THE IRAC METHOD

At some point in your law school career, you will be introduced to the
I.R.A.C method. This acronym stands for: Issue, Rule, Application,
and Conclusion. Although the definitions are useful as a foundation for legal
writing, don't get stuck thinking (as many people do) that you have to keep
these components in this specific order or that you can't style their arrangement
to your needs; I kept my writing style open, and had great success in my writing
assignments doing so. But, be warned, some professors will tell you exactly how
you should order your paper, and you should follow their suggestions since they
will be grading your writing. Here are the definitions of the components:
ISSUE:

In legal writing, issues are the core of your paper or essay. If you
can't spot a single issue, you will earn no points. To find issues, look for
anything in the facts of a case that could raise a question, sometimes
called a "question of law": Could the defendant be charged with x crime?
Could he be convicted of that crime? Does he have any defenses for his
actions? Is the case eligible to be heard by a jury? If a jury hears the case,
would they convict even if the laws make the defendant look guilty?
Issue spotting is easiest when you know the laws and court
holdings of your state, so be sure to research and study thoroughly, but if
you run across a question that is not addressed by the rules of your state,
don't fret, this is a good opportunity to bring up rules from other
jurisdictions that might persuade the court to make new precedence on
that issue.
RULE:

In legal writing, rules are the same as they are in the rest of life;
they are statements that cannot be ignored without punishment, lower
grades in our case. Rules can be found in laws, regulations, and
precedents (court holdings from similar cases), but while all rules are
mentionable, all do not carry the same strength. If one rule pertains to
identical issues as your paper, and another has only similar issues, the
most persuasive rule (which must be mentioned) is the one that is on
point; it is up to you to decide whether the less persuasive rule is worth
mentioning. The same differences in persuasiveness exist for rules that
come from your states laws & courts versus those from other states. And
of course, any ruling from the Supreme Court overrides local precedence
on that issue.
APPLICATION:

The application should be the simplest part of your writing. If you

know the facts, can see the issues, and know the rules pertaining to those
issues, the application will write itself. Simply state the issue, state the
facts & rules that give rise to the issue, and tell your professor how those
facts do or do not meet the requirements laid down by the rules. Then
tell your professor whether you think a court would find the D guilty or
not guilty based on the strength of the facts and the rules. Even though
this seems simple, you must be vigilant to not leave any loose threads;
address all elements of the rule and all the relevant facts. Don't try to

strengthen your argument by "forgetting" to include elements or facts

that hurt your argument.
CONCLUSION:

The conclusion, as with all writing, is a statement that tells your

reader what the result of your arguments is, or what it should be. But, as
with all good writing, the conclusion should be redundant. All of your
application sections should have already clearly stated the conclusion for
each individual issue. I suggest using this final conclusion section only to
remind the reader of those previous conclusions, and to resolve any
differences between those conclusions, such as when a defendant can be
found guilty of a crime, but also may have a defense. Example: "The
Defendant met all of the elements of crime X, and can thus be found
guilty, but it is likely the court will find that his justifiable defense
of Y will prevent that conviction if they follow the precedent set by X v. Y.