The Office Memorandum and IRAC or CREAC Structure: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
25 flashcard terms for Legal Research and Writing Topic 5, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 15-question quiz — free, no account needed.
A predictive internal document that states the governing law objectively, applies it to the client's facts, and forecasts how a court would rule, including the weaknesses in the client's position.
Predictive writing
Writing whose goal is an accurate forecast rather than persuasion. It presents adverse authority fully because a supervising lawyer must be able to rely on the prediction.
IRAC
The classic analytical sequence of Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion, which keeps each discrete legal question in one self contained block of analysis.
CREAC
An expanded structure of Conclusion, Rule, Explanation, Application, and Conclusion, which adds a rule explanation section illustrating the rule through prior cases before applying it.
Question presented
A one sentence framing of the legal issue that names the governing rule and the two or three determinative facts, written neutrally so the reader is not steered toward an answer.
Brief answer
A short direct response to the question presented, usually opening with a qualified yes or no and then giving the two or three reasons in the order the discussion develops them.
Statement of facts
A neutral account of the legally significant facts plus enough background to make the story coherent, drawn from the record and free of legal conclusions or argument.
Discussion section
The analytical core of a memo, organized by legal issue and element rather than by case or by chronology, with a separate CREAC block for each disputed point.
Conclusion section
A closing that restates the predicted outcome, notes the level of confidence, and flags open questions, additional facts needed, or practical next steps for the client.
Roadmap paragraph
An opening passage in the discussion stating the overall conclusion, the governing rule, which elements are undisputed, and the order in which the disputed elements will be addressed.
Umbrella section
A short overview preceding several CREAC blocks that supplies the shared framework, so each subsequent block can begin at its own narrow issue without repeating background.
Thesis sentence
The first sentence of an analytical block stating the conclusion on that point, so the reader knows the destination before reading the supporting rule and application.
Large scale organization
The arrangement of issues, elements, and CREAC blocks across a document, the aspect of structure readers notice most and the hardest to repair late in drafting.
Small scale organization
Structure within a paragraph: a topic sentence carrying the point, supporting sentences in a logical chain, and transitions that show the relationship between ideas.
Element by element organization
Dividing the discussion by the components of the legal test rather than by case or by party, which prevents the case by case narration that hides the analysis.
Threshold issue
A question that must be resolved before the merits can matter, such as whether the statute applies, whether a duty exists, or whether the claim is timely, and which comes first in the memo.
Dispositive issue
An issue whose resolution ends the matter regardless of the other points, which should be identified early and analyzed prominently rather than buried in the middle.
Undisputed element
A requirement the facts plainly satisfy. It is disposed of in a sentence or two so the reader's attention stays on the genuinely contested requirements.
Objective tone
Neutral, measured language that reports adverse authority and factual weaknesses plainly, since a memo that oversells the client's position is worse than useless.
Audience of a memo
A busy supervising lawyer who knows the general law but not this file, who will read the conclusion first, and who needs to locate the answer without reading every word.
Scope note
A statement of what the memo does and does not cover, such as assumptions made, jurisdictions researched, and questions reserved, which protects the reader from misreliance.
Email memo
A compressed predictive analysis delivered by email, typically opening with the bottom line, followed by short rule and application paragraphs, used for quick or narrow questions.
Client letter
A predictive analysis written for a nonlawyer, translating the rule into plain language, avoiding citation clutter, and closing with concrete recommendations and next steps.
Point first writing
The convention of stating the conclusion before the support in every unit of the document, from the whole memo down to the individual paragraph.
Working draft
An early complete version written to discover the analysis rather than to be read, which is then restructured and cut, on the principle that organization is revised into a document.