Video presentation on commercial awareness, 

‘Important note: The assignment you submit on your canvas account must be your own work which you have planned and written independently. For further advice on academic integrity and/or how to use Turnitin, consult the LLB academic integrity page.’

Here is your second assignment for Life in the Law 5LAW2010. It is worth 70% of your module mark.

Assignment brief

In the legal sector, many employers including solicitors’ firms, barristers’ chambers, government and in house  organisations value commercial awareness in their recruits. For this assessment, you must deliver a recorded presentation demonstrating your commercial awareness. You should assume you are delivering this presentation to a prospective employer as part of their recruitment process. Accordingly, please make sure you look and act professionally throughout your presentation.

Choose a topic

You have a choice of 4 topics. Select one.

1. ChatGPT should never replace an individual learning the skills of research and drafting, especially lawyers, but it could be used to assist lawyers in their work. Do you agree?
2. What are the 3 main challenges confronting the UK legal sector  in 2023?
3. A strong and sustainable legal profession   requires a strong commitment to equality and diversity- how successful has the legal sector been in achieving this?
4. Should all legal practices bring forward their transition to achieving net zero carbon emissions?

Your presentation should include the following:

General

1. You should record your presentation (which must not exceed 5 minutes) and upload a video file (in MPEG or MP4 format) which includes audio and video of you delivering your presentation. Any part of a presentation which exceeds 5 minutes will not be marked.
2. You must also upload your slides to support your presentation and these must be in PowerPoint format.
3. At the start of your presentation, you must hold up your student ID card, so it is clearly viewable and state your name and student number. This information must also be set out on your first slide along with the topic your presentation is based on.
4. At all times for the duration of your presentation, your face must be visible, so we can see and hear you delivering your presentation.

Presentation

1. Your delivery and content should be presented clearly and coherently and link directly to your chosen topic
2. It should be delivered in a professional manner
3. Your tone and pace should be appropriate
4. If you are using prompt notes, they should not be over relied on. We are assessing your presentation skills and how you engage with your audience when delivering your presentation, not your reading skills.
5. Accompanying slides should be interesting, informative, and relevant- there should be no grammatical, typographical or spelling errors

Content

1. Explain your chosen topic in order to persuade an employer that you can demonstrate your commercial awareness of it. This should be done by introducing the topic in a way that shows some familiarity with key issues, proceed to present some main arguments in favour or in opposition to the topic; reach a reasoned conclusion which directly addresses the chosen topic
2. Make clear in your presentation, the research you have undertaken and the sources you have used. These should be set out in a ‘Reference’ slide at the conclusion of your presentation. Be as specific as possible as to the sources you have used. You do not need to read out your sources (as set out on your reference slide) as part of your presentation.

Marking guide

40% of your marks will be allocated to

1. Video of you delivering your presentation which has clear audio throughout and is uploaded in video format (MPEG/MP4)
2. PowerPoint slides (if separate) which support your presentation are uploaded in the correct format, well presented and relevant
3. Appropriate delivery which shows your interest in the topic and engages the audience without over-reliance on notes
4. Reference slide(s) detailing all key sources used

60% of your marks will be allocated to content which

1. is directly linked to your chosen topic
2. includes a clear introduction to your chosen topic
3. elaborates on your chosen topic to demonstrate your commercial awareness of that topic within the UK legal sector.
4. includes a logical conclusion drawn from the points made in the main part of your presentation and directly addresses the question as set out in your chosen topic

Please also read important information about assessments generally, here: LLB Assessment Template 2022-2023.docx Download : LLB Assessment Template 2022-2023.docx 

IMPORTANT Information

1. Check your audio and camera are switched on and that the audio and video of you presenting remains constant and clear for the duration of your presentation.

2. The total time for your video presentation is 5 minutes. When marking your work, we will stop the clock at 5 minutes and nothing beyond that time will be marked.There is no penalty if you speak less than 5 minutes, although of course if you speak significantly less than the maximum time, your presentation may lack depth or omit key parts, so this will necessarily impact your final mark. For this reason, all students are encouraged to use the full period of time when presenting.

3. Video files are generally large files and can take some time to upload. Give yourself plenty of time to do this before the deadline for submission and then check that everything (including your PowerPoint slides, if separate) have uploaded fully.

4. It is your responsibility that you save your video in the correct format- namely MPEG or MP4. If you use a format other than MPEG or MP4 and we cannot open the file, your work will not be marked.

5. All students have free access to Office 365, which contains the latest version of Powerpoint. It is recommended that students use this version of Powerpoint to record their presentation as it will embed the video into the slides so both are shown at the same time. You can access Office 365 in StudyNet.

For help with creating a video presentation using PowerPoint Office 365, look at these slides:How to create a video file using Powerpoint Office 365-1.pptxDownload How to create a video file using Powerpoint Office 365-1.pptx

Good luck

The Life in the Law Module Team