Jamming out with justice - VCE Legal Studies study tips from Kerry McCracken

All rise for Kerry McCracken, your expert VCE Legal Studies presenter! Kerry is an experienced educator and presenter, recording for Legal Studies at Edrolo for the past 6 years. A leader in her career in schools across the country, she is equipped to guide students to success in Legal Studies through close analysis of the study design and crafty question strategy, imparting some of that wisdom here.

Kerry will be presenting a VCE Legal Studies student study session on Saturday 5 October in Melbourne as part of Study Fest '24.

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What do you love about teaching Legal Studies?

I love that Legal Studies is such a practical subject. It covers what every single person needs to know about living in a society – regardless of whether you go on to study law or not.  The subject equips you with the basic knowledge about your rights and responsibilities and it’s also just such a fun and interesting subject.

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What is a concept students most often struggle with?

Not so much a concept, but I think students get thrown off by stimulus material that they might not be familiar with. It’s important to understand that the stimulus material is there to help answer questions and everything you to know to answer the question from the stimulus material is actually provided – you need to know how to apply YOUR knowledge to answer the question in reference to what is provided.

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What are you going to cover in the study session?

We’ll do an overview of the four Areas of Study with a focus on the common mistakes students make and how to avoid them. We’ll also break down command terms and how to use them to answer questions well.

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What’s a taster of a study tip that students might expect from the session?

Practice exams! Start with open-book and complete them untimed, then move to closed-book and timed conditions that mirror the actual VCAA exam.

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What will students take away from the session?

• Confidence in their ability to handle difficult questions
• A better understanding of the “tricky” areas of the subject
• How to integrate knowledge across all areas of the study design and understand the different connections between concepts. 

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What can students be doing now to set themselves up to be ready for exam prep next term?

• Start by making a page of notes on each key knowledge point from the study design
• Start doing topic tests for each area
• Consider forming a study group with your peers.

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Any tips you’d give students who might be struggling right now?

Start with the key knowledge and develop notes for each area. Then move to practice exam questions – as many as you can and get your teacher to mark them.

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What’s the one thing you always tell your students for success in Legal Studies?

Use the study design as your go-to – particularly the key knowledge and key skills. Review it regularly and practice doing exam-style questions to master the key skills.

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Why should students come see you in person?

You will have the opportunity to ask questions, get a refresher of all of the key information that you’ve covered in class and be given the tools to break down questions to answer them well!

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