Faculty of Business, Economics & Accounting

HELP Bachelor of Business (Hons) Year 1

INTERNAL SUBJECT DETAILS

Semester 3, 2022

Subject: EL 101
Study Skills & the Elements of Law

Subject Lecturer/Tutor: Dr. Kalavathy Maruthavanar

Telephone: 03-27165119 / 016-7351033
Email: [email protected]

Consultation: Please text or e-mail for an appointment

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PRE-REQUISITE(S)

No pre-requisite is required.

SYNOPSIS

This subject is divided into two parts. In the first part, students will be taught to manage
their offline and online learning experiences. Students learn to use appropriate reading
techniques as well as note taking, note making, and mnemonics. Students will be taught to
prepare organise and identify legal issues and reasoning for assessments; and to gather,
retrieve, and evaluate information from legal databases and sources. Next, the legal
writing style, citing authorities, footnoting, and proper referencing based on the APA
format. Students to adhere to the ethics of writing legalese and avoid plagiarism in their
work.

The second part of this subject will introduce students to the basic tenets of the Malaysian
Judicial System. This part explains the structure of the Legal System, followed by the
judicial hierarchy and its judicial processes. The final topic explains to students the
Constitution, basic principles of civil law e.g., contract, tort, company law /business law
including statutes, such as the Sale of Goods Act 1957 and the Consumer Protection Act
1999.

OBJECTIVE

This course is a pre-requisite to LAW101, Business Law. This course introduces students
to legal styles; formats in reading and written work and the basic tenets of business law.
The objective is to prepare students to undertake the problem-solving, critical reasoning,
and legal writing skills required by the Business Law course.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this subject, students should be able to:

 Evaluate their offline and online ‘learning the law’ experience.

 Apply the appropriate reading as well as note-taking, note making, and mnemonics.

 To identify legal issues and prepare, organise for assessments.

 To gather, retrieve and evaluate information from various legal databases and sources.

 To use tools to legally write and do referencing the APA style.

 Understand the Malaysian Legal System, its structure, and judicial processes.

 Apply basic skills to interpret statutes, case law, and its precedents.

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 To use and critically apply the principles of the law of contract, tort, company/business
laws to factual situations.

 Contrast the different factual applications of the Sale of Goods Act 1957 and the
Consumer Protection Act 1999; and

 Identify and comprehend the various types of business organisations.

 To collaborate and communicate through teamwork in a company/business

organization.

TOPICS

Topic 1 Learning the Law-offline & online.

Topic 2 Reading for Legal Information.

Topic 3 Search Strategies for Information Retrieval and Evaluating Information

Topic 4 Note Taking, Note Making (avoid plagiarism), Mnemonics

Topic 5 Presenting Information and Referencing based on the American

Psychological Association (APA) Format

Topic 6 Identify legal issues, authorities, and legal reasoning & writing.

Topic 7 Introduction to the Malaysian Legal System

Topic 8 Sources of Law, Constitution

Topic 9 Contract Law

Topic 10 Law of Tort

Topic 11 Company/Business Law

Topic 12 Sale of Goods and Consumer Protection.

TEXTBOOKS

1) Lee Mei Pheng and Ivan Jeron Detta, Business Law, (2018) (3rd edition)
Oxford University Press.
2) Williams, Glanville, (2020) Learning the Law, (17th edition), Sweet & Maxwell.

Note: Other materials to be provided by the lecturer.

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Subject Outline / Teaching Plan
Department : Accounting and Finance Subject Code : EL101
Lecturer : Dr.Kalavathy. M Subject Title : Study Skills and the
Elements of Law

Week Topics References

1 Learning the Law Refer to Lecture Slides
2 Reading for Legal Information Refer to Lecture Slides
3 Search Strategies for Information Retrieval and Refer to Lecture Slides
Evaluating Information
4 Note Taking, Note Making (avoid plagiarism), Refer to Lecture Slides
Mnemonics
5-6 Identify legal issues, authorities, and legal Refer to Lecture Slides
reasoning & writing
7 Introduction to the Malaysian Legal System Chapter 2 & 3 (LMP)
8 MID-SEMESTER
9 Sources of Law, Constitution Chapter 2 & 3
10 - 11 Law of Contract Chapter 6
12 - 13 Law of Tort Chapter 7, 9, 11,12,13
Company/Business Law & 19.
Sale of Goods, Consumer Protection

Textbooks:

1) Lee Mei Pheng and Ivan Jeron Detta, Business Law, Oxford University Press,
(2018) (3rd edition), Oxford University Press.
2) Williams, Glanville, (2020) Learning the Law, (17th edition), Sweet & Maxwell.

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ASSESSMENT

There are 3 assessment items for this subject.

Assessment Items Value Due Date

1. Assignment 1 (Teamwork) 30% 30 September 2022

2. Assignment 2 (Individual) 50% 1st November 2022

3. Class participation & 20% Weekly

attendance

REQUIREMENTS

To gain a pass in this subject, students must:

 Attempt ALL areas of assessment and achieve a total result of 50% or better
overall.

EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF

ASSIGNMENT(S) If you are having difficulty in completing work in time due to illness
or *extenuating circumstances, you may apply for an extension through your lecturer
with supporting documentations eg. medical certificate, police report etc.
Applications for extensions on or after the due date of the assessment will not be
considered. A deduction of 10% per day from the marks awarded after the due date
applies, if the piece of work is submitted late without approved extension.
*Extenuating circumstances should primarily mean, medical conditions (both physiological and
psychological), family issues (death or illness), and personal misfortune (accident, mugging,
theft). Student should provide document proof for all of the above and should also obtain prior
approval from the examiner towards late submission.

GRADING SCHEME

Mark Range GRADE GRADE DEGREE MARKING RUBRICS

POINT CLASSIFICATI
ON
 Comprehensive and excellent grasp of
85 - 100 HD 1 4.00 key concepts
 Excellent use of analytical means and
logical arguments
 Excellent synthesis of arguments and
FIRST CLASS

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 excellent use of relevant examples
80 – 84 HD 2 3.75  Balanced discussions and excellent
flow of ideas
 Excellent command of language with
no errors
 Excellent and consistent referencing
 Comprehensive and excellent grasp of
75 - 79 DI 1 3.50 key concepts
 Excellent use of analytical means and
logical arguments
 Good synthesis of arguments and
SECOND excellent use of relevant examples
UPPER CLASS  Balanced discussions and good flow of
70 – 74 DI 2 3.25 ideas
 Excellent command of language with
no errors
 Excellent and consistent referencing
 Competent grasp of key concepts
65 – 69 CR 1 3.00  Competent use of analytical means
and logical arguments, albeit with
some errors
SECOND  Fair synthesis of arguments and
LOWER CLASS moderate use of relevant examples
60 – 64 CR 2 2.75  Fairly balanced discussions and fairly
clear flow of ideas
 Competent command of language and
limited amount of errors
 Satisfactorily is referencing
 Basic grasp of key concepts
55 - 59 PS 1 2.50  Less than satisfactory use of analytical
means and logical arguments
 Little synthesis of arguments and
hardly any relevant examples
 Some evidence of balanced
THIRD CLASS discussions and poor organisation
50 - 54 PS 2 2.00 PASS  Satisfactorily command of language
and considerable amount of errors
 Relatively flawed referencing
 Shows ignorance of key concepts
0 - 49 FL 0.00  Less than satisfactory use of analytical
means and logical arguments
 Little synthesis of arguments no
relevant examples
 Little or no balanced discussions and
poor organisation
 Relatively poor command of language
and unable to expressed ideas clearly
 No referencing or poor referencing

HELP UNIVERSITY

ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK/MARKING SHEET

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 MGT 305
Business Ethics & Social Responsibility

Student ID:_______________________________________
Student ID :_______________________________________
StudentID:________________________________________
4.. Student ID:________________________________________

Assessment Criteria Mark Maximum

Achieved Mark

Introduction 5%
Content: Critical Analysis, Evidence of extensive 80%
reading, Research, Grammar, and Language
Conclusion 15%
Total Mark 100

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ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS & INSTRUCTIONS

READ CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS:

There are two assignments. Each assignment contributes to the final marks for the subject
of EL101. The answer for each assignment must be a minimum of 1000 AND a maximum
of 2,000 words in length.

Assignment 1 (Teamwork-30%) STUDY SKILLS-WHY STUDY LAW?

Title: Does our world have the same Sky?

A recent 2022 court decision examined the situation wherein 2 companies

had identical names using the word “Skyworld”. The teamwork task is to
retrieve the following case from the law database and answer the following
questions.

Case Name & Citation:

Skyworld Holdings Sdn Bhd & Ors v Skyworld Development Sdn Bhd &
Anor [2022] 3 MLJ 426

Answer essay-style addressing questions(a)-(h) below.

(a) The case cited above is decided by which court?

(b) How many judges decided the case; did they all concur/agree on the
same decision?
(c) What statute was referred to in this case?
(d) What are the facts of the case?
(e) What are the issues in the case?
(f) Elaborate whether the law on “passing off” is based on common law
principles?
(g) What is the decision of the case?
(h) Conclusion-Do you agree with this decision?

Instruction: In your answer above, try to add the following:

a. One illustration (mnemonics, diagram, picture, or chart)

b. At least five case/book /article/website citation/ references retrieved from a

source/legal database.

c. Citation style in your reference section must be based on APA (American

Psychological Association) format.

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 d. Must have an introduction, body of content, conclusion, footnotes, and
references.

e. Your assignment should be a pdf file typed in A4 print format using 12 font
sizes (either Arial or Times New Roman font) and 1.5 line spacing, and should
be minimum of 1,000, maximum of 2,000 words; excluding graphs,
illustrations, footnotes, references, and appendices.

Note from Lecturer: Marks will concentrate on legal writing style, citations, references,
search using legal databases, cases, clarity & comprehension to the reader.
Not to stress too much about the legalese.

Assignment 2 (Individual) PROBLEM-SOLVING

Jan, Joey, and Joy are three partners in the business of tinting and coating
cars. Their partnership business is called JJJ Cool Coats. Their business is
doing well for the past year making huge profits. They intend next year to
choose a registered business entity that will suit their business as it has
attracted 10 new individual investors; however, they are uncertain about what
type of registered business entity to start and the benefits of starting such a
registered entity.
Last week, a new Mercedes Benz car owned by Mr. Baez arrived at their
shop. Mr. Baez wanted 70% tinting and to coat his white car with a shiny
transparent coating. Instead, their employees, Harith and Hamid tinted his car
30% and wrapped the car with a green coating – the employees mixed up the
instructions for this car with another. Mr. Baez was horrified to see his car
when he arrived to collect the car and threatened to sue JJJ Cool Coats.
Another high-end branded shop in Gardens, Mid-Valley selling winter
clothing is called “JJ Coats” and is annoyed that its business name is now
taken over by a car coating company. Their lawyer has sent a letter to JJJ
Cool Coats saying this “confusion” is damaging their brand of winter coats.
Identify the issues in this problem and seek to legally resolve each issue.

Note from Lecturer: There is strictly no right or wrong answer, just substantiate
your
answer with valid reasons, and solutions and cite authorities.
Try your best to answer in your own unique way.

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 [50 marks]
Assignment No.: __

Assignment Cover Sheet

Student Information (For group assignment, please state names of
Grade/Marks
all members)
Name ID

Office
Module/Subject Information
Acknowledgement
Module/Subject Code
Module/Subject Name
Lecturer/Tutor/Facilitator
Due Date
Assignment Title/Topic
Intake (where applicable)
Word Count Date/Time

Declaration

. I/We have read and understood the Programme Handbook that explains plagiarism, and I/we testify that,
unless otherwise acknowledged, the work submitted herein is entirely my/our own.
. I/We declare that no part of this assignment has been written for me/us by any other person(s) except
where such collaboration has been authorized by the lecturer concerned.
. I/We authorize the University to test any work submitted by me/us, using text comparison software, for
instances of plagiarism. I/We understand this will involve the University or its contractors copying my/our
work and storing it on a database to be used in the future to test work submitted by others.

Note:1) The attachment of this statement on any electronically submitted assignments will be deemed to
have the same authority as a signed statement.
2) The Group Leader signs the declaration on behalf of all members.

Signature: Date:

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 mail:
Feedback/Comments*
Main Strengths

Main Weaknesses

Suggestions for improvement

Students acknowledge feedback/comments

Grader’s signature Student’s signature:

Date: Date:
Note:
1)A soft and hard copy of the assignment shall be submitted.
2)The signed copy of the assignment cover sheet shall be retained by the marker.
3)If the Turnitin report is required, students have to submit it with the assignment. However, departments may allow
students up to THREE (3) working days after submission of the assignment to submit the Turnitin report. The
assignment shall only be marked upon the submission of the Turnitin report.
*Use additional sheets if required.

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 Department of Accounting &
Finance

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Honesty and Responsibility

Academic integrity is an important tenet for HELP University. In pursuit of the highest
standards of academic integrity, the Department of Accounting & Finance holds its
students to the highest ethical standards defined by the Rules and Regulations section of
the Academic Handbook. All students at the Department of Accounting & Finance are
subjected to and are bound by the Student Academic Misconduct Rule to assure academic
honesty. Students are required to sign a pledge on the assignment cover sheet before
submitting their assignments to the Administration Office of the Faculty of Business,
Economics & Accounting.

What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty or academic theft, and it is a serious academic offence.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1. quote, paraphrase, or summarize someone else’s ideas, theories, or data, in whole
or in part, without appropriate acknowledgment
2. borrow ideas, opinions, or words, in whole or in part, from other sources without
properly crediting the author(s)
3. use any facts, statistics, diagrams, or graphs, in whole or in part, without
acknowledging the source clearly
4. claim or imply original authorship of someone else’s ideas, theories, or data, in
whole or in part, as your own
5. employ or allow someone to help to revise, amend or write your work and pass it
off as your original work
6. collaborate with or allow other students to copy your work
7. draw on sources more than what you have acknowledged by citations

While a student is not discouraged to discuss an assignment with his/her friends or

classmates, the work he/she submits must be done by the student alone. If a student shares
his/her assignment with other students and they plagiarize it, the student is as guilty as
those students who plagiarized his/her assignment. All parties to plagiarism are considered
equally guilty. Under no circumstances should a student be involved in collusion with
other students unless he/she is permitted to work on an assignment jointly by the
lecturer/tutor. If a student is unsure what constitutes plagiarism, he/she is obliged to
consult the lecturer/tutor on the matter before submission of his/her assignment.

When and How to Reference?

Knowing when and how to cite is a student’s responsibility. If he/she is in doubt or needs
more help on this matter, the student may consult the lecturer/tutor. The following list
comprises some of the sources a student will need to reference. The list is by no means

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exhaustive but simply consists of the most common sources used by students to complete
their work.
1. Books
2. Chapters in books
3. Journal articles
4. Conference papers
5. Newspaper articles
6. Magazines
7. Websites
8. Study guide

Students are advised to cite in the following cases [1]:

1. When he/she quotes two or more words verbatim, or even one word if it is used in
a way that is unique to the source
2. When he/she introduce facts that he/she has found in a source
3. When he/she paraphrase or summarize ideas, interpretations, or conclusions that
he/she find in a source
4. When he/she introduce information that is not common knowledge or that may be
considered common knowledge in your field, but the reader may not know it
5. When he/she borrow the plan or structure of a larger section of a source’s
argument (for example, using a theory from a source and analyzing the same three
case studies that the source uses)
6. When he/she build on another’s a method found either in a source or from
collaborative work in a lab
7. When he/she build on another’s program in writing computer code or on a not-
commonly-known algorithm
8. When he/she collaborate with others in producing knowledge

In general, a referencing system requires two parts:

1. In-text citations
This is information about a source within the text of an assignment.
2. List of references
This is a list of all sources a student has used to research his/her assignment. It is
alphabetically arranged by author surname and appears immediately after the last
page of an assignment.

Different faculties or departments may have different requirements on how referencing for
an assignment should be done. The various formats used for in-text citations and a list of
references are available on the following websites:
1. Harvard System (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/gen/harvard.html)
2. Chicago Style (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/index.html)
3. American Psychological Association or APA Style (http://www.apastyle.org)
4. Modern Language Association of America or MLA Style (http://www.mla.org)
5. OSCOLA (http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola)

Once a student has selected a referencing style for his/her assignment, he/she must follow
the same style consistently throughout the assignment. We strongly suggest that the
student consults the lecturer/tutor about which method to use before submission of his/her
assignment.
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What are the Procedures and Penalties for Plagiarism?
When a lecturer/tutor encounters a possible case of plagiarism, the lecturer/tutor shall
report the matter to the Head of the Department, who then initiates an investigation on the
matter. The following procedures would be carried out:
1. The lecturer/tutor shall provide evidence that substantiates an academic offence
has occurred. The following documentation must be ready before reporting alleged
plagiarism:
a. Copy of the alleged plagiarized assignment
b. Copy of the source material (e.g., articles, websites, newspaper, etc.)
c. Report of plagiarism
d. Any other information that would support the claim of plagiarism
2. If the evidence warrants an accusation of academic offence, the Head of
Department shall establish a Board of Inquiry comprising 3 academic staff. The
Department shall provide all necessary documentation, including a report on prior
academic offences if applicable, to the Board of Inquiry.
3. The Board of Inquiry shall put the matter to the student in writing and give him/her
an opportunity to respond to the accusation within 3 working days.
4. The student will be required to attend a meeting with the Board of Inquiry. After
meeting the student, the Board of Inquiry shall decide whether or not the alleged
plagiarism has occurred. The following documentation shall be submitted to the
Head of Department at the end of the meeting:
a. Findings of the investigation
b. Recommended action(s) to be taken or imposed
5. The Head of Department shall review the Board of Inquiry’s report with
supporting evidence and shall decide on appropriate action(s) based on the
recommendation of the Board of Inquiry.
6. The decision of the Head of Department shall be put in writing to the student.
Copies of all documentation will be retained in the Department.
7. If the student feels that he/she has been unfairly accused or treated, the student may
appeal to the Head of Department within 5 working days.
8. The Head of Department shall review the appeal and the final decision will be
communicated to the student in writing and a copy will be kept with the
Department. Once a determination of plagiarism and penalty has been made by the
Head of Department, the investigative process will be deemed to have ended and
the student will not be allowed to appeal.

Possible penalties for plagiarism range from mark reduction for the assignment to
expulsion from the University. The student will not be allowed to make up the assignment.
If plagiarism has been found to have occurred, the Department will take action(s) as
determined by the forms of plagiarism implicated:

1. Complete plagiarism
Verbatim copying another person’s work without acknowledgment
1st offence : A grade of “F” in the subject and a warning letter will be
issued
2nd offence : Expulsion from the University at the discretion of the Head of
Department

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 2. Substantial plagiarism
Near-verbatim copying another person’s work by simply altering the order of the
sentences or the format of presentation or by changing a few words or phrases
without acknowledgment.
1st offence : Zero mark on the assignment and a warning letter will be
issued
2nd offence : A grade of “F” in the subject and a warning letter will be
issued
3rd offence : Expulsion from the University at the discretion of the Head of
Department
3. Minimal plagiarism
Acknowledgment is made but paraphrasing by changing and/or eliminating some
words
1st offence : Deduction of 50% of available marks on the assignment and a
warning letter will be issued
nd
2 offence : A grade of “F” in the subject and a warning letter will be
issued
3rd offence : Expulsion from the University at the discretion of the Head of
Department
4. Unintentional plagiarism
Insufficient acknowledgment by not applying citation or quotation marks correctly
1st offence : Deduction of up to 50% of available marks on the assignment
and a warning letter will be issued
2nd offence : A grade of “F” in the subject and a warning letter will be
issued
3rd offence : Expulsion from the University at the discretion of the Head of
Department
Pleading ignorance or unintentional plagiarism does not constitute valid reasons for
plagiarism and will not avoid the penalties from being imposed. Excuses for acts of
plagiarism such as the following, but not limited to, will not be entertained:
1. I don’t have time to do the assignment
2. I have too many assignments due on the same day
3. I don’t know, I didn’t do it
4. I am not aware
5. I don’t understand what plagiarism means
6. I have no intention to plagiarize
7. I forgot to cite the reference
8. I forgot to include the bibliography
9. My English is not good
10. My lecturer/tutor did not explain to me
11. In my country, it is alright to copy someone else’s work
12. My friend copied my assignment when I let him/her look at my assignment
13. My friend copied my assignment when I allow him/her to use my laptop
14. I did my assignment in the computer lab, someone must have copied my work
15. I asked my friend to submit my assignment and he/she copied my work
16. I discussed my assignment with my friends, so our answers are the same/similar
17. Even though I do not have an in-text citation, but I have a bibliography/reference
list

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Students should be reminded that it is their responsibility to take due care throughout their
written work to effectively reference or cite when they use others’ ideas from any source.

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