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Writing Your Tort Law Exam
General Notes:
 You may encounter 2 main types of tort law questions: Fact-patterns versus essay-type
questions.
 Essay type questions: Your approach to this should be no different from the way it is
addressed in other disciplines.
 Fact-patterns: A fact-pattern type of question invites students to diagnose a problem and
offer a remedy; essentially, you are expected to apply the IRAC Rule, which is an approach
to legal analysis. What is IRAC?
o I: Issue(s)
o R: Rule
o A: Application
o C: Conclusion
1. Issue(s)
 Identify the ISSUES (legal issues) arising from the facts: This is the diagnosis.
 Look out for one or more issues. Same set of facts can give rise to a
number of legal issues.
 Don’t argue with the facts or attempt to re-write the story. If you need
additional facts to reach certain conclusions, state those facts or state the
factual assumptions you are making.
 Note that in some cases, the issue will be provided for you when the
examiner asks directly, for example, Is Jane liable for trespass?
 Useful to set out (as legal questions) the elements/requirements needed
to be proven to answer the key legal question or issue.
2. Rule
 State the RULE (legal principle) that applies to the issues:
 Clearly set out the rule or principles of law applicable to those issues. Be
as clear and as detailed as is necessary. This is a very important step in
the process. If you miss this step, you risk getting an unimpressive score.
 Identify and discuss all relevant cases on the rule of law.
 Identify and discuss all relevant statutes.
3. Apply
 APPLY the rules you have stated to the facts of the case:
 At this level, you apply the rule(s) or principles of law to the facts
presented in the question by analysis.
 ‘By analysis’ means you need to be analytical. This is the real test of your
ability to understand the facts and the question(s), synthesize what is
important, and demonstrate your knowledge of the law and how the law
applies to the facts before you.
 In medical parlance, this is equivalent to treatment after diagnosis.
 Perhaps, most important stage of the analysis. Cannot be omitted.
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
Where necessary, explain why a given rule stated at the rule stage above
does not apply to the facts of the case.
Note: This is not the place to introduce your cases or statutes for the first
time. However, you will need to apply the cases/statutes already outlined
and discussed at the rule stage.
4. Conclusion
 Reach a CONCLUSION based on your analysis:
 Wrap up your analysis here by telling the examiner your overall
finding(s): “Jane is liable in/for negligence for the above stated reasons…
Therefore, Mary’s action against Jane will succeed.”
 Remember to provide a conclusion for all other issues arising as well.
 Feel free to provide a quick recap of those reasons in a paragraph or two.
 Don’t raise any new issues here.
Tips on Progressing Logically using the IRAC Rule
Rule
I – Issue
Expectations
Legal Question
Connectors
- The issue(s) arising is/are
“whether”, “what”, “under what”,
“when”, etc.
- “In order to answer the legal
question raised by this issue, I will
analyze …” OR –
- “I will analyze the following
elements/requirements of …”
[bullet point/numbers at this point
if you like].
R – Rule
Legal Rules/Legal Principles
A variety of approaches*
- “The law regarding a person’s right
to … is…”
- “It is settled law that …”
- “The legal principles that apply…”
A - Application
Apply rules to facts
A variety of approaches*
- “Given the applicable principles of
law, Jane’s failure to … meets the
legal definition of …”
- “Applying the law to the facts, it is
evident that…”
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-
C – Conclusion
Answer the legal
question/issue.
“On the strength of the law as
outlined above, Jane’s refusal to
heed Bello’s demand for a return of
his … is a denial of …”
“In spite of this rule, John’s
idiosyncrasies and his … place him
within the exception ….”
A variety of approaches*
“Based on the above analysis/analyses,
Jane is likely to be held liable for …”
“In light of the above analyses, I
conclude that Jane can successfully
invoke the defence of…”
“On the strength of the law and the
facts, it is unlikely that…”
*You may develop a style unique to you.
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