So you want to crush murder essays? Here's how...
Murder essays can feel intimidating because they blend common law elements, degree distinctions, and fact-specific defenses. The upside is that homicide is one of the most predictable essay types on the California Bar Exam. Examiners return to the same ladder: define common law murder and malice, separate first versus second degree, test voluntary or involuntary manslaughter as mitigation, and evaluate defenses such as self-defense, intoxication, insanity, or duress. If you learn that ladder and write it in the same order every time, murder essays become manageable and highly scoreable. This guide gives you a disciplined attack plan for murder essays. You will start with the call of the question, move methodically through murder and malice states, assess degree, consider manslaughter mitigation, and close with defenses. You will also see how to format your paper with clean headings so graders can award points quickly. Finally, you will get practical drills to turn the checklist into reflex. Use the framework below until it is second nature.
Step 1: Spot the Call of the Question an Outline
Read the call of the question first. If it says to discuss the defendant’s liability for murder, you already know homicide is the centerpiece. Set your outline before reading the fact pattern in depth:
- Issue
- Common Law Murder Rule
- Degrees
- 1st Degree
- 2nd Degree
- Manslaughter
- Voluntary
- Involuntary
- Defenses
- Self Defense/Others
- Insantity
Signals to flag right away: planning or lying in wait (premeditation or deliberation); a sudden fight, provocative act, or humiliating event (heat of passion); grossly reckless conduct or dangerous driving (depraved heart or involuntary manslaughter); a robbery, burglary, arson, or kidnapping in progress (felony murder); and facts pointing to defenses such as proportional force, retreat or no retreat, intoxication, mental disease, or duress.
Step 2: Begin with Common Law Murder and Malice
Rule: Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Malice can be shown in four ways. Write the full list every time, then apply the facts that most strongly match each theory.
- Intent to kill — use the deadly-weapon doctrine when the defendant used a firearm or knife at a vital area; intent can be inferred.
- Intent to inflict serious bodily injury — if the defendant aimed to disable or seriously harm, malice can be satisfied.
- Depraved heart — extreme recklessness that shows an abandoned and malignant heart, such as firing into a crowd, street racing through a school zone, or handling a loaded gun while intoxicated.
- Felony murder — malice is implied if the death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony.
- Structure tip: use a short subheading for each malice theory and give a one- or two-sentence application. Then point to the strongest one as your primary theory and keep the others as alternatives.
Step 3: Separate First Degree from Second Degree
Once malice is established, decide whether the homicide is first degree or second degree.
First-degree murder requires premeditation and deliberation, which means cool reflection, even if only for a brief period. It can also be satisfied by an enumerated felony that elevates felony murder to first degree. Second-degree murder captures all other murders with malice but without premeditation or an enumerated felony.
When to argue first degree: evidence of planning such as acquiring a weapon in advance, waiting for the victim, luring to a location, or choosing a vulnerable time; manner of killing suggesting reflection, like shots aimed at a vital organ, strangulation, or multiple deliberate blows; or during an enumerated felony such as robbery, burglary, arson, kidnapping, or mayhem.
When to argue second degree: the killing occurred suddenly during a fight without signs of prior reflection; depraved-heart malice fits, such as extreme recklessness without a listed felony or planning; or a non-enumerated felony underlies the event and does not elevate to first degree.
Step 4: Test Manslaughter Mitigation
Before concluding the degree, check for manslaughter as mitigation. If the facts support it, murder drops to manslaughter. Always analyze both forms.
Voluntary manslaughter is an unlawful killing that would be murder but for adequate provocation or heat of passion. Adequate provocation must cause a reasonable person to lose self-control, the defendant must in fact act in the heat of passion, and there must be no reasonable cooling-off period. Common examples include discovering a spouse in adultery, mutual combat, or assault. Always discuss voluntary manslaughter after murder — it’s not a separate crime but a mitigation that negates malice.
Involuntary manslaughter is an unlawful killing resulting from criminal negligence or during the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony. Apply when the defendant did not intend to kill but acted recklessly or negligently — for example, leaving a child unattended, mishandling a weapon, or texting while driving.
Step 5: Run Defenses
Even when homicide is established, defenses can negate criminal liability. Every essay should end with a defense sweep — examiners expect it.
Self-defense: a person may use deadly force if reasonably necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. Perfect self-defense is complete justification; imperfect self-defense (unreasonable belief in necessity) reduces murder to manslaughter.
Defense of others: same elements as self-defense — reasonable belief that another person was in imminent danger.
Insanity: if at the time of the act the defendant lacked capacity to understand wrongfulness or control conduct. Apply the M’Naghten, Irresistible Impulse, or MPC test depending on jurisdiction.
Intoxication: voluntary intoxication may negate specific intent (like premeditation); involuntary intoxication is a complete defense if it negates mental capacity.
Duress: generally not a defense to homicide, but mention it briefly if the facts raise it.
Step 6: Organize with Headings and Mini-Conclusions
Write your paper with clear headings that mirror the homicide ladder. Graders reward organization because it proves coverage.
Your outline can become your heading structure: Common Law Murder and Malice; First Degree versus Second Degree; Voluntary Manslaughter; Involuntary Manslaughter; Defenses.
Inside each section, IRAC tightly. Start with a one-sentence rule, apply facts in short paragraphs, and end with a mini-conclusion. Avoid long rule treatises; spend your words on application. If a rung does not apply, say so in one sentence and move on — that still banks points.
What High-Scoring Papers Do
Looking across released homicide essays, high-scoring answers share the same habits. They define murder and list malice states before splitting degrees. They analyze degree in both directions. They always test manslaughter, even briefly. They run defenses in a compact, accurate way. They write clear mini-conclusions at the end of each subsection so the grader never wonders about the bottom line.
Example: “Premeditation is supported because the defendant retrieved a loaded handgun, waited outside the victim’s workplace, and fired at the chest, which suggests reflection. It is weakened by evidence of a heated argument minutes earlier. On balance, a court is likely to find deliberation.”
Study and Writing Strategies
Turn the attack plan into a habit through short, focused repetitions.
Daily drills: five-minute micro-IRACs — one on malice, one on manslaughter, one on intoxication. Outline sprints: write the five-heading ladder from memory twice per day. Defense bursts: write a two-sentence self-defense paragraph with a proper conclusion.
Timed writing: use fifteen minutes to outline and forty-five minutes to write. During outlining, commit to one primary theory and one alternative. That decision saves time while writing and keeps the paper decisive.
Post-write review: check whether you covered every rung of the ladder. If not, add a one-line sentence in revision to lock in the points. Scan for conclusions at the end of each subsection. If a subsection ends without a conclusion, add one.
Conclusion
Murder essays reward discipline over creativity. If you always define malice, separate degrees, test manslaughter, and run defenses, you will cover the scoring rubric. The more you practice the same sequence, the faster and clearer your writing becomes. Save your time and energy for applying facts rather than reinventing structure.
Brieflex.ai is designed to build these reflexes through short, targeted drills. Turn the ladder into muscle memory now so that on exam day you can focus on reading the facts and writing clear conclusions.
Drill the rules. Master the law.
