SQE1 Contract Law – Rules, Exceptions & Key Distinctions Cheat Sheet

Contract Law can feel difficult because several doctrines can appear relevant to the same facts — but the correct answer depends on where the problem sits in the life of the contract.



This 50-page SQE1 Contract Law revision guide is designed to help you analyse contract problems in sequence rather than memorising disconnected rules.

The guide helps you work through the contract lifecycle:

pre-contract → formation → who can enforce → defects in validity → terms → variation → termination → remedies

The key questions are:

is there a contract → who are the parties → what are the terms → what went wrong → what is the legal effect → what remedy survives

Covered in the guide:

• Offer and invitation to treat

• Acceptance

• Intention to create legal relations

• Consideration

• Certainty

• Capacity

• Privity and third-party rights

• Agency

• Misrepresentation

• Duress

• Undue influence

• Mistake

• Illegality

• Express and implied terms

• Conditions, warranties and innominate terms

• Exemption clauses

• UCTA and CRA

• Variation

• Promissory estoppel

• Performance

• Repudiatory breach

• Frustration

• Damages

• Remoteness and mitigation

• Debt claims

• Rescission

• Specific performance and injunctions

• Guarantees and indemnities

Built for SQE1 Contract revision

The guide is structured to help you:

• Distinguish an offer from an invitation to treat

• Work out whether an offer is still alive

• Separate formation from enforceability

• Distinguish terms from representations

• Identify whether a contract is void, voidable or unenforceable

• Separate conditions, warranties and innominate terms

• Distinguish promises to pay more from promises to accept less

• Separate frustration from breach

• Identify whether termination is available

• Choose the correct remedy

• Apply remoteness, mitigation and other limits on recovery

The resource also includes a master contract lifecycle, eight contract maps, fast issue spotters, MCQ traps, “Do Not Confuse” distinctions and one-step-further remedy analysis.

The aim is simple:

locate the contract problem first, apply the right doctrine, then finish the chain by stating the legal effect and remedy.

Use the guide alongside MCQ practice to consolidate formation, terms, defects, termination and remedies and prepare for mocks and final-stage revision.

Please note: This is an independently prepared educational revision resource. It is not affiliated with, approved by or endorsed by the SRA or any university, education provider or SQE preparation provider. Candidates should use the applicable SRA SQE1 Assessment Specification and their main study materials alongside this resource.

Accuracy and liability notice:

This resource has been prepared with reasonable care for educational and revision purposes. However, legal rules, statutory provisions and assessment specifications may change, and errors or omissions may occasionally occur. Candidates should check the applicable SRA SQE1 Assessment Specification and relevant official sources for the version that applies to their assessment date.

This resource is not legal advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice or official assessment materials. Nothing in this notice affects any rights you may have under applicable consumer law.