ad astra per alia porci

I can’t believe this. I am opening a new section on my blog that deals with studying law. Use these notes at your own peril. Enjoy.

How to Write Law Exam Answers

Personal notes made with reference to Legal Reasoning And Legal Writing by Richard K. Neumann, Jr.

What a teacher looks for

• Your understanding of how to use the rules
• Your understanding of what the law is trying to accomplish with them

Two kinds of questions

• Hypothetical situations
• Response to issue/statement

Rubric of grading: what a teacher looks for when marking

• Issue spotting
• Knowledge of legal rules
• Ability to analyse and solve a legal problem in depth

Reading hypotheticals

• 1^st read: See the big picture, read from beginning to end without using your pen.
• 2^nd read: Underline important things and make notes in margin.
• 3^rd read: Make a list on scratch paper all the issues present in the question, note relevant facts under each issue picked out.

Dealing with facts

• Ask yourself why a fact is there.
• 4 reasons why a particular fact is in the story

o   It creates or helps to create an issue because it is inconsistent with another fact or appears to be inconsistent with the law.

o   It helps to resolve an issue because it shows whether element(s) of the rule is satisfied.

o   It is a red herring.

o   It has no legal value and just helps to tell the story.

Dealing with the issues listed – make an outline

• Look at issues individually
• Write down what rules are necessary to resolve the issues
• Decide the sequence in which the issues are to be discussed

Writing format for dealing with each issue

• State the issue
• State governing rules. Rule proof is usually not necessary.
• Apply rules to the facts. Use additional rules as needed.

o   Show intellectual depth by explaining how your analysis is consistent with the policy behind the rules and including a counter-analysis.

• State your conclusion.

• Acronym: IRAC: Issue, Rule, Analysis/counter-analysis and Conclusion.

Important points

• Explain reasoning fully. Explain why you are right and why some cases support your conclusion while other cases/rules are not used.
• Red herrings can be to your benefit: point them out and show how they are irrelevant to the rules/issues.
• Be explicit: teachers look for points and mark accordingly. Not showing = no points
• Answer the question. Nothing more, nothing less.
• Don’t waste time writing on background matters unless it is required to answer the question.
• Budget your time.
• If you make an assumption, deal with it. Recognise the gap and show how it can be resolved.