How to answer law problem questions: a worked example

To answer a law problem question, identify the legal issues, state the relevant rules, apply them to the facts and give a supported conclusion. Spend most of your effort explaining the application: why a particular fact changes the likely outcome.

The familiar IRAC structure - Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion - is a useful starting point. Adapt it to your subject, assessment instructions and marking criteria.

1. Read the task before building your answer

First identify what you have been asked to do. "Advise Maya on her remedies" calls for a different emphasis from "Discuss whether a contract exists".

Then read the scenario with four questions in mind:

• Who might have a claim, defence or other legal option?
• Against whom?
• What events and dates matter?
• What result does the person want?

For a crowded scenario, sketch a timeline or a list of the parties. Keep it short enough to use while writing. Allocate reading and planning time in proportion to the assessment: a fixed five-minute rule will not suit every question.

2. Organise by issue, not by everything you remember

A useful plan might read: "contract formed; term breached; available remedy; limitation or defence". The correct sequence depends on the subject.

Give each substantial issue its own analysis. Where two people have different claims, make clear whose position you are considering. A single long section called "the law" followed by another called "the facts" makes the connection harder to follow.

You do not need to force an equally long IRAC paragraph onto an uncontested point. Explain straightforward matters briefly and spend more time on the real disputes.

3. Apply the rule to specific facts

Compare these two sentences:

The goods were not of satisfactory quality, so Maya has rights.

A new laptop that cannot start because of a manufacturing defect is unlikely to meet the standard a reasonable buyer would expect at that price.

The second sentence explains the conclusion. It identifies the relevant facts and connects them to the legal standard.

Use conditional reasoning where the question leaves something uncertain: "If the fault was disclosed before purchase, the analysis may differ." Do not add facts simply to make your preferred answer work.

Worked example: a faulty laptop

Scenario: Maya pays an electronics retailer in full for a new laptop for personal use and takes it home that day. Eight days later, a technician confirms that a manufacturing defect present at delivery prevents it from starting. The defect was not disclosed and was not apparent on an ordinary inspection. Maya wants to reject it for a refund and has not requested or agreed to a repair. Advise her under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

This is a short teaching example concerning England and Wales, not a complete model answer to an unseen assessment.

Issue

Can Maya reject the laptop for a refund, rather than having to accept a repair first?

Rule

Goods supplied under a consumer contract must be of satisfactory quality. The standard takes account of matters including description, price and relevant circumstances. See section 9.

For a breach of that requirement, section 19(3) provides remedies including the short-term right to reject. Sections 20 and 22 govern exercising that right and its time limit.

Application

Maya bought from a retailer for personal use, and the facts establish a defect present at delivery. A new laptop that cannot start is unlikely to satisfy the required quality standard. Neither prior disclosure nor an obvious defect on examination appears to exclude that complaint.

Eight days have passed since payment, ownership and delivery, with no installation requirement or agreed repair to complicate the timing. She is within the ordinary 30-day period. The short-term remedy means she need not agree to a repair before rejecting in these circumstances.

Conclusion

Maya can exercise the short-term right to reject on these facts. She should clearly tell the retailer that she rejects the laptop and treats the contract as ended, and make it available for collection or return it as agreed. The remedy includes a refund of the money paid.

Notice how the answer reaches a practical result using the facts given. It does not need a long discussion of every possible consumer remedy.

4. Deal fairly with the competing argument

Where the facts genuinely support more than one interpretation, explain the best argument on each side and say which is stronger. Avoid creating a weak objection just to announce that it fails.

In the laptop example, changing the facts to a private sale, a disclosed defect or a much later complaint could alter the route through the law. In your actual assessment, use the variation the examiner gives you.

5. Finish with a useful conclusion

Answer the client's question: likely liability, likely remedy and any important uncertainty. "It depends" only helps if you explain what it depends on and how that fact affects the answer.

Before moving on, check that you have answered every part, applied the important facts and used the authorities your course expects. Follow the stated citation rules, especially where open-book assessments and coursework differ.

Use our guide selector to find study notes for your course. If your assessment also includes MCQs, practise the separate technique explained in our law MCQ guide.

Build the knowledge behind a stronger answer

For digital study guides and case books alongside question practice, join Law Answered+. It includes MCQ Master, so you can check your understanding of the rules before applying them in a written answer. If you already have the notes you need, MCQ Master membership gives you focused question practice with explanations. Keep practising written application too: spotting the right answer and explaining it clearly are separate skills.