Controlling Your Jitters on Bar Exam Day: How Not to Panic

A question I am asked is what to do if you mind draws a blank as you open the test book on bar exam day. I have seen my own share of interesting happenings in bar exam land and heard stories from colleagues regarding the bar exam test day. You too will have your own stories to swap with your fellow lawyers. Even when you are old and gray, you will remember the guy who threw up near you and nobody even looked up, or, in my case, the power failure (in my day we didn’t take the bar exam in windowless warehouses) and, of course, like a good bar taker, I didn’t even stop when the lights went out. I’ve been in a bar exam when 5 minutes in, people start to return their test materials and walk out. You do not want to be the one who throws up or runs out because you are in a panic.

That is why having a plan with enough time to put your plan in practice will help you turn on your auto pilot and get down to work before you wonder what the heck you got yourself into.

For the next 3 weeks start to envision yourself in the bar exam testing area, working and answering the bar exam. Since it is your own vision, you know you are going to be a star, correctly answering every question.

As the proctors yell out, the words “begin” or “time”, take a deep breath, exhale and break the seal. You want to regain your sense of control and composure immediately.

Then follow your method:

Review the question

Start with what you know; identify the area of law again and see if it provides insight.

Focus on the basics. See if you can provide definitions. Remember, rules are just definitions. The next step is to see if you can build on these definitions to write a paragraph of law.

Finally, call on the resources you developed in law school. Lawyers act; they do not react. Think deliberately and respond accordingly. Reread the interrogatory and begin again.