This assignment should be done after studying Units 6 and 7 and completing the quizzes for those Units. It is worth 10% of the final course mark.

Part A Mini Essay (50%):

After a contract has been formed and written down disputes can arise between the parties to it about the correct meaning of the words that have been used. If the parties can't resolve their differences the court may be called on to decide the proper meaning. The process used by a judge to decide such a dispute is called "contractual interpretation" as discussed in the text. It just means reading a contract carefully according to accepted legal principles in order to resolve any ambiguities or unclear wording. This Part of this assignment is about contractual interpretation. For some more information about this subject to help you answer the question read this Primer on Contractual Interpretation. The first seven "Precepts" in the Primer help to explain the contextual approach, while the ninth "Precept" elaborates on the "contra proferentem" principle.

Describe the literal approach to contractual interpretation and explain how it may cause problems. How might other approaches overcome this difficulty? Describe and explain them in the business context.