Separate offers from negotiation
Read the proposed terms and context before deciding whether a reply accepts, rejects or merely seeks information.
Section 3.1.2 · Offers, acceptance and special formation settings
Exam scope and assessment notes
A Level · section 3.1.2. Original educational scenarios about the law of England and Wales, checked on 14 October 2026. Model answers are formative reasoning, not advice about a real dispute, Cambridge marks or predicted grades. Read the exact statute, case and exam-year source where a rule is disputed or changes. A larger annotated authority bank, full unseen papers and specialist law-teacher review remain outstanding.
Before you begin
- Read a short source carefully and separate its rule from the facts
- Explain which element a fact supports and what is still uncertain
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should a legal problem answer connect?
What you will learn
- Distinguish offers and invitations to treat
- Apply counter-offers and requests for information
Find a commitment capable of acceptance
An offer communicates willingness to be bound on defined terms once the requested acceptance occurs. An invitation to treat invites another offer or further negotiation. A shop display and ordinary advertisement are generally invitations, while a precise reward notice can be unilateral. Context and wording matter; calling every advertisement an offer or none of them offers is too broad.
Carlill illustrates an advertisement capable of a contractual commitment. Its lesson is the promised obligation and requested performance, rather than an automatic rule about the medium used. Ask whether stock limits, approval requirements or unresolved terms indicate further decision-making.
Read the reply carefully
A counter-offer proposes different terms instead of accepting the original offer and normally rejects it, as in Hyde v Wrench. A request for information, illustrated by Stevenson v McLean, may leave the offer available. ‘I will pay £80 instead’ differs from ‘Would you consider instalments?’; ambiguous replies require their actual wording and context.
Acceptance must correspond to the offer rather than attempt a new bargain. A later attempt to accept a rejected offer needs renewal or another valid basis. Construct a chronological list of communications before deciding whether agreement formed.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Does a mere request for information necessarily reject an offer?
Worked example
A offers a desk for £100. B replies ‘I offer £80’. A refuses. B then says ‘I accept £100’. Has the original offer necessarily remained available?
Show the worked solution
- The £80 reply substitutes a price.
- It is a counter-offer rather than an information request.
- Check whether A renewed the original offer.
Answer The counter-offer normally rejects the £100 offer, so B's later statement does not necessarily accept a still-existing offer. On the stated facts A has not renewed it; the chronology defeats an automatic agreement conclusion.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: Explain why the £80 reply changes the desk negotiation.
Give me a hint
Identify the substituted term.
Compare my reasoning
- The offer price is £100.
- The reply proposes £80 instead.
- Check rejection and renewal.
The proposed lower price is a counter-offer, normally rejecting the original offer. A later £100 response therefore needs an existing renewed offer or another basis for agreement.
Look for these in your work
- Compares prices
- Classifies reply
- Checks renewal
Independent: B asks ‘Is delivery included?’ and later accepts the unchanged offer before any withdrawal. Explain the distinction.
Give me a hint
A question need not substitute terms.
Compare my reasoning
- The reply seeks information.
- No alternative price or obligation is proposed.
- Check that the original offer remains open.
The delivery question can be a request for information that leaves the offer alive. The later acceptance may form agreement if it matches the open offer and meets the other formation requirements.
Look for these in your work
- Reads actual wording
- Distinguishes clarification
- Checks open offer
Application: A notice says ‘£50 reward for returning this identified key’. Compare it with a general shop display.
Give me a hint
Identify the commitment and requested response.
Compare my reasoning
- The reward requests a specified act.
- An ordinary display generally invites an offer to buy.
- Use context rather than a rule for every advertisement.
The reward's definite promise may be a unilateral offer accepted by the specified return. An ordinary shop display generally invites a customer's offer; the two settings cannot be classified solely because both show a price.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies definite act
- Explains invitation
- Uses context
Common mistakes
- Equating a display with an offer
- Treating every question as rejection
- Ignoring a changed price
What can you explain now?
Does a mere request for information necessarily reject an offer?
Compare with the explanation
No
A request may seek clarification without substituting different contractual terms.
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Make it stick
Does a mere request for information necessarily reject an offer?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.