Recordation, Fraud, and Forgery (another freebie:)

A owned five parcels of land. She obtained a $100,000 loan from B in exchange for their promissory note and mortgage, which was promptly recorded.

Upon payment of $10,000, the bank released lot one from the mortgage. A altered the instrument of release to include lot five as well as lot one and recorded the release. A thereafter sold lot 5 to C, an innocent purchaser for $20,000

The bank discovered the alteration of the instrument of release and moved to set it aside. . The woman did not defend against the action, but  C did.

The recording act provides: "No unrecorded conveyance or mortgage of real property shall be good against subsequent purchasers for value without notice, who shall first record."


A. C, because the bank was negligent in failing to verify the recordation of its release
B. C, because  the purchaser is entitled to rely on the recorded release
C. B, because the purchaser could have discovered the alteration.

D. B, because the alteration of the release was ineffective.


----------

The instrument was fraudulent and thus void ab initio. Consequently the bank's mortgage quite rightly applies to the conveyed lot. 
Notice that the mortgage is a property right, arising out of the original contract. Thus it applies as much to the land -- and thus to successors in interest -- as it applies via contract to the initial contracting party. This is why the bank has a remedy against the subsequent good faith purchaser here.
Recordation means actual notice or lack thereof is irrelevant! However, the instrument must be duly recorded: at least non-fraudulent, though the better view is strict compliance with all legal formalities (timestamps, dates, notarizations). Forging any part of a recorded instrument renders the whole instrument unduly recorded. Failing to correctly record despite "formality" should best be seen as providing no constructive notice.

Since actual notice is irrelevant when the instrument is properly recorded C is wrong.

Think of recordation as a kind of strict liability, which ignores actual facts and only looks to the letter of the law, which is why the legal formalities of recordation must be strictly complied with. Of course, equity may intervene in cases where the recordation works a forfeiture! ("the common law abhors a forfeiture").

The purchaser is entitled to rely only on DULY recorded instruments. Fraud such as forgery render the recordation undue, that is, ineffective!

Note also: parties in pari delicto have no equitable remedy and the court will leave them as it finds them: "There is no honor among thieves".
In sum:  the instrument was not properly recorded and thus does not provide constructive notice as it is of no effect due to fraud.

D, here, is thus the best choice. 

UCC material breach, opportunity to cure, and installment contracts

At common law the contract is interpreted strictly. This means that any deviation, no matter how minor, is a material breach, entailing the right to damages and relieving the non-breaching party of their duty to perform. Deviations from the harsh common law rule could only be attained through resort to the courts of equity: equity is an exceptional discretionary remedy offered by the court in the interest of justice as a corrective of the harsh and unforeseen operation of law. There is no "right" to equity. If the legal remedy is adequate the equitable remedy will not obtain.

The uniform commercial code, probably influenced by Interessenjurisprudenz, sought to codify the common law of the various states and to soften the harsh common law rule. The UCC applies to contracts for the sale of goods and includes particular rules for contracts between merchants.

The core rule complexes to understand in UCC sales of goods cases are 1) non-conforming goods 2) opportunity to cure 3) installment sales contracts

Non-conforming goods are goods which do not meet a quantity or quality term specified in the contract. In principle, the seller should be given a reasonable chance to cure the defective delivery. However, no chance to cure is offered where the breach is "material". Late delivery is presumed to be a material breach, unless the customof the parties in practice had been to allow late delivery. The issue is whether the breach is "material" or "non-material", which will depend on the facts of the case. At common law, unlike the UCC, all breaches are material! The issue whether a breach is "immaterial" and liable to cure or "material" and thus "incurable" only arises under the UCC in a sale of goods between merchants. Services contracts are governed by common law, not UCC. In a case of a mixed sale of goods plus installation services the UCC governs only if the predominant element of the contract is a sale of goods, otherwise the common law applies.

The canonical UCC case will test § 2-612. "Installment contract" because installment contracts raise all these issues. § 2-612 provides

    (1) An "installment contract" is one which requires or authorizes the delivery of goods in separate lots to be separately accepted, even though the contractcontains a clause "each delivery is a separate contract" or its equivalent.

    (2) The buyer may reject any installment which is non-conforming if the non-conformity substantially impairs the value of that installment and cannot be cured or if the non-conformity is a defect in the required documents; but if the non-conformity does not fall within subsection (3) and the seller gives adequate assurance of its cure the buyer must accept that installment.

    (3) Whenever non-conformity or default with respect to one or more installments substantially impairs the value of the whole contract there is a breach of the whole. But the aggrieved party reinstates the contract if he accepts a non-conforming installment without seasonably notifying of cancellation or if he brings an action with respect only to past installments or demands performance as to future installments.

The first issue is the installment contract is ONE contract with multiple deliveries -- not a series of contracts. This was a recurring question at common law, where multiple deliveries often raised the question whether there was only one contract or several. Because of the material breach rule at common law such installment contracts would sometimes be interpreted as multiple contracts. (1) thus simplifies this issue.

(2) provides that the buyer may reject a non-conforming delivery without breaching the contract or ending the contractual relationship, unlike common law where all breach is material and end the contract. Buyer may only reject an incurable non-conforming installment.

(3) provides that the non-conforming delivery can be a breach of the entire contract; however, if the buyer accepts a non-conforming delivery without notice of cancellation or does not sue for material breach of the entire contract but only for partial breach.

Suppose a seller has delivered non-conforming goods. What are the buyers options?
1) accept some or all of the goods and sue for damages
2) accept none of the goods and sue for damages
3) accept all of the goods and sue for damages
however, the seller must first be given a reasonable chance to cure the non-conforming delivery.

Freebie! Third party beneficiary bar question reviewed (crafty question quickly comped).

Question;
A victim, injured by a driver in an auto accident, employed an attorney to represent him in the matter. The victim was chronically insolvent and expressed doubt whether he could promptly get necessary medical treatment. Accordingly, the attorney wrote into their contract his promise to the victim "to pay from any settlement with the driver compensation to any physician who provides professional services for the victim's injuries." The contract also provided that the attorney's duties were "non-assignable." The attorney immediately filed suit against the driver. The victim then sought and received medical treatment, reasonably valued at $1,000, from the doctor, but failed to inform the doctor of the attorney's promise.

After receiving a bill from the doctor for $1,000, the victim immediately wrote the doctor explaining that he was unable to pay and enclosing a copy of his contract with the attorney.

The victim then asked the attorney about payment of this bill, but the attorney requested a release from their employment contract, stating that he would like to refer the victim's claim to a colleague and that the colleague was willing to represent the victim in the pending lawsuit. The victim wrote a letter to the attorney releasing him from their contract and agreeing to the colleague's representation. A copy of this letter was sent to the doctor. The colleague subsequently promised the attorney to represent the victim and soon negotiated a settlement of the victim's claim against the driver which netted $1,000, all of which was paid by the victim to creditors other than the doctor. The victim remains insolvent.

In an action by the doctor against the colleague, the colleague is most likely to argue on these facts that

A.    the colleague made only a gratuitous promise to the attorney.
B.    at the time the colleague promised to represent the victim, the doctor was only a member of an unidentified class of beneficiaries.
C.    there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that the doctor was either a creditor or donee beneficiary of the colleague's promise to the attorney.
D.    there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that the doctor substantially changed his position in reliance on the colleague's promise.


In tough questions you are best to eliminate obviously wrong answers and make your best guess possible.
This question is asking what is the most likely argument i.e. the best argument which the physician, a third-party beneficiary, can make in a case in which it is likely that physician will not prevail on any argument. However, determining which of several losing arguments is the strongest is particularly tricky, even though it is obvious the physician will not prevail. So you must use the process of elimination.

Answer Choice A:

A gratuitous promise is one in which there is no consideration. Consideration is the exchange of value, ("value for value received") whether as an act or forbearance. Consideration is a necessary element of any contract, without which no contract comes into being. The law does not inquire into the adequacy of consideration, and only inquires whether consideration obtains. However, a promise without consideration  is "empty" i.e. gratuitous: Such a promise is unenforcable at law. It may however be enforced at equity through promissory estoppel. Furthermore, a gratuitous promise might be part of a property transaction such as donation or dedication i.e. a "gift". Thus, answer choice A is very weak: the promise here is not gratuitous in the sense of there being no consideration: there is consideration to support this promise's enforceability. This is not a donation of any kind: it is a covenenant (clause) in a contract, not a property transaction and thus is not a gratuitous promise in any sense. This promise was clearly not empty: the lawyer has promised services in exchange for payement; incidental to their contract for services is the promise to cover the costs of medical care during litigation, as necessary to attain the purpose of the contract. This is not an incidental third party beneficiary case because the attorney and client are the principal parties to the contract: the beneficiary here is intended, not incidental.

Answer choice A is clearly incorrect, a very weak argument, because this is not a gratuitous promise.


Answer Choice B:
Answer choice B looks good because indeed the particular doctor to be employed is not identified. The language "identified class of beneficiaries" sounds good -- but that term is  relevant in cases of trusts, where the class of trust beneficiaries must be at least determinable, if not determined, i.e. closed. In cases of contracts, just as we may makea contractual offer to anyone in the entire world we may also have as a third party beneficiary anyone in the world. Had either contracting party intended only a certain doctor or class of doctors to enforce then they could have so specified. Apparently they did not, at least on the facts given, and so any doctor employed pursuant to the contract may enforce their rights thereunder. Choice B is thus quite wrong.

Answers A and B are fairly obviously wrong. Choices C and D are also wrong - but less wrong than A or B. Which is least wrong? This will require an extended discussion of 1) third party beneficiary law and 2)the facts of this question.

1) Third Party Beneficiary Law: (Rules)
Contracts normally create rights and duties only among the parties thereto. Exceptionally, third parties may acquire enforceable rights under a contract. These third party beneficiaries are either "donee beneficiaries", whose rights vest  immediately as a matter of property law (donation) or "creditor beneficiaries" whose rights vest as a matter of contract, and said contractmust be executed prior to their rights thereunder vesting. Consequently, a donee beneficiary's rights vest even where they are unaware of the existence of their right! In contrast, a creditor beneficiary must know that the contract exists creates rights to be enjoyed by the third party on execution of the contract for the third party's right to vest, i.e. to be enforceable. Creditor beneficiary rights are created to fulfill a pre-existing legal duty owed to the creditor beneficiary, unlike the  donee beneficiary. The rights created in the donee beneficiary are gratuitous and not in fulfillment of any prior legal obligation. Because donee rights vest immediately, the contracting parties cannot change the rights of the third party without the third party's consent, unless that power was expressly reserved in the contract, regardless of whether the donee knows about the contract. Since the creditor beneficiary rights only vest where the creditor beneficiary knows of the contract and their rights under it the parties may freely alter the third party creditor beneficiary's rights at least until the point that the creditor beneficiary becomes aware of their rights under the contract.

Third party beneficiaries are either intended beneficiaries or incidental beneficiaries. Intended beneficiaries may enforce their rights under the contract, even where they are not a party to the contract. Incidental beneficiaries may not enforce rights under the contract. Whether a beneficiary is intended or incidental depends on the contract's terms, which express the will of the parties under law.

2) The Facts of this Question: (Application)
In this question an attorney and a client make a contract, wherein the attorney agrees to pay the medical costs of the client to a third party. That third party is an intended third party beneficiary, and may be able to enforce rights arising out of that contract. However, the parties to the contract then released the attorney from their duties under the contract, and the client formed a new contract with a different attorney. This is either a reformation of one contract or the rescission of one contract and the formation of a second contract. The better view is to see it as a rescision of one contract, which is cancelled (rescinded), and the formation of a new contract. This case is better seen as two contracts, and not the reformation of one contract for the following reasons: The problem expressly states "release", i.e. termination of all contracted duties. Note also that a new contracting party enters the picture, namely, the colleague. This is not mere change of quantity, price, or date of delivery in sales of goods, the modification of an existing contract; a new party enters into a contract and a prior party drops out, which coheres logically to seeing two contracts here, one of which was rescinded. Furthermore, the contract is for personal services, not  fungible goods. All that argues in favor of seeing this as two contracts. Any unvested contractual rights of the physician were terminated by the rescision of the contract and formation of a new contract. That leaves the physician only with equitable remedies, which are discretionary exceptional and only offered as a corrective in the face of rigid unfair operation of law.

Third party rights under the initial contract were either vested, and thus enforceable, as in the case of a gratuitious gift or property transfer, or were merely executory, as in the case of a contract and not immediately enforceable. Here, whatever rights existed on behalf of the third party beneficiary were merely executory because they were contractual, and were not yet vested or proprietary and thus are unenforceable.

Thus, the doctor has no contractual rights here, and consequently no legal remedies. The claiming physician's best claim then is not contractual (an action in law) but equitable (an action at equity). This is true moreover since the claiming physician's contractual rights, if any, were those of a third party beneficiary.
Equitable remedies might be for quasi-contract or promissory estoppel. Replevin or restitution do not seem to be relevant remedies here.


Quasi-contracts are not contracts but are nonetheless sometimes referred to as "contracts implied in law". In this question there is a contract with a potential third party. This contract is however terminated and a new contract formed after the release. Thus, rights or duties under the initial contract are unenforceable by any party.

Answer choice D:
The question asks not "will they prevail" but "what is their best argument". At equity, the physician may claim for quasi-contract or promissory estoppel (which is also called an action for detrimental reliance). Detrimental reliance is however unavailable here since the doctor did not rely at all on the contract in making their decision to treat the patient. Thus, answer choice D is wrong: there is no possibility here for an action based on a claim of promissory estoppel / detrimental reliance because there was no reliance on these facts. No answer choice indicates "quasi contract"/"contract implied in law" as an option. The doctor did not rely on the statements in the contract to his detriment.

Answer choice C:
Thus, choice c is by default the best argument of the treating physician. Were an answer choice to have indicated quasi-contract that would have been the best argument the physician might have made, but even that is weak and uncertain, but nonetheless would have been a stronger argument than answer choice c. The colleagues best argument is that there were two contracts; a choice not given here. The colleagues second best argument is that the doctor was not an intended third party beneficiary. Though worded craftily, choice C does in fact correspond to the argument that the doctor was not an intended third party beneficiary and thus has no remedy.

Good Luck on the February Bar! (May God have Mercy on your soul!)

Anyone can pass the bar: it takes discipline and determination. You who now face the February exam have my best wishes for success.
Remember: When in  doubt - invent the rule! Your memory is probably right, and no rule means no reasoning no result and no points. A well constructed argument that is wrong on the law can get some points, whereas no answer gets no point.
Also remember: Guess on multiple choice by process of elimination. Eliminate wrong answers first. Then choose the answer which you think most likely among the remaining choices. Do not skip questions on the multiple choice hoping to go back to them. You probably will not have time for that and already used time just reading the question. Make your best guess as quick as you can and move on.
Your objective on the multiple choice part is to guess rightly more often than wrong, and is not to be right every time. To be right every time would require a law library and about 200 hours of work. By eliminating all wrong answers first and chosing the best remaining answer you are likelier to do that.
Also remember: ALL answers may be wrong! Your job is to choose the least wrong answer, the most correct answer. Worse, two answers are sometimes right: there too your goal is to choose the BEST answer, the answer which is MOST persuasive. For example an answer that decides the issue as a matter of law rather than on a point of equity is likelier to be right, since equity only operates as a corrective of the law and even then is subject to many exceptions and procedural obstacles. If forced to choose between two correct answers, one on a legal argument, the other on an equitable argument: the legal answer is likelier to be the better choice. This is because if the case can be resolved using the specific rules of law, rather than general principles of equity, it must.

SO SAY WE ALL.

http://www.amazon.com/author/quizmaster

February approaches...

muahaaha... :)

Free Online Law Search Engine.

http://mindworks.altervista.org/index.html

This is my new web site, with links to free online law search engines I authored as well as free copies of my law review articles. Enjoy saving your law firm some westlaw and lexis fees.

Here is my amazon author page: http://amazon.com/author/quizmaster
If you read one of my books feel free  to contact me: engleerica@yahoo.com
I  write for you and want you to be happy.

February is only a four months away!

Essay Questions on the Bar Exam

On the bar exam you will be given essay questions, much like the essays you have been writing for your law school exams. The test is seeking to see if you can spot legal issues and then structure coherent compelling arguments to answer those issues. To do so you will need to have learned hundreds (not thousands!) of rules.

One problem bar examinees have is panic. Lack of proper training, believing the bar to be "impossible" are two usual causes of panic. Panic causes examinees to either stare blankly, scared to write, or write rapid unstructured and ill considered ideas.

Panic is prevented by learning the law thoroughly and practicing for the exam.

You learn the law thoroughly best by understanding the reasons the legal rule is what it is. For example, we should know that the good faith purchaser of property for value without notice of defective title has good title against all the world except true owner, which seems logical. Since the good faith purchaser did not know the goods were stolen he is not a criminal. And to protect and preserve property it makes sense that the good faith owner of stolen goods ought to be presumed to have a relative mastery over those goods against all save their true owner, for the true owner may be dead or absent or even unaware that the goods were stolen.

We should also know that the good faith purchaser of a negotiable instrument without notice of a flawed title has good title against all the world, even against true owner, and this is a property right which vests on transfer - a right in rem. This is not a contractual right in personam which might be defeasible. That is, only "real" and not "personal" defences may be interposed against the good faith purchaser of negotiable instruments such as a promissory note or check.

Obviously, this requires us to know a lot of technical legal vocabulary. It is a lack of knowledge of this vocabulary which stops students from learning the rules. Focus on learning the rule "by heart" rather than understanding the reason for the rule which keeps the student from seeing all the nuances just summed up in the preceding paragraph.

You must know what "real" "personal" and "negotiable" and "in rem" and "in personam" mean
seems strange to new law students. If you do not then look them up. Whenever you meet a new term in law you must look it up otherwise you will not be able to learn the rule. Law is pains-taking but easy, it is not rocket science but does demand persistent study.

So: WHY does the law permit the good faith purchaser of commercial paper to take title good against all the world, even true owner? This counterintuitive rule exists to foster commercial transactions. Imagine what the business world would look like if this were not the rule. Claims would be made against buyers of propert for contractual breaches of which they were not party and know nothing about. Litigation would increase, and commercial trading would decrease to the impoverishment of all.

Without knowing the vocabulary you could not see all the issues lurking in a question which looks easy. Without understanding the reason for the rule you are less likely to even remember the rule, let alone to apply it properly.

Essay questions are all about
1) Spotting the Issue
2) Weaving Facts
3) Into Law
4) To reach a conclusion.

Keys to avoiding panic
1) If you don't know the rule -- make one up. You can score some points with an incorrect rule, but no points with no rule at all. Furthermore, the rule you make up is likely the correct rule, you just don't remember it with perfect certainty.
2) Argue in the alternative: "but if I am wrong", "but if the court disagrees with me". This tactic must be used sparingly and really only  as a "backstop". Otherwise you would never run out of issues to argue and it would make your essay look like it was written by someone who does not know the law.
3) Know the vocabulary. Knowing vocabulary increases your confidence, makes it easier to discuss the law, and shows the examiners you likely know the law.
4) Know the reasons for the rules, not just what the rule is, because in a hard case we are not only arguing about whether these facts applied to that rule reach this outcome; we are also arguing about what the rule should be, that is we are arguing about whether to apply one of several competing rules. Fortunately for examinees, the bar currently does not focus on the abstruse arcane questions of which rule to apply, limiting its examination to the concrete questions of certain facts applied to settled laws.

In other words: yes YOU Can pass the bar!

IELTS review: source http://www.ielts-blog.com/ielts-preparation-tips/writing-tips/ielts-academic-test-tips-for-writing-task-1/

Academic IELTS Test Writing Task 1.
The task here is to describe a graph in a report. The report is intended for a university lecturer, so the language you use should be appropriate.
There are several different graphs you could see in a Writing Task 1:

Single line graph – see example

Double line graph – see example

Bar graph (Single, Double or Triple bar graph) – see example

Pie chart – see example

Table – see example

Process

No matter what graph, diagram or table you are describing, you shouldn’t break these rules:

Your report must be of at least 150 words written in 20 minutes.

You shouldn’t write your opinion or copy words from the task prompt – rephrase and use synonyms instead.

Never use bullets, write as if you were writing an essay or a letter.

When your Academic Writing Task 1 is graded by IELTS examiners, they look for this structure:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
The Introduction should describe the purpose of your report and say what overall trends you see.
For example, if the graph is climbing up or dropping down, you should mention that.You need to remember that you are describing a graph to someone who doesn’t see it. Write what the graph is about, its dates and location.
The Body should describe the most important trends, while all information is summarized to avoid unnecessary details. For example, if there is a graph that has 2 peaks, you should mention them; tell when those peaks appeared and what the peak values are. Notice how many distinctive features the diagram has and divide information into paragraphs, one paragraph per feature. You should link the paragraphs by sentences that logically connect them to one another.
Important! You need to write about all the periods of time and all the subjects of graph. If it shows several years (1992, 1993, 1994) – write about all of them, if it is about men and women – write about both. Remember, summarizing doesn’t mean throwing away information. The secret here is to select what’s important, organize it, compare and contrast.
The Conclusion should sum up the global trends shown on the graph and compare them if possible.
And if you need some sample answers, here they are, enjoy.

http://www.ielts-blog.com/ielts-preparation-tips/writing-tips/ielts-academic-test-tips-for-writing-task-1/

EXAMPLES OF CHARTS

PIE CHART

Academic IELTS candidatesThis graph is similar to the recent ones that were given in IELTS exams, which is why it makes a good practice. Here is your homework for the day:
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The following pie charts and the table show how three countries (USA, UK and Malaysia) deal with dangerous waste. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.
You should write at least 150 words.

Amount of waste generated in three countries in year 2000:

mt = million tons

BAR CHART Graphs: Tourism in Egypt

The two charts below show the importance of Tourism to Egypt’s economy. Write a report based on the information in the two graphs.

Sample IELTS Answer: Egypt’s Tourism Industry

The graphs show how important tourism is for Egypt. Overall, even though tourism is the biggest sector in the economy, the income fluctuates sharply from year to year.
The first graph shows the foreign exchange earned by Egypt. The biggest sector is tourism, at 26% of the foreign exchange earnings. This is followed by industry, at 24%, and Workers remittances, which make up 21%. Incomes from the Suez Canal and from petroleum contribute a further quarter, and agriculture represents only 2%.
The second graph shows the amount of money Egypt earned from tourism between 1982 and 2003. in 1982, it only earned $0.3 billion, but this shot up over the next eleven years to $1.9 billion. it continued to rise until it reached a peak in 2000 of $4.3 billion, but then plunged suddenly, to a low of $1.8 billion in 2003, less than half the amount of the previous year.
In conclusion, although Egypt relied for a quarter of its income in 2002 on tourism, this amount varies sharply from year to year.

Sample Graphs: Higher Colleges

In IELTS, you will often get two or three graphs or tables, and you have to relate them to each other. Don’t just write one paragraph about each.
The three charts below give information on the gender breakdown, highest level obtained and location of students in the Higher Colleges of Technology in 1999. The Higher Colleges of Technology, or HCT, is a major government third-level institution in the United Arab Emirates. Write a report based on the information in the two graphs.

Sample Answer: Higher College Graduates

The charts shows student enrolment by gender and level in different colleges of the Higher Colleges of Technology colleges in the UAE.
There are clear differences in male and female enrolment. Females outnumber men in all the colleges, with almost 25% more students in Dubai Women’s college than in Dubai Men’s. Ras Al-Khaimah Women’s College has almost 180 students, compared to only 100 in the Men’s college.
Females also outnumber males by level, with almost double the number of men at Higher Diploma level (330 compared to 181). Only at Diploma level does the number of men slightly exceed that of women.
Over half the students are in Certificate level, with less than a quarter at Higher Diploma or Bachelor level.
In conclusion, most students in the Higher Colleges are enrolled at Diploma level or below, and the majority of students are women.
143 words

The two charts below give information on the changes in the types of fast food eaten in the UK between 1970 and 1990.

Graphs: Multiple Graphs: UAE Health Statistics

In IELTS, you will often get two or three graphs or tables, and you have to relate them to each other. Don’t just write one paragraph about each.
The two charts below give information on the changes in life expectancy along with government spending on health and education in the United Arab Emirates.

 

The graphs show health and education spending and changes in life expectancy and infant mortality in the UAE. Overall, as the percentage spent on health and education increases, infant mortality and life expectancy improve.
Graph 1 shows the percentage of GDP spent on health and education between 1985 and 1993. There were big increases in both areas. Health spending stood at about 8% in 1985 but rose to 9% in 1990 and 10% in 1993. Spending on education was even higher. It was 10% in 1985, and shot up to 14% in 1990 and 15% in 1993, a 50% increase in just 8 years.
Graph 2 shows improvements in life expectancy and infant mortality between 1970 and 1992. Life expectancy was just 60 in 1970 but rose to almost 72 in 1992. In contrast, the number of babies dying dropped dramatically, from 60 per 1000 in 1970 to only 22 in 1992.
In conclusion, people in the UAE are living longer and healthier lives as a direct result of increased government spending on education and medical facilities.

  the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing is an information transfer task related to the factual content of an input text(s), graph(s), table(s) or diagram(s). It can be combinations of these inputs. Usually you will have to describe the information given in 1, 2 or 3 three inputs but sometimes you have will have to describe a process shown in a diagram.

Marking for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing will be marked in four areas. You will get a mark from 1 to 9 on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Your final band for task 1 will be effectively an average of the four marks awarded in these areas. Task 1 writing is less important than task 2 and to calculate the final writing mark, more weight is assigned to the task 2 mark than to task 1's mark. To get a good overall mark for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing though, both tasks have to be well answered so don't hold back on task 1 or give yourself too little time to answer it properly.
Task Achievement This where you can really make a difference through careful preparation. This mark grades you on basically "have you answered the question". It marks whether you have covered all requirements of the task suffiently and whether you presented, highlighted and illustrate the key points appropriately.
Coherence and Cohesion These two are interrelated which is why they are done together. Cohesion is how your writing fits together. Does your writing with its ideas and content flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying. An example of bad coherence and cohesion would be as follows:
1 We went to the beach because it was raining.
Probably the writer of this sentence does not mean "because" as people don't usually go to the beach when it is raining. The writer should have written:
2 We went to the beach although it was raining.
Sentence 1 has made a cohesion and coherence error (as well as a vocabulary one). "Because" does not join the ideas of the sentence together correctly and, as a result, the reader does not understand what the writer wants to say. This is an exaggerated example but it shows what I mean. Good cohesion and coherence is not noticeable as it allows the writing to be read easily. Good cohesion and coherence also includes good and appropriate paragraph usage.
Lexical Resource This area looks at the your choice of words. The marker will look at whether the right words are used and whether they are used at the right time in the right place and in the right way. To get a good mark here, the word choice should not only be accurate but wide ranging, natural and sophisticated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy Here the examiner will mark your appropriate, flexible and accurate use of grammatical structures. Many people are worried about their grammar but, as you can see, grammar is only one section of four used to grade your writing. IELTS is much more interested in communication rather than grammatical accuracy. It is, of course, still part of the marking scheme and important as such.

Paragraphing for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

This is a very easy thing to do but it can have an enormous effect on the intelligibility of your writing and, of course, good use of paragraphing is part of the marking under the section Coherence and Cohesion. Very often people use no paragraphing in The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing and the examiner is faced with a "sea" of writing with no breaks from start to finish. Use paragraphs separated by an empty line and also indented. In this way your ideas are separated clearly. It shows and gives organization to your writing and makes it more readable. For the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing, you should have a paragraph for your small introduction, a paragraph for each graph that you are describing and a paragraph for your ending. If there's only one graph to be described, then you should split your writing into 2 or maybe 3 paragraphs for the one graph. Make sure you practise on relevant questions from IELTS practice tests, so that you experienced at dealing with this issue.

Numeric Scale on the Graph for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

Scale means: whether the graphs are marked in hundreds, thousands, millions, pounds, dollars (US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, etc.), kilograms, tons, metres, kilometres, percent and so on. It's important for you to make clear what your numbers mean for an accurate report of the graph. Don't just say that something costs 1000 for instance. Say it costs 1000 US dollars. You can either specify the scales at the start in your introduction so the reader knows it for the whole report or you can use the scale each time you quote a detail in the report.

Writing the Task for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

The Introduction
You don't need much here. You only have 150 words to fully answer the question and this is not much. So, you need 1 or 2 sentences describing the following:

• The type(s) of graph you are describing
• The titles of the graph(s)
• The date of the graph(s)
• The scale (see the paragraph above)

You might not have all this information but you should report what you do have. So, for example, your beginning could look like this:
In this report I am going to describe 2 graphs. The first one is a bar chart showing the relationship between age and crime and the second is a pie chart showing the types of reported crime in the UK in 2002.
 (This example gives an introduction to the Academic Writing Task 1 in Test 3 from ieltshelpnow.com.)

Describing Graphs for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

What you need to do here is factually describe the graphs. You don't need to analyse the data, For example you don't need to give reasons for why figures are high or low. Sometimes, when there is more than 1 graph, there is a relationship between the two and you can bring in some comparison but more than this is not necessary. In the same way, no specialised knowledge of your own is needed or wanted nor your opinions.
Remember the function of many graphs is to describe a trend so be sure that you describe the trends. A trend is how values change generally over time and it is important to describe the changes along with some of the individual values. We will look at trends a bit later under line graphs.
One important issue with The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing is how much detail to include in your report. This depends really on how much detail there is in the question. If there is only 1 graph and it doesn't have much numerical data in it, then you will be expected to include all or nearly all of the numerical detail. If, however, you have 2 graphs, both of which are very complicated with lots of values, you will not be expected to include everything as you only have 150 words to do the job. What you will have to do is to include a selection of what you feel is the most important and significant detail that needs to be included to accurately describe the graph. With practice from good IELTS practice tests, you will improve at including all the necessary detail with the right amount of words.
You must always have some numerical detail though.
Now let's look individually at the types of graph that you are likely to meet in the exam and how to describe them.

Bar Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

You described the title of the bar chart in your introduction so you can go straight into the description. With a bar chart, you need to describe the bars and their values. When describing a bar chart you first have to decide in what order to describe the bars, highest value to lowest value or lowest value to highest value. It may be a mixture of this.If there are many bars, some of which have similar or the same values, you may group them together for description. If there are very many bars and you can't group them, then just describe the ones that are the most significant.

Pie Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

Pie charts are relatively straightforward as they only usually have a few sections though this is not always the case. You need to describe the segments and their values. If there are very many then just describe the ones that are the most significant. The values are often expressed in percentages but not always so be careful what scale you are using.

Tables for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

These can sometimes be tricky as they provide a lot of information and it is often awkward and difficult to describe every piece of information. You have to decide and describe the values and sections that are the most significant.

Line Graphs for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

The function of a line graph is to describe a TREND pictorially. You therefore should try and describe the trend in it. If there are many lines in the graph(s), then just generally describe the trend. If there is only one or two, then use more detail. So, describe the movement of the line(s) of the graph giving numerical detail at the important points of the line.
To describe the movement, there is some language which will always be useful. Below is a list of language you can use. Check with your dictionary words that you don't understand and practice using the words/phrases so you use them in the right way. As you will see, there are a number of words which are similar in meaning. This means that you will be able to use a variety of vocabulary which gives a good impression to the examiner who will read and mark your writing. The words below are particularly useful for line graphs but they can also be used where appropriate to describe the other types of graph.

Expressing the Movement of a Line

Verbs	Nouns
Rise (to)	a rise
Increase (to)	an increase
Go up to
Grow (to)	growth
Climb (to)	a climb
Boom	a boom
Peak (at)	(reach) a peak (at)
Fall (to)	a fall (of)
Decline (to)	a decline (of)
Decrease (to)	a decrease (of)
Dip (to)	a dip (of)
Drop (to)	a drop (of)
Go down (to)
Reduce (to)	a reduction (of)
	A slump
Level out	a leveling out
No change	no change
Remain stable (at)
Remain steady (at)
Stay (at)
Stay constant (at)
Maintain the same level
Adjectives	Adverbs
Dramatic	dramatically
Sharp	sharply
Huge	hugely
Enormous	enormously
Steep	steeply
Substantial	substantially
Considerable	considerably
Significant	significantly
Marked	markedly
Moderate	moderately
Slight	slightly
Small
Minimal	minimally
Describing the Speed of a Change
Adjectives	Adverbs
Rapid	rapidly
Quick	quickly
Swift	swiftly
Sudden	suddenly
Steady	steadily
Gradual	gradually
Slow	slowly

The Ending for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

You do not need a long and analytical conclusion for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing, but I do feel that you need to write something to end the report for reasons of structure. All you need to do is to write:
This ends my report.
This is all you need to end your Task 1; I think it's important to do this as it rounds off the report for the reader.

Describing a Process for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

You  might have to describe a diagram representing a process.
First of all, the introduction and the ending should be more or less the same.
Then, work out the various stages of the process. Take each one separately (it's only probably going to have a limited number of stages) and describe them fully. Fully is the important word as reaching the word limit has proved harder in this task. If you have this problem, don't be afraid to use your imagination to add to detail about the process.

Other Hints for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing

• DON'T copy any part of the question in your answer. This is not your own work and therefore will be disregarded by the examiner and deducted from the word count. You can use individual words but be careful of using long "chunks" of the question text.
• Don't repeat yourself or the same ideas.
• Iuse short sentences. This allows you to control the grammar and the meaning of your writing much more easily and contributes to a better cohesion and coherence mark. It's much easier to make things clear in a foreign language if you keep your sentences short!
• Think about the tenses of your verbs. If you're writing about something that happened in the past, your verbs will need to be in the past tenses. If you're describing the future, you will need to use the future tenses. If it's a habitual action, you'll need the present simple tense and so on. If you have time, a quick check of your verbs at the end of the exam can help you find errors. For describing graphs you will probably need past tenses whereas, for describing a process, you will probably need the present simple. Think about the verbs while practising and then it will become easier when you do the exam.
• As I just said, if you have finished the exam with time to spare, DON'T just sit there!! Check what you have done. If you have time after the check, check again. And so on....
• Don't be irrelevant. Although you can use your imagination to expand on your answer, if any part of your report is totally unrelated to the question and put in to just put up the word count, then the examiner will not take it into account and deduct it from the word count.

• The Free IELTS Academic Test Lessons
  • The Free Academic Listening Test Lesson
  • The Academic Reading Test Lesson
  • The Free Academic Speaking Test Lesson
  • The Academic Writing Test - Task 1 Lesson
  • The Academic Writing Test - Task 2 Tutorial
• The Free IELTS General Training Test Lessons

Academic Test Tutorials

 The Academic Listening Test Tutorial
 The Academic Reading Test Tutorial

 The Academic Speaking Test Tutorial

 The Academic Writing Test - Task 1 Tutorial

 The Academic Writing Test - Task 2 Tutorial

 This link has dozens of model answers.
http://www.ielts-writing.info/index.php/academic-writing-task-1/

Journalists! Master Studiengang in Bonn (DW)
http://www.dw.de/dw-akademie/application/s-12278

Diplomats! Training for International Diplomats
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/AusbildungKarriere/InternationDiplAusbildung/Uebersicht_node.html

U.N. Internships:
http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/

EU Internships:
http://ec.europa.eu/stages/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/about-eu/working-eu-institutions/traineeships/index_en.htm

http://fra.europa.eu/en/about-fra/recruitment/internship

http://www.euintheus.org/what-you-can-do/work-with-us-internships/

European Court of Human Rights
http://www.coe.int/en/web/jobs/traineeships

Praktika beim Auswärtigen Amt
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/AusbildungKarriere/AA-Taetigkeit/Praktika/Praktika_node.html

Criminal Law Vocabulary - Strafrecht

Accomplice; Accessory; Abettor – der Gehilfe;

Principal - Haupttäter

Complicity – die Beihilfe

Nötigung – Duress; coercion

Rape - Vergewaltigung

Robbery - Raub

Murder – Mord;

Manslaughter – Totschlag

Homicide – Tötung

Arson - Brandstiftung

Burglary - Einbruchdiebstahl

Theft  - Diebstahl

Suspect – der Verdächtiger

Gang – der (kriminelle) Band

Victim – der Opfer

First time offender / First offender

Recidivism – Rückfall

Untersuchungshaft – Preliminary Detention

Felony - Verbrechen

Misdemeanor - Vergehen

Violation - Ordnungswidrigkeit

Felon - Verbrecher

Criminal - Verbrecher

Tax Evasion – Steuerhinterziehung

Tax Avoidance – Steuervermeidung

Offence against the person

Offence against property

Bust out – Betrugsanleihe mit anschliessenden Versicherungsbetrug und Scheinbankrott

Counterfeiting – Geldfälschung, Fälschung

Fraud - Betrug

Treason – Verrat

High Treason - Höchstverrat

Espionage - Spionage

Bagatelldelikt – Minor offence; trifling offence

RICO

Adhäsionsverfahren – Tort claim arising out of criminal complaint

Intentional – Vorsätzlich; Absichtlich

General Intent

Specific Intent

Assault - Bedrohung

Battery - Körperverletzung

Attempt – Versuch

Embezzlement - Unterschlagung

Extortion – Erpressung

Blackmail – Erpressung

Greenmail

Fencing – Hehlerei

Insider trading / Insider dealing – Insiderhandel

Market manipulation – Kursmanipulation

Bribery - Bestechung

Slander – Üble Nachrede

Defamation -

Libel - Verleumdung

Insult – Beschimpfung

Surveillance – Beobachtung

Protective Surveillance - Überwachung

Wire-tapping

Lauschangriff

False imprisonment  - Freiheitsberaubung

Abduction / Kidnapping - Entführung

Hostage Taking - Geiselnahme

Hijacking - Flugzeugentführung

Trespass – (Haus)friedensbruch

Forgery – Fälschung

Destruction of Evidence – Zerstörung Beweismittels

Criminal Combination – Krimineller Verein

(To Bear) False Witness – falsches Zeugnis

Money Laundering - Geldwäsche

Perjury – falsches Zeugnis

Element – Bestandteil

Element of the crime - Tatbestand

Impossibility - Unmöglichkeit

Self defence

Justification

Excuse

Defence; Verteidigung; Verteidigungsmittel

Criminal Capacity - Straffähigkeit

Mahnverfahren –

Mahnbrief – Warning Letter

Mahnung - Warning

Manhunt – Jagd auf jemand; Suche

Mayhem; Maiming -

Larceny- Entwendung

Accessory - Gehilfe

Fine - Bußgeld

Imprisonment - Freiheitsstrafe

Acquittal - Freispruch

Probation - Bewährung

Attenuating Circumstance; Mitigating Circumstance - Strafmilderungsgrund

Aggravating - Strafschärfung

Mitigating Circumstance – mildernder Umstand; Strafmilderungsgrund

Pardon – Begnadigung

Suspended Sentence

Time Served

Good behavior

Remand – Untersuchungshaft (U.K.), Zurückweisung dem unteren Instantz (U.S.)

Bewährung

Strafvollzug – enforcement of sentence

Released on his own recognizance – Unter selbst Bewährung

Bail; Bail bond

Verjährung – Prescription; Statute of Limitations

Forgery – Fälschung

Hit-and-run - Fahrerflucht

Strike – Streik

Slow-down

Lock-out

Riot – Krawalle

Incitement - Anstiftung

Bankruptcy - Bankrott

Notwehr – Self defence

Notstand – Emergency situation, which justifies action; necessity

Unfair competition – unlauterer Wettbewerb

Tortious interference with a contract -

Open Access Links

Open access legal scholarship links:
http://www.doaj.org/
http://vifa-recht.gbv.de
http://www.base-search.net
http://www.referat.com/catalog/?topic=%CF%F0%E0%E2%EE&start=45

Vocabulary

Define or find a synonym for each term:

Presumption______________________________________________

Rebuttable Presumption___________________________________

Irrebuttable Presumption_________________________________

Assumption_______________________________________________

Refutation_______________________________________________

Foundation_______________________________________________

Grounds__________________________________________________

Precondition_____________________________________________

Burden of proof__________________________________________

Shifting the burden of proof_____________________________

International law________________________________________

Administrative law_______________________________________

European commission______________________________________

European council_________________________________________

Court____________________________________________________

Jury_____________________________________________________

Juror____________________________________________________

Appeal___________________________________________________

Question of law__________________________________________

Question of fact_________________________________________

Custom___________________________________________________

Customary law____________________________________________

precedent________________________________________________

condition precedent______________________________________

convention_______________________________________________

deference________________________________________________

vote_____________________________________________________

veto_____________________________________________________

consideration____________________________________________

principle________________________________________________

specific performance_____________________________________

pure economic losses_____________________________________

damages__________________________________________________

injury___________________________________________________

injunction (temporary/permanent)_________________________

temporary restraining order______________________________

with respect to__________________________________________

tort_____________________________________________________

contract_________________________________________________

property_________________________________________________

appellant________________________________________________

appellee_________________________________________________

appellor_________________________________________________

res ipsa loquitor________________________________________

ultra vires______________________________________________

usufruct_________________________________________________

usus_____________________________________________________

abusus___________________________________________________

use value________________________________________________

exchange value___________________________________________

oppression_______________________________________________

repression_______________________________________________

oppression_______________________________________________

suppression______________________________________________

depression_______________________________________________

dialectic________________________________________________

liberation_______________________________________________

life tenancy_____________________________________________

life estate_______________________________________________

trust____________________________________________________

indict___________________________________________________

grand jury_______________________________________________

petit jury_______________________________________________

inquisitorial____________________________________________

accusatorial_____________________________________________

case law_________________________________________________

statutes_________________________________________________

laws_____________________________________________________

regulations______________________________________________

directives_______________________________________________

court of equity__________________________________________

court of law_____________________________________________

substantive law__________________________________________

procedural law___________________________________________

relevant_________________________________________________

treaty___________________________________________________

convention_______________________________________________

civil procedure__________________________________________

civil law________________________________________________

civil code_______________________________________________

ambiguous________________________________________________

interpretation___________________________________________

critique_________________________________________________

criticisim_______________________________________________

criticise________________________________________________

literal__________________________________________________

figurative_______________________________________________

metaphoric_______________________________________________

crime____________________________________________________

criminal law_____________________________________________

criminal_________________________________________________

arbitration______________________________________________

adversary________________________________________________

adversarial proceeding___________________________________

lex talionis_____________________________________________

institute________________________________________________

instigate________________________________________________

bring suit_______________________________________________

bring a lawsuit__________________________________________

to sue___________________________________________________

adjudication_____________________________________________

to judge_________________________________________________

comprehend_______________________________________________

understand_______________________________________________

percieve_________________________________________________

opinion__________________________________________________

decision_________________________________________________

decide___________________________________________________

verdict__________________________________________________

barrister________________________________________________

solicitor________________________________________________

contingent fee___________________________________________

punitive damages_________________________________________

real property____________________________________________

personal property________________________________________

intellectual property____________________________________

material property________________________________________

immaterial property______________________________________

liability________________________________________________

imputation_______________________________________________

reciprocity______________________________________________

opposite_________________________________________________

opposition_______________________________________________

object (v)_______________________________________________

object (n)_______________________________________________

objection________________________________________________

offer____________________________________________________

acceptance_______________________________________________

promise__________________________________________________

mutual___________________________________________________

expectation interest_____________________________________

expectancy_______________________________________________

counteroffer_____________________________________________

bargain__________________________________________________

negotation_______________________________________________

arguments________________________________________________

option___________________________________________________

stock option_____________________________________________

stock____________________________________________________

share____________________________________________________

option contract__________________________________________

similar__________________________________________________

same_____________________________________________________

analogy__________________________________________________

compel___________________________________________________

inculpate________________________________________________

exculpate________________________________________________

blameworthy______________________________________________

praiseworthy_____________________________________________

reform___________________________________________________

source___________________________________________________

resource_________________________________________________

sovereignty______________________________________________

rule of law______________________________________________

check____________________________________________________

cash_____________________________________________________

money order______________________________________________

acquit___________________________________________________

dissent__________________________________________________

majority_________________________________________________

majority opinion_________________________________________

dissent__________________________________________________

equivocal________________________________________________

ambiguous________________________________________________

contradiction____________________________________________

guilty___________________________________________________

innocent_________________________________________________

tort_____________________________________________________

presumed innocent________________________________________

innocent until proven guilty_____________________________

more likely than not_____________________________________

beyond doubt_____________________________________________

beyond reasonable doubt__________________________________

restitution______________________________________________

teleology________________________________________________

ontology_________________________________________________

indict___________________________________________________

prosecute________________________________________________

remand___________________________________________________

reverse__________________________________________________

cease____________________________________________________

desist___________________________________________________

proxy____________________________________________________

circumstances____________________________________________

principle________________________________________________

policy___________________________________________________

practice_________________________________________________

right____________________________________________________

claim____________________________________________________

compensation_____________________________________________

nominal damages__________________________________________

punitive damages_________________________________________

general damages__________________________________________

special damages__________________________________________

causation________________________________________________