Jeff Minneti
Associate Professor of Legal Skills and
Director of Academic Success
minneti@law.stetson.edu
Objectives
 Understand your job on essay exams.
 Appreciate the kind of essay exam questions you will
face.
 Understand the steps required for crafting effective
legal analysis.
 Appreciate the attributes of effective legal analysis.
Your Job on Exams
 Accrue points
 Answer the question asked
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Policy/theory
Issue spotter
 Use legal analysis to answer the question asked
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Syllogism
IRAC
CRAC
CREAC
Types of Essay Exam Questions
 Policy
 Issue spotting
Policy Question
 Identify the policy interests that arise from the question
presented
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Critical Legal Studies
Law and Economics
Separation of Powers
Judicial efficiency
 Explain the connection between the policy interests and the
question
 Consider the implication of the policy on other social
institutions
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Sociology
History
Business interests
Education
Policy Interest Assessments
Issue Spotting
 Read the call of the question
 Identify and list the legal or factual issues presented
 Skim the facts
 Critically read each sentence
 Identify those facts that have legal significance
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The facts that have legal significance are those that affect the
way the law gets applied to the fact pattern
Circle, underline, or highlight the facts that have legal
significance
Do you see the shark?
Issue Spotting
 In the margin, list the rule structure or portion of rule
structure (element or factor) that the fact connects with
 Evaluate whether there are any sentences or sections of the
fact pattern where you have not identified any legally
significant facts
 If there are, review your topical or skeletal outline to see
whether any topics listed there trigger issues you may have
missed
 Review the rules/rule structures you have written in the
margins; organize and strategize how to best analyze those
rules
 Outline your response, ordering the issues you will address
Think of the law as a magnet. . .
Legal Analysis
 Two step Process:
 (1) Explain the law;
 (2) Apply the law
Legal Analysis
 http://movieclips.com/9iWog-the-karate-kid-movie-
wax-on-wax-off/
Legal Analysis
 First step: Explain the law (think in terms of rule
structures for each topic—explain the structure)
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Accurate
Complete
 To the level of detail covered in course
 Reach the “tests” in the rule structure of the law
 Factors, elements, if thens, hybrids, exceptions
Concise
 Allows you to get more words on page, yielding more points
Precise
 Detail matters
Legal Analysis
 Second Step: Apply the Law
 One test at a time, discuss whether the facts satisfy the test the rule
structure provides
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Consider both parties’ perspectives
Set up as arguments
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Plaintiff will argue that test z is satisfied because of facts 1, 2, and 3
Alternatively, Defendant will argue that Test z is not satisfied because of
facts 1, 4, and 5.
A court will likely agree with . . . because . . .
 Explain the legal significance of your conclusion
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Test satisfied results in element satisfied
Once all elements satisfied consider affirmative defenses
 Answer the reader’s questions
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How do you know?
So what?
Lawyer in a Lab coat
Attributes of Effective Legal
Analysis
 Explain law
 Accurate
 Complete
 Precise
 Concise
 Apply law
 Discuss the link
between the legal test
and the facts
 Use because
 Address counter
argument
 Discuss legal
significance of
conclusion
Legal Analysis
 Use of Case Law
 Analogy is NOT argument
 If the facts of the test question run closely parallel to a
case that you read, consider discussing the case as an
example of how the rule is applied
 Avoid raising a case just to show you know the case dealt
with the same issue raised in the question
Essay Exam Skills Refresher Review
 Your job?
 How do you do it?
 Steps in Legal Analysis?
 Attributes of strong Legal Analysis?
Practice
 Frequently respond to practice questions
 Use questions in case book, from professor, from
materials professor recommends, and/or from
supplemental materials
 Seek feedback on responses from professors, teaching
assistants, and/or classmates
 Revise responses in light of feedback
 Complete at least one essay question each week; try to
get feedback on at least one response from each
professor before exams