Touchstone - Business Law

9/30/26, 8:29 PMTOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car? | Business Law | Sophia Learning

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Touchstone 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?

Overview

What You Will Learn: You will apply your understanding of the core elements of a legally

binding contract by analyzing a real-world business scenario involving a potential car

purchase.

Why It Matters: Understanding how contracts are formed and how to determine whether

one exists is essential in both business and personal decision-making. By identifying and

applying the relevant legal principles, you’ll strengthen your legal reasoning skills and build

a foundation for handling similar situations in the future.

What You Will Hand In: A 750-1000 word paper analyzing Jim and Laura’s case, saved as a

Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx)

Keys to Success:

Clearly define the elements of a valid contract, using examples

Make a clear and well-defended decision about whether a contract was formed

Use facts from the scenario and two high-quality academic sources to support

your judgment

Include APA in-text citations and a reference page

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� Touchstones are currently being graded within 2-4 business days.

UNIT 2 — TOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?

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9/30/26, 8:29 PMTOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car? | Business Law | Sophia Learning

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Instructions

Step 1: Review the Scenario

Jim and Laura Buyer visit a local car dealership because they are interested in buying a

new car. The car they currently have is aging and is starting to have mechanical

problems. Jim and Laura would share the new car and use it to go back and forth to

work and school. Before going to the dealership, Jim and Laura decide that they can

only afford $400.00 a month in car payments.

Once at the car dealership, Jim and Laura meet Stan Salesman. Stan shows them

several vehicles and Jim and Laura test-drive several of the cars. Jim and Laura

particularly like the blue 4-door sedan. Therefore, they agree to give Stan Salesman a

$100.00 deposit to hold the car for a day. Stan Salesman does not give them the receipt

but guarantees that the $100.00 is refundable. No documents were signed.

The next day, Stan Salesman calls Jim and Laura to ask them when they would like to

take delivery of the car. Jim and Laura, on the way home from the dealership, decided

that they were not going to buy the car because they did not want to spend that money

each month. Therefore, Jim and Laura tell Stan Salesman that they have decided not to

buy the car and request their $100.00 deposit back.

Stan insists that the $100.00 was a deposit on the car and was meant to be part of the

9/30/26, 8:29 PMTOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car? | Business Law | Sophia Learning

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contract to buy the car. Stan is very persistent and insistent that Jim and Laura have

contracted to buy the car; therefore, the $100.00 will be applied to the purchase price

of the car. Jim and Laura are shocked and angry as not only do they not want to spend

the money, but now feel as though they are being duped by Stan Salesman.

Jim and Laura have an appointment to see a lawyer in a few days, but know you are a

student taking a business law class and come to you for advice. They are very frazzled,

and understandably upset that they may have just purchased a car. Since you have

been taking business law, you have read and understand the elements of a contract

and the defenses to a contract. Therefore, although you are not a lawyer, you provide

some basic advice from what you’ve learned in your business law class.

Step 2: Write the Touchstone

Write a 750-1000 word paper in which you analyze the situation and answer the central legal question: Did Jim and Laura enter into a valid contract to buy the car?

Your paper should include the following components:

. Contract Definition: Identify and define the elements that must be present for a legal contract

to exist. Provide a brief example of each element.

. Case Support: Analyze the specific facts presented in the scenario and determine whether

the elements of a contract are present. Support your analysis with in-text citations that

reference at least two academic sources, one of which must be an outside source.

. Case Judgement: Decide whether or not Jim and Laura entered a contract with Stan

Salesman for the purchase of the automobile. Your judgment should be clearly stated and

backed by your previous analysis.

. Reference Page: Include a list of references in APA format for any source you cite in your

paper, including tutorials from this course.

Visit the Citation Help resource for assistance with APA in-text citations and reference pages.

9/30/26, 8:29 PMTOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car? | Business Law | Sophia Learning

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� HINT

Academic sources may include Sophia course tutorials, legal dictionaries, government

websites (.gov), or law-related education websites (.edu). Free online resources such as the

Legal Information Institute or the American Bar Association are excellent places to start.

Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as a quality academic source.

Step 3: Review and Submit Your Work

Review your work carefully and check the rubric to make sure you have met all the requirements. Submit in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

Rubric

  Advanced (100%)

Proficient (85%)

Acceptable (75%)

Needs Improvement (50%)

Contract Definition Defines the elements of a legal contract with examples. (25%)

Thoroughly defines all the elements of a legal contract and provides appropriate examples of each.

Defines most of the elements of a legal contract and provides appropriate examples.

Defines half of the elements of a legal contract and provides appropriate examples.

Insufficiently defines the elements of a legal contract.

Case Support Analyzes the facts from the scenario which support the decision on whether or not a contract exists. (25%)

Identifies 5 or more specific facts from the scenario and explains how each fact directly relates to contract elements.

Identifies 4 or more specific facts from the scenario, with reasonable connections to contract elements.

Identifies 3 or more facts from the scenario, but connections to contract elements may be unclear or general.

Insufficiently identifies facts from the scenario and how they support a conclusion.

Case Judgment Decides whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. (25%)

Provides a clear and correct decision (yes/no) and accurately applies the facts of the case to support the decision; decision is fully aligned with the contract definition.

Provides a correct decision and generally applies the facts of the case to support the decision.

Provides a correct decision, but the rationale is very limited or contains errors in applying the facts or interpreting the contract definition.

Provides an incorrect decision; reasoning is missing or demonstrates significant misunderstanding of contract elements.

Sources Analysis is supported Analysis is supported Includes the required Does not include the

9/30/26, 8:29 PMTOUCHSTONE 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car? | Business Law | Sophia Learning

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Cites two academic sources to support your judgement. (15%)

with the required number of references; all references are high- quality sources.

with the required number of references; most references are high-quality choices.

number of references; references are mostly not high-quality choices.

required number of references.

Conventions Paper is proofread and meets length and formatting requirements (10%).

There are almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; length requirement is met.

There are minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that do not impede readability; length requirement is nearly met.

There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; length requirement is nearly met.

There are consistent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; length requirement is not nearly met.

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