Практика Shadowing: How I got a First Class in EVERY Essay at Law School - Изучайте разговорный английский по видео

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so i got over 70 in every single essay at uni

and i want to show you how i did it look the truth is i think

that the way

that most of us approach our essays is a joke it doesn't make any sense whatsoever

so i've decided to share my experience writing essays at uni

because i believe there's a more efficient reliable and systematic way to approach essay writing and achieve top grades

ultimately writing an essay should be a fun process as you're

literally given the best possible opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and explore ideas without limit.

So I've broken up my approach into five stages that I'm going to share with you today.

The first stage of anyone's essay writing process should begin with the goal in mind,

which I'm guessing for most of us is to get a first.

Now I'm always surprised by how many people literally have no idea what it takes to get a first,

especially as we're told every single year what the criteria is to get that grade.

And it's these criteria that we need to keep in mind whenever we're planning

and writing our essays as this is what we're going to be judged on.

Broadly, most people would agree that the basic elements of a first -class essay include four things.

Firstly, close attention to the question and answering that question with breadth and accuracy with no or almost no significant errors or omissions.

Secondly, detailed knowledge of the topic addressed as well as a deeper understanding of the context in

which that topic exists and also the greyer, less well -known and less obvious areas of the law.

Thirdly, we've got the presentation of theoretical arguments concerning the subject, significant critical analysis of relevant sources,

and also a thoughtful personal perspective on the debate.

Finally, we need a well -developed and compelling argument coupled with an excellent standard of writing.

So in short, then, all we really need to do is to one, understand the question, two, research the topic well,

three, have our own opinion on the topic, and then finally write a convincing argument on that topic

and with this goal in mind

and with this four -step process it becomes ridiculously easy to work through our essays in a systematic way

which essentially ensures a first class grade at the end of it.

So with all that in mind let's begin with step one of the process which is understanding the question.

So the key to successful our essays then is really the ability to understand and address the question at hand.

Now this may seem like stupidly obvious advice

but it's crazy how often students will simply just ignore the question they'll misinterpret the question

or they'll answer a completely different question simply

because it's easier for them to answer

that question instead for example let's say

we're faced with the essay question what is a constitution many

students in this situation will begin by outlining the nature

and sources of the british constitution but this isn't actually what the question is asking

and you know neither is asking us to list different categories

of constitution instead what it's really telling us to do is

to find different definitions of constitution such as i don't know a document containing the rules of government

or the fundamental and supreme laws of the state and

so on and so forth and then using those definitions to try

and find the fundamental concepts that make up a constitution the problem is

that we're just

so keen to demonstrate our knowledge we begin to answer the questions in a very general way to try

and prove how smart we are But this doesn't work at all.

So what should we do?

Well, the very first thing

that I like to do whenever I'm faced with an essay question is to write it down on a piece of paper,

fully deconstruct that essay question, and then try to understand the type of question that's been set.

So let's say, for example, we're given the following essay question.

The British constitution is unwritten, informal and flexible.

Indeed, it could be argued that there is no constitution.

Discuss.

First, then I'll think about the type of question that's being asked

and some questions are going to ask us about substantive legal topics like contract law, criminal law, tort law and so on.

Some questions are going to be about legal concepts like I don't know justice, the rule of law and things like that

and then we've also got questions around institutions like the courts

and the constitution for example and then we've also got those questions which are a bit more analytical and descriptive.

They want us to analyse specific areas of the law.

So this question here then is specifically asking us about our understanding of a particular institution, i .e the constitution,

and for us to analyse whether or not it actually exists.

So the first thing that I do

when answering this question is to begin by defining what a constitution is and what it should contain.

And I'm always sort of bearing in mind, what are the great areas of law

that this question is asking me to tackle

and in this particular question it's quite clear that they're asking me to tackle the concept of constitutionalism.

I'll then move on to discuss the term unwritten,

informal and flexible with respect to the British constitution and compare that to a constitution that is written,

rigid and more formal and sort of have a look at whether

or not you know the requirements of rigidity and formality are necessary components of a constitution too.

I could then at this stage provides some evidence

that the british constitution does in fact exist like we have a established

systems of government we have established principles of constitutional reform

and things like that but i also need to bear in mind that this is a discussion.

And we need to provide a discussion around the other side of the argument too.

So are there any reasons where the British constitution could be said to not exist?

And that could have arguments such as there is a lack of a fundamental supreme law, there's sovereignty of parliament instead of sovereignty of the constitution,

and so on and so forth.

Hopefully by deconstructing the essay in this way,

we begin to get a really nice high level overview of what our essay is going to look like

which gives us the perfect starting point to begin our research

and begin deepening our understanding of the topic right we're now ready to do some research

but to ensure we're not wasting any time reading useless material

there's some preliminary work we now need to do basically we need to get out a word document

or any other document that we use to do our research

and structure that page in a way that's going to help us do our research properly

and the way that we do this is to use something known as the minto pyramid principle

so the idea here is that ideas should form a pyramid under a single thought

and that single thought is essentially our thesis

or our answer to the question

and then under our single thesis we have supporting arguments

and under the supporting arguments we have pieces of evidence backing it up.

With that in mind then the way

that we want to structure our page is using the same headings as we find in the Minto pyramid.

So whenever we're doing our research we just slot that information into

and under the relevant headings on that page and gradually we're going to start developing a very comprehensive essay structure.

One thing I always try to do before I start researching the essay question is to write out a thesis statement.

I may not 100 % know exactly how I'm going to answer the question

100

but I usually have a vague idea of the position I want to argue

101

and I use this as my starting point to begin my research.

102

So let's take a look at an example

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and here we got the question critically assess the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the British Constitution

104

and this is probably the approach I'll take to this question.

105

I'd start by reading my own notes and I'd also consult a textbook

106

or two and basically try to understand as much as I can about the law and the relevant issues in that area.

107

So for this particular question then I'll be thinking of the things like why the act was passed

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and how it changed the law,

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its central provisions and leading cases and more specifically the basic constitutional concerns and dilemmas that the act has impacted on.

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I'll also access

111

and read the central provisions of the act to make sure it's all consistent with my knowledge

112

and what the textbooks are saying.

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Now at this point I probably have a pretty good understanding of the different points

114

I want to make in my essay having read everything I can about the topic

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so the point now is really to begin fleshing out each of the main substantial points

116

I want to make in the essay using the further readings, finding critical evidence

117

and also critical thought from other academics at this stage

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i guess i'll probably also want to consult some very specific texts about the topic

119

that i'm discussing

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so i don't know probably a specific book on the human rights act a specific book on constitutional reform

121

and that way i really do understand exactly what i want to talk about

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when i come to writing my essay

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and then i guess the final stage for me is really to boost my critical understanding and analysis of the law.

124

And this really means consulting things like journal articles

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so I can see what academics are saying about that area of the law, as well as consulting a lot of primary sources too.

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So for this question, it'll be things like looking at the leading cases decided under the Act, the provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights,

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and I guess things like that.

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So this will really help me to find detailed supporting evidence and criticism of the main points that I want to make.

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The analysis stage doesn't take very long at all

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but for me this is the biggest difference between those

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that get a second class grade in their essays and those

132

that get a first class grade so it's very much worth spending some time doing this properly.

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Now by this point

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we should have a pretty good understanding of the different arguments on both sides of the debate

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and we should also have a pretty good understanding of

136

which side of the fence that we sit on to

137

which hopefully supports the thesis statement that we made at the beginning of the process.

138

The plan now then is to go through all the counter arguments

139

that cropped up during our research phase

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and to inject our own thoughts into those counter arguments as to why we can reject them

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or why potentially they lack weight.

142

Here we're not really expected to have the same level of knowledge

143

or insight as a professor or lecturer

144

but we are expected to appreciate the arguments that they make and then also make relevant observations and criticisms of their work.

145

And to be honest with you we can be pretty clumsy in our analysis.

146

The important thing is we're trying to make a decent attempt at analysing death statements and analysing the law too.

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So as long as we've done that we're going to be rewarded pretty well.

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Now I'm not going to go into too much detail here

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but the underlying point is

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that we should always finish the research phase by thinking deeply about the topic

151

and determining what do we exactly think about the question at hand.

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Okay so by this stage we should have a really nice plan

153

and we should be in a perfect position to begin writing our essay.

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And this all begins by starting with the introduction.

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And the whole point of the introduction is to answer the question

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and to make sure the examiner or the marker knows we understand the legal concepts.

157

So we want to keep it brief.

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We want to address those legal concepts.

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And we essentially, and most importantly, want to make sure we make a very clear thesis statement.

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I think one of the biggest mistakes

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that a lot of students make is to try

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and keep the introduction as mysterious as possible and sort of leave their thesis to the conclusion.

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But this is a really bad way to write essays

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because it essentially means that we are putting our sort of evidence up front

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and then waiting to make the statement in the conclusion.

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But the way to make our writing as clear as possible is

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that we want to make the statement first and then show supporting evidence later.

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So we want to have a very clear thesis statement in the introduction

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which is backed up by supporting evidence throughout the essay and not the other way around.

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This is quite literally the hardest part of writing the essay.

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I probably spend like 25 % of my time writing the introduction

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because I know if I nail the introduction it sets the tone for the rest of the essay

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and it also makes sure that the point I want to make is really really clear.

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So once I've written the introduction the plan now is to write the main body of our essay

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and this is actually a really easy process once we've done our research.

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Now I know this video is about how to write essays

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but really 90 % of the writing process for an essay comes in the research phase

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because once we've made and done really good research all we're really doing is turning

179

that research into full prose in the essay body.

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So what we want to do is take the main headings and the supporting arguments and put those into our essay structure.

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So we've got the main points that support our thesis

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and we've got the evidence that supports those main points and hey presto we have our main body sorted.

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Finally we finish up with the conclusion

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and all we're really doing here is giving a brief overview of the legal concepts

185

that we covered and also restating the thesis statement

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that we made at the start

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and as a sort of insider piece of knowledge here I'll try to make this as good as possible

188

because a lot of the time what markers

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and lecturers will do is they'll turn to the conclusion first

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before they've read the rest of the essay to make sure you really understood and answer that question properly.

191

So yeah that's about it.

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If you want to see what a really good essay looks like with comments as to why that essay is so good,

193

then make sure you check out the link in the description below.

194

If you've got any questions about your own essays,

195

then also drop questions and comments below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

196

And hopefully I'll see you next time.

197

Goodbye.

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Лексика и советы по произношению к этому уроку

Этот урок разговорной практики построен на видео «How I got a First Class in EVERY Essay at Law School». Чаще всего повторяются слова: essay, constitution, argument, begin, writing. В этом видео 197 предложений и 2590 слов для шедоуинга. Речь длится 12:21. Говорящий говорит быстро, около 210 слов в минуту, поэтому звуки часто сливаются и сокращаются. 86% слов входят в 3000 самых частых слов английского языка; остальные стоит разобрать перед занятием.

Ключевая лексика этого видео

15 слов из видео, которые стоит выучить, с произношением и значением:

Слово	Произношение	Значение
essay существительное	/ˈɛs.eɪ/	сочине́ние, эссе́
topic существительное	/ˈtɑpɪk/	те́ма, предме́т
thesis существительное	/ˈθisɪs/	те́зис, положе́ние
essentially наречие	/ɪˈsɛnʃəli/	по существу́, суще́ственно
conclusion существительное	/kənˈkluːʒən/	оконча́ние, заверше́ние
consult глагол	/ˈkɑnsʌlt/	обсужда́ть, обсуди́ть
heading существительное	/ˈhɛdɪŋ/	заголо́вок, загла́вие
fundamental прилагательное	/ˌfʌn.dəˈmɛn.təl/	основно́й, основополага́ющий
provision существительное	/pɹəˈvɪʒ.ən/	снабже́ние, провиа́нт
pyramid существительное	/ˈpɪɹ.ə.mɪd/	пирами́да
argue глагол	/ˈɑɹ.ɡju/	спо́рить, обсужда́ть
institution существительное	/ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/	институ́т, институ́ция
principle существительное	/ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/	при́нцип
demonstrate глагол	/ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/	пока́зывать, показа́ть
tackle глагол	/ˈtækəl/	преодолева́ть, боро́ться

Фразовые глаголы, которые вы услышите

Слово	Произношение	Значение
back up глагол		дава́ть за́дний ход
check out глагол		проверя́ть, прове́рить
make up глагол	/ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/	составля́ть, соста́вить
write out глагол		писа́ть по́лностью

Грамматика в этом видео

Конструкции, которые говорящий использует чаще всего, с точными словами из видео:

Конструкция	В видео
Present Perfect have/has + причастие прошедшего времени — прошлое действие, важное сейчас	i've decided · I've broken · that's been set
Пассивный залог be + причастие прошедшего времени — важно, что происходит, а не кто это делает	be judged · been set · could be argued
Придаточные определительные who / which + предложение — уточнение о человеке или предмете	process which is · questions which are

Произношение, на которое стоит обратить внимание

Говорящий использует 60 сокращённых и редуцированных форм, например we're, I'll, I'm. Произносите их коротко, так, как слышите.

Звуки «th»: thesis /ˈθisɪs/, theoretical /ˌθi.əˈɹɛt.ɪ.kəl/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/, breadth /bɹɛdθ/, thirdly /ˈθɚdli/
Звуки «sh» и «zh»: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, constitutional /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/, provision /pɹəˈvɪʒ.ən/, institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/
Длинные слова — следите за ударением: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, constitutional /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/, fundamental /ˌfʌn.dəˈmɛn.təl/, institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, systematic /ˌsɪs.tɪˈmæt.ɪk/

Звуки, трудные для русскоязычных:

/w/ — губы округлены, это не /v/: reward /ɹɪˈwɔɹd/, requirement /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/, whatsoever /ˌ(h)wʌtsoʊˈɛvɚ/
/h/ — лёгкий выдох, а не русское «х»: heading /ˈhɛdɪŋ/, comprehensive /ˌkɑm.pɹəˈhɛn.sɪv/, whatsoever /ˌ(h)wʌtsoʊˈɛvɚ/
Звонкие согласные в конце слова — не оглушайте их: pyramid /ˈpɪɹ.ə.mɪd/, comprehensive /ˌkɑm.pɹəˈhɛn.sɪv/, reward /ɹɪˈwɔɹd/, vague /veɪɡ/, rigid /ˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪd/

Как заниматься с этим видео

Прослушайте всё видео один раз молча и выпишите незнакомые слова.
Начните со скорости 0,75×, повторяйте предложение за предложением и вернитесь к обычной скорости, когда станет легко.
Запишите себя и сравните с оригиналом, обращая внимание на такие слова, как essay, topic, thesis.

Что такое техника Shadowing?

Shadowing — это научно обоснованная техника изучения языка, изначально разработанная для подготовки профессиональных переводчиков и популяризированная полиглотом доктором Александром Аргуэльесом. Метод прост, но эффективен: вы слушаете аудио на английском от носителей языка и немедленно повторяете вслух — как тень, следующая за говорящим с задержкой в 1–2 секунды. В отличие от пассивного прослушивания или грамматических упражнений, Shadowing заставляет мозг и мышцы рта одновременно обрабатывать и воспроизводить реальные речевые паттерны. Исследования показывают, что это значительно улучшает точность произношения, интонацию, ритм, связную речь, понимание на слух и беглость речи — что делает его одним из самых эффективных методов для подготовки к IELTS Speaking и реального общения на английском.

Техника шедоуинга: читать полное пошаговое руководство →

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