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How To Read A Law Question Like An Examiner – AS Level Law 9084

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Why Students Read Questions Wrong

  • They read the story, not the legal triggers.
  • They chase details that don’t matter.
  • They miss hidden signals that examiners deliberately embed.
  • They identify the wrong offence first → entire answer collapses.
  • They don’t know the difference between “noise facts” and “mark-facts.”
  • A* students read the question like an examiner, not like a story.

The Examiner Mindset (How They Want You To Read It)

  • Examiners assume you will:
    a. extract legal issues
    b. ignore irrelevant fluff
    c. match triggers to offences
    d. break into elements
    e. apply each element separately
  • They do not expect narrative.
  • They do not want long openings.
  • They want legal sequencing, not chronological storytelling.

The Hidden Pattern Behind Every Scenario

Every AS Law scenario follows this same structure:

  1. Setup — sets location, time, context
  2. Trigger Action — taking, pushing, entering, damaging
  3. Complication — victim reaction, chase, resistance
  4. Consequences — injury, damage, escape
  5. Motive/MR clue — intention, knowledge, purpose
  6. Ending — final impact

A* students recognise the structure instantly and pull out offences accordingly.

The Pattern in Table Form

Scene Position What It Normally Contains What It Signals
Beginning entering location burglary / trespass / opportunity
Middle taking property theft
Middle pushing, force robbery
Middle–End smashing, breaking criminal damage
End escape, reaction causation
Final line intent clue mens rea

Once you see this → the question becomes predictable.

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

The A 10-Second Scan Technique*

Before reading the full text, scan for:

1. Action Words

  • “took”, “grabbed”, “removed”
  • “pushed”, “hit”, “threatened”
  • “entered”, “climbed”, “broke in”
  • “smashed”, “destroyed”
  • “ran”, “jumped”, “escaped”

2. Object Words

  • “phone”, “bag”, “money”, “car” → property
  • “window”, “door”, “shed”, “shop” → entry
  • “glass”, “paint”, “display”, “lock” → damage

3. Reaction Words

  • “victim panicked”, “jumped out”, “chased” → causation

Scanning reveals 80% of offences instantly.

A Trigger Word Decoder Table*

Word / Phrase Hidden Issue
“grabbed”, “picked up” appropriation
“ran away with” ITPD
“refused to pay” dishonesty
“shoved”, “pushed”, “hit” force (robbery)
“forcefully pulled bag” Clouden (force on property)
“opened window”, “climbed through” entry
“no permission”, “trespass” Collins
“painted over” criminal damage
“broke ankle while escaping” Roberts (escape foreseeable)
“police shot by mistake” Pagett
“refused medical treatment” Blaue
“intended to…” direct intent (Mohan)
“knew risk but continued” recklessness (Cunningham/R v G)

These keywords are the question.
Everything else is noise.

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

The Hidden “Offence Map” Examiners Use

Every scenario is built using a secret internal sequence.
It works like this:

Entry → Theft → Force → Damage → Result

Your job is to match each part to a legal topic.

The A Breakdown Step-by-Step*

STEP 1: Identify the Offence Category (ELS vs Criminal Law)

ELS = explanation questions

Signs:

  • “Explain…”
  • “Describe…”
  • “Discuss advantages…”
  • “Evaluate…”

Used for:

  • statutory interpretation
  • precedent
  • delegated legislation
  • law reform
  • police powers
  • civil/criminal courts
  • ADR

Criminal = scenario questions

Signs:

  • long story
  • character names
  • sequence of actions
  • harm or property involved

Used for:

  • theft
  • robbery
  • burglary
  • criminal damage
  • fraud
  • causation
  • mens rea

STEP 2: Identify WHETHER the Question Is a Single-Offence or Multi-Offence Scenario

Single Offence Indicators

  • Short story
  • One main action
  • One moment of illegality

Multi-Offence Indicators

  • More than one location
  • Many actions
  • Multiple victims
  • Sequence of behaviours
  • Entry + taking + force + damage

Most exam questions are multi-offence.

STEP 3: Convert The Story Into Chronological Legal Events

Use sub-points:

Example:
“Ahmed breaks window → enters shop → takes phones → pushes owner → smashes cabinet → owner breaks leg chasing him.”

Convert to legal chain:

  • entry
  • trespass
  • intent
  • appropriation
  • property
  • belonging
  • dishonesty
  • ITPD
  • force
  • timing
  • purpose
  • damage
  • causation

This is how an examiner reads it.

STEP 4: Write the Offence List BEFORE Writing the Answer

A* students do:

  • Offence 1: Burglary (entry, trespass, intent)
  • Offence 2: Theft (5 elements)
  • Offence 3: Robbery (force + theft)
  • Offence 4: Criminal Damage
  • Offence 5: Causation

Now the entire question is decoded.

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

STEP 5: Identify Which Parts Are “Noise”

Noise = facts that don’t affect legal issues:

Examples of noise:

  • colour of bag
  • time of day (unless burglary)
  • description of clothing
  • emotions of characters
  • conversations that don’t change permission or MR
  • irrelevant reasons/motives
  • distances, speeds

Examiners include noise to distract weak students.

A* students ignore it instantly.

STEP 6: Identify the “Legal Gold” Facts

Gold facts = facts that create legal issues.

Gold Indicators

  • movement (force)
  • taking (appropriation)
  • breaking (damage)
  • entering (burglary)
  • knowledge (MR)
  • intent phrases
  • possession references
  • resistance/struggle (robbery)
  • items removed (property)
  • objects owned by others (belonging)

Strong students circle gold, ignore noise.

STEP 7: Identify Mens Rea Clues Hidden in Writing

Examiners hide MR in subtle wording.

Direct Intent Clues

  • “He intended to…”
  • “He aimed to…”
  • “He planned to…”

Oblique Intent Clues

  • “He knew the result was certain.”
  • “He realised harm was inevitable.”

Recklessness Clues

  • “He knew there was a risk but continued.”
  • “He didn’t care about the outcome.”
  • “He was aware… but carried on.”

These signals tell you which MR type to apply.

STEP 8: Use The Examiner “Reading Grid”

Question Component What It Means What You MUST Do
Long narrative noise + gold mixed extract gold only
Action word triggers offence identify element
Object word property/structure classify under theft/damage
Resistance force robbery
Entry trespass burglary
Victim harm causation apply White/Roberts/Pagett
Intent clues MR use Mohan/Woollin/Cunningham

The reading grid is exactly how examiners analyse your answer.

STEP 9: Use the “Hidden Cases Pattern”

Every scenario is built to invite specific cases.

Taking property → Morris/Hinks

Entry → Brown/Ryan

Permission → Collins

Force → Dawson & James / Clouden

Damage → Hardman

MR (recklessness) → Cunningham/R v G

Escape → Roberts

Third-party → Pagett

Thin skull → Blaue

A* students immediately know which case belongs to which trigger.

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

STEP 10: Recognise Question Type Based On Command Word

Explain / Describe

  • AO1 heavy
  • ELS topics
  • No scenario analysis

Analyse / Advise / Apply

  • AO2 heavy
  • Requires MIRAC structure
  • Offence breakdown

Discuss / Evaluate

  • AO3 included
  • Must include strengths + weaknesses
  • Suitable for ELS or big 15-mark questions

A* students adjust automatically.

STEP 11: Recognise Hidden Expectations

Examiners expect:

  • element-by-element
  • short rules
  • cases in brackets
  • instant application
  • micro-conclusions
  • legal order (not narrative order)

Recognising this hidden expectation gives full marks.

STEP 12: Use The “Legal Order Reading System”

Convert chronological story into:

  1. entry
  2. trespass
  3. intent
  4. appropriation
  5. property
  6. belonging
  7. dishonesty
  8. ITPD
  9. force
  10. timing
  11. purpose
  12. damage
  13. causation

This is how the examiner wants your answer structured.

STEP 13: Spot Traps

Examiners include traps to punish careless readers.

Trap Examples

  • “He returned the item later” → still ITPD possible
  • “The victim ran by choice” → Roberts applies
  • “The window was already open” → entry still counts
  • “He used minimal force” → enough for robbery
  • “He believed he had permission” → Jaggard lawful excuse
  • “He took his own property left at shop” → Turner
  • “The paint washed off” → still damage (Hardman)

A* students catch traps instantly.

STEP 14: Focus On LEGAL Sequence, Not STORY Sequence

Weak answer:

  • explains what happened first → second → third

A* answer:

  • offence 1
  • offence 2
  • offence 3
  • offence 4
  • offence 5

Sequencing transforms clarity → above-average marks instantly.

STEP 15: Build Your Own “Examiner Lens”

Ask yourself:

  • “What offence does this fact trigger?”
  • “Which element does this satisfy?”
  • “Which case applies here?”
  • “What MR clue is the examiner giving?”
  • “What conclusion should I write?”

If you ask these while reading → you read like an examiner.

Final A Hidden Pattern Checklist*

  • Read for legal triggers, not story
  • Scan for action words
  • Identify offences in 5–10 seconds
  • Filter noise out
  • Extract gold facts
  • Convert into element list
  • Use MIRAC per element
  • Use short AO1
  • Use one case per point
  • Insert micro-conclusions
  • Structure in legal order
  • Recognise MR clues
  • Catch traps
  • Think like examiner → write like examiner → score like examiner
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.