The Oxford Law degrees aim to develop in their students a high level of skill in comprehension, analysis and presentation. Students are expected to read a good deal, mostly from primary sources (such as cases and statutes), rather than to take other peopleÕs word for things. They are expected to think hard about what they have read, so as to develop views not simply about what the law is, but also about why it is so, whether it should be so, and how it might be different. Students are asked to process what they read, together with their own thoughts, and to prepare essays and presentations for discussion in tutorials.
The Oxford syllabus comprises topics chosen primarily for their intellectual interest, rather than for the frequency with which they arise in practice. Nevertheless, the skills of researching, thinking and presentation developed by the Oxford Law courses are eminently suited to practical application, and employers recognise this. Oxford is probably the only leading law school in the world where the main means by which teaching is done consists of group discussion (tutorials) in groups as small as one, two or three students and a tutor.
The modern, purpose-built Bodleian Law Library holds more books than almost any other comparable library in the UK. Colleges also have collections of law books for student use.