FE1 Exams

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carmody

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Hey,

Is anyone studying to sit the FE1's this October. I am studying for these at the moment and working full time and I am having no life.

How are others getting on and any last minute tips from people doing them or people who did them...?

Just finished Griffith College course but had to get grinds because didn't know how to go about answering the questions..Hope to be ok now.

Cheers.
 
The exams are fine, just study past exams papers and make sure you attempt five questions in each exam. Worry more about getting an apprenticeship that's the harder part!
 
Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and am relieved to find a place where I can get some advice! I'm sitting four of the FE-1 in October, Equity, Criminal, Constitutional and Land. I was away for the summer and only decided to send in my application at the last minute and for that reason my study has only really started now. I have an LLB and so am fairly familiar with the material. I was under the impression from friends who have sat the exams that they were not the hardest exams and it was more the volume of work to be covered that was the problem. However, from reading posts in this forum I'm getting a different impression and am very worried. I have notes, books, papers etc. and plan to study intensively (on my own) for the next few weeks so do you think that is sufficient to pass at least three? Any advice, tips etc would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Lou
 
Unlike college exams etc where you want good results, with these you have to do is pass them, good attempts at five questions will achieve this, two of the subjects I will admit I had no real knowledge of, I just knew how toanswer past questions that had come up, i got 51 in one and 58 in the other, just make sure you attempt five

Have you secured an apprenticeship, that may take more effort than these exams!
 
Heya,

Thanks for the replies and good lookto Lou with your exams I really hope you do well.
Im doing Company, Equity, Criminla and Constitutional. I have a degree in Commerce and had only ever done Electives in Law, so dont have much of a background but I loved the subject in college. I went to Griffith and got grinds,found notes and manuals in griffith great but you spend ur time just taking down noes so for me its like studying the material for the first time. The grinds are helping with answering the questions.

Im getting nervous but then like you say it seems to just be a lot of information but once you get through that and are able to answer sample questions, should that be enough?? Sometimes I feel grand about them, but hearing from other people how they failed and how hard they are, i get freaked out.

I haven't even looked for an apprenticeship yet, working in Solictors office, as kind of office Junior (reception &secretarial work)so hoping that experience will help when I look for one.
Any other advice on doing the exams?

Cheers :)
 
Get your hands on as many past exam papers and examiners reports as you can, try to use the very latest editions of all text books, be aware of any new developments, even when answering if they only amount to one line in your answer, it shows awareness. As i said earlier ALWAYS attempt five questions.

If you intend sitting four now and four in april, and you pass these four in oct, start looking for a position as soon as you get the results in dec, because as soon as you get all eight you need to be able to submit all documentation to the law society ASAP in order to get a place on the next course.

have you done the irish exam, if not you should apply to do the one at christmas
 
Thanks for all the replies - I feel a lot better about the exams now! Good luck to you too Carmody, seems we're doing three of the same subjects! As you said it's easy to get freaked out by other people but we can only do our best and I hope we'll both be happy this time next month! I also spent six months working as a secretary/receptionist in a legal office before I went travellling for the summer and hopefully I will be able to do my apprenticship there. I realise they are very hard to come by but the experience you are getting will definately stand to you.

Thanks also Card, I see what you mean about only needing a pass mark, it's just still in college mindset about doing well and getting good marks. As Carmody said is it a good indication you're ready if you can answer past questions fairly well? I'm going to ask probably a silly question but how long on average were your answers? Five questions is a lot in three hours so I suppose they should just be concise and to the point? Also is it better to concentrate on three subjects to try guarantee a pass mark in them and hope for the best with the fourth or is that a stupid idea?

Thanks again for all the help and info!
 
lou concentrate on passing the four, the exams are expensive and time consuming and passing four is very achievable. I would consider my handwriting size wise to be above average and my answers were between 3-4 pages, on some questions I wrote longer, however, I strictly gave myself 30 mins per questions and moved onto the next one regardless as soon as the 30 mins is up. Sorry if what I’m repeating here is pretty basic exam technique.
Also take no notice of those around you, a lot of the people in the exam hall will know each other from college etc. and the bs that will go on around you will be unbelievable!

Also even if you don’t intend commencing your apprenticeship for some time, I would suggest contacting the office you previously worked for, there is a limit on the number of apprentices a solicitor can take, so get in there before he/she offers apprenticeships to anyone else.
 
Hey,

Thanksfor all that information...really helps.

I haven't actually used any texts..I have the Grififith mauals, all examiner reports and all past papers. I have taken a few new cases from the Gazette magazine, we have it in work, just to show some knowledge of new cases, would that suffice do you think? I just didnt want to be using too much stuff, cause I totally panic then.

Yeah I would also advise to concentrate on the four, what if one of the 3 you concentrated doesn't go as well as planned then you may not end up even passing 3.

When u say 3-4 pages, I heard that the exam scripts are similar to the Leaving Cert. scripts, where the lines are really big, so would you do 3-4 back and front...sorry sounds so basic, but just to know. My grinds teachers say about 3 pages of normal paper.

Also, for last few weeks, I had been summarising my notes, getting them together etc.. and since last week ive been doing on avg. 4/5 hrs. per day(have to fit it around work)...Im off on Friday until the exams are over and will be doin 12hrs a day...Would that be enough to pass do you think. I hadn't really been studying while lectures were on during the summer...Leaving it all last minute (as usual!)

Thanks :)
 
Don't take this the wrong way but quoting how many hours you doing is no indication of how well you're studying, one good hour studying a topic, is a lot better than 4-5 hours just messing around, they are stressful exams, I was studying for them myself this time last year just relax, if the griffith notes are this years then they should be up to date, don;t worry about the gazette, just relax, all the studying in the world is of no use if you're so wound up and tense that you can't relax enough to produce a clear readable answer to your questions.
Any by 3-4 pages I meant 3-4 pages i.e.the back and front of two sheets

best of luck!
 
Thanks,

No i didnt mean to be saying the exact hours. Im just saying do you think that amount of study would get me a pass. If i study 4hours, its four solid hours of study. I dont have the time to not be taking stuff in at this stage.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Thanks Card for the advice and its worth hearing all the exam technique tips again, also it's nice to hear someone say the exams are passable, even at this late stage rather than the usual gloom. Also thanks for the bs warning, I can well imagine the type! You're right I should study all four and as Carmody said, one could easily go badly on the day. Sometimes you just need someone to point out the obvious before you can see it yourself so thank you both!

The office I worked in is small and would only be taking on one apprentice. I got on very well with my boss, who asked me to think about an apprenticeship so I will have a chat with her again soon.

Card, can I just ask if you left many topics from the syllabus out? I'm just wondering how much, if anything I can afford not to study?

Thanks again
 
Hey Lou,

How are you? Just wondering how the study is going now....Im off work now but because I have more time Im beginning to lose my motivation and I have so much to do.

Are you getting through the syllabus ok now?

Hope its going ok.

Carmody
 
Hi Carmody,

It's the same for me, I went to the college library all last week but I don't know that I have that much to show for it. I think Constitution will be ok so I'm leaving that for the moment. I don't want to even think about Criminal. Land and Equity are the only subjects I feel a little confident about but having said that I'm going to have to leave some parts out. I have so much to do too it's hard to know what to do first so I know how you feel! I can't believe they're starting next week!

I'm off to the library again to do some equity so good luck with the study Carmody and hopefully we'll both find some motivation!

Lou
 
"Also is it better to concentrate on three subjects to try guarantee a pass mark in them and hope for the best with the fourth or is that a stupid idea? "

As far as I am aware you have to pass four on your first sitting of the exams. if you only pass three, you will have to do them all over again.

How did you find Grinds teachers? Were they any good?
 
No, you only need to pass three the first time you sit them - pass only two, and you have to repeat those two again, but pass three and they're in the bag.
 
heya,

Yeah only had a few grinds and will be getting more this week and throughout exams....I found them really helpful. I think for the next set of 4 exams I will take, I am going to only do grinds. I have all the Griffith College notes from a friend and will get the past exam papers and examiners reports.

I just feel, for me, that one-to-one tuition is much better and also they work directly with the past papers so as you are studying topics you find that you are able to answer the questions very well...Also, they give you extra tips on answering questions that I didn't get from Griffith College.

So fingers crossed they go well now...so nervous!!

;)
 
Hey,

If you log on to www.lawsociety.ie and type in Final Exam part one, a list of all areas for the exams will pop up including list of courses for the FE1s. On this you will find a list of College Courses and people (usually barristers) that give grinds.

Are you sitting exams in October? I can give you the numbers of the grinds teachers I use. They are both barristers and I think they are very good. Its about 50-60 euros per hour, quite expensive but worth it.

For any question you are answering the last line of each question is the most important. For problem questions divide each question up into different areas of law which need to be dealt with...Im sure you know that already.

I suppose for me, how to actually answer the questions properly is my biggest downfall. The grinds has taught me to look at the question objectively and from both sides of the case. Before I would look at the question and see what areas needed to be discussed and I would do that and I would always pick one side to go with..but now I realise its about advising a "client" and therefore showing the positives and negatives to the law surrounding their problem is important and hedging an answer. This shows you know every part of the are being discussed as you can offer all options open to the client and all things that will hinder the Client.

Sorry for waffling, Im probably not making sense. If you need any other advice, just ask.

Cheers ;)
 
No, im not doing them in October. I'm doing the November - March Griffith college course and then attempting them in March / April. I did make an attempt a few years ago but i didnt get them and i gave up for a while. i cant make up my mind how many to do though. If i started studying soon i would have almost 6 months to study (mostly in the evenings as i work) . Would that be enough time to study all 8? I doubt it, i'll probably do 5 or maybe 6 if i'm feeling adventurous.

Anyway, i hadnt considered doing grinds before. i presumed a course like the griffith college one would be enough but knowing how to answer a question, as opposed to trying to write down everything you know about a particular area of law, would be anadvantage. Who did you use?
 
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