Property -- Fall 2025 -- Instructions for Practice Question 1

Property (B1) — Practice Question 1

Fall 2025
Professor Schnably
Office, Office Hours, and Faculty Assistant

Practice Question 1
Comments, Detailed Outline, and Model Answer

Office Hours for Questions about Practice Question 1: New!
If you would like to see me in my office about your answer to ths Question, you may schedule an appointment with me. Please email Ms. Demmings (sdemmings@law.miami.edu) to request an appointment, with “Property (B1) Practice Question 1 Appointment” in the subject line. I have blocked out fifteen minute appointments on my calendar, at times which should not conflict with your Section B schedule. She will assign you to an appointment. If you are not in Section B and have a conflict with another class, or if (regardless of whether you are in Section B or not) you have another appointment already scheduled at the time she gives you, let her know and she will look for another time. There are enough slots for everyone.
As mentioned in class, it’s important to have specific questions about aspects of how you wrote your outline or answered the Question, compared to what you saw in the Comments and Model Answer. You may show me your answer if you like. I won’t remember your mid-term AGN but it is also fine if you would like to black out your mid-term AGN on your outline and answer.

This Practice Question Exercise is:

Mandatory for all members of the class.
Your Own Individual Work Product:
- The Outline and Answer you write should represent your own efforts and no one else’s.
  - You will read the Practice Question, then write an outline of your answer, and then your answer. See this Outline and Exam Writing Advice on outlining an answer and on writing an exam answer.
  - Once you have read the Practice Question, you may not confer with any one else (including other class members) about it, nor may you confer with anyone else (including other class members) who have already read the Practice Question. In addition, you may not work with anyone else while you write your Outline and Answer.
- Note: Once the deadline for submission has passed (Tuesday, Sept. 2, 4:30 pm) you may talk about it with other members of the class or the Deans Fellow, and share your Outline and Answer with them or anyone else who is willing to give you comments.
Open Book. This means:
- In writing your Outline and Answer, you may consult any materials you wish that are in writing or print, or are in digital form stored on your computer, laptop, or tablet. This includes materials assigned or provided in this course this year, including the Casebook and Supplement, as well as your own notes, briefs, or commercial outlines, whether in printed form or stored on your device.
- Internet. You may not use any research platforms such as Lexis or Westlaw, or other internet research, in producing your outline and answer.
- Generative AI. You may not use any form of generative AI to produce your outline and answer. You may not use any form of generative AI to edit or revise your outline and answer.
- Note: You may not upload the Question or your Outline and Answer to any online database or AI site.
Timed. You should spend 60 minutes total writing your response. Your response will be an outline to your answer, and your answer.
Anonymous. You will include no identifying information on the Outline or Answer you submit. Instead, you will include your Mid-Term Anonymous Grading number (AGN) (details below). I will not know whose Outlines and Answers I am reading.
- Exception: In case of failure to submit the required materials by the deadline, or significantly failing to observe the requirements set out below, I reserve the right to determine the identity of the person(s) failing to do so, and impose appropriate penalties.
Ungraded. It will not be graded and I will not provide individualized comments, but I will read through the answers and provide the class with comments about the issues in the Practice Question, and point out any problems recurring throughout the answers. You can then use my comments to critique your own answer.
In conformity with the Honor Code. You may wish to review Section 1.03 (including § 1.03(c)) of the Law School’s Honor Code (2025-2026).

Timeline and Instructions:

Timeline:
- No later than Friday morning, Aug. 29: Obtain your mid-term Anonymous Grading Number (AGN). You should do this no later than Friday morning so you have time to contact the Registar’s Office before it closes for the weekend.
  - For information and FAQs on how to obtain your Mid-Term AGN, click here.
  - If you encounter any difficulties or have any questions, please contact the Office of the Law Registrar.
  - This is the AGN you will also use for your Mandatory Practice Mid-Term. Keep in mind that for the final exam, you will need to obtain a different AGN -- you should not use the Mid-Term AGN for your final exam.
- Friday, Aug. 29: Practice Question 1 posted.
  - You should print it out so that you have a paper copy when you write your outline and answer.
  - You can print it out whenever you would like, once it’s posted, but don’t look at it online or in print before you are ready to take it. I would suggest not printing it out until you are ready to take it. But if you want to print it out before then, that’s fine. There is a separate cover page; the actual Question is on the next page. Just don’t look at the page with the Question until you are ready to start writing your outline and answer.
- Tue. Sept. 2, 4:30 pm: Outline and Answer due.
- Mon. Sept. 8: General comments and overall feedback posted on this page.
- Note: For your convenience, there is an Optional Submission Checklist, which you may find helpful when you are ready to submit your outline and answer. It is not, however, a substitute for carefully reading these Instructions.
Instructions: .
- Stage 1: Write your outline and answer to Practice Question 1.
  - What materials to review:
    - Review the materials in Sections I.A and I.B.1 of the Syllabus. There is no need to review the materials in Sections after I.B.1.
    - You may want to print a copy of this page so you can refer to it while responding to the Practice Question.
    - Print the Practice Question itself by clicking on the link at the top of this page, once the Practice Question is posted. The pdf that will open up has a cover page and the page with the Question. Do not look at the Question itself until you are ready to sit down for 60 minutes and respond to the Question.
    - You should also read this Outline and Exam Writing Advice on outlining an answer and on writing the answer itself.
  - Time to allocate for doing the Practice Question: 60 minutes maximum, divided as follows:
    - Reading the Question and writing an outline: 15-20 minutes
    - Writing an essay answer: 40-45 minutes
- Stage 2: Submit your outline and answer to Practice Question 1.
  - What to Submit: You must submit one printed document with two parts, separated by a page break. The two parts are:
    1. An outline of the main issues you will address in your answer
    2. An answer in essay form
  - Format:
    - Printout: Your Outline and Answer must be submitted:
      - Without your name on it; just your AGN as indicated below
      - In printed form (i.e., not handwritten)
      - As a single document (i.e., do not hand in the Outline and Answer as separate documents)
      - Double-spaced
      - With a page break between the Outline and the Answer, and
      - Stapled together.
    - Include your AGN within the document in the following way:
      - Header or Equivalent. When you are writing your answer, type the following on the top right of the Outline page, and on the top right of the first page of your Answer, in the following format. If you prefer, you may instead put the following information into the document as a header for the whole document.):
        
        “Property (B1): Practice Question 1 AGN 123456”
        
        Note: for “123456” substitute your Fall 2025 Midterm Anonymous Grading Number (AGN)
  - When and how to submit your outline and answer:
    - When: Your outline and answer are due no later than 4:30 pm Tuesday, September 2.
    - How: Your outline and answer must be submitted in person to Mr. Johnathan Myrie or, if he is not available, to Ms. Kimberly Cruz (both located in Law Library G463). (Ms. Demmings will be out of the office.)