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Issue No: 116
April 25, 2009

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Law examination tips

Justin A Santiago

So, how do you ensure that you 'answer the question'? Let us first discuss essay questions, and then problem questions.

Essays
The 'trick' here is to deconstruct the question asked. Take the question to bits, and play it back to the examiner, explaining the issues which the question raises. Take, for example, the following question from a few years ago:

Any system of law which recognised the trust would have need of the automatic resulting trust, for this merely provides the mechanism by which property ineffectively given on trust beneficially remains with the would-be donor. On the other hand, there is no similar need for the presumed resulting trust, which is anachronistic and has largely outlived its usefulness. Discuss.

The first thing to notice is that the examiner has not said, 'Please write every thing you know about resulting trusts'. Yet, the vast majority of candidates will answer the question as if he did. What the examiner has instead done is ask a specific question, and the first thing to do is identify exactly what that is. And that is done by simply playing back the question in different language. So here, we could say that the question raises a number of issues.
First, it assumes that there are two types of resulting trust, the presumed and automatic. One issue is whether such a distinction is valid. Second, on the assumption that there really are resulting trusts which are 'automatic' (and the meaning of that word will need to be explained), the next question is whether such trusts are needed. Is there no other way of dealing with the situations to which there is a response? Third, is it correct to say that such trusts arise because the property 'beneficially remains with the would-be donor'? And fourth, what is the true based of presumed resulting trusts? What is the presumption in play in such cases? And can it really be said to be anachronistic?
Notice that in deconstructing the question, you have provided yourself with a structure for your answer. Moreover, you have ensured that everything you then say will be of relevance to the question asked. After that, you can't go wrong!

 

Source: justin-santiago.blogspot.com.

 
 
 
 


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