ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS IN LAW

SCHOOL &

BAR TECHNIQUES FOR FIRST

YEAR STUDENTS

Presented by: Atty. Edmar Lerios

STRUCTURE OF LEGAL ANALYSIS

IRAC PROCESS & FORMULA

▸ Issue / Introduction
▸ Rule / Law
▸ Application of rule to facts
▸ Conclusion
STRUCTURE OF ESSAY ANSWER

ARAC FORMULA
▸ Answer (categorical answer)
▸ Rule / Law
▸ Application of rule to facts
▸ Conclusion
ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS

OUTLINE OF AN ESSAY ANSWER

1. Answer the question definitively in one sentence.

“Yes. The accused is guilty of murder.”

Avoid answering “It depends”. You might have to

qualify your answer by adding extraneous facts,
thereby changing the examiner’s questions.
ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS

2. Support your answer with a specific provision of law or a

case that is on all fours.

“Under the Revised Penal code, murder is committed

when the following elements are present…”

“According to the Civil Code,…”

“The Family Code provides that…”

It is not necessary for you to cite the exact provisions of

law (e.g. Art. 248) or the title of the case.
ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS

3. Explain why the facts of the problem require the

application or non-application of the legal principle or
doctrine involved.

“In the case at bar, …”

“In this case,…”
“Here, …”
ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS

4. State your conclusion (which is a restatement of

number 1).

Hence, …

Therefore,…
SAMPLE CASE PROBLEM

SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS

A lady worker was born with a physical deformity,
specifically, hard of hearing, speech impaired and color
blind. However, these deficiencies do not impair her
working ability.

Can the employer classify the lady worker as a

handicapped worker so that her daily wage will only be
seventy-five percent (75%) of the applicable daily minimum
wage? (5%)
ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS

SAMPLE ANSWER
No. The employer cannot classify the lady worker as a
handicapped worker.
The Labor Code provides that to be considered a handicapped
worker, the physical deficiencies or deformities of a worker must
adversely affect or impair his working ability or capacity in
relation to his assigned job. And the law allows the payment of a
wage of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the applicable daily
minimum wage.
Here, the deficiency of the lady worker is unrelated to or does
not impair her ability in the performance of her assigned job.
Therefore, she should not be classified as a handicapped
worker. And she should be entitled to the full applicable daily
minimum wage.
DO’S AND DONT’S IN ASWERING

BAR TIPS
ANSWERING ESSAY EXAMS

DO’S

▸ When reading the problem, DO pay particular attention to

the question indicated at the end of the problem.

▸ When identifying the legal issues raised by the relevant

facts, DO remember that your answer must be about the
particular bar subject you are being tested on.

▸ DO keep your answers short and sweet. Try to limit each of

your answers to not more than a page of your exam
booklet.
ANSWERING ESSAY EXAMS

DON’TS
▸ WHEN ANSWERING:

DON’T restate the question or the facts. It will only create a

suspicion that you do not know the answer.

DON’T beat around the bush or use long-winded sentences.

DON’T omit verbs or punctuation marks.

DON’T provide alternative answers.

DON’T qualify your answer, unless the question expressly states or

implies that you must, or unless you are totally convinced that you
need to.
ANSWERING ESSAY EXAMS

DON’TS

▸ IF YOU’VE MADE A MISTAKE:

DON’T obliterate your answer with ink.

DON’T erase your answer using correction fluid.

DON’T tear off a page or any part of your answer pad.

ANSWERING ESSAY EXAMS

DON’TS

▸ DON’T spend too much time or space on any single

question.

▸ DON’T leave any blanks.

DOES HANDWRITING MATTER?

YES! IT CERTAINLY DOES.

TIPS FROM A BAR EXAMINER

Write your answer in a simple, direct, unaffected style. Try not

to imitate the writing style you see in judicial decisions or law
journals. You’re too young to write in a pompous, pretentious,
or self-important manner, so save yourself. Besides, your
examiner will not have time to cut through the pomposity.
Just say “Plaintiff is correct,” instead of saying “Premises
considered, I hereby rule in the affirmative, verily, in favour of
Plaintiff, as the Respondent’s argument is bereft of merit.”

Atty. Jeremy Gatdula

2009 Bar Examiner in Political Law
BAR TIPS

ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD ESSAY ANSWER

▸ Correct appreciation of facts.

▸ Ability to identify the issue/s.

▸ Knowledge of the law.

▸ Logic and reasoning.

▸ Art of persuasion.

▸ Responsiveness.

▸ Clarity.

▸ Brevity.

▸ Neatness of presentation.
REFERENCE & COPYRIGHT:

▸ Lat, Ma. Tanya Karina. Bar Blues: Everything You need to

Know About the New Bar Exams But Are Too Busy to Ask.
Central Bookstore: 2013.