Law Essay Writing Help: Planning your law essay
This study area has been created by our experts to help students with writing Law Essay and Problem Questions, Law Reports and Law Dissertations. If you require further help with your question, why not order a fully customised model answer on which to base your assignment? Use our online order form to submit your request and you could have a complete model answer written to your specification within 24 hours.
The next step is to plan your essay: as we identified, the minimum requirements will be an introduction, body and conclusion, unless you are dealing with a report or dissertation.
When you have done some research, you may wish to make a rough plan of where you intend to go with the essay. For example:
Question: Recent case law suggests that litigants are generally better advised to pursue a claim in misrepresentation rather than for breach of contract. Discuss.
Comment: Note that the question asks you to ‘discuss’ – this requires that you offer an explanation of the issue/quote and then give two or more sides of the issue and any implications.
This question calls for a general comparison of the remedies for misrepresentation and breach of contract, but more specifically, it requires a focus on the recent body of case law from the Court of Appeal in which damages under Section 2 of the Misrepresentation Act (1967) have been equated with those available for an action in deceit. Your answer should therefore include a comparison of the following points:
(a) the availability of rescission and repudiation;
(b) the basis upon which damages are awarded in misrepresentation and for breach of contract.
Sample Law Essay Plan
Introduction
- For a pre-contractual statement constituting both a breach of contract and misrepresentation, the representee must choose which action to pursue. Which is best?
- Remedies for breach of contract (repudiation and/or damages), remedies for misrepresentation (rescission and/or damages)
- What the essay will cover: a consideration of § the availability of repudiation and rescission, § the basis for awarding damages in each area.
- Contract remedies depend whether the term which the defendant has broken is a condition or warranty, whereas in misrepresentation it is the culpability of the defendant which determines the available remedies.
Body
- The difference between repudiation and rescission
- How contract terms are classified and why this is important
- The basis for awarding damages for breach of contract
- The basis of awarding damages for misrepresentation
- The advantages of suing under Section 2 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967
- The relevance of contributory negligence, fraud and direct consequences damages, and loss of opportunity damages
- Use of a deceit measure for all non-innocent misrepresentations, disregard of any foreseeability criterion
- Potentially enhanced recovery of non-pecuniary losses
- Award of quasi ‘loss of bargain’ damages
- Contrast with difficulties recovering damages for innocent misrepresentations
- Possible bars to rescission including exercise of judicial discretion under Section 2(2) of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 (per William Sindall plc v Cambridgeshire County Council (1994) 1 WLR 1016)
- General emphasis on reliance losses in tort
Conclusion
Summarise main issues/comparisons
(Adapted from Source: Brown, I & Chandler, A (2005/6) Law of Contract, Oxford University Press)
Law Essays – writing your introduction
Your introduction will often be an analysis of the question posed, identifying the area of law, key legislation and main points you intend to address in the essay. You may even spell out what you intend to show in your writing. For this reason, it is suggested that you review your introduction when you have finished to make sure it reflects the direction you have taken, or even leave writing your introduction until last!
Law Essays – writing the body
The body of your answer, accounting for the majority of the word count, should demonstrate your understanding of the area and develop your argument. It is a good idea here to keep referring explicitly to the question asked.
The body may include:
- A discussion of the main issues raised by the question
- Positive and negative views
- Pros and cons for different approaches
- Problems with the area of law in discussion
You can refer to authoritive opinion, e.g. quotes from Hansard, Law Commission Reports, opinions from Text Books but note that you should not give your personal opinion ever in law essays. Rather, you should give a legal opinion based on the sources you have found.
You should aim to:
(a) write in continuous prose
(b) make sure everything you say is relevant
(c) start a new paragraph for each main idea
(d) use short, clear sentences in preference to long, rambling ones.
(e) support each main idea with examples, relevant facts or legal authorities, making clear where it was that information or quotations you use came from.
((a) – (e) adapted from Source: Asif Tufal, Writing Essays)
Make sure that you keep referring back to the question posed – this will help you stay on track.
Law Essays – writing your conclusion
The final section is your conclusion – this should summarise your main findings, highlight any major issues that have arisen from your discussion, and discuss the implications of your findings. If reform is required, you could say so here – if reform is already proposed or underway, this is something you should explain.
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This study area has been created by our experts to help students with Administrative Law Essay and Problem Questions. If you require further help with your question, why not order a fully customised model answer on which to base your assignment? Use our online order form to submit your request and you could have a complete model answer written to your specification within 24 hours.
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