MBE Tip #11 – Contracts

Answer to the Contracts MBE Question:

Common mistake: Students have trouble with identifying when, exactly, a contract was formed.

Subject: Contracts

Legal Issue: Is there a contract?

Legal Rule and Analysis: The letter by the buyer was an offer because it manifests an intent to enter into a contract and it has specific terms (quantity, identity of the offeree, and the price.) (Note: The offer will not fail for lack of a specific price term. Although the price term was not specifically stated, it was still present given that the buyer agreed to buy the pens at whatever price the seller was selling them for.)

The seller’s reply operated as an acceptance. Remember that, under the mailbox rule, the acceptance is effective upon dispatch rather than receipt.  Thus, when the buyer tried to revoke his offer, it was ineffective.

Tip: If you have trouble identifying when a contract was formed, take it step by step and figure out if there was an offer, an acceptance, a revocation, etc. It is helpful to jot notes in the margin when you come across problems like this.

Conclusion: There is a contract because the seller accepted the offer before the buyer attempted to revoke his offer.

Choose an answer choice that most closely matches your conclusion and explain why the others are incorrect:(D) matches the rationale perfectly. (A) is incorrect because the seller accepted prior to the buyer’s attempted revocation. (One cannot revoke an offer after it was accepted!) (B) is incorrect because even though the price was not explicitly stated, it was easy to identify (it was whatever the seller’s current price was). (C) is incorrect because as a general rule, an offer is revocable at any time prior to acceptance. (There are exceptions–e.g., if it was a firm offer, option contract, if there is beginning performance on an offer to enter into a unilateral contract, or if there is reasonably foreseeable substantial reliance on the offer. None of the exceptions are present here.)

MBE Tip: I “overthink” questions and pick the wrong answer. How can I stop doing this?

Some students truly change correct answers even though they know their initial answer choice is correct! Many students refer to this as “overthinking” MBE questions. (When I first started tutoring, I didn’t know what students were talking about, but now I come across a handful of students each administration that have a habit of doing this!)

If you tend to think something is “too easy” and you pick a wrong answer choice, the first thing you may have to do is to get your confidence level up! Students who overthink tend to spot the right answer then think “Nah, that can’t be right, it is too easy!” so they pick the wrong answer choice! Even realizing that sometimes the “easy” answer is the right answer can help you immensely.

Next, get into the habit of carefully examining the answer choices after you pick your answer when you practice. If you pick answer (A) then think, “that’s too easy!” carefully analyze (B), (C), and (D) to see if any of them truly are correct. Getting into the habit of truly reviewing all of the answer choices can help prevent any “overthinking” of questions.