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How To Answer Law School Exams

Posted by Diory Rabajante on Sunday, July 18, 2010 Under: tips

Answering Law School Exams is not the same as answering other essay-type exams. Answers to the formermust have both the argument and legal basis. Here are two variations of how one ought to answer a law schoolexam. One may choose to follow either of these two because they are almost the same. First Format / Variation: The ARC Method I learned this method from a law professor. She said that this is how we should answer her exams. It was said that this is the "Bedan" way of answering a law school exam, but I would rather call this "the ARC method" instead of "the Bedan way of answering an exam" because some Bedans might be more comfortable following the other format. ARC is the mnemonic for "Answer, Rule and Connection." Here's how to use this format: 1. [A] Answer: The student must first give his or her answer to the categorical question. Most of the times the categorical question is answerable by either a "yes" or a "no." In such a case, the student must start his or her answer with "Yes" or "No." He or she may also use "The answer is in the affirmative" (indicating a "yes" answer) or "The answer is in the negative" (indicating a "no" answer). In rare cases, the most logical answer to the major categorical question is dependent on some situation (an "It depends" answer). When confronted with this question, the student must give an "It depends" answer, explaining later why. There is no need to have an introduction. The professor wants to see first the main answer to the major question. 2. [R] Rule: After giving a categorical answer to the categorical question, the student must give the legal basis for the answer. The student must be able to present what the law states regarding the issue presented. Do not bombard your answer with an enumeration of laws that are irrelevant. What the professor wants to see is your ability to make a legal argument, not your ability to memorize and enumerate laws. The rule or legal basis the student must write must be the specific law regarding the issue, or the said specific law plus a doctrine in a case decided by the Supreme Court. 3. [C] Connection: The student must now provide the connection between 1 and 2, or between A and R. This is the part where the student will provide the argument as to how he or she arrived with the answer in A based on his or her answer in R. 4. The student may mention a case that has the same factual setting. This part is optional. Consider this example taken from a law reviewer: A, a citizen of California, USA, but domiciled in the Philippines, died testate in Manila, survived by 2 illegitimate natural children, B and C. In his will, he left more than P5000,000 to B and only P3,000 to C. It is admitted that under the Civil Code of California, the domiciliary law of the decedent shall govern questions involving thevalidity of testamentary provisions. C, who is contesting the validity of the disposition in favor of B, now contends that Philippine laws with respect to succession are applicable. Is this correct? Answer: Yes, this is correct. The doctrine of renvoi is applicable in the instant case. Although NCC in Art. 16 states that the intrisic validity of testamentary provisions shall be regulated by the decedent's national law, nevertheless, the Civil Code of California declares that the decedent's domiciliary law shall govern. Hence, the question shall be referred back to the decedent's domicile. In other words, the laws of the Philippines with respect to succesion shall govern. Consequently, in the partition of the estate, C shall be given a share which must not be less than his legitime. (Aznar vs. Garcia, 7 SCRA 95). - Jurado, D.P. "Civil Law Reviewer." 20th ed., Rex Printing Company, Inc., 2006. * Question *Answer Now, let us analyze the answer, applying ARC. 1. [A] = Yes, this is correct.

2. [R] = The doctrine of renvoi is applicable in the instant case. Although NCC in Art. 16 states that the intrisicvalidity of testamentary provisions shall be regulated by the decedent's national law, nevertheless, the Civil Code of California declares that the decedent's domiciliary law shall govern. 3. [C] = The question shall be referred back to the decedent's domicile. In other words, the laws of the Philippines with respect to succesion shall govern. Consequently, in the partition of the estate, C shall be given a share which must not be less than his legitime. 4. Aznar vs. Garcia (optional) Second Format / Variation: The IRAC Method Here is a video on how to use the IRAC method (by Law Study Systems)

The IRAC method is quite similar to the ARC. Let us analyze the example above applying the IRAC method. 1. [I] = The issue is whether or not the Philippine laws with respect to succession are applicable (or whether C is correct in arguing that Philippine laws with respect to succession are applicable). The answer to this issue is "Yes." 2. [R] = The doctrine of renvoi is applicable in the instant case. Although NCC in Art. 16 states that the

intrisic validity of testamentary provisions shall be regulated by the decedent's national law, nevertheless, the Civil Code of California declares that the decedent's domiciliary law shall govern. 3. [A] and [C]= The question shall be referred back to the decedent's domicile. In other words, the laws of the Philippines with respect to succesion shall govern. Consequently, in the partition of the estate, C shall be given a share which must not be less than his legitime.
The ARC and IRAC methods are just two ways of answering a law school exam. There might be other methods that could be used. The important thing to remember is that the answers must have an argument that has a legal basis.

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