USING “IRAC” ON EXAMS
By Jerry Wegman
Copyright 2004
A “safe” way to respond to an essay exam question or to brief a case is to follow the "IRAC" format, presenting issues, rules, analysis, and finally conclusions. Here are my suggestions for an approach that is likely to evoke your greatest display of knowledge and therefore the highest grade on exams:
FIRST
1. Read the question. This will give you an idea of the general topic of the question. Read the question again, this time focusing on aspects that relate to the topic. Read the question again, now with an appreciation of the topic and a beginning idea of the legal issues that are present. Read the question again, now writing in the margin the legal issues and some important facts relating to those issues.
2. Now set the question aside and think about the situation described in the question. Think about the practical aspects – who has suffered the loss, who might be liable, who can pay for the loss, why the problem occurred. List all the legal theories of recovery that the plaintiff could use against the defendant, and assign each a strength level – strong, medium or weak.
3. Read the question again, looking now for details or facts that may have been overlooked earlier, before you realized their importance. Now write your IRAC outline.
NOW
4. Begin writing your answer. On exams do not write a summary of the facts. Begin with the issues. When you are preparing a case brief for class, begin with a brief summary of the facts.
Stating the issue(s) is the hardest part of a brief or answer. An issue is always a question. I recommend using the form "whether or not ..." in stating the issue. For example, "the first issue is whether or not defendant A is directly liable in negligence to plaintiff B”.
The issue always involves a legal conclusion. This is a conclusion that is based on the application of a legal rule. The legal rule should always be named in the issue statement. Note that in the example above, the legal rule of negligence, and specifically direct as opposed to vicarious negligence liability, will determine the outcome; and negligence is named in the issue statement.
The most common error is to state the issue too broadly, omitting the legal rule that is implicated. For example, in the example above, a poor statement of the issue would be something like "Is A liable to B in this case?" Including the legal rule in the issue statement sets up the later stages of the IRAC format analysis, and focuses on the legal issue being controverted..
5. In a new paragraph state the content of the rule(s) that apply. Do not merely name the rule(s). Naming the rule demonstrates that you know its name. Stating the content demonstrates that you know the content. Knowing the content of the rule is far more important, so you get much more credit for stating the content. Remember, the grader is not a mind-reader. The grader can only give credit for what a student puts down on the page.
All rules contain elements that must be satisfied. If a plaintiff is to be successful, he/she must prove that those elements exist in this case. For negligence, those required elements are (a) a duty of care, (b) violation of that duty, (c) proximate cause for the plaintiff’s loss and (d) the dollar amount of damages that result.
6. Your analysis consists of applying the facts of the case to the rules. Many students have trouble with their analysis section. This can be helped by segmenting the analysis - breaking the analysis down to severable parts and dealing separately with those parts. For example, label a new paragraph (a) “duty of care”, the first element. You must determine what a reasonable duty of care consists of in this case. This is the level of care that a "reasonably prudent person" would exercise. For example, a reasonably prudent and competent accountant, or engineer, or lawyer. This is the level of care that the defendant owed to the plaintiff. Look for facts in the question that might suggest what a reasonable level of care consists of in this situation.
7. In a new paragraph, labeled (b) “violation of the duty of care” state how the defendant in this case violated his/her duty. Look again at the question for evidence of this violation.
8. In a new paragraph, labeled (c) “proximate cause” explain how in this case the defendant’s failure to exercise reasonable care led directly to the plaintiff’s loss.
9. In a new paragraph labeled (d) “damages” estimate the dollar amount of damages. Note that in this analysis section you are dealing with the facts of the problem and determining whether the elements of the legal rule can be established by the facts that are given to you in the problem.
10. In a final paragraph briefly state your conclusion – that is, whether the defendant is likely to be found liable in negligence in this case. State whether you feel the plaintiff’s case on this legal theory is strong, medium or weak. If the case is close, and a good argument can be made for either side, by all means go ahead and make it. You will be displaying more knowledge and earning a higher grade.
11. If there is more than one issue, the skip a line and write “Issue #2 …” and follow the same procedure as above. Include all legal theories of recovery that you feel have a reasonable chance of success. If you feel they are weak theories, then label them as weak. If you are running out of time, you can summarize the weak theories and briefly state why they are weak. If you feel that a legal theory of recovery is often used in cases like this, but that it will fail in this case, you can use the IRAC format to explain why.
The foregoing is a “fail-safe” format for students to follow in responding to essay exam questions. It tends to evoke the greatest display of knowledge and therefore the highest grade. It is always helpful, and it is especially useful if a student does not feel confident in his/her composition skills or analytic skills. Using other forms or styles can work but I do not recommend them because there is substantial likelihood that the student will omit important information. Exam grades can only be based on what the student displays. The IRAC method will evoke and display maximum knowledge therefore resulting in maximum grade.
Remember, on an exam your purpose is to
display your knowledge, not to find a “correct” answer. The grader is trying to determine your level
of mastery of the subject. Fully supporting
your conclusions with an IRAC format analysis does this best.