JD Academic Mentoring – Exam Skills

Tuesday, 27 May 2014Law Lecture Theatre 1

Law exams at UWAAimed at assessing:

• Your knowledge of the law;

• Your ability to engage with legal principles; and

• Your ability to analyse how the law applies to various facts.

Usually two kinds of questions in law exams:

• Problem questions / hypothetical

• Short essay / longer essay

Number of questions vary and reading time provided.

1

Preparing for an examMost law exams are open book – but don’t be fooled!

Writing exam notes:

• Begin writing notes early in semester

• Structure/organise notes in a clear and logical way

• Keep sentences short – e.g. “Principle X: Case name”

• Small summaries of cases with facts help a lot

• Coloured tabs work well

• Summary sheets / issue checklists

• Use of past student notes

2

Preparing for an exam (cont)After you’ve prepared your exam notes:

• Print your notes and get them bound

• Revise your notes and become familiar with them

• Highlight important parts and annotate if needed

• Go over past tutorial/class questions

• Go over past exam papers provided on CMO: http://www.is.uwa.edu.au/information-resources/cmo

• Try to answer past exams in exam conditions (using techniques outlined later in this presentation)

• Discuss answers with friends and seek lecturer feedback

3

Preparing for an exam (cont)Other things to consider before the exam:

• Allocate time based on marks (use a sticky note)

• Don’t try and cram last minute

• Relax before the exam

• Don’t drink coffee before the exam

• Bring your own watch!

4

In the exam - planningWhen the exam begins – take some time to plan:

• Use your 10 minutes to read the question and facts carefully – don’t miss crucial detail

• Highlight and annotate the question for later

• Read exam instructions carefully

• Take note of your audience and what you’re being asked to do

• Take a few minutes to construct a rough outline / checklist (possibly left side of the booklet)

• Identify causes of action, issues and parties involved

5

In the exam – writingAfter reading and planning – begin writing. There are a few good techniques to keep in mind about the format of your answer:

• Choose an ‘audience’ and stick to it – first person or third person if question is legal opinion

• Make authorities stand out – underline cases

• Use appropriate abbreviations (case names, pronouns)

• Headings and structure are your best friends!

• Answer in a logical and methodical way using IRAC

• Deal with issues and parties separately (generally)

• Keep your sentences short

6

In the exam – writing (cont)Keeping in mind these stylistic considerations, make the substance of your exam answer great:

• Keep the purpose of a legal opinion in mind – predicting an outcome

• The key to a good exam answer is analysis – identify the law and apply the law to the facts you are given

• Express the law clearly and back it up with authority

• Don’t forget about the facts – which do you rely upon?

• Make reasonable assumptions if needed

• Analyse various arguments but decide on the best one

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In the exam – writing (cont)

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• Analogise or distinguish case facts (big ticks!) – but don’t be too descriptive

• Be strategic in where you go into detail – uncontested elements etc.

• Explore outcomes and remedies – this is what the client is ultimately after

• Conclude on single issues as well as overall

In the exam – writing (cont)A good exam answer using IRAC to deal with a specific issue would look something like:

• Issue: The issue is whether there is a valid contract between X and Y. The elements of a valid contract are: (1) Offer; (2) Acceptance (3) Consideration … etc

• Rule (Offer): An offer of contract exists where…: Case authority

• Application (Offer): There appears to be a valid offer in this case because [refer to facts of problem]. Although in Case 123 [ABC] happened, the facts of the present case are distinguishable because…

• Conclusion: It is likely that a valid offer has been made by X

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In the exam – writing (cont)

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Things to avoid when writing an exam answer:

• Just recounting legal principles: this demonstrates knowledge but not analysis

• Giving history of contentious legal principles – try to summarise the current opposing views

• Lengthy quotations from authorities

• Repeating facts from the question or cases

• Citing secondary sources (textbooks etc) before primary sources (cases and legislation)

• Reaching legal conclusions before stating the law

In the exam – writing (cont)

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One last thing to always keep in mind:

• DON’T spend too much time on one question – allocated marks indicate how much time a question needs