Drafting a Contract

Required Format for Writing Assignment #2 [save this document to your device, add yourlanguage as prompted, save it and then upload your document to Canvas]
Name: _________________ (write your name here)
Law 1 Business Law Section #: ______________ (fill in your 5 digit section number here,
which can be found on the home page of our course Canvas page or the SIS system)
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CONTRACT
Introductory paragraph: (write your text here)
1. Sale of Goods and Purchase Price: (write your text starting here)
2. Incorporation by Reference: (write your text starting here)
3. Delivery/Title: (write your text starting here)
4. Payment: (write your text starting here)
5. Conditions
a. Satisfaction Clause (write your text starting here)
b. Time is of the Essence (write your text starting here)
6. Warranties (write your text starting here)
7. Assignment (write your text starting here)
8. Integration Clause/Entire Agreement Clause (write your text starting here)
9. Act of God/Force Majeure (write your text starting here)
10. Liquidated Damages (write your text starting here)
11. Choice of Law/Governing Law (write your text starting here)
12. Choice of Forum/Forum Selection (write your text starting here)
13. Arbitration/Mediation (write your text starting here)
14. Attorney’s Fees (write your text starting here)
Signatures of the parties (write your signature block here)
Business Law 001
Writing Assignment II: Preparing a Contract
I. Learning Objectives:
As we may recall from our course syllabus, one of our course learning objectives is to “Prepare a
contract for the sale of personal property.” This assignment provides an opportunity for us apply
many of the concepts we have learned in contract law in a real-world setting. As a result of
completing this assignment, students will:
•
Learn the key elements and legal principles that should be included in a written contract;
•
Identify key elements and legal principles in a written contract and comprehend the
meaning of those elements;
•
Develop familiarity with the standard format of a legally enforceable written contract,
commonly used in business and personal settings;
•
Practice expressing key elements and legal principles of a contract by writing a contract;
and
•
Create an example of a contract that could be of use for students outside of class.
II. Tasks for this Assignment:
This assignment requires us to read a hypothetical (fictional) situation I have provided and to put
ourselves in the shoes of a consumer who is buying a dress. In light of the situation provided,
our task is to write a contract for the sale of a dress. The contract is between the consumer (you)
and a dress shop. This assignment requires us to complete the following sub-tasks:
•
Open up the separate document I provide called “Required Format for Writing
Assignment #2”, save it to your device.
•
Read the Hypothetical Situation and Instructions provided below.
•
Continuing on the same document you saved to your device, write in the substantive
language for each element listed in the format provided. Include your name at the top of
the first page of the document.
•
Upload our document to Canvas. Keep in mind that the name of the document you
upload needs to end in “.doc” or “.docx”
III. Hypothetical Situation and Instructions:
Your sister’s quinceañera is coming up on Saturday January 11th and you are contracting with a
dress shop to make and sell you a custom made dress for her to wear at the celebration. You
have designed and sketched the dress yourself, and are providing the shop with your sketch.
Use your knowledge of business law and contract law to write a contract between you and the
shop. It is up to you to decide the name of the shop, and the form of the shop’s ownership. The
forms of ownership are described in Chapter 16 of our text (including sole proprietorship,
corporation, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, etc.)
Below is a list of all of the required elements of the contract, additional guidance for some of the
elements as well as the point value available for each element. When relevant, I include a
reference to the page number(s) in our textbook that address the respective element. You may
also rely on internet searches to help you write the required elements. In a separate document, I
provide a few sample contracts I found on the internet, for your reference only. Be sure not to
follow the format of the sample contracts; use and follow the Required Format for Writing
Assignment #2 I provide.
It is up to you to fill in the facts of this hypothetical situation. For example, you get to decide the
price of the dress, the name of the dress shop, and which laws of which state will apply in the
event a dispute arises regarding the contract. There is no “right answer” in terms of the facts. If
you include the required information, you will earn the available points.
Your work product must be typewritten. There is no page minimum or maximum.
Here are the required elements of the contract:
Introductory paragraph. In this paragraph we must identify (name) the parties to the contract
including you, as an individual consumer who is buying a dress, and the name of the seller (the
dress shop) and its form of ownership. You must also include the full addresses of both parties
(fictitious addresses are recommended), and the name of the person signing the contract on
behalf of the dress shop. (3 points)
1. Sale of Goods and Purchase Price (describe what is being sold and for how much?) (2 points)
2. Incorporation by Reference (p. 342) (Incorporate by reference the sketch of the dress. No
need to attach an actual sketch for the purpose of this assignment) (1 point)
3. Delivery/Title (When and where will the finished product be delivered? Will title pass upon
delivery?) (2 points)
4. Payment (What are the details of the payment arrangements. For example, when is payment
due and is it due as a lump sum or in installments?) (2 points)
5. Conditions
a. Satisfaction Clause (p. 323-24) (2 points)
b. Time is of the Essence (324-25) (1 point)
6. Warranties (in this case the dress is being sold “as is”) (1 point)
7. Assignment (p. 347-48) (1 point)
8. Integration Clause/Entire Agreement (p. 344) (1 point)
9. Act of God/Force Majeure (p. 366) (1 point)
10. Liquidated Damages (p. 392) (1 point)
11. Choice of Law/Governing Law (p. 57) (1 point)
12. Choice of Forum/Forum Selection (p. 57-58) (1 point)
13. Arbitration/Mediation (p. 98) (2 points)
14. Attorney’s Fees (in the event of a dispute, who is responsible for paying for the parties’
attorney’s fees?) (p. 28) (1 point)
Signatures of the parties. Include signature blocks of the representatives who will sign the
contract. This includes a line for the parties’ signatures as well as their names in typed print
underneath the signature line. Please also include a space for the signatories to indicate the date
of their signature. (2 points)
IV. Grading and Criteria for Success
This is a 25 point assignment. The most important thing we need to do to succeed on this
assignment is to use the required format and follow it exactly by addressing each required
element in the EXACT numbered order as provided in the Required Format for Writing
Assignment #2 (see attached document.) Assignments that do not utilize the required format
will not be accepted.
This class is not a writing class and the quality of our writing—in and of itself– will not be
judged or graded in this assignment. We earn points by writing text that demonstrates our
understanding of each required element. The point value for each required element is indicated
above. While I do not grade students’ writing ability, I do need to be able to understand what
students are communicating in order to award the available points.
V. Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Question: Can I make up my own hypothetical situation, for example, and write a contract for
the sale of a car?
Answer: No. We must follow the hypothetical situation provided in this assignment and write a
contract for the sale of a dress.
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Question: The sample contracts provided use a different format than the required format
provided for this assignment. Can I use the format of those sample contracts?
Answer: No. The sample contracts are there for our reference only. DO NOT follow the format
of the sample contracts. Some of those contracts include elements that are not required in this
assignment.
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Question: Can I use some of the language I find on the internet or in the sample contracts
provided?
Answer: Yes. Just be sure that the language addresses the required element you are working on,
and that it is relevant to our hypothetical situation. This may require you to adjust the language.
For example, do not provide language regarding a one-year warranty when our instructions
require that the dress is being sold on an “as is” basis. In another example, do not provide
language incorporating a map by reference when our instructions require us to incorporate a
sketch of the dress by reference.