a helpful teacher for their supply of information, these can seem a little
daunting. You can help to ease yourself into these sources in various ways:
- Identify the topics involved – it is not the whole of the law of contract, but
selected areas of the doctrine of consideration. Re-read Chapter 3 of this
book and hopefully this will immediately help you to focus your thoughts. - Do not try to read the whole booklet in one session at the beginning.
Decide on a method of working through the articles one at a time – see
the suggestions below. It is daunting to have a task before you which
seems immense, but it can be much more encouraging to think that you
have something achievable ahead and then to complete comfortably what
you set out to do. - When you have read an extract, refer to your textbook and revise the
cases involved thoroughly, to help understand the context. - Make notes on what you have read – both short jottings in the margin of
the materials and then more formally on paper. If there are words or
phrases that you find difficult because of the language, look up the
words in a dictionary and rephrase them. Try to summarise the extracts
in your own words (see the next point). - Think about questions or issues which may arise in an examination. You
may be asked to explain part of an extract in your own words– so make
sure that you can do this. If you were asked to do so, you would not
receive any marks at all for merely copying out the section. - When you have read several extracts, consider why they were included, and
what the connection may be between two extracts. In particular, look for the
development of the law of consideration through precedent. It is usually
very mark-worthy in an examination to make links between extracts. - Finally, think about any extra issues which may arise, or any alternative
ways of wording questions or issues.
The list of extracts
Scan through the source material, and make your own list of the extracts,
possibly leaving a small gap between them, in case you want to add in any
comments. You can then tick the extracts on your list as you work on them.
The following items are included:
280 Contract law
Adapted from the judgment of Patteson J inThomas v Thomas[1842] 2 QB 851.
Adapted from Cheshire, Fifoot & Furmston’s Law of Contract(ed. Furmston),
Butterworths.
Adapted from the judgment of Lord Somervell in Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestlé
Co Ltd[1960] AC 87.
Adapted from An Outline of the Law of Contractby G.H.Treitel, Butterworths.