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The bar exam is over and the waiting begins. Before you get your results, you may want to reflect on how you may have done your studying differently. Law schools and bar exam companies never fully prepare you for the “experience” of taking a bar exam. It is something you have never done before and you go into the unknown, always hoping you did what you needed to do to pass the bar exam. I had one student tell me that she didn’t “get it” until she sat at the bar exam and the proctor gave the signal to begin.
What would you tell a fellow student who is gearing up to take the February 2014 bar exam? Would you tell that student to study harder or differently? Would you tell your friends to start studying earlier? I am also convinced that the way you studied for the bar exam will reflect the way you approach your job as a lawyer. To be a good lawyer you must put your sweat, time and effort into your cases – this is what separates you from all the other lawyers out there. Can you say that you put it all on the table when you sat for the bar exam? Will you put in the same effort you did studying for the bar exam when you get your bar license?
Contact us at barprofessors.com for more information.
Bar Professors provide private bar exam tutors for students who have difficulty with the MBE, MEE, UBE, Florida, California, and New York bar exams. You can find us at http://barprofessors.com, like us on facebook at BarProfessors, follow us on twitter @BarProfessors or email us at pass@barprofessors.com.
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I would not have spent so much time worrying about watching every available lecture Barbri offered… MBE was tough endurance wise but aside from the few tricky questions, overall basic. I signed up for Barbri, PMBR final review and bought the ncbex practice tests, did not spend much time memorizing MBE concepts but had a good foundation from law school. I would definitely retake pmbr class, study past essays using law school study aids and/or outlines as opposed to bar prep outlines.However, I HOPE I don't have to ever go through that again
ReplyDeleteI agree that the emphasis on watching all the BarBri lectures is completely misplaced. Not only is it a time sink, but many of them are counterproductive. Again, do what works for you, but I did not waste one second watching any "review" lectures for MBE question sets or practice essays. Nor did I waste time writing out/submitting practice essays. If you're a weak writer, maybe you should write out the essays. But I think for most takers, time is better spent outlining the essays (whether on paper or in your head). Practicing the MBE is probably more important, because if there is anything on the bar that is completely "new" to takers, it is likely the MBE.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the best starting point is to just watch the lectures/knock out a small handful of MBE questions to get primed. Watch the lectures for the MBE subjects. Watch the lectures for subjects likely to be tested on essay day (don't waste time on areas that are unlikely to be tested on the essays, if that is ascertainable in your jurisdiction - tackle those subjects through outlines). Definitely watch the short lectures on "transitional" areas i.e. conflict of laws (I found them to be a nice break from the large corpus of material presented in the major subjects).
Test yourself with practice MBE/essay questions after finishing a particular subject (don't do too many). Make a note of what you sucked on and what you did well on. This will come in handy later. Ignore how many you are getting right and getting wrong, because it doesn't matter at this point. What is important is understanding why you are wrong.
Outline the subjects from the BIG OUTLINE BOOK (not the CMR or mini-outlines). Use your judgment for omitting certain material, law school should have finely honed this skill. Use your notes from your practice sessions on what topics need more or less detail in your outline (and also for omitting material). The point being, don't copy and paste the big outline book. Your outline should, from the start, be much shorter, more concise, and to the point. Use the conviser/smaller outlines once you sorted through all the weeds ON YOUR OWN.
Do as many MBE questions as humanly possible, especially after the 4th of July (you want to "peak" on test day, hammering out thousands of MBE questions before June, or even before July in my opinion, triggers diminishing returns). The key to the MBE is learning how to take the test itself. While the MBE requires black-letter knowledge, you will have this knowledge by test day by virtue of condensing outlines/making index cards/whatever you do to absorb material.
Focus more on the format of the questions and answer choices. You will begin to notice patterns. You will begin to realize that while the MBE is tricky, many of the tricks are repetitive and easy to spot (favorite one of mine: question involves Congress making some law, then asks pursuant to what power is the law most likely to have been made? One of the answer choices is always "necessary and proper clause" - not a power! Cross that one off.) There are materials out there that essentially reveal what these "MBE tricks" are, but try and stay away from them unless you are really sucking it up. The blood, sweat, and tears you put in to understanding these "tricks" on your own will boost your confidence and also prepare you for the inevitable curveballs you face on test day.
There is tons more I can say, but really - do what works for you.