engineering assignment
32 What is Law?
IRAC Methodology
An essay question allows you to communicate your
knowledge of the subject matter and your ability to apply it to a
specific question or situation. Your essay should be well
developed and organized, and clearly focused on the question
presented. You should reach the right conclusion for the right
reasons. Proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style are all
important to an effective essay. If your writing skills are
deficient, then you will have a difficult time with essay questions
and you owe it to yourself to get help. An inability to express
yourself effectively in writing is a serious impediment to
advancement in the business world.
IRAC stands for Issue Rule Analysis Conclusion. IRAC
methodology is a powerful way to organize and write essays
requiring legal reasoning and/or critical thinking. In fact, it is
adaptable to any subject matter. In law, IRAC is applied to a set
of facts to determine what the proper legal outcome should be.
ISSUE: The issue is the legal question presented. What
legal question is raised by the facts? There can be more than
one. Frequently, you will be given the issue. If you are given the
issue, write about it. Don’t change the issue and write about
something else. If the question simply says “Discuss,” then you
must determine and properly state the issue.
RULES: Once you know the legal issue, then you can
determine the relevant law necessary to answer the legal
question presented. In this section you should accurately and
fully state the law that you have determined to be relevant.
Relevant rules are those that relate to the development of a
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The Role of the Design Professional in Society 33
party’s position or another party’s defense or alternative
position. Select the rules that support the outcome or conclusion
you reach. In an open book or a take-home exam there is no
excuse for incorrectly stating the law. If you identify a rule as
relevant, I expect you to apply it in the analysis.
ANALYSIS: The analysis is the most important part of
your essay. It demonstrates your ability to apply the law to the
facts to answer the legal issue presented and to support the
conclusion you reach. Analysis is interpretation of facts and law
together to determine the objective truth justifying the
conclusion. Proper analysis is well organized to logically develop
the arguments for and against the issue, and explains why one
position is ultimately stronger than another is. Competent
analysis accounts for all the given facts, and leaves nothing out
in the support of the conclusion in the same manner that a proof
in geometry must include all the steps to be valid. Analysis sets
out your reasoning and explains using facts and law together
why your conclusion is correct. You will use connecting words
like “since” and “because” in your analysis. Omissions in the
development of the argument or assumptions in place of facts
are usually fatal to your proof. Thus, analysis is your proof that
you are right, based on using the proper law and applying it fully
and correctly to the evidence (facts and your interpretation of
them).
CONCLUSION: The final part of your answer is the
conclusion. The conclusion answers the legal question presented
in the issue and is your expression of the right or just result or
outcome. It should rarely be more than a sentence or two.
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34 What is Law?
Here is a different approach to understanding the IRAC
methodology:
When you are reading a case or analyzing a case problem,
ask these questions:
1. Who is the Plaintiff/ Defendant(s)?
2. What is/are the claim(s), cause(s) of action, issue(s)?
3. What are the elements of each claim or cause of action?
4. What are the defenses to each claim or cause of action?
5. Is each element proved? Use the facts/evidence to
support or negate and explain why.
6. Is each defense proved? Use the facts/evidence to
support or negate and explain why.
7. What is the result/conclusion?
If you think about it, question 2 sets the issue, questions 3
and 4 set the rules, questions 5 and 6 set the analysis, and
question 6 provides the conclusion. Poof! Instant organization of
your answer.
Unfortunately, many people suffer from a lack of writing
skills. You cannot become a good writer unless you practice.
Here is an easy and fun practice exercise:
Here is a short question followed by a model answer
written by a student to demonstrate the IRAC methodology.
Following the Model Answer is a Writing Diagnostic for an IRAC
answer.
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