How do you answer a legal problem question?

Problem questions test your knowledge and understanding of the law and your ability to apply your knowledge in a particular context. The task is to work out what the issues and problems are and provide a solution to them. Thus, in essence you have to make sure your answer is focused and relevant to the facts of the problem question you are given. While at University, I learnt the importance of planning your answers especially for problem questions. Whilst planning your answer, make sure you have points that are relevant and focused to the question. The IRAC method is something I found very useful and methodical to follow throughout my degree for any problem question:(1) I - ISSUE(S)Spend some time to reading the facts of the problem and then identify the legal issues that are raised from the facts. For example, "Advise Ben on if they have a claim for negligence against Daniel for hitting him with his car, causing Ben injuries" - here you will go through the the facts to see what the legal issues are so you can give specific advise to Ben.(2) R - RULEOnce you have identified the legal issues from the facts, explain what the legal rules are using legal authority (cases and statutes). NOTE: The law can sometimes be uncertain on many issues, so always make sure you identify these uncertainties and offer alternative ways of looking at the law. Good answers are often marked highly for dong this, so this is very important!. For example, "For Ben to have a claim for negligence, he would need to prove that Daniel (the defendant) owed him a duty of care as illustrated in Caparo v Dickman" "Ben is likely to prove this, as Nettleship v Weston demonstrates that drivers owe a duty of care to pedestrians on the street"(3) A - APPLICATION Just stating the legal authority is not enough. You have to go beyond and apply this to the facts of the issue(s) of the problem question.For example, "Daniel owed Ben a duty of care to drive safely as driver, and not hit Ben who is the pedestrian thus there has been an act of negligence'.Note: Where the law is uncertain, make sure you offer different alternatives and what their potential outcomes may be. (4) C - CONCLUSIONSOnce you have gone through the legal issues, applied the law and applied them to the facts and/or offered alternatives, you need to conclude your points. Do not worry if the conclusion is 'This depends on.." You can conclude by mentioning different possible outcomes. Don't feel pressured to find the 'right answer'.For example, "This depends on the courts discretion.."