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How To Instantly Spot The Legal Issue In Any AS Level Law Question?

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Why Issue-Spotting Determines Your Grade

  • Issue = backbone of the answer.
  • Without correct issue → wrong rule → wrong case → wrong application → lost marks.
  • Issue-spotting controls AO1, AO2, AO3 accuracy.
  • A* students identify issues before writing anything.
  • Most students misread scenarios because they focus on story, not legal triggers.

Golden Rule: AS Law Questions Always Contain Triggers

  • Triggers = words/phrases that point to a specific legal concept.
  • Each trigger → one doctrine.
  • Each doctrine → one rule + one case.
  • Training your brain to recognise “legal signals” = A* shortcut.

Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia, World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 7 Distinctions and 11 World Records For Educate A Change AS Level Law Free Material

Trigger Recognition System (TRS Method)

Step 1: Identify the Legal Area

  • Criminal → look for conduct, circumstances, consequences.
  • Civil → look for duty, breach, causation, damage.
  • Statutory interpretation → look for word ambiguity or conflict.
  • Precedent → look for judge statements or earlier cases.
  • Delegated legislation → look for rules made by non-parliament bodies.

Step 2: Scan Paragraph For Trigger Words

Criminal Liability Triggers

  • “D hit/punched/kicked…” → Actus reus (assault/battery/ABH).
  • “Failed to act…” → Omissions (duty to act).
  • “Left child in…” → Duty situation.
  • “Caused death/injury…” → Causation issues.
  • “Intended to…” → Mens rea: intent.
  • “Did not realise…” → Recklessness.
  • “Could not foresee…” → R v G relevance.
  • “If she had known…” → Knowledge-based mens rea.

Civil Liability Triggers

  • “Unsafe condition…” → Breach of duty.
  • “Did nothing to warn…” → Causation + breach.
  • “Foreseeable harm…” → Caparo stage 1.
  • “Proximity issue…” → Caparo stage 2.
  • “Fair, just, reasonable?” → Caparo stage 3.
  • “Remote damage…” → Wagon Mound trigger.
  • “Thin skull…” → Blaue trigger.

Precedent Triggers

  • “Earlier case decided…” → Binding/persuasive authority.
  • “Judge said…” → Ratio vs obiter.
  • “Followed/overruled/distinguished…” → Precedent operation.

Statutory Interpretation Triggers

  • “Ambiguous word…” → Literal rule.
  • “Leads to absurdity…” → Golden rule.
  • “Parliament’s aim…” → Mischief rule.
  • “Purpose behind law…” → Purposive rule.

Step 3: Link Trigger → Issue

Examples:

  • “D failed to close the gate…” → Issue: breach of duty.
  • “Victim ran to escape…” → Issue: causation via Roberts chain test.
  • “Word ‘vehicle’ unclear…” → Issue: statutory interpretation choice.
  • “Court followed previous decision…” → Issue: binding precedent.
  • “Case from lower court used…” → Issue: persuasive precedent.

Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia, World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 7 Distinctions and 11 World Records For Educate A Change AS Level Law Free Material

Master Table: Common Scenario Clues → Exact Issues

Criminal

  • “Hit/pushed/slapped” → Assault/battery AR.
  • “Knife, bat, weapon” → ABH/GBH depending on injury.
  • “Victim fainted/panicked” → Assault by fear.
  • “Left unconscious person” → Omission liability.
  • “Chased someone” → Assault/attempt liability.
  • “Set trap/tripped someone” → Battery via indirect action.

Civil (Negligence)

  • “Did nothing to fix hazard” → Breach.
  • “Ignored complaint” → Breach.
  • “Foreseeable injury” → Duty.
  • “Unusual damage” → Remoteness.
  • “Vulnerable victim” → Thin skull.

Statutory Interpretation

  • “Unclear definition” → Literal/golden.
  • “Absurd result” → Golden rule narrow.
  • “Parliament intended to stop problem” → Mischief.
  • “Modern meaning required” → Purposive rule.

Precedent

  • “Material facts similar/different” → Distinguishing.
  • “Higher court decision challenged” → Overruling.
  • “Court applies earlier decision automatically” → Following.
  • “Court refuses earlier decision” → Reversing/overruling.

Spotting Hidden Issues (A Skill)*

Some issues are buried.
Tricks to catch them:

1. Look For More Than One Offence/Tort

  • One paragraph often contains 2–3 issues.
  • Students usually identify only one.

2. Look For Causation Breaks

  • Victim’s conduct
  • Third-party action
  • Medical negligence

3. Look For Policy Clues

  • “Public interest” → Caparo stage 3.
  • “Floodgates” → Negligence limitation.

4. Look For Words Like

  • “Probably”
  • “Maybe”
  • “Could”
  • “Uncertain”
    These hint at evaluation requirements.

Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia, World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 7 Distinctions and 11 World Records For Educate A Change AS Level Law Free Material

Mini Toolkit: Fast Issue Spotting In 20 Seconds

1. First 5 Seconds

  • Identify the area (criminal / civil / interpretation / precedent).

2. Next 10 Seconds

  • Underline trigger words.
  • Group triggers by issue.

3. Last 5 Seconds

  • Write issue labels in margin:
    • Duty
    • Breach
    • Causation
    • MR
    • AR
    • Intent
    • Recklessness
    • Interpretation
    • Precedent

These act as a roadmap for the whole answer.

Issue Spotting Examples With Explanation

Example 1

“D left a broken tile outside his shop. V tripped and fractured her wrist.”
Issues:

  • Duty of care (foreseeable harm).
  • Breach (broken tile = unreasonable risk).
  • Causation (tile → injury).
  • Remoteness (fracture foreseeable).

Example 2

“D shouted ‘I’ll smash your face!’ while holding a brick. V panicked and fell.”
Issues:

  • Assault (apprehension of immediate violence).
  • Battery? (if contact occurred).
  • Causation (Roberts test).

Example 3

“The word ‘structure’ in the Act is unclear. Parliament aimed to regulate dangerous buildings.”
Issues:

  • Ambiguity = Interpretation.
  • Mischief rule (Parliament’s aim).
  • Purposive rule (modern safety aim).

Example 4

“Court refused to follow a case decided last year by a lower court.”
Issues:

  • Precedent hierarchy.
  • Binding vs persuasive authority.
  • Court powers (overruling).

Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia, World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 7 Distinctions and 11 World Records For Educate A Change AS Level Law Free Material

A Checklist Before Writing Any Answer*

  • Found area of law.
  • Identified all triggers.
  • Marked issues.
  • Matched each issue to one rule.
  • Matched rule to one case.
  • Prepared application line for each.

If all 6 steps done → A* ready.

Hunain Zia

Hunain Zia has previously achieved considerable success in the high-school educational stream, gaining a massive 154 Total A Grades and 7 Major Distinctions, a process in which he broke/ set 11 different world records, including the most A grades ever achieved, most subjects ever appeared in, most distinctions, gaining distinctions across two separate boards (Pearson Edexcel and CAIE) within the same year/ ever, and even 19 hours of constant examination. All records stand intact today. Hunain pursued his Honors Accounting Degree from the prestigious Bentley University, and then completed an LLB (in Honors) from University of London. Currently, he manages multiple social and commercial projects, has founded digital streams and works tirelessly in the education sector.

Educate A Change focuses on truly bringing change in the educational sector worldwide. All our courses are designed to ensure success, and provide complete preparation without requiring any other external material. Therefore, it takes away the expense of academies, books, past paper compilations and other miscellaneous items. Instead, by just the courses we offer, the student can prepare fully for the best grades in their CAIEs, Edexcel and other high-school exams. The earnings from our course-sales are invested in social projects and growing the free educational activities of Educate A Change.