Writing an IRAC essay
The IRAC method is used to effectively answer law school test problems. If done correctly and according to your law professor’s instructions, mastering the IRAC method can help you earn high marks! But did you know that getting good grades isn’t all there is in learning the IRAC method? In fact, it is considered as a valuable foundation in your training in legal research and legal writing. After all, down the road when law school is over and done, you are aiming to pass the Bar and to begin a career as a law professional.
After all, down the road when law school is over and done, you are aiming to pass the Bar and to begin a career as a law professional.
‘Briefing’ a case
One of the main uses behind practising the IRAC method is to help you ‘brief’ a case. The aim is to summarise the data on hand so that you will be able to comprehend clearly the legal problem that confronted the court. This is the ‘I’ which stands for the Issue.
The next step is to identify the pertinent law and jurisprudence that was used to resolve the issue. This is the ‘R’ which stands for the Rule. The next step is to discuss how the court applied the relevant laws and cases to the facts. This is the ‘A’ which stands for Application. Lastly, you will need to state how the case was resolved. This is the ‘C’ which stands for the Conclusion.
The next step is to identify the pertinent law and jurisprudence that was used to resolve the issue. This is the ‘R’ which stands for the Rule. The next step is to discuss how the court applied the relevant laws and cases to the facts. This is the ‘A’ which stands for Application. Lastly, you will need to state how the case was resolved. This is the ‘C’ which stands for the Conclusion.
This is the ‘R’ which stands for the Rule. The next step is to discuss how the court applied the relevant laws and cases to the facts. This is the ‘A’ which stands for Application. Lastly, you will need to state how the case was resolved. This is the ‘C’ which stands for the Conclusion.
Lastly, you will need to state how the case was resolved. This is the ‘C’ which stands for the Conclusion.
Answering Law Problems
That said, the primary concern of the law student is in the use of IRAC method in answering law questions. Hence, we are going to talk about some tips that you need to keep in mind when confronted with a law problem that needs to be answered the IRAC way. For easier understanding, these tips are going to be grouped per ‘letter’ of the IRAC. Here we go:
Issue
This is usually composed of a heading or in the form of a question. It may seem simple enough but you have to be careful! Read and re-read the test problem before you begin. Correctly identifying the issue at hand is most crucial and could affect your entire work. Make a mistake at this point and all further discussion about the legal problem will be useless as you might not be given any credit.
It may seem simple enough but you have to be careful! Read and re-read the test problem before you begin. Correctly identifying the issue at hand is most crucial and could affect your entire work. Make a mistake at this point and all further discussion about the legal problem will be useless as you might not be given any credit.
Make a mistake at this point and all further discussion about the legal problem will be useless as you might not be given any credit.
Rule
This is another important step in answering. You have to choose carefully which laws and cases could help you answer the problem convincingly and logically.
For instance, the question being posed in the problem asks about common law. Did A breach a common law duty due to his act or omission? Basic law knowledge would tell you that there could be a world of difference between common law and statute law, although most of the time they may interact closely together.
Therefore, you should take that as a clue and research on common law rules and related cases regarding the question and avoid citing legislative enactments in order to stay relevant to the question.
Did A breach a common law duty due to his act or omission? Basic law knowledge would tell you that there could be a world of difference between common law and statute law, although most of the time they may interact closely together. Therefore, you should take that as a clue and research on common law rules and related cases regarding the question and avoid citing legislative enactments in order to stay relevant to the question.
Therefore, you should take that as a clue and research on common law rules and related cases regarding the question and avoid citing legislative enactments in order to stay relevant to the question.
Application
Keep in mind that in law problems, you are being asked to step into the shoes of the court and decide on the legal controversy posed by the issue. Is A the rightful owner of the property or is it B? At this point you have to take a categorical stand in applying the legal rules to the facts in the question. So what is a categorical stand, you may ask?
It is a definite and clear-cut choice as to which side should be awarded relief. Remember, you are being asked to rule on the controversy as if you were the court. Discuss this part in a manner that will help your professor understand how you will rule on the controversy.
If statute law was cited, you should explain how the provisions could be applied such that they could point to the conclusion that A is indeed the rightful owner, depending on which ‘side’ you take. In case law, discuss the similarities and differences of that case and the case
So what is a categorical stand, you may ask? It is a definite and clear-cut choice as to which side should be awarded relief.
Remember, you are being asked to rule on the controversy as if you were the court. Discuss this part in a manner that will help your professor understand how you will rule on the controversy. If statute law was cited, you should explain how the provisions could be applied such that they could point to the conclusion that A is indeed the rightful owner, depending on which ‘side’ you take. In case law, discuss the similarities and differences of that case and the case
If statute law was cited, you should explain how the provisions could be applied such that they could point to the conclusion that A is indeed the rightful owner, depending on which ‘side’ you take. In case law, discuss the similarities and differences of that case and the case in the problem by pointing out the relevant facts in each case.
Conclusion
Arguably, this is the easiest part. No relevant tips here. You just need to recap the important points that you have made and stated in definite terms what you think is the correct answer to the question posed by the issue.
And last but not least! Bear in mind that one question could have several legal issues. It would be helpful to tackle each issue the IRAC way and not mix them up together in one answer. Stated otherwise, go through these steps individually for each legal issue that you find so that your argument will not get mixed up and it will be easier to read. See, it’s pretty simple. Now you’re ready to write your own IRAC essay.
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