Full year courses at U of T

[legalbaddie]

Can any past 1Ls share what the full year course is like? I got placed in Contracts with Waddams and am nervous for a full year of contracts. 

Also how is Waddams as a prof? 
Thanks!

[Twenty]

Contracts (small group) with Waddams is chill. It's easy to put the class in the backburner because Waddams doesn't actively cold call students, which can help with the transition in 1L (though there is nothing stopping a keen student from engaging in small group discussions if they want to). He is a bit of a recluse in the sense that he's not the most "outgoing" personality or the most accessible outside of class time. That said, I had a very pleasant experience as his student and thought the class was straightforward enough. 

[mistertubby]

13 minutes ago, Twenty said:

It's easy to put the class in the backburner because Waddams doesn't actively cold call students, which can help with the transition in 1L (though there is nothing stopping a keen student from engaging in small group discussions if they want to).

any prof who is cold calling their small group is on something extra

[Twenty]

6 hours ago, mistertubby said:

any prof who is cold calling their small group is on something extra

Now that you mention it, small group  generally tends to be the LEAST intense class for people. Bless small group 🙏

To OP, for added context, small group takes a semester-long course, makes it year-long and replaces what would have been a 100% final with written assignments. 

[legalbaddie]

 

18 minutes ago, Twenty said:

Now that you mention it, small group  generally tends to be the LEAST intense class for people. Bless small group 🙏

To OP, for added context, small group takes a semester-long course, makes it year-long and replaces what would have been a 100% final with written assignments. 

Thanks! This helps calms my nerves a lot lol. So the content will be the same then? Would you say you learn as much in your semester courses as you do in the full year course but in the full year course it’s spread out over a longer period? 

Edited August 16, 2021 by legalbaddie

[Twenty]

2 hours ago, legalbaddie said:

 

Thanks! This helps calms my nerves a lot lol. So the content will be the same then? Would you say you learn as much in your semester courses as you do in the full year course but in the full year course it’s spread out over a longer period? 

The materials covered should be the same. However, in some ways, I learnt "less" in my small group. 

Because small group is assessed through written assignments (as opposed to exams), there is significantly less emphasis on needing to study a broad range of technical rules (i.e. when you study for an exam, you will need to cover a wide range of material because you don't know what will be tested. This is not the case if you are instead given an essay topic ahead of time and asked to research a topic.). Instead, while we talked about a wide variety of rules and concepts in small group, we were ultimately assessed on how in-depth we can analyze/critique the particular concepts assigned for the few assignments we had.

[legalbaddie]

10 hours ago, Twenty said:

The materials covered should be the same. However, in some ways, I learnt "less" in my small group. 

Because small group is assessed through written assignments (as opposed to exams), there is significantly less emphasis on needing to study a broad range of technical rules (i.e. when you study for an exam, you will need to cover a wide range of material because you don't know what will be tested. This is not the case if you are instead given an essay topic ahead of time and asked to research a topic.). Instead, while we talked about a wide variety of rules and concepts in small group, we were ultimately assessed on how in-depth we can analyze/critique the particular concepts assigned for the few assignments we had.

In terms of difficulty, would you say the full year course will be the same as your semester courses? i.e. the same amount of effort will be required to get a H? Last question I promise lol. 

[Twenty]

9 hours ago, legalbaddie said:

In terms of difficulty, would you say the full year course will be the same as your semester courses? i.e. the same amount of effort will be required to get a H? Last question I promise lol. 

Because everything is curved at U of T, getting an H or HH isn't a science. It's not like in undergrad where you can somewhat predict what grade you'll get based on how much effort you put in.

That said, it's easier/less stressful/more manageable to be assessed on two/three written assignments spread out over an entire year than it is to study for a 100% final for a semester-long course. Studying for finals entails reading a ton of cases, creating your outline, doing practice exams, and preparing for policy questions. I think all of that is more stressful than, for example, having to write a 2000 word analysis on the role of consideration in contracts. 

[rightsoherewego]

On 8/14/2021 at 2:22 PM, legalbaddie said:

Can any past 1Ls share what the full year course is like? I got placed in Contracts with Waddams and am nervous for a full year of contracts. 

Also how is Waddams as a prof? 
Thanks!

The full-year course is a breeze. I would recommend trying to keep up with the readings just because it'll help you once you graduate and have to deal with contract law coming up occasionally, but honestly when my workload was heavier in other classes and I skipped the readings it was totally fine to follow along in class.

Waddams is a lovely professor! He is really kind and is extremely interested in equity, so you'll learn a lot about the Judicature Act and other fun things. If you're looking for a reference letter at the end of the year though, I would recommend doing the readings and participating in class discussion, as he has been known to be reticent to write recommendations.

Edited August 17, 2021 by rightsoherewego
posted before finished typing