Practice Exam — Fall 2022

Exam instructions

  1. Time. You have one hour to write this exam. The proctor will advise you when the time begins and ends. Wait to turn the page until the proctor calls the start time.

  2. No digital materials. You may not use any digital equipment except your laptop. You may not access any digital materials during the exam time except the exam-writing software.

  3. Test materials. The proctor will provide an exam packet and scrap paper. If a laptop malfunctions, you may request a physical bluebook.

  4. Pseudonymity. Write your Exam ID (not your name) in the space provided. Do not write any other personally identifiable information.

  5. Errors and ambiguities. If you encounter a typographical error or ambiguity that affects your answer, you may ask a proctor for a bluebook in which you note the issue and how you resolved it. Do not ask a proctor for substantive assistance.

Part I — Essay (30 minutes)

Abel Branberg, a homeowner in Manchester, New Hampshire, called a professional landscaper named Cameron Doogle to inquire about his services. During their initial phone call, Abel said, “I would like to hire you to grow grass on my lawn.” Cameron replied, “Sure, I can do that for you. How about I come over tomorrow, take a look, and give you a quote?” Abel agreed to meet Cameron on his property at noon the next day, and they ended the call.

The next day, Cameron came to Abel’s property at noon, where the two walked around the yard talking about the job. “You will need eight yards of topsoil,” Cameron said as he got into his truck, “and at least fifty pounds of grass seed. Those materials will cost four hundred dollars, and I’ll charge another six hundred dollars to spread the topsoil across your lawn and seed it.” “OK,” said Abel, “But can you guarantee that I will have a nice lawn if I hire you to do all that?” “No,” Cameron said, “whether you have a nice lawn or not depends on how often you water it after I am done, so I won’t take responsibility for that.” Cameron then drove off.

The next day, while Abel was at work, Cameron came to Abel’s property with the topsoil and the seed. He spread the topsoil across the lawn and seeded it, put an invoice for one thousand dollars in Abel’s mailbox, and left. When Abel got home, he saw the seeded topsoil and the invoice, upon the back of which Cameron wrote, “Remember to water this lawn four times a day for the next month, or the lawn will not grow nicely.”

Abel, who works in an office and cannot be home during the day to water the lawn, was upset. Abel called Cameron and left a voice mail stating, “Cameron, you should have known that I work in an office and cannot be home to water the grass during the day. We never made a deal, and I am not going to pay you unless you agree to water the grass twice a month a day while I am at work.” Cameron ignored the voicemail and sent Abel a bill in the mail for one thousand dollars.

The question

If Cameron sues Abel for breach of contract, can Abel successfully defend by claiming that the parties did not form a contract? Discuss the elements of contract formation that Cameron must prove and provide Abel’s best defenses regarding each element. Do not discuss performance, breach, or damages.

Part II — Multiple Choice Questions (30 minutes)

The MCQ section is administered separately on Brightspace.

For the MCQ deployment cadence and grading mechanic, see the Syllabus.

How to read this prompt

Notice the prompt’s last sentence: “Do not discuss performance, breach, or damages.” That instruction is part of the prompt. Time spent discussing damages on this exam is wasted time and may lose points for going outside the scope.

The prompt asks you to:

  1. Identify the elements Cameron must prove for a contract to exist
  2. State the best defenses Abel has against each element

The element list the prompt expects: offer, acceptance, consideration. Many students also raise mutual assent and the bargain itself; both are defensible if you frame them as part of formation. What the prompt does not want: damages discussion, performance discussion, parol evidence discussion (no writing is in issue).

Read the four model essays for how prior students structured this same fact pattern. The essays vary in quality; the evaluation rubric is consistent across them.