Probably the most important thing to remember to do when citing a case in an examination is to underline the case name. In printed text the full citation is used, for example, The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd [1953] 1 QB 401. Clearly you are not expected to memorize all these details and in an examination it would be appropriate to cite the case as: Pharmaceutical Society of GB v Boots Chemists. If you cannot remember the names of both parties then write the name of one of the parties, for example, “the Boots case”. In the context of a good answer this will be enough information for the examiner to realize that you know the relevant authority. Obviously this wouldn’t apply to writing “R” in a Criminal case, such as R v Hughes. If you can’t remember the case name then – rarely – and as a last resort – you can rehearse some of the facts of the case. For example: “In a decided case, where the issue was whether displaying goods on the shelves of a self-service shop was an invitation to treat or an offer”.
Generally dates will not matter but it can be useful to remember the level of the Court and the sequence of the cases where a case has been overruled or doubted.