Comments on: I’m Going To Prison. (Actually, Just Studying for the Bar)

By: Lou

Lou — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:40:11 +0000

Practice questions, practice questions, essays, practice questions, practice questions, essays, practice questions, practice questions, essays. REPEAT.

Read the model answers for every practice question you answered correctly, and for every one you answered incorrectly.

Lectures are great for subjects you either did not take, or did not ‘grasp’ well in law school. Otherwise, I find them an incredible waste of time (my personal opinion).

Spend your precious little time memorizing elements, answering (timed) MBE questions, and writing as many essays you can get your hands on.

Preparing for the bar exam is about training to get as many points as YOU possibly can; Nothing more, and nothing less. It is not a re-hash of law school, nor should it be treated as such. You don’t prepare for a sporting event by analyzing theory to death. You prepare by practicing jump shots, refining your back swing or adjusting your chip shot. It’s all about earning points. I took the exam mutliple times. It’s only until I understood this approach that I passed. You can know all the black-letter law that exists. You will not pass until you practice earning points. Best of luck to you.

By: Anthony M. Wright, Esq.

Anthony M. Wright, Esq. — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:10:14 +0000

“Studying” is what one does in grade school and college. “Practicing” is what one does in law school and beyond. Those who fail the bar exam usually know the material, they just have not practiced applying it so they are quick and accurate enough. I know I am making a semantics argument between “studying” and “practicing” but I do believe there is a significant difference in meaning between the two. Studying is what scholars do, practicing is what lawyers do. Studying is book smarts, practicing is street smarts. Studying is memorizing concepts. Practicing is applying concepts to every and any imaginable fact pattern. Yes, one has to study some for a superficial understanding of the concepts, but practicing will teach more than reading and memorizing ever will. People do not fail the bar exam because they are ignorant of the law, they fail because they are not practice ready. They cannot demonstrate that they have applied enough to be trusted with real people’s problems.

By: Leanna

Leanna — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:07:29 +0000

I found that the study habits that got me through law school helped me pass the bar. I was never one of those people who studied crazy amounts (even though I did well in school). I had a fairly casual schedule, going to the public town library from 10-4 each day with a break for lunch. Maybe a little review at night. I had some friends who were at the law school library every day from 9am-midnight which seemed crazy to me, although I think they spent some of that time socializing. I also took the BarBri classes, and I think I used the MicroMash exams on my computer. I just kept taking practice tests over and over, and having my essays graded by the BarBri people.

They said to us “your graders for the real exam will be grading your essays while watching the Patriots games. Make your answers clear enough so that you don’t annoy them and make them have to look away from the game any longer than necessary to figure out what you are trying to say.” I thought that was good advice.

When we took the BarBri fake bar exam at the actual place we’d take the real one, I left and went home and scored my test. I passed. After that I didn’t worry too much about it.

By: Jack Whittington

Jack Whittington — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:53:28 +0000

Thank you all very much for the comments – they are greatly appreciated. I will adjust my schedule to add in time for the practice tests. Perhaps I can do those on Saturday at the end of the week so I’ve had a chance to let everything I’ve covered to absorb. Once again thank you all very much for the help!.

By: Ross Keeling

Ross Keeling — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:16:23 +0000

Taking the tests and correcting them, both essay and multi-state, is a very good way to hammer the rules into your head. Write as many essays as you can. Go as far in the multi-state questions as you can. Correct them all. Some people type out the answers to every question to reinforce the rule. This is good for people who are not natural essay writers. Make extra time for this.
During the exam you will be aware of missing, or guessing, many of the answers. You will be surprised at how different the exam questions look from the practice questions. Every question will be a “gut check”. Be prepared for that so you don’t panic when it happens. Practice taking timed exams. Almost nothing will be more upsetting than not getting a chance to answer all , or nearly all, of the questions. Of course you did this in law school, but it’s more important now than it ever was then.
It is an honor to take the bar exam. Try to keep your energy up. There is no reason you cannot enjoy the process of preparing for, and taking, the exam.

By: Mike Bauer

Mike Bauer — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:31:40 +0000

I agree that you have to create a schedule and more importantly follow it. I had to break my schedule down into more discrete elements than you have when I was studying for the Illinois Bar Exam in 2008. I had to determine which specific subjects I would cover from, say, 9-12, such as Contracts from 9-10; Torts from 10-11 and so forth.

Another suggestion is to change the venue. For example, I would study at the school in the morning, go to the BarBri lecture in the afternoon and process/reflect/prepare for the next day in the evening at Barnes & Noble. I also did not study at home. I wanted home to be my sanctuary from the bar exam. When I walked in the door, I was done for the day.

Finally, I agree that taking practice exams (both written and MBE) is just as important if not more important than reviewing notecards and outlining.

By: Suzanne Meehle

Suzanne Meehle — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:56:32 +0000

Great post, Jack! I’m glad that you’ve worked out a schedule. I’m concerned that eight hours a day won’t be enough. IMO, you should consider adding another hour or two for taking practice exams. Consider cutting lunch to a half hour and cutting out the hour of scheduled downtime in the evening. (And no, I’m not kidding. I wish I was.)

Also, consider using a study partner who studies the same way you do. I found that the best thing to keep me focused and on schedule was my study partner. It was too easy to run a little late or for lunch to run a little long if I didn’t have someone counting on me to show up to study.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:05:31 +0000

You have some great advice here. I’m currently studying for the MD bar exam and I too found that my “small” breaks turn into longer ones. My schedule looks a bit different from yours, because my studying is done during the day and my lectures are in class at night, but I find that I really need to keep a rigid schedule as well. The best advice I’ve received so far is to stick to this schedule. Without one, people tend to flounder and spend more time trying to figure what to do now or what not to do now than they do actually studying.

The daily exercise and sleep advice is great too! My bar instructors have told us that this will be extremely important come time to take the bar, but many people push this off to the side. Sleeping and exercising will help keep our stamina up mentally and physically, so that a two day exam will seem like nothing!

By: Carolyn Elefant

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:50:41 +0000

Your schedule looks almost identical to my study schedule for the NY Bar exam summer of 1988, though I didn’t find it necessary to have an extra evening session. However, I did spend part of the weekend studying. One thing that you should leave room for in your schedule is doing practice tests – I’ve found that if you do every practice question you can lay your hands on, you will invariably get at least one of those Qs on the test.

As for my lessons from the bar, I documented them 22 years ago and they were reposted at Associate’s Mind last summer:

http://associatesmind.com/2010/07/02/postcards-from-the-bar-exam-–-ithaca-law-grad-1988/
http://associatesmind.com/2010/07/05/postcards-from-the-bar-exam-–-ithaca-law-grad-1988-part-ii/

http://associatesmind.com/2010/07/07/postcards-from-the-bar-exam-ithaca-law-grad-1988-part-iii/

http://associatesmind.com/2010/07/09/postcards-from-the-bar-exam-–-ithaca-law-grad-1988-–-part-iv/