1L subject · Contracts
Contracts: the 1L exam guide.
Contracts is where most 1Ls first meet the element-by-element exam: formation, then defenses, then performance, then remedies. The doctrine is logical, but exams hide several issues in one transaction and reward the student who works the elements in order.
Why Contracts is hard on exams
Contracts rewards a disciplined order of operations. A single fact pattern can raise formation (was there an offer, acceptance, and consideration?), then a defense (mistake, duress, the statute of frauds), then a performance or breach question, then remedies. Students who jump straight to 'is there a contract?' miss the sub-issues buried inside each step. The exam tests whether you can march through the elements without skipping the one in dispute.
The second trap is the governing-law fork: the UCC governs contracts for the sale of goods, while the common law governs services and real estate, and several rules differ between them (notably acceptance, the mirror-image rule, and modification). A professor will often write a fact pattern that turns on choosing the right body of law first. Spot the goods-vs-services question early, because it changes which rule you apply for the rest of the answer.
High-frequency exam topics
The doctrines this subject tests most. In-depth guides are rolling out — start with the tools below in the meantime.
Consideration
Bargained-for exchange, the pre-existing duty rule, and where promissory estoppel substitutes for it.
Offer and acceptance
The mirror-image rule at common law vs. UCC § 2-207's 'battle of the forms,' revocation, and the mailbox rule.
The parol evidence rule
When a prior or contemporaneous agreement can — and cannot — be used to vary a written contract.
Statute of frauds
Which contracts must be in writing, and the exceptions (part performance, merchant's confirmation).
Remedies
Expectation, reliance, and restitution damages; the limits of foreseeability, certainty, and mitigation.
Practice this subject in the workspace
Case Brief Builder
Brief the assigned cases for this subject and extract the rule and reasoning a cold call will probe.
Open tool →IRAC Practice Gym
Write timed answers to fact patterns in this subject and self-grade against a rubric.
Open tool →Outline Builder
Synthesize the doctrine into an attack outline organized by rule and element.
Open tool →Rule Flashcards
Drill the elements and exceptions with spaced repetition until they come automatically.
Open tool →Free: the Contracts attack-outline starter.
A one-page issue checklist for Contracts plus our broader 1L study resources. Free — just tell us where to send it.
Turn this subject into exam-ready analysis.
Brief the cases, extract the rules, build your attack outline, and practice timed hypos — with feedback that helps you think, not answers that do the work for you.
Build the skills
How to write an IRAC answer
The structure every exam answer in this subject is built on.
Read the guide →Practice hypos with model answers
Worked fact patterns with model IRAC answers, then try them yourself.
Read the guide →How to build a law school outline
Turn a semester of this subject into an attack outline you can use in the exam room.
Read the guide →How law school exams actually work
Issue-spotting, time budgeting, and what graders reward.
Read the guide →