Lessons · Law foundations · What an essay answer is graded on
An essay is graded on the road, not the destination
A bar essay is not asking for the right verdict. It is asking you to identify the issues raised by the facts, state the rule for each, apply that rule to these specific facts, and reach a conclusion. A well-reasoned answer that ends the wrong way scores far better than a bare assertion of the right one.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an attorney. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
Strong students lose marks here more than anywhere else, because they can see the answer and skip to it. The examiner cannot award marks for reasoning that happened silently. Everything that was obvious to you is worth nothing unless it is on the page.
How to think about it
Work the standard four moves for each issue, in order, and say each one out loud on paper. Spot the issue. State the rule. Apply it to THESE facts, using the facts by name. Conclude. Then move to the next issue. The structure is the marking scheme.
Worked example
Issue: name the legal question these facts raise.Missing an issue costs everything downstream from it.
Rule: state the rule plainly, before applying it.One or two sentences. It is not an essay about the rule.
Application: use the facts given, by name.This is where most of the marks are, and where most are lost.
Conclusion: answer the question asked.Any defensible conclusion, reached properly, scores.
Then the next issue, the same four moves.Breadth across issues beats depth on one.
Your turn
Which of the four moves carries most of the marks?
Most marks sit in the of the rule to these particular facts
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Writing a good essay about the law in general. Marks come from the facts in front of you being used by name, not from a well-remembered account of the doctrine.