Essay Writing Checklist

1. Allocate your Time
   1. Have your watch somewhere in plain view
   2. Set up a timetable on your scrap paper
      • Use the point allocations provided by your professor to set the time
      • If no allocations are provided, use your judgment based on the number of questions, length of questions, and time given for the exam.
2. Read the Question
   1. Begin by reading the interrogatory at the end of the question.
   2. If you’re asked to evaluate court rulings, locate these rulings in the fact pattern.
   3. Read the fact pattern “actively”
      1. Identify the area of law and the legal relationship between the parties.
      2. Circle amounts of money, dates, locations, quantities, and ages.
      3. Note the words “oral” and “written.”
      4. Be perfectly clear about who is doing what to whom.
3. Outline your Answer
   1. Identify the issues.
   2. Identify the rule for each issue.
   3. Compile the building blocks for the rule of law by considering,
      1. elements
      2. definitions
      3. exceptions to the general rule
      4. distinctions
   4. Follow a hierarchy of concepts by,
      1. moving from the general to the specific
      2. defining each legal term of art
4. Write the Essay
   1. Begin your statement of the issue with, “The issue is whether”? and include the word “when” to ensure that you include the relevant facts.
   2. Commence your statement of the rule with, “Under the [state the controlling law: common law, federal rule, state-specific statute, etc.]
   3. Use “Here” or “In this case” to introduce your application.
   4. Use “because” to make the connection between rule and fact.
   5. Match up a “fact” with each “element” or “definition” in your rule and explain its significance.
   6. Answer the question you were asked.