To get higher grades on an essay exam you need to add one word: because.
Today I am going to show you how to do this by working through
a short essay question with you.
Then you can add this to your exam toolbox and begin earning better grades.
Hi, this is Professor Beau Baez.
Having graded thousands of law school essay exams, the main factor distinguishing top
essays from the rest is their level of analysis.
In other words, the top students explain why their conclusion is correct.
Inward, outward, upward!
Today we're going to work on outward changes to propel you upward.
Let me provide you with a short fact pattern and then show you how you can improve your
analysis by using the word because.
On April Fool’s Day, Ted thought it would be funny to prank Marty at a business party.
Just as Marty was about to sit down in a chair, Ted pulled it out, resulting in Marty falling
down on the floor.
Everyone in the room laughed.
Though Marty was not hurt, he was very embarrassed.
Fully discuss the Tort that was committed.
Hopefully everyone identified that this was a battery, so with that,
let’s begin with an all too typical student answer.
The issue is whether Ted committed a Battery against Marty.
A battery is the intentional contact of another in a harmful or offensive manner.
Ted pulled Marty’s chair so he committed a battery.
The weakest law school essays provide this kind of answer and is a rookie mistake.
This is because law school professors are more interested in how you reached your conclusion,
not that you reached a conclusion.
In other words, a law school essay is about the journey, not the destination.
So sfter writing an answer, stop, and ask yourself why is this answer correct.
It is correct because Ted had intent, contact, and harm—the three elements to the tort.
On a law school exam, brevity is not your friend.
You may have been taught to be concise and to the point—that approach will hurt you
in law school.
It is better to err on the side of being verbose rather than being concise.
So now, let’s expand on our answer.
The issue is whether Ted committed a Battery against Marty.
A battery is the intentional contact of another in a harmful or offensive manner.
Ted pulled Marty’s chair so he committed a battery.
The first element is intent.
It is the first element because…
Intent is defined as knowing that a contact will occur or having substantial knowledge
that the contact will occur.
And we have intent here because…
Ted knew that by pulling Marty’s chair from underneath him, as he was about to sit down,
he would cause Marty to fall on the floor.
This knowledge establishes the intent element.
When I was in law school, none of my professors taught me how to write.
I was thrown in and expected to sink or swim.
All this did was reward those who hired a tutor or
figured it out before everyone else did.
For me, it took three semesters to master this simple technique.
Okay, now let’s follow this Nested IRAC method for the remaining two elements.
The second element is contact.
Contact is defined as a physical touching.
And that is important here because…
Though Ted did not physically touch Marty, his action caused Marty to contact the floor.
This contact with the ground establishes this element.
The third element is harm or offense.
This element is determined by what a reasonable person would find harmful or offensive.
This is established here because…
Though Marty was not harmed, a reasonable person would find it offensive that someone
would play this kind on prank at a business meeting full of people.
This establishes the final element, thereby proving that Ted committed a battery.
And that is how you can use because on every exam to help you earn higher grades.
And frankly, it takes less than a second to ask yourself the question
before you move on.
New videos every other Wednesday, and hit the subscribe and bell buttons so you can
become a better student and a better lawyer.