which exceeds the upper limit by more than 20%, the mark will be reduced by thirty percent of the mark initially awarded.
The upper limit may be a word limit in the case of written work or a time limit in the case of assessments such as oral work or presentations.
There is no penalty applied to under-length work but significantly under-length work is likely to be of poor quality and will be reflected in the mark. See your programme handbook for details.
Format
Essays should be typed, 1.5 spaced, in Times New Roman or other legible font, size 12.
They must include a cover page which states your candidate number, word count and the assignment title. You must not include your name in the essay.
Sources of Assistance:
Ensure that you support your answer with appropriate primary and secondary sources and use appropriate referencing throughout.
For further help with your referencing and research please contact your subject librarian, Greg Leurs: greg.leurs@rhul.ac.uk.
For advice on writing and key academic skills, please contact CeDAS. You can book a 1:1 tutorial or use their self-study resources on their website.
If you have previously received feedback recommending you develop your academic writing style, please contact CeDAS.
Marking Advice:
Your work will be marked according to the Department of Law and Criminology marking criteria, which are detailed in your Programme Handbook. They are replicated below.
These criteria are only indicative. Components indicated on the marking criteria and rubrics are not always equally weighted when calculating the final grade. Each module has different learning outcomes. As a result there may be a greater need in some assessments to demonstrate competency in certain areas over others. Therefore greater value will be given to those parts of your assessment when considering your overall mark.
We use ‘stepped marking’ in most of our assessments which means, unless a penalty has been applied to the mark, it will end in a 2, 5, or 8, signifying a ‘low/borderline’, ‘middle’, or ‘high’ grade in the relevant category.
If you are in any doubt about how your work will be marked, please contact the course convenor. Please note that we can only give you limited advice about ‘what to write’, but we can assist you with understanding the question and related concepts.
