A treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an (international) agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, among other terms. Regardless of terminology, all of these forms of agreements are, under international law, equally considered treaties and the rules are the same. 

Treaties can be loosely compared to contracts: both are means of willing parties assuming obligations among themselves, and a party to either that fails to live up to their obligations can be held liable under international law. 

A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to legally bind themselves. A treaty is the official document which expresses that agreement in words; and it is also the objective outcome of a ceremonial occasion which acknowledges the parties and their defined relationships. 

Since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a fairly consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a preamble describing the contracting parties and their joint objectives in executing the treaty, as well as summarizing any underlying events (such as a war). Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a single very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability, in which each of the paragraphs begins with a verb (desiring, recognizing, having, and so on). QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What are the similarities in between treaties and contracts?
2. In what way are treaties and contracts similar?
3. 
Q2:
1. What do treaties typically begin with?
2. What does a treaty usually begin with?
3. 
Q3:
1. What is the purpose of the preamble in the treaty?
2. What information is included in a treaty's preamble?
3. 
Q4:
1. Can the preamble of a treaty only be one sentence long?
2. Can a treaty's preamble be a sentence long?
3. 
Q5:
1. Is the sentence's length in a treaty's preamble usually long or short?
2. What is typically the length of the sentence in a treaty's preamble?
3. 
Q6:
1. How is a treaty's preamble typically structured as a result of its length?
2. The length of a sentence in a treaty's preamble usually results in what type of structuring?
3. 
Q7:
1. Does a treaty always have to be a literal written document?
2. Is the only way of implementing a treaty by means of a literal written document?
3. 
Q8:
1. What can be symbolized by a treaty on top of an international agreement?
2. A treaty can be used to symbolize what type of negotiations?
3. 
Q9:
1. What are some of the other synonyms that can be used instead of the word 'treaty'?
2. The word 'treaty' can be described by which other synonyms?
3. 
Q10:
1. Is the list of synonyms for a treaty mentioned in the text an exhaustive list?
2. Is the list of synonyms for the word 'treaty' complete?
3. 
Q11:
1. Do some of the synonyms for a treaty have more value than others?
2. Are some of treaty's synonyms more valued than others?
3. 
Q12:
1. Is a treaty a law binding agreement in counties other than the one in which it was written?
2. Is a treaty valid outside of the country where it was written?
3. 
