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Learner Reviews & Feedback for An Introduction to American Law by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
stars
4,726 ratings

About the Course

This course will give you a glimpse into six different areas of American law: Tort Law, Contract Law, Property, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and Civil Procedure. You will gain insight into the complexities and dilemmas that arise from the application of law in different settings, and what is distinctive about American approaches....

Top reviews

AA

Sep 16, 2018

I enjoyed this course and it helped me to understand the basic parts of American Law. My only suggestion is to provide even more cases as examples to demonstrate the doctrines and statutes. Thank you.

AT

Apr 9, 2020

A great first step on understanding the basic principles of American Law, providing an insight into impact on the systems we encounter on a daily basis and how these systems have developed over time.

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976 - 1000 of 1,103 Reviews for An Introduction to American Law

By ZEINA D S

Jun 13, 2017

Everything was good.

But I have two observations:

1 - Some of the lectures had a translation of the Arabic language and some doesn't contain, I wish I could find a translation in all lectures, which facilitates the process of study.

A. For the certificate:

I hope to send a copy by mail address to the student, because universities usually have a certain paper quality for certificates.

and many student look forward to keeping the certificates in frame as usual.

thanks for your cooperation

By Ming L M L

Sep 13, 2016

An introductory course that provides an overview to a few major aspects of American law, including contract, tort, constitution, property law. Important cases are incorporated to help illustrate fundamental legal concepts. I appreciate that the course puts some highlights in the comparison between the laws of American and laws of other common law jurisdictions, so even law students/legal practitioners from other countries could gain some insight.

By Lawrence M

Nov 20, 2018

The course does offer basic insights into the history of American law, as promised. It also gives you valuable perspective on American legal history and on the principles that govern our courts - especially the Supreme Court. That said, I don't give it five stars because the more extensive texts and reading were unnecessary to passing it. The tests are honestly too easy, and I'm saying that as someone who has never even touched law school.

By Alex L

Apr 12, 2020

The professors were excellent. Their vocabulary suggested to assume some prior knowledges prior to taking this course, but they were extremely concise in their delivery of content and examples, I didn't know anything about what American Law except for a vague understanding of a procedural trial. Now I feel like I have a better grasp as to American Law's philosophy and its preferences on how Law should be operated.

By Любовь К

Jun 3, 2020

Overall, the course is good. It gives a very superficial idea of the legislative framework in the United States. I would like a more detailed analysis of some sections. Personally, I did not like the module of constitutional law, because the lecturer constantly read the transcript and it seemed that he did not understand what he was saying. And so - normal, but a little weak

By Bridgitte T

Aug 5, 2020

The course content is really engaging and the lectures opened up a new world of American civics for me. However, in this course, you learn more about law from a philosophical standpoint than from an actual "law student's" view. At times the videos were long and some points are made over and over again, but in the end, I have learned a great many things about American law.

By Amit K

Apr 23, 2018

A very well thought out selection of lectures and topics to provide an introduction to someone without any prior knowledge of the American legal system. At the same time, these lectures have enough food for thought for the engaged learner and should encourage further exploration of these topics. In my case, it led to several further readings and video watchings.

By Wenyang M

Apr 21, 2022

Pretty good for an intro course! It covered a lot of stuff. There was a lot of information. I think I was able to get a lot of it since I took an intro to legal studies course in university already and wanted to get an experience in American Law so it was easier to understand. I'd prefer if there were more questions to practice with. But, it did the job!

By Cera K

Mar 29, 2019

Great information! Interesting and for the most part quite easy to follow. I would suggest the creators find re-record the section on Civil Law, as the communication style used by the professor in this section is not nearly as clear as the other sections. I wish it went just a little more in depth, but absolutely excellent experience for a free course!

By Katie

Oct 6, 2020

Straightforward videos with decent content and good content. Some presenters are better than others, but overall, each section was valuable. The questions throughout the videos are a tad annoying because the content is too easy and they interrupt the flow. I appreciated the great introduction, however, and found the course quite helpful.

By Kenneth J K

Mar 15, 2024

One question on the final exam is poorly worded. I spent significant time reviewing the issue in Wayne R. LaFave's Criminal Law 5th Ed. and could not justify any of the four answers given as choices. The "correct answer" is nonsensical. Also, the final exam is of significantly greater difficulty than the shorter quizzes.

By Gabe

Dec 9, 2020

Very informative course and a good way to learn about the different types of law if you are considering law school! A lot of information is told in this course, so be prepared to listen to the video lectures. In order to do good on the quizzes at the end of each chapter, take notes on everything the professor mentions.

By Fabio P R

Apr 16, 2017

It is not as demanding as the courses offered by European universities, and this is a negative aspect. However, it provides a useful brief introduction of some key aspects of US Law to foreign lawyers in a very interesting way. It would be nice having entire courses to each of the topics exposed in this course.

By Gloria W

Jan 25, 2017

It was helpful for me because I am involved in a law suit and I got to learn terminology and what to anticipate in the procedures. I gave only 4 stars because the timing of the course, during the holidays, didn't give any grace for time-out. I realize it's not expected, but that's my scoring. Well presented!

By R. B

Oct 3, 2021

I thought this course was a great introduction to American law and the many subjects within law. I have taken a few introduction to law and criminal justice courses in the past. I felt this was a great start for someone getting back into the swing of learning and needing a refresher on the foundations

By Joseph J

Jul 23, 2021

A good overview of basic American law for new law students and anyone interested in learning about American law. I found that the content of some lectures was more organized and helpful than in others. Overall good quality program & helpful with preparing for starting law school in the fall.

By Александр П

Mar 6, 2021

It was very interesting. I am a participant in the London LLB Course and that is very useful to compare the features of two similar law system of two different states: the USA and the UK. Finally, looking through the Russian legal system you realize the needed reforms there.

By reneryu

Nov 30, 2015

This course offers basic and essentiul knowledge about US laws including tort law, contract law, property law, constitution law and criminal law. The course is delivered by different lecturers specialized in each topic, thus the content is clear and well explained.

By scalesr4

Sep 23, 2015

This was a great introductory course on the legal principles that govern our country. It was well instructed and easy to understand. My only grievance would be to have more testing involved so that the information will be transferred to the long term memory.

By Paul B

Jul 14, 2021

I believe the course was thorough and provided helpful information, and a lot of it at that, but I did see some minor errors on test questions for spelling. The reading times are also extremely inaccurate and misleading. Most of it turns into skim reading.

By Elizabeth S

Apr 17, 2018

This was a great way for me to start pursuing my interest in American law and I enjoyed it. Having a different professor for each week kept it interesting, and I have come away from this class with a solid overview of what each field of law has to offer.

By Christopher S

Jan 19, 2016

This course gives a wide view of the various aspects of American law and does so very well. I enjoyed the way each week was organized. I know that this was an introductory course but would've enjoyed a mechanism for studying some topics in more depth.

By Michael L

Feb 21, 2016

Nice overview class where you can get an introduction to different types of law. Would be nice to do a follow up course(given this seems to be a Intro to each of the First year law classes) on other areas(2nd year) etc type of law.

By Savanna A

Jul 7, 2017

Great, easy way to get familiar with a lot of different aspects of American Law. Introduces you to important topics, landmark cases, and helps you get familiar with the way that lawyers/law students talk about cases.