Module: Academic Literacy for Law Students

Module code: HALL 130-1

Date: 31 March 2023

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 1
Contents
QUESTION 1 ............................................................................................................. 1
Question 1.1 ........................................................................................................... 1
Question 1.2 ........................................................................................................... 1
QUESTION 2 ............................................................................................................. 2
Question 2.1 ........................................................................................................... 2
Question 2.2 ........................................................................................................... 2
QUESTION 3 ............................................................................................................. 3
Question 3.1 ........................................................................................................... 3
Question 3.2 ........................................................................................................... 4
QUESTION 4 ............................................................................................................. 5
Question 4.1 ........................................................................................................... 5
Question 4.2 ........................................................................................................... 5
Question 4.3 ........................................................................................................... 5
QUESTION 5 ............................................................................................................. 6
QUESTION 6 ............................................................................................................. 7
QUESTION 7 ............................................................................................................. 8
Question 7.1 ........................................................................................................... 8
Question 7.2 ........................................................................................................... 8
QUESTION 8 ............................................................................................................. 9
Question 8.1 ........................................................................................................... 9
Question 8.2 ........................................................................................................... 9
Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 10
QUESTION 1
Question 1.1
Author A.Malherbe
Title of the article The Ethics of AI systems and Impact on HR Management.
Volume 15
Issue 4
Pages 430-543
Journal Acta Juridica
Year 2019

Question 1.2
Sibanda,S. 2010.When Is the Past Not the Past? Reflection on Customary Law
under South Africa’s Constitutional Dispensation. Human Rights Brief, 17 (3), 31-35.

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QUESTION 2
Question 2.1
According to Du Plessis, the following are characteristics of a “fit and proper” person
for the legal profession:
• “integrity -meaning impeccable honesty or an antipathy to doing anything
dishonest or irregular for the sake of personal gain” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “objectivity - no irrelevant consideration whatsoever should bear upon one's
judgment” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “dignity - practitioners should conduct themselves in a dignified manner, and
should also maintain the dignity of the court” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “the possession of knowledge and technical skills” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “a capacity for hard work” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “a respect for the legal order and” (Slabbert, 2011).
• “a sense of equity or fairness” (Slabbert, 2011).

Question 2.2
According to the article the expression “fit and proper” is used to explain if someone
meets the criteria and possess the qualities proven to be a capable person to be a
lawyer in the legal field (Slabbert, 2011).

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QUESTION 3
Question 3.1
Before the lecture:

• Simone can take notes effectively by reading and going over the content of the
prerequisite material of the subject (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). She can cover
the content for the lecture beforehand and read the notes from the previous
lecture (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). She can complete any assignments or
activities for that her lecturer assigned for that class (Potgieter & Van Wyk,
2017).

During the lecture:

• She can learn to listen carefully to the introduction of the lecture. This is usually
where an outline is given on what the lecture will be about and how it will be
presented (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
• She can try to recognize the main ideas by using signal words that indicate
something important is about to be said (e.g., first, second, then, thus, another
important, etc.) (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
• She can note down the details or examples that that support the main ideas
(Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
• “Lecturers usually give clues to what is important. These include:
➢ Material written on the board/stated in the slide show,
➢ Repetition,
➢ Emphasis either in tone of voice and gestures or by the amount of time the
instructor spends on certain point and the number of examples given for each
point,
➢ Summaries given at the end of the lecture/talk, and
➢ Reviews given at the beginning of the next class.” (Potgieter & Van Wyk,
2017).

After the lecture:

• Simone can revise her notes as soon as possible, preferably right after the lecture
while she still remembers what it was about. During the first review period after

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 the lecture, she coordinate any readings with her lecture notes (Potgieter & Van
Wyk, 2017).
• Then to complete everything full circle, she can revise the notes before next
lecture (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).

Question 3.2
3.2.1 B

3.2.2 A

3.2.3 C

3.2.4 A

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QUESTION 4
Question 4.1
Spilhaus Property Holdings (Pty) Limited, Edcon Limited, and other v Waymark (Pty)
Limited, [2017] ZACC13; 2017 (4) SA 424 (CC); 2017 (12) BCLR 1481 (CC);
Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports; volume 13 of 2017 on page 424.

Question 4.2
Seloko v Akehurst, 1993(5) SA 1261 (T).

Question 4.3
Adams and other v Mabasa, [2009] ZASCA 84; 2010 (2) SA 285 (SCA); 2010 (1) All
SA 573 (SCA).

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QUESTION 5
Hereby follows the strategies to avoid plagiarism from the article titled Avoiding

plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide

to ethical writing by Roig, M:

1. The acknowledgement of the contributions of others is always mentioned from

an ethical writer.
2. It is important to cite sources accurately. Sources should be properly cited with
all writing, including direct quotes, paraphrased ideas, and facts that are not
common knowledge.
3. It is important to understand what plagiarism is and the seriousness of the
crime. Learn how to cite and reference correctly.
4. Make use of plagiarism detection software. This aids in identifying potential
instances of plagiarism.
5. Any words used word for word/verbatim from another source must be quoted in
quotation marks and be referenced immediately afterwards to indicate where it
comes from.
6. Develop excellent note taking skills. It is important to have notes available on all
the sources used.
7. It is important to plan and use time management skills. Give yourself enough
time on assignments to do research by starting early.
8. It is beneficial to seek assistance and help from professors, librarians or writing
centers to help your academic writing skills and prevent plagiarism.
9. In the doing of summarizing others work it is important to use your own words
and condense and simplify it in a shorter version of the original.
10. Whether you are summarizing or paraphrasing others work it is important to
always identify the origin of the source.
11. It is crucial to reproduce the same meaning of the authors ideas or facts, but it
should be done in your own words.

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QUESTION 6
1. Critical thinking
Is the ability to think clearly and logically about situations, information, subjects
and problems. Then you must form your own judgement or conclusion after
thorough investigation of the component parts (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
2. International law
There is private- and public international law. Private international law can be
distinguished as law for citizens from different countries, which will settle a
dispute between these citizens. Public international law is the law between
different countries and the law for organisations like the United Nations (UN)
(Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
3. Customary law
Customary law is also known as African Law, it is the law and customs of the
indigenous people of South Africa. Official Customary is the customary law that
is documented, it is written down or codified. Living customary law is the law that
is passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, usually
practiced by a particular group of people and is obligatory. The difference
between the two is that living customary law is usually changes as the society
changes, however official customary law remains static with its codified rules
(Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
4. Private law
Private law is the law between individuals, it is used to resolve disputes between
individuals. The state can be involved in private law when they are involved
within a dispute and do not act in accordance with the constitution and the
executive authority role (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).
5. Litigation
Can be defined as the process of taking legal action. An example of litigation can
include family cases, criminal cases and civil cases (Potgieter & Van Wyk,
2017).

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QUESTION 7
Question 7.1
Summarizing is a crucial skill needed when studying. (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017)
When one summarizes, the entire text is reduced to a few sentences that contain
only the main ideas of the text (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). When you summarize
one should use their own words and not copy the words verbatim from the text
(Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). It is also important to remember not to change the
wording of terminology (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). When one writes a summary,
one needs to provide reference to the original text (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017). This
will help to find the information in the original text easily if needed to go back to it to
check the facts (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).

“A summary is characterized by the following:

• It provides an overview of the text.

• It contains only the main ideas and important information from the text.
• The author’s ideas are expressed in your own words.
• Technical terms are kept, but otherwise the ideas should be expressed by using
different sentence structures and vocabulary. “ (Potgieter & Van Wyk, 2017).

Question 7.2
1. Binding

2. Adultery

3. Influence

4. Authorities

5. Compensated

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QUESTION 8
Question 8.1
1. Elevated
2. Criticism
3. Fundamental-
4. Unequivocal

Question 8.2
1. Human Dignity: The Constitution is founded on the principle of human dignity.
This means that every person has inherent dignity and worth and must be treated
with respect and without discrimination. The Constitution guarantees the right to
dignity, which includes the right to life, security of person, and freedom from torture
and inhuman or degrading treatment (Kamga, 2018).

2. Equality: The Constitution guarantees equality before the law and prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, religion, and other characteristics.
This principle is reflected in the Constitution's provisions for affirmative action and
the promotion of diversity in all spheres of society. The Constitution also establishes
the principle of substantive equality, which seeks to address the historical injustices
and inequalities of the past (Kamga, 2018).

3. Non-Discrimination: The Constitution prohibits unfair discrimination and

guarantees the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. This means that no
person may be unfairly discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender,
religion, or any other characteristic. The Constitution also provides for the promotion
of diversity and the protection of minority rights (Kamga, 2018).

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Bibliography
Kamga, S. D., 2018. AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL Culture values as
source of law: Emerging trends of ubuntu jurisprudence in South Africa. [Online]
Available at: https://www.saflii.org/za/journals/AHRLJ/2018/29.pdf
[Accessed 31 03 2023].
Potgieter, M. & Van Wyk, A., 2017. Academic Literacy for Law Students A content-
based approach. Cape Town: Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd.
Slabbert, M., 2011. SciFLO. [Online]
Available at: http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1727-
37812011000400008
[Accessed 23 August 2022].

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