Course · Interpersonal Skills
IRAC and Law Exam Writing
Write law exam answers that earn marks: what the examiner is looking for, spotting issues, IRAC and its variants, applying the rule to the facts, managing time, essay and policy questions, and a practice routine that works.
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Most law students are taught what the law is and are left to find out for themselves how to write about it. This course teaches the writing. It starts from the marker’s side of the desk: how marks are awarded, the kinds of question and what the words of the call really ask. It then teaches how to read a fact pattern and find the issues, how IRAC and its cousins give reasoning a shape the reader can follow, and how to apply a rule to facts with a reason for every step, without the bare ‘clearly’ that costs marks. It covers planning the time by marks and recovering when things go wrong, essay and policy questions, which need a thesis and not a rule, and the style, feedback and practice routine that turn all of this into a habit. It ends with a capstone in which you answer one invented problem question from the facts to a finished answer.
The Curriculum
What the examiner wants: how law exams are marked, the kinds of question and reading the call of the question→
How a marker actually awards marks, the kinds of law exam question, what ‘advise’, ‘discuss’ and ‘critically evaluate’ ask for, and the habits that lose marks. Practice: What Earns Marks, Read the Call and a flag exercise on a weak plan.
Spotting the issues: reading a fact pattern, fact triggers, red herrings, missing facts and ranking what you find→
Reading a fact pattern like a marker, fact triggers, checklists, red herrings, missing facts and ‘if’ analysis, and deciding how much each issue deserves. Practice: Fact to Issue, Triage Calls and the Issue Triage tool.
IRAC and its cousins: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion, the CREAC and ILAC variants and building one paragraph→
IRAC and the names of its cousins, what each step does, how to write the issue as a question, a rule in parts and a conclusion with a reason. Practice: Name the Step, an IRAC build and a flag exercise on a weak paragraph.
Applying the rule to the facts: element by element, the because chain, both sides, conclusory writing and reasoning from principle→
The application step in detail: elements one by one, the fact-because-so pattern, arguing both sides, why ‘clearly’ costs marks, honest hedging and reasoning from principle. Practice: Mend the Application, Which Side Is Stronger and a flag exercise.
Time, planning and structure: time follows marks, a five-minute plan, the shape of the whole answer and what to do when things go wrong→
Time by marks, a short plan before writing, the shape of an answer, and recovery plans for running short, blanking and bad questions. Practice: Plan or Dive, When Things Go Wrong and the Exam Time Planner tool.
Essay and policy questions: the thesis, building the argument, using authority and writing for a ‘discuss’ question→
How an essay answer differs from a problem answer: the thesis, the shape of an argument, authority as evidence, critical evaluation and short answers. Practice: Thesis or Topic, Build a Thesis and a flag exercise on an essay paragraph.
Style, review and practice: writing clearly under pressure, learning from model answers and building a revision routine→
Clear sentences under pressure, common style errors, learning from model answers, marking your own work, timed practice and a revision routine. Practice: Style Check, Practice Plan and the Answer Structure Scan tool.
Capstone: Capstone: one problem question, from the fact pattern to the finished answer→
A kiln for sale at a craft fair, an email, a message through a friend and a fault. Read the facts, rank the issues, plan the time, build the central paragraph, handle the gap and check your own answer.
What It Covers
“You will not learn a formula to recite. You will learn to show your reasoning in the order a marker can follow, and to spend your minutes where the marks are.”
- A module-by-module path from the marker’s view to the finished answer, with a capstone on one full problem question.
- Three working tools: an Issue Triage that ranks what you spotted, an Exam Time Planner that divides minutes by marks and an Answer Structure Scan that shows what a quick reader might find missing.
- Jurisdiction-neutral: examples are labelled as examples, with the names IRAC, ILAC, CREAC and IPAC explained so you can follow whichever your school uses.
- Practice, not just reading: each module has exercises where you sort, choose, build and mend real-looking answer parts.
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Step 10 of 13 in the Foundations of Law, Year 1
How lawyers think, find the law and write, and the first great subjects: contract, tort, crime and the constitution. Each course is sold on its own; the whole program is $69 once and unlocks every course in it.
See the whole programModule 1 is free to try. Sign in, pass each module quiz and the course average, and your Certificate of Completion is emailed to you automatically. This course teaches method and technique with invented people and figures; it is general education, not legal advice, and professional rules differ from country to country.
Common questions
- Is this only for American law students?
- No. IRAC is the best-known name, but the course also explains ILAC, CREAC and IPAC, and teaches the reasoning that all of them protect. It uses the words problem question and fact pattern for the same thing, and it labels every example as an example.
- Does it teach me the law I need for my exams?
- No. It teaches how to write about law in an exam. Use it alongside your own course. The examples use a few general ideas, such as offer and acceptance, only to show the method.
- Will it give me model answers to memorise?
- No, and on purpose. Exam facts change, and a memorised answer will not fit them. It gives you a method, worked examples and exercises, and teaches you to learn from model answers you find elsewhere.
- Does it cover essay questions as well as problem questions?
- Yes. Module 6 is about essay and policy questions, with the thesis, the structure of an argument and the use of authority as evidence.
- Is it exam preparation for the Bar, the SQE or another qualifying exam?
- It is not a substitute for those products. It helps with the written-answer skill that those exams and law school exams reward, and it is useful alongside the exam preparation products on this site.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is general education using invented people and situations. The rules and the marking customs of your school or exam board are the ones that apply to you.
- How do I get the Certificate of Completion?
- Sign in, pass each module quiz and keep a course average of at least 75. The certificate is then issued and emailed to you automatically.
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