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Touchstone 2: Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?
SCENARIO: Jim and Laura Buyer visit the local car dealership because they are interested in buying a new car. The car they currently have is aging and is starting to have mechanical problems. Jim and Laura would share the new car, and use it to go back and forth to work and school. Before going to the dealership, Jim and Laura decide that they can only afford $400.00 a month in car payments.
Once at the car dealership, Jim and Laura meet Stan Salesman. Stan shows them several vehicles and Jim and Laura test-drive several of the cars. Jim and Laura particularly like the blue 4-door sedan. Therefore, they agree to give Stan Salesman a $100.00 deposit to hold the car for a day. Stan Salesman does not give them the receipt but guarantees that the $100.00 is refundable. No documents were signed.
The next day, Stan Salesman calls Jim and Laura to ask them when they would like to take delivery of the car. Jim and Laura, on the way home from the dealership, decided that they were not going to buy the car because they did not want to spend that money each month. Therefore, Jim and Laura tell Stan Salesman that they have decided not to buy the car and request their $100.00 deposit back.
Stan insists that the $100.00 was a deposit on the car and was meant to be part of the contract to buy the car. Stan is very persistent and insistent that Jim and Laura have contracted to buy the car; therefore, the $100.00 will be applied to the purchase price of the car. Jim and Laura are shocked and angry as not only do they not want to spend the money, but now feel as though they are being duped by Stan Salesman.
Jim and Laura have an appointment to see a lawyer in a few days, but know you are a student taking a business law class and come to you for advice. They are very frazzled, and understandably upset that they may have just purchased a car. Since you have been taking business law, you have read and understand the elements of a contract and the defenses to a contract. Therefore, although you are not a lawyer, you provide some basic advice from what you’ve learned in your business law class.
ASSIGNMENT: Advise Jim and Laura based on the above facts as presented and the material covered in the lessons by answering each section in the template below. In this touchstone, be sure to address the following:
Identify the elements that must be present for a legal contract to exist. Define each element using examples.
Determine the facts from the scenario that you will use to support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile.
Decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile.
Include two (2) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as quality academic resources.
Touchstone 2 Template
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
Step 1: Answer Questions
Follow the directions for each part of the Touchstone 2 Template. Include your response and all relevant elements under the Requirement section. Prompts in the Inspiration section are not required; however, they may help you to fully think through your response.
Part 1: Contract Definition
Identify the elements that must be present for a legal contract to exist. Define each element using examples.
Part 2: Case Support
Determine the facts from the scenario that you will use to support your decision on whether or not Jim and Laura entered a contract with Stan Salesman for the purchase of the automobile.
Part 3: Case Judgment
Based on the facts in Part 2, decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile.
Part 4: Sources & Conventions
Include two academic references to support your judgment and review your document for standard English writing conventions.
Step 2: Review Rubric
Review the rubric to ensure that you understand how you will be evaluated. Contact a Sophia learning coach with any questions.
Step 3: Review Checklist and Requirements
Review the checklist and requirements to ensure that your Touchstone is complete.
Step 4: Submit
Submit your completed Touchstone 2 Template using the blue button at the top of this page.
Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Contract Definition
❒ Have you identified the elements of a legal contract?
❒ Have you defined each element?
❒ Have you provided an example for each element?
❒ Have you included reference citations as appropriate?
2. Case Support
❒ Have you identified relevant facts from the scenario?
❒ Have you written a clear explanation of how these facts support your decision?
❒ Have you included reference citations as appropriate?
3. Case Judgment
❒ Have you clearly stated your decision on the existence of a contract for purchase of the automobile?
❒ Have you defended your decision with relevant facts from Part 2 about the scenario that support your choice?
4. Sources & Conventions
❒ Have you provided two high quality academic references?
❒ Have you explained how each source relates to and supports your judgment on the case?
❒ Have you reviewed the touchstone for proper academic and/or professional writing conventions?
B. Rubric
Advanced (100%) Proficient (85%) Acceptable (75%) Needs Improvement (50%) Non-Performance (0%)
Contract Definition (25 points)
Define the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable.
Thoroughly defined the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable. Satisfactorily defined the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable. Partially defined the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable. Insufficiently defined the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable. Did not submit or incompletely defined the elements of a legal contract using examples from the scenario where applicable.
Case Support (25 points)
Identify the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile.
Thoroughly identified the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile. Satisfactorily identified the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile. Partially identified the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile. Insufficiently identified the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile. Did not submit or incompletely identified the facts from the scenario which support your decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the automobile.
Case Judgment (25 points)
Decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile.
Thoroughly decided whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. Satisfactorily decided whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. Partially decided whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. Insufficiently decided whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile. Did not submit or incompletely decided whether or not there was a contract for the purchase of the automobile.
Sources (15 points)
Include two academic references to support your judgment.
Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices. Meets number of required references; most references high quality choices. Meets the required number of references; most references poor quality choices. Does not meet the required number of references; most references poor quality choices. No references provided; or, does not meet the required number of references; all references poor quality choices.
Conventions (10 points)
Follow conventions for standard written English.
There are only a few, if any, negligible errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are occasional minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are some significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are frequent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are consistent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Written responses must be 750-1000 words combined for all prompts.
Use a readable 11- or 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written for this assignment and all writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name, the name of the course, and the date.
Include all of the assignment components in a single (.doc and .docx) file.
D. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
Purdue Online Writing Lab’s APA Formatting and Style Guide
This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific citation types.
Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA formatting. The “References,” “Punctuation,” and “Grammar and Writing Style” sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.
APA Style: Quick Answers—References
This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.