How to Answer Case-based Questions

Case-based questions in law schools are intended to test your skill to identify and apply the
relevant legal principles to a given hypothetical factual situation. The key to securing good
marks in these papers is to: (a) demonstrate your knowledge of the relevant law by identifying
the underlying legal issues beneath the layers of facts in a problem and (b) demonstrate your
understanding of the law by applying the relevant law to the facts in question.

Such problem based questions set you a task. This is usually to advise a person or parties on
their rights and liabilities (if any) in respect of the issues raised by the question. It is, therefore,
important when answering such questions to ensure that you address the question and always
complete this task. For example, 'in conclusion', you should always advise that person or parties
in question on their rights and liabilities in respect of the specific issues raised by the problem.
Sometimes, you are also asked to decide on a factual situation and explain it with appropriate
reasoning and laws.

Planning your answer at the outset is particularly crucial because problem based questions
more often entails a number of specific issues. It is also important to note that there is not
necessarily a ‘right’ answer to such problems but there is a correct approach. One approach
that students find helpful is to use the IRAC mnemonic by following the steps listed below.

1. Identify the legal issue(s)

2. Rule - define and explain the legal rule and/or principle

3. Apply the rule/principle to the facts in question

4. Conclusion which sums up the advice to the party/parties

[1] Identify the legal issue(s)

Identify clearly the factual issues on which advice is sought. This important stage in your answer
involves identifying what the question is about from a legal point of view. As you are reading
through the question you must take care to spot and make a note of these issues and any
defences which may be available. At this point you might discover a party who has no
recognizable legal claim or a claimant who does have a claim but who will have no legal remedy
or reduced damages because the facts show that the defendant will be able to establish one of
the defences. Each of the separate issues identified as you read through your examination
paper should be isolated and dealt with separately in your answer.

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Once you have decided on the questions from an examination paper that you intend to
attempt, before you start writing out your answer, for each of these questions you should: (a)
outline the issue/s and the loss/damage suffered in each case (b) identify the potential
claimants and defendants and (c) list any defences that might be applicable. Not only will this
approach give your answer a clear structure, it will also provide you with a helpful reference
point as you work through your answer. This can be particularly helpful in an exam situation,
where time management is important, to ensure that you don’t spend a disproportionate
amount of your time on any one question.

[2] Rule - define and explain the legal rule and/or principle
Identify the principles of law which are relevant to the issue(s) and explain the legal principles,
giving authority (case law or statute, as appropriate). Identifying the relevant law is a filtering
process and this process should include discussion of any areas where the state of the law is in
doubt. On the basis of this process any irrelevant law should be filtered out at this stage and
only the law which is pertinent to your answer should be retained.

[3] Apply the rule/principle to the facts in question

The law must be applied to support your discussion. It is at this stage that you must focus on
constructing a logical argument and make a sensible attempt to apply the law to the factual
issues. At this stage you should also identify any additional factual information about the
problem which a court would need to come to a firm conclusion.

[4] Conclusion
You should conclude your answer with a short paragraph containing your advice. If you have
worked through your answer in a logical order there will be no need for a lengthy conclusion.
You should note that in summarizing the advice it will not usually be possible to come to a firm
conclusion about the outcome of a dispute since there is likely to be additional factual
information required. In some cases, the uncertain state of the law would make the outcome
impossible to predict with certainty, even if all the factual information was available. You
should distinguish clearly between areas of factual uncertainty and areas of legal uncertainty.
Lengthy discussion of possible alternative factual scenarios will only be appropriate if necessary
to explain different possible outcomes of the application of the relevant legal principles to the
facts, otherwise such discussion will not earn marks but will instead be a waste of precious
time.

Common errors in answering problem questions

 Failing to read the question properly

During examinations many students underperform because, in their haste, they either
fail to read the question correctly or to follow instructions.

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  Telling ‘the story’ of the case
In using case law authority, it is not usually necessary to tell ‘the story’ of the case.
Discussion of the facts of the cited case will only be relevant if the student wishes to
point out that the facts are so similar to the case in question that it would seem
impossible to distinguish them or, alternatively, if you wish to point to some difference
between the two fact situations which makes it possible that the two could be
distinguished.

 Failing to consider the position of all the parties in a dispute

Issues should be explored from all sides and advising a particular party will involve
considering the arguments which the opposing party or parties will employ.

 Restating the question

Students sometimes lose precious time rewriting the facts in the question and if you
find yourself doing this remember that you are not earning marks.

To become really competent at answering problem questions practice is essential. Like learning
to ride a bicycle, to become really competent at answering problem questions you will need to
practise: the more you do, the sooner it will become second nature to you. One of the most
valuable ways of getting this practice is to prepare written answers to tutorial questions for use
in class discussion.

How to Answer Essay Questions

One of the mistakes students most frequently make when answering essay questions is failing
to ensure they understand what the question is about. The law applies to a wide variety of
different situations and the aim of an essay question will usually be to assess your knowledge
and understanding of the way in which a specific aspect of the law has developed and evaluate
its current position. Your understanding of any particular aspect of law will be demonstrated
by:

 Outlining the history of the topic under discussion;

 Using relevant case law or statute to illustrate the key legal principles;
 Providing examples of how these principles have been interpreted in subsequent cases;
 Illustrating any exceptions to the key legal principles;
 Making an evaluation the present state of the law, highlighting and areas of ambiguity in
the current law;

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  Considering arguments for alternative actions or possibilities using cases or journal
articles to support these arguments.

It is important to note that whether answering an essay or a problem question in law there is
rarely a 'right answer': there is simply a right approach. The right approach is to present
sufficient and relevant information in a clearly structured and well expressed manner with
proper referencing of sources. With an essay, it is not always a lack of knowledge that lets a
student down - quite often, it is a lack of structure in the arguments and a failure to support the
discussion with relevant authority that is the main problem. Therefore, in order to obtain
maximum benefit from your study of law, it is very important to develop good essay writing
skills to enable you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

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