STUDY PLAN FOR ILW1501

Dear Students of ILW1501

We trust that you have carefully worked through “Part 1: How to approach and study ILW1501”
of the “Study Plan for ILW1501”. In this document, “Part 2: Understanding and Answering
MCQs for ILW1501” follows.

PART 2: UNDERSTANDING AND ANSWERING MCQs FOR ILW1501

Since all the assessments of the module ILW1501 consist of online multiple-choice
questions (MCQs), the lecturers of ILW1501 decided to assist you in understanding and
answering MCQs for purposes of the two quiz assessments and the closed book, timed,
fully online, invigilated multiple-choice question (MCQ) examination that you must
complete successfully to pass the module ILW1501.
From previous experience with MCQs, students have not performed well – probably
because of a misconception that MCQs are easy to pass without studying the contents
of the Study Guide. Therefore, students must take ownership (together with our
guidance) on really understanding how to answer MCQs.

1. KNOW THE LAW! KNOW THE LAW!

Know the law! In other words, work through all the learning units on which each of the
quiz assessments for ILW1501 is based before doing the assessment and study all your
study material for purposes of the closed book, timed, fully online, invigilated multiple-
choice question (MCQ) examination.
Students make a huge mistake if they think that they can read through the study
material a few times and pass the module. Although the answers to the multiple-choice
questions (MCQs) are provided and students just need to choose one of the options, a general
familiarity with the law or a superficial knowledge of the law will not be enough to allow students
to reason their way to the correct answer. MCQs require knowledge of the law (legal rules)
discussed in the study material and an analysis to arrive at the “best” or “most correct”
option.

2. DIFFERENT STRUCTURES OF MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQs)

MCQs usually consist of two or three main parts, depending on the difficulty level of the
question.

Page 1 of 5
More difficult MCQs will consist of the following three parts:

1. The root, which is the scenario or set of facts on which the problem/question is based.

2. The stem, which is the part in which you will find the question.

3. The answer set, which consists of four or five options (choices) or statements that are
provided to guide you to the right answer. For purposes of ILW1501 the answer set
consists of four options.

Easier MCQs will consist of only two parts:

1. The stem, which is the part in which you will find the question.

2. The answer set, which consists of four or five options (choices) or statements that are
provided to guide you to the right answer. For purposes of ILW1501 the answer set
consists of four options.

NOTE:

IN ALL YOUR ASSESSMENTS (THE TWO QUIZ ASSESSMENTS AND THE ONLINE
EXAMINATION) THE FOUR OPTIONS WILL NOT BE NUMBERED WITH LETTERS OF
THE ALPHABET. ONLY AN EMPTY BUTTON ON WHICH YOU CAN CLICK TO INDICATE
YOUR ANSWER WILL APPEAR ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE OPTION.

3. READING MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQs)

1. Read the question very carefully. On a quick reading of multiple-choice questions, you
may feel a bit confused. It is therefore very important to read the question and options
thoroughly before selecting an answer.

2. Pay special attention to words that are in bold print or underlined or both.
3. Be on the lookout for negative words in a question. If a question is phrased in the
negative, it means that you need to find an option that does not relate to a specific
term/concept or topic.

For example: Indicate the INCORRECT statement or Which of the following is NOT an
authoritative source of South African law?
If a question is phrased in the negative, capital letters that are in bold print and
underlined may be used to draw your attention to the negative words in the question.
Students often miss this and do not choose the relevant option.
4. Look out for words such as “only”, “always”, and “never” in statements. These words
may be an indicator of a statement being correct or incorrect.
For example:
The statement reads: “The Roman-Dutch law further developed at the Cape and later the
only source of law became the writings of the old Roman-Dutch jurists from the
Netherlands, also known as the old authorities.”
It appears as if the statement may be correct because the writings of the old Roman-
Dutch jurists from the Netherlands were indeed a source of law when the Roman-Dutch
law further developed at the Cape. However, the use of the word “only” in the

Page 2 of 5
 statement should have made you suspicious. The writings of the old Roman-Dutch
jurists were not the only source of law. The law was also found in custom, legislation, and
court decisions. [See Learning Unit 3, p 48.]

5. If you are asked to indicate the option which is the odd one out, you must look for an
option that is different in comparison to the other options provided.

For example:

Which one of the following options is the odd one out? (Hint: look for an option that is
different in comparison to the other options provided).

A. International law

B. Law of patrimony

C. Administrative law

D. Constitutional law

Although this question consists of a stem and an answer set and is categorised as a
straight-forward question, it may be considered more complex as it requires you to find one
option that is different in comparison to the other options provided.

Let us now consider each option carefully:

• Option A – International law falls under the public law

Can you see that most of our options fall under the public law, thus, option B (the law of
patrimony which falls under the private law) is the odd one out.

Option B is the correct option. [See Learning Unit 5, pp 68 – 72.]

6. When you must read a scenario (set of facts) and answer a question on it, be
careful not to do the following:
Do not assume words and facts that are not specifically stated in the scenario. In
other words, do not read words or facts into the scenario that are not there. Keep to
the words and facts as stated in the scenario.
For example:
One evening Mr Mahlangu had too much to drink. On his way home he was involved in a
car accident. The driver of the other car was killed. Mr Mahlangu was arrested at the scene
of the accident. He appeared in court the next day for the killing of the driver of the other
vehicle.
This is clearly a criminal case. Mr Mahlangu drove his car under the influence and caused
a car accident in which another driver had died. In the scenario nothing is mentioned about
injuries or any damage to the cars. Do not read this into the scenario. Keep to the facts of
the case.

Page 3 of 5
7. Do not substitute your instincts for what you know is legally correct.
8. Apply the legal rule/law to the facts without getting emotionally involved with the
parties.
9. Read every statement carefully up to the end, especially if the statement consists of
two parts, namely a main sentence and a clause.
Say for example the question requires you to indicate the correct statement. Often,
when you read the first part of the statement, the statement appears to be
correct. However, when you carry on reading the second part of a statement
you may realise that the second part makes the statement incorrect.
For example, the statement reads: If a party to a civil case is not satisfied
with the court’s decision, the party can apply for a review of the case.

If you only read the first part of the statement about the party that is not satisfied
with the court’s decision, you may think that the statement deals with appeal and
choose the option that relates to appeal. However, if you read the second part about the
party that can apply for a review of the case, you will realise that the second part
makes the statement incorrect.

5. IDENTIFYING (FINDING) THE ANSWERS OF MCQs

1. If you cannot immediately identify the answer to the question, try and find the answer by
way of elimination of the options. The process of elimination may work best for you!
It is also very helpful when two options appear similar or confusing. However, our goal is
certainly not to trick you. Therefore, you will find that our level of questions is mostly
straight forward.
2. First, eliminate the options that are obviously not the answer to the question.
3. Then evaluate each of the remaining options to determine whether the option could be
the answer to the question or not.
4. It may happen that you end up with two options, both of which seem to be the
answer to the question. In such a case, you must choose the best answer.
For example:

Complete the sentence by choosing the correct option:

The parties to a civil case may probably be the

A. state and the accused. Incorrect, because the state is not a party to a civil case.

B. state and the defendant. Incorrect, because the state is not a party to a civil case.

C. appellant and the respondent. Can be correct if the case is a civil case on appeal.

D. plaintiff and the applicant. Incorrect, because the plaintiff is a party to a civil case
initiated by action proceedings, while an applicant is a party to civil case initiated by
application proceedings.

Thus, option C is the correct option and the one you must choose.

Page 4 of 5
For examples of the different kinds of MCQs, please see the questions asked in Quiz
Assessments 1 and 2 as well as the MCQs on ALL the learning units of the Study Guide
in the lessons under the “Lessons” on the ILW1501 module site.

We trust that you will STUDY the above guidelines for examination purposes.

Kind regards,

Your ILW1501 lecturers

Page 5 of 5