Hypothetical Problems Simple Tips and Tricks - Essay Writing - Law Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Assessment of Hypothetical Problem

• If possible, work out who you are advising as soon as you start reading the question. This can often be achieved by reading the last couple of lines first.  Knowing who you are going to advise from the beginning, can help with your understanding of the problem!

• If you are lucky, the last couple of lines may also give you the following information:

(a) an overview of some issue(s);

(b) whether your client is the complainant (plaintiff, appellant) or the accused (defendant, respondent); and

(c) who some of the other parties in the hypothetical are and what role they play (for example whether they are a complainant or respondent or just an observer.

• Often it is a good idea to circle the names of the parties the first time they are mentioned in the hypothetical.  This should ensure you a quick way to look back over the question after you have read it the first time and ensure that you have accounted for all the parties involved.

• If you cannot work out the relationship between the parties (for example who the complaint (plaintiff, appellant) and respondent (defendant) are, then draw yourself a simple mindmap or diagram to show their connection to each other.  This is often helpful when there are several parties who may be jointly or severally liable. This approach is often helpful in answering particularly long questions.  

• If you do have a long question then you may need to read it twice.  Although this can be time-consuming, it is often not possible to discern all the facts of a hypothetical the first time.  Furthermore, it is even more difficult to discern the key issues and legal principles when you have only read the hypothetical once.

• Underline the key points, such as dates, conditions or comments made by the parties.  At the same time think about any time limitation problems that might occur for your client or the other party.

• Make notes in the side margin of each paragraph, and if certain facts remind you of a particular case or piece of legislation, then write it down straight away so that you do not forget to refer to the case or legislation.

• If you quote the law, whether directly from a case or a textbook, place the quoted words in inverted commas to acknowledge that you are directly quoting a passage.  You should then write in brackets very briefly where the quote came from (for example (Text) or (Case)). If the quoted text is from legislation you need to identify the section number if possible.

• In an exam situation, you do not have to cite the full name of popular cases that have been discussed in lectures, tutes or those covered in the course textbook.  You can simply use their common name (for example instead of in the case of Smith v Jones [1991] 1 CLR 146 use…in the case of ‘Smith’).  In completing assignment research questions it would be necessary to give the full citation the first time the case is mentioned and then only the common name of the case.

• If the legislation has a common abbreviation you can use it instead of writing the whole name of the legislation (for example the Queensland Anti-discrimination Act = QADA).

• If you use common abbreviations in your exam then make a list of them at the top of the paper so the marker knows what you are referring to, for example, K is commonly used for the word contract – therefore the first time you use the word contract you should indicate the letter (K) in brackets after its use or make a note of your abbreviations at the top of your answer page.

Setting Out The Answer

• Leave plenty of white space in between each section of your answer.  This normally makes it easier for the marker to follow and allows you to neatly go back and add in information that you had not thought of when you first completed that part of the question.  Having subsequently remembered the extra information (for example a section of the law or a case that applies to this situation) it is a lot easier to add the information into the relevant section, without your answer ending up messy with lines and arrows all over the place.  

• A good paper is always easier to mark than a bad one.  Do not make the marker have to ‘look for the marks’. Readability and layout of your answer are very important and goes a long way to making for a happy marker. 

• Underline key cases and legislation in your answer, particularly in the application part of the answer.  This way they will stand out to the marker.

• Be logical in your approach.  In setting out your answer you must use the ILAC approach.  Is Issue, Law, Application, and Conclusion. 

• Ensure that you underline your headings. (i.e. Issue, Law…) so they stand out and the layout of the answer is clear.

• Highlight the relevant facts – the facts that need to be considered to determine the matter between the parties.  The best place to highlight the relevant facts is in the application stage, where you have to apply the facts to the law!

• Remember most of the marks in a hypothetical are for correctly applying the law to the facts of the scenario in the application section.  Therefore you should use your time accordingly!

• Use the KISS process – ‘keep it simple stupid’ -  in the case of addressing hypotheticals, this means remembering to always break the problem down into simple steps and ensure you address every legal element in the problem. No matter how simple the element may seem, it is better to briefly address it than not address it at all.  

• Another way of considering what the key facts are is to ask yourself - “What do I have to prove to make my case, or to defend my case?”

• Try to visualize the problem and put yourself in the place of the client.  Think about the problem in a real-world situation, what is the most likely outcome, consider what you would do if you were in this situation. 

• If necessary infer into the hypothetical and explain to the marker why you made these assumptions.  Do not make unreasonable assumptions as they will get a big red cross through them.  But remember this is a law subject, so you must spend most of your time and word count discussing the Law, and how it applies to the facts given.

• Always show both sides of an argument.

• Try to distinguish cases to show why they support or do not support your client’s case.

• Apply lateral thinking to the hypothetical problem given and consider as many (reasonable) alternative ways of arguing the case as possible.  

• Remember sometimes hypothetical scenarios are based on real cases.

ILAC

Short Overview Questions

There are four stages to correctly answer legal problem questions.

1. Identifying the legal issues involved in the problem. Issues are questions that need to be resolved or answered. 

2. Identifying the area of law. This means referring to relevant cases and statutes.

3. Applying these legal principles to the facts of the problem so as to answer the questions raised in the issues. This requires you to use the relevant law to argue your case and also respond to arguments that may be raised by your opponents.

4. Reaching a conclusion. This requires you to state who you think shall win the case and what remedy the complainant is likely to obtain from the courts. 

This is known as the ILAC method and must be used in answering the hypothetical problem question(s). It is there to help you properly structure your answer to demonstrate your knowledge.

In-Depth Overview Identification of each step in completing the ILAC method

ILAC is also known as FILAC if you include the facts in your answer.  Do not spend your time re-writing all the facts as you will not get marks for doing this.  However, you may choose to scribble down a few key facts at the top of the exam or the side of the exam as a reminder to yourself of the key points in the question. Alternatively use a highlighter and make margin notes to ensure you cover them in your answer.

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