What is the problem/essay questions asking you to discuss?
o What is the area of law/ topic?
o Strengths & limitations of an area of law or a judgment
o Are you being asked to advise a client?
What are the facts of the case? Is there any precedent?
This will help you visualise what the essay is asking from you.
What are you arguing? Figure out your stance early one, this will save a lot of confusion later on.
If the essay is asking you to advise a client (in a problem question) you will be applying an area of law to the scenario provided e.g., misrepresentation in contract law.
o Open up that textbook and make notes on the area of law. Revisit your lecture & tutorial notes.
If it is an essay question it is most likely that you are being asked to discuss an area of law i.e., strengths and limitations.
o It is likely that you have been asked to refer to a particular case or have been provided with a quote in the question to centre your essay around.
o READ THE CASE!
o If you don’t refer back to the case/quote in your essay you haven’t answered the question.
Take note of particular statutes and precedent that can support your argument.
USE SUB-HEADINGS!
o This will give a clear and methodical structure. Hold the examiners hand throughout your essay and take him/her to your answer.
Write each sub-heading on the top of its own blank sheet of paper. This will form the body of your essay.
o Each of these sheets of paper will form a section of the body of your essay. For example, for an essay on the validity of a contract you must highlight all the essential elements of a contract. The standard sections of such an essay will be: (1) offer and acceptance; (2) consideration; (3) intention; and (4) certainty.
I'm currently in my second year of a law degree, and trust me I have had my fair share of bad grades. It's a process; you need to trust that you'll get better at writing legal essays. It comes with practise; the more essays you write, and the more you take on criticism the better your essay writing skills will become.
I recently just completed my first summative assignment of the year, in equity and trusts. As someone who hates studying equity with a passion, I know I've written a decent essay because of how thorough my essay plan was. Here's a snapshot of what my essay plan looked like...oh, and don't mind the handwriting, I know it's bad.
An important part of every essay you will ever write in law school is sources. A good essay will have both primary and secondary sources. This is case law and journals or articles. But, a great essay will point out the nuances, start a debate and even include your own opinion. The great thing about planning an essay like this, is that you do so, so extensively that you'll find that when you come to write the actual essay you won't need you textbook or the interest to research anything. You've already done it. Your plan should include all the case law and journals you'll be citing in your essay. I find that organising your notes on each page as a flow diagram helps you to visualise your arguement.
Each page is one of the three sections in the body of my essay. Each section has its own sub-heading, so the essay is clearly structured easy to follow. The worst thing you could do when writing a legal essay is to make the reader feel as though they are on a roundabout. Get to the point and move on!
