How should I structure an answer to a contract law problem question?
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The question
My problem questions keep coming back with comments like 'lacks structure' and 'apply the law to the facts'. I know the cases, but I seem to lose marks on how I write the answer.
Short answer
Break the scenario into separate legal issues and deal with each one in turn using a consistent pattern: issue, rule, application, conclusion. Most lost marks come from stating the law and then failing to apply it to the specific facts given.
Full expert answer
Law tutor
LLM, Solicitor (non-practising)
A problem question is not an essay about contract law. It is advice to a client, and the facts have been written so that every sentence raises something. Your structure should make it obvious that you have spotted each point and resolved it.
Before writing: list the issues
Read the scenario twice and note every point where the outcome is uncertain. Was the advert an offer or an invitation to treat? When was acceptance communicated? Was a term incorporated? Each of those is its own section.
For each issue, use IRAC
- Issue: one sentence stating the question, such as whether the letter of acceptance was effective on posting
- Rule: the legal principle and its authority, for example the postal rule in Adams v Lindsell
- Application: the facts of this scenario measured against the rule, including any exceptions that might apply
- Conclusion: a clear, if qualified, answer to that issue before moving on
Application should be the longest part of each section. If the facts are ambiguous, say what the outcome would be on each reading, because that is usually why the ambiguity was written in.
This answer explains a method for you to apply to your own work. Copying it into a submission would count as plagiarism, and it is indexed by similarity checkers.
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