"There's about 3 weeks left, any advice on outlining, memorizing, or practicing?"
First, you might want to refer to my post on my schedule last year for memorization. http://cabaradvice.blogspot.com/2007/06/memorization-schedule-last-3-weeks.html
You really should finish outlining as soon as possible. If you really are not going to finish, I would advise you to just memorize off of Conviser. Figure out the rules and what you need to know and go from there. Skim or skip the rest.
After Barbri, you should divide your days up into memorizing the practicing. You really shouldn't be outlining anymore. I tended to spend more time on memorization, maybe like 2-3 hours on practicing and 6-7 hours on memorization a day. But, you can adjust.
For practicing, you should do at least 1 hour of MBE questions. I did 34 questions each day and timed myself to make sure I hit the 1 hour time mark and then went over questions. I also tried to write out a full essay a day in a one hour time period. If I didn't write out a full essay, I would outline and issue spot 3-4 essays (15 minutes each essay).
Just keep up the hard work...the end is near!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Failing Barbri Essays
Here's the question: "I failed 2 barbri essays. I am really stressed now. Can you give me some advice? Do you know anyone who failed barbri essays and still passed the bar exam? Thank you."
First of all, almost everyone I know failed at least one, if not more, of their Barbri essays. I know I failed the PT and a few others.
You should take a look at the essays and see why you are failing.
1) If you fail the rules section, that's not a big deal because you probably haven't memorized anything at this point.
2) If you fail the issue spotting, I highly recommend you outline many essays. Take a past essay, spend 10-15 minutes doing an outline, and see which issues you missed. Note that Barbri is much more strict than the actual bar. If you look, Barbri requires you to spot way more issues than the actual bar, but you must spot the major ones to pass.
3) If you fail the analysis portion, you might want to see what comments you are getting, and you may need to develop your analysis more.
4) I think the last one is organization, so if you use a ton of headers, you should be fine on this.
Barbri is not perfect, and I have heard of someone just copying the model answer and turning it it. They got a fail. I think you are required to fail most people in the beginning so they will work harder.
However, if someone isn't seeing something on your essays or analysis, maybe you need to be more clear in your writing. Yes, the grader probably spends less than 5 minutes on your essay, but so will the bar exam reader. So, make everything as clear as possible and use tons of headers for every issue. Don't hide a subissue in your analysis. It's helpful to have someone from Barbri read your essays because you may think you fully analyzed an issue, but if someone can't see it, then maybe you need to add a header or make it more clear.
So, don't worry about failing, but you should be improving. So, if you got all Fs in the first essay and are getting Ps on the later essays, that's a good sign. Just keep at it!
First of all, almost everyone I know failed at least one, if not more, of their Barbri essays. I know I failed the PT and a few others.
You should take a look at the essays and see why you are failing.
1) If you fail the rules section, that's not a big deal because you probably haven't memorized anything at this point.
2) If you fail the issue spotting, I highly recommend you outline many essays. Take a past essay, spend 10-15 minutes doing an outline, and see which issues you missed. Note that Barbri is much more strict than the actual bar. If you look, Barbri requires you to spot way more issues than the actual bar, but you must spot the major ones to pass.
3) If you fail the analysis portion, you might want to see what comments you are getting, and you may need to develop your analysis more.
4) I think the last one is organization, so if you use a ton of headers, you should be fine on this.
Barbri is not perfect, and I have heard of someone just copying the model answer and turning it it. They got a fail. I think you are required to fail most people in the beginning so they will work harder.
However, if someone isn't seeing something on your essays or analysis, maybe you need to be more clear in your writing. Yes, the grader probably spends less than 5 minutes on your essay, but so will the bar exam reader. So, make everything as clear as possible and use tons of headers for every issue. Don't hide a subissue in your analysis. It's helpful to have someone from Barbri read your essays because you may think you fully analyzed an issue, but if someone can't see it, then maybe you need to add a header or make it more clear.
So, don't worry about failing, but you should be improving. So, if you got all Fs in the first essay and are getting Ps on the later essays, that's a good sign. Just keep at it!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Bar Exam Gear: Earplugs + Clock or watch
EARPLUGS:
I really think it is a good idea to have earplugs (the kind you wear for swimming) and use them during the bar exam. I used them during all my law school exams, so I didn't need to get used to them for the bar. However, for those of you who don't use them, practice wearing them and getting used to them when you do practice essays. You definitely want to use them because there may be a lot of strange noises or your neighbor may have a habit of tapping their pencil or something like that, which can get on your nerves.
CLOCK OR WATCH:
I think you should invest on a clock or watch that you will use for the bar. You need to read the bar exam instructions, which tell you the exact dimensions that are allowed. Also, I think it has to be one with no alarm function or else you get "written up" (Yup, I witnessed this first hand). But, use the clock to keep track of your own time.
I will do a future post on other things to bring and my bar exam experience as time gets closer...
I really think it is a good idea to have earplugs (the kind you wear for swimming) and use them during the bar exam. I used them during all my law school exams, so I didn't need to get used to them for the bar. However, for those of you who don't use them, practice wearing them and getting used to them when you do practice essays. You definitely want to use them because there may be a lot of strange noises or your neighbor may have a habit of tapping their pencil or something like that, which can get on your nerves.
CLOCK OR WATCH:
I think you should invest on a clock or watch that you will use for the bar. You need to read the bar exam instructions, which tell you the exact dimensions that are allowed. Also, I think it has to be one with no alarm function or else you get "written up" (Yup, I witnessed this first hand). But, use the clock to keep track of your own time.
I will do a future post on other things to bring and my bar exam experience as time gets closer...
Monday, June 18, 2007
Barbri + Other Study Courses: Necessary?
This post is mostly for people in law school who aren't taking the bar yet. I recently read a post by a reader who claimed that Barbri and PMBR are a waste of time, and that people can pass the bar without taking a study course. I'd have to agree, but I'm strongly against it.
It is true that we do most of the studying ourselves, and that the Barbri lectures are not that helpful. But, I think Barbri or another study course is necessary to keep us on track. Also, it helps reduces our stress because someone hand-feeds a lot of stuff to us.
Honestly, I'm pretty self-disciplined, to the point where I was able to follow the paced program the entire time with the deviation in the last 3 weeks, and I was able to be ahead of the schedule most of the time (so I could have my Sundays off). Still, even I don't think I would have stayed on schedule if I hadn't taken Barbri, and my guess is 95% of the people taking the bar won't be able to do it (maybe 99%). Yes, most of the people won't be able to stay with Barbri's program, which means these people most certainly won't be able to follow a self-study program. It's too easy to decide to wake up at 10:00 a.m. or to skip studying for a day when you don't have lectures or homework you know you need to go to or complete. It's kind of a guilt-trip thing.
So, in conclusion, if you are in the 1% of the super-self-disciplined bunch, don't take any course. However, I have to say that the majority need some kind of course to keep him on track.
It is true that we do most of the studying ourselves, and that the Barbri lectures are not that helpful. But, I think Barbri or another study course is necessary to keep us on track. Also, it helps reduces our stress because someone hand-feeds a lot of stuff to us.
Honestly, I'm pretty self-disciplined, to the point where I was able to follow the paced program the entire time with the deviation in the last 3 weeks, and I was able to be ahead of the schedule most of the time (so I could have my Sundays off). Still, even I don't think I would have stayed on schedule if I hadn't taken Barbri, and my guess is 95% of the people taking the bar won't be able to do it (maybe 99%). Yes, most of the people won't be able to stay with Barbri's program, which means these people most certainly won't be able to follow a self-study program. It's too easy to decide to wake up at 10:00 a.m. or to skip studying for a day when you don't have lectures or homework you know you need to go to or complete. It's kind of a guilt-trip thing.
So, in conclusion, if you are in the 1% of the super-self-disciplined bunch, don't take any course. However, I have to say that the majority need some kind of course to keep him on track.
PMBR ? Question
Here is the question: "How important is it to do PMBR Qs? If I am doing well with the BarBri ones, including ADs, is that enough? Bottom line, am I missing something by not doing PMBR? I don't plan to do the 3-day, so my option is basically to buy a book on e-Bay. But it's not like I have any spare time to do extra stuff."
Like I posted in one of my first posts, DO NOT sign up for PMBR if you haven't done so already. It is a waste of time.
For me, I chose to do PMBR questions because I was doing mostly Barbri questions for the first month and a half. I noticed that the PMBR questions are significantly differently worded than Barbri questions. I just didn't want to get too comfortable doing one type of questions (Barbri). Plus, I was not putting my PMBR books to use.
To answer your question, I think doing Barbri questions is good enough, but remember to keep practicing and doing MBE questions into your last few weeks. I'm not sure if you will run out of Barbri questions or not. But, if you can buy PMBR questions or other MBE question books for cheap, you might consider it. It's not necessary, especially if you are doing well on the Barbri ones, but it will help for you too look at different types of questions.
Like I posted in one of my first posts, DO NOT sign up for PMBR if you haven't done so already. It is a waste of time.
For me, I chose to do PMBR questions because I was doing mostly Barbri questions for the first month and a half. I noticed that the PMBR questions are significantly differently worded than Barbri questions. I just didn't want to get too comfortable doing one type of questions (Barbri). Plus, I was not putting my PMBR books to use.
To answer your question, I think doing Barbri questions is good enough, but remember to keep practicing and doing MBE questions into your last few weeks. I'm not sure if you will run out of Barbri questions or not. But, if you can buy PMBR questions or other MBE question books for cheap, you might consider it. It's not necessary, especially if you are doing well on the Barbri ones, but it will help for you too look at different types of questions.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Memorization Schedule: The Last 3 Weeks
I just found my old Barbri Paced Program schedule for last year, so I thought I would post what my schedule looked like for the last 3 weeks. As you know, I did not start memorizing anything until the last 3 weeks. Here was what my schedule looked last:
3 Weeks prior to Exam)
WED) I started to memorize Remedies
FRI) I started to memorize Wills/Trust
2 Weeks prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Corporations
TUES) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Torts (Last day of Barbri Lecture)
WED) (I think I had PMBR this day)
THURS) Memorize Evidence and Criminal Law
FRI) Memorize Con Law and Property
SAT) Memorize Contracts and Civ Pro
SUN) Memorize Community Property (half day)
1 Week prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Wills/Trust & Property & Remedies
TUES) Memorize Criminal Law, Torts & Prof. Responsibility
WED) Memorize Contract, Corporation, Evidence
THURS) Memorize Con Law, Civ. Pro, & Community Property
FRI) Memorize Wills/Trust, Contract, Torts, Remedies, and Property
SAT) Memorize Criminal Law, Civ Pro, Community Property, Corporations & Evidence
SUN) Memorize Con Law & Professional Responsibility
MONDAY before Exam: Very light studying, go over Performance Exam Checklist
With the schedule above, I was essentially able to memorize and go over my outlines at least 3 times for each subject. I scheduled it so that the subjects with longer outlines are on the same day as the ones with shorter outlines so I would be going over/memorizing the same number of pages each day.
Also, I totally went on a different schedule after Barbri lectures ended. Instead of doing the Barbri AD MBE questions (which were ridiculously hard), I did the mixed ones and the PMBR mixed ones. I figured how many super-hard questions would I actually get on the bar (probably not very many). I also tried to outline some more essays during this time period.
Here is my advice for the last few weeks:
1) Keep on doing MBEs in timed conditions daily. I think I did them for 1 hour each day and checked the answer. Remember, you don't have any more lectures, so you have more free time.
2) Try to write out or at the very least outline different essays. If you are having timing issues, then you definitely need to practice writing out full essays under timed conditions. If not, you can write one essay out every one or two days and then outline and issue-spot the rest.
3) Memorizing is less important than #1 & #2. If you can't remember everything, when you are doing #2 (writing out essays), practicing BSing or making up the law.
3 Weeks prior to Exam)
WED) I started to memorize Remedies
FRI) I started to memorize Wills/Trust
2 Weeks prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Corporations
TUES) Memorize Professional Responsibility and Torts (Last day of Barbri Lecture)
WED) (I think I had PMBR this day)
THURS) Memorize Evidence and Criminal Law
FRI) Memorize Con Law and Property
SAT) Memorize Contracts and Civ Pro
SUN) Memorize Community Property (half day)
1 Week prior to Exam)
MON) Memorize Wills/Trust & Property & Remedies
TUES) Memorize Criminal Law, Torts & Prof. Responsibility
WED) Memorize Contract, Corporation, Evidence
THURS) Memorize Con Law, Civ. Pro, & Community Property
FRI) Memorize Wills/Trust, Contract, Torts, Remedies, and Property
SAT) Memorize Criminal Law, Civ Pro, Community Property, Corporations & Evidence
SUN) Memorize Con Law & Professional Responsibility
MONDAY before Exam: Very light studying, go over Performance Exam Checklist
With the schedule above, I was essentially able to memorize and go over my outlines at least 3 times for each subject. I scheduled it so that the subjects with longer outlines are on the same day as the ones with shorter outlines so I would be going over/memorizing the same number of pages each day.
Also, I totally went on a different schedule after Barbri lectures ended. Instead of doing the Barbri AD MBE questions (which were ridiculously hard), I did the mixed ones and the PMBR mixed ones. I figured how many super-hard questions would I actually get on the bar (probably not very many). I also tried to outline some more essays during this time period.
Here is my advice for the last few weeks:
1) Keep on doing MBEs in timed conditions daily. I think I did them for 1 hour each day and checked the answer. Remember, you don't have any more lectures, so you have more free time.
2) Try to write out or at the very least outline different essays. If you are having timing issues, then you definitely need to practice writing out full essays under timed conditions. If not, you can write one essay out every one or two days and then outline and issue-spot the rest.
3) Memorizing is less important than #1 & #2. If you can't remember everything, when you are doing #2 (writing out essays), practicing BSing or making up the law.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Be at ease that you will not learn everything
One of the best advice I got from my super smart friend who took the bar a year before me was: Be at ease that you will not learn everything for the bar. He was top 1%, graduated law school at 22, and scored in the 1% tile on the Barbri Simulated MBE. He knew more than some law professors because he did so much outside reading. Even he admitted that he did not know/learn everything required for the bar.
So, some point along the line, especially during the last one or two weeks of studying, be at ease that you cannot learn everything. Just do the best you can.
However, don't get into that mentality right now. That's for the last one or two weeks, and you are not there yet. So, keep doing those practice MBEs and practice essays.
So, some point along the line, especially during the last one or two weeks of studying, be at ease that you cannot learn everything. Just do the best you can.
However, don't get into that mentality right now. That's for the last one or two weeks, and you are not there yet. So, keep doing those practice MBEs and practice essays.
Barbri PT Workshop Question
Question: "Is it necessary to attend the PT workshops in BarBri?"
This one is a toss up. If I had to do it all over again, I would still attend, although I admit it may be an overkill on my part. I would say that you can probably get away with not attending, with the caveat that you take or outline extra performance exams during that time period.
For me, the PT workshops forced me to outline and look at some extra PT that I otherwise would not have on my own. If you are someone who is not disciplined enough to spend the 3-4 hours of the workshop time outlining extra PTs or writing up extra PTs, then you should attend the workshop. Also, even though that guy is pretty crazy, he does give some helpful advice. I think he tells you that you need to format "letter PTs" with headings and all like a letter, and that you have to start a declaration with a particular sentence. This, you may not get by just looking at the model answers. I do feel that he did waste a lot of time.
If you do not attend or choose to skip PT workshop, you definitely need to be outlining extra PTs or writing extra PT out. As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, I did an extra 3-4 performance exams on my own that were not on the Barbri schedule and looked thru the format of many more. I felt that performance exam teaching was Barbri's weakest point, although I'm not sure you can actually teach this. It's one of those things that you really need to practice and be flexible.
This one is a toss up. If I had to do it all over again, I would still attend, although I admit it may be an overkill on my part. I would say that you can probably get away with not attending, with the caveat that you take or outline extra performance exams during that time period.
For me, the PT workshops forced me to outline and look at some extra PT that I otherwise would not have on my own. If you are someone who is not disciplined enough to spend the 3-4 hours of the workshop time outlining extra PTs or writing up extra PTs, then you should attend the workshop. Also, even though that guy is pretty crazy, he does give some helpful advice. I think he tells you that you need to format "letter PTs" with headings and all like a letter, and that you have to start a declaration with a particular sentence. This, you may not get by just looking at the model answers. I do feel that he did waste a lot of time.
If you do not attend or choose to skip PT workshop, you definitely need to be outlining extra PTs or writing extra PT out. As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, I did an extra 3-4 performance exams on my own that were not on the Barbri schedule and looked thru the format of many more. I felt that performance exam teaching was Barbri's weakest point, although I'm not sure you can actually teach this. It's one of those things that you really need to practice and be flexible.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Memorization Questions: Part II
Here is the question: "Sakai has some bare bones ones in the essay workshop class handout. I was thinking about using those as my model, making sure I had a rule for each subheading, and leaving it at that. Do I need to memorize more than that for the essays?"
I made my outlines for each subject. Some outlines were 5 pages, and others were as long as 10-15 pages. I tried my best to keep them short. I essentially memorized everything on those outlines, but I am pretty good at memorizing stuff. However, for some smaller issues or issues that the professor said were not going to be on the exam or things that I didn't think were important, I put (SKIM) on the outline. When I was memorizing and studying my outlines, I would just read and skim those issues and not memorize them.
At the very basic level, you should memorize all the major rules and exceptions. I probably memorized all the smaller rules too, but like I said, you might be able to get away with skimming and being familiar with some rules. You will find out that many people "make up" rules on the bar exam. You don't remember a rule, or you don't know it, so essentially, you b.s. and write down what you think the rule is. You should practice this when you do your practice essays.
I made my outlines for each subject. Some outlines were 5 pages, and others were as long as 10-15 pages. I tried my best to keep them short. I essentially memorized everything on those outlines, but I am pretty good at memorizing stuff. However, for some smaller issues or issues that the professor said were not going to be on the exam or things that I didn't think were important, I put (SKIM) on the outline. When I was memorizing and studying my outlines, I would just read and skim those issues and not memorize them.
At the very basic level, you should memorize all the major rules and exceptions. I probably memorized all the smaller rules too, but like I said, you might be able to get away with skimming and being familiar with some rules. You will find out that many people "make up" rules on the bar exam. You don't remember a rule, or you don't know it, so essentially, you b.s. and write down what you think the rule is. You should practice this when you do your practice essays.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Barbri MBE Simulated Exam
I'm not sure where everyone is in Barbri, but I assume the MBE Simulated whole day exam is coming up soon. Here's my advice:
1) Make sure you go to class and do the full-day MBE exam. It's really helpful to sit in a room with a ton of other people and try to take the MBE exam. You will get distractions and annoying sounds that you will not get if you do this at home. Also, there is a timer for you. So, definitely do this.
2) Skip the review. Most people I spoke to who attended said it was useless (I didn't go). My one caveat may be to go if you are scoring extremely low (under 50 percentile), but still, I'm not sure if going will help your scores. You might be better off doing more practice MBEs during that time frame or carefully reviewing and figuring out why and what you missed. The explanations for Barbri answers are quite good.
On the same note, for those of you who signed up for the 3-day PMBR, I would tell you to go take exam on the 1st day and skip the next 2 days. If you haven't signed up for the 3-day, don't bother. Save your $300+.
1) Make sure you go to class and do the full-day MBE exam. It's really helpful to sit in a room with a ton of other people and try to take the MBE exam. You will get distractions and annoying sounds that you will not get if you do this at home. Also, there is a timer for you. So, definitely do this.
2) Skip the review. Most people I spoke to who attended said it was useless (I didn't go). My one caveat may be to go if you are scoring extremely low (under 50 percentile), but still, I'm not sure if going will help your scores. You might be better off doing more practice MBEs during that time frame or carefully reviewing and figuring out why and what you missed. The explanations for Barbri answers are quite good.
On the same note, for those of you who signed up for the 3-day PMBR, I would tell you to go take exam on the 1st day and skip the next 2 days. If you haven't signed up for the 3-day, don't bother. Save your $300+.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Why Barbri and Other Options
Someone asked a question about Barbri and the passing %, which brings me to the rationale behind taking Barbri. When I was in law school, all I knew was everyone enrolled in Barbri. I asked an upper classman about this, and he told me that the key to the bar was to be average and to go with the flow. As Barbri puts it, be a sheep. He said since the majority (I'm guessing like 75%+) take Barbri, if Barbri didn't cover a topic, then 75% of the people wouldn't have learned the topic either, so it won't hurt you on the bar. It made good sense to me, so that's why I took Barbri.
On another note, I did some research later and found that there are many other courses there for the CA Bar. There is BarPassers, which appears to be modeled and maybe even owned by Barbri. They have the video lectures and a schedule, and they have a mock 3-day exam at the end. There are individual tutors, some who start in January for the July bar.
However, do take this with a grain of salt. Barbri does not work for everyone. But, I would recommend taking Barbri the first time, unless you are absolutely sure their method won't work for you.
On another note, I did some research later and found that there are many other courses there for the CA Bar. There is BarPassers, which appears to be modeled and maybe even owned by Barbri. They have the video lectures and a schedule, and they have a mock 3-day exam at the end. There are individual tutors, some who start in January for the July bar.
However, do take this with a grain of salt. Barbri does not work for everyone. But, I would recommend taking Barbri the first time, unless you are absolutely sure their method won't work for you.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Following the Barbri Schedule or Falling Behind
By this time, I imagine some of you have fallen behind in the Barbri schedule. It really is feasible, with some modifications and some determination.
I was able to fit in the Barbri schedule in 6 days. However, I did cheat a bit. I would generally write out one full 1-hour essay exam for each subject and just outline and issue spot the others. I did manage to finish all the MBE questions assigned, and at least outline and issue spot all their essays.
My advice if you have fallen behind right now is don't try to go back and "catch up." Start on the day you are on, and just plow forward from there. If you try to catch up, you will keep on falling further and further behind.
Also, if you are really having trouble keeping up, skip the reading of the Convisor. I'm not sure it is that helpful since you don't remember half of what you read.
For motivation factor: almost everyone I knew who was able to keep up with the schedule in some fashion passed the bar. However, the majority of the people were not able to keep up with the schedule, and I presume most of them passed also. Just try your best to keep up, but at this early point, I would try to light your butt on fire and get going because if you keep on falling behind now, it's not a good sign...
I was able to fit in the Barbri schedule in 6 days. However, I did cheat a bit. I would generally write out one full 1-hour essay exam for each subject and just outline and issue spot the others. I did manage to finish all the MBE questions assigned, and at least outline and issue spot all their essays.
My advice if you have fallen behind right now is don't try to go back and "catch up." Start on the day you are on, and just plow forward from there. If you try to catch up, you will keep on falling further and further behind.
Also, if you are really having trouble keeping up, skip the reading of the Convisor. I'm not sure it is that helpful since you don't remember half of what you read.
For motivation factor: almost everyone I knew who was able to keep up with the schedule in some fashion passed the bar. However, the majority of the people were not able to keep up with the schedule, and I presume most of them passed also. Just try your best to keep up, but at this early point, I would try to light your butt on fire and get going because if you keep on falling behind now, it's not a good sign...
Memorization Question: Part I
Someone asked: "I have a question, I've been trying to memorize now, while doing barbri because I don't understand how I can possibly wait until barbri is over. If I don't have everything memorized enough how am I supposed to do the practice essays, etc?"
Like you probably heard already, studying for the bar is an individual feat. If you feel that you should memorize along the way and early, definitely do it. My earlier post was just to tell you that you can still do it when Barbri ends, like most people, and you will still be okay. For me, I memorized later because I figured it would be fresher in my mind.
On to the question: You definitely need to be doing practice essays now, along with the MBEs. For me, I "made up" law or I looked it up on my outlines. The practice essays are more to get your analysis and issue spotting together.
Like I stressed earlier, it is criticial that you do the MBEs and practice essays that Barbri or your other programs assign. Memorization is not that important at this point (I guess that was why I posted my earlier blog). A lot of people will tell you to B.S. or make up the law if you forget. It definitely works.
Like you probably heard already, studying for the bar is an individual feat. If you feel that you should memorize along the way and early, definitely do it. My earlier post was just to tell you that you can still do it when Barbri ends, like most people, and you will still be okay. For me, I memorized later because I figured it would be fresher in my mind.
On to the question: You definitely need to be doing practice essays now, along with the MBEs. For me, I "made up" law or I looked it up on my outlines. The practice essays are more to get your analysis and issue spotting together.
Like I stressed earlier, it is criticial that you do the MBEs and practice essays that Barbri or your other programs assign. Memorization is not that important at this point (I guess that was why I posted my earlier blog). A lot of people will tell you to B.S. or make up the law if you forget. It definitely works.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Blogs & Bar Exams
It's funny, but when I was taking the bar, I felt an urge to read every blog I could find on other people taking the bar. Maybe it's fear of the unknown. Maybe it's just anything I could find to distract myself. I think I liked to commiserate with others, or to compare myself to how others were doing.
I guess that's what is bringing all of you here!
I guess that's what is bringing all of you here!
Hand-writing: Power outage/computer problem
THIS IS FOR COMPUTER TAKERS.
I'm sure you all have heard or imagined terrible situations where the power goes out, or where your computer breaks down.
Anyhow, somewhere toward the end of Barbri, I hand-wrote an essay question. It was really painful, and I couldn't get half as much in as I would typing on a computer. But, it helped to know that I could do it if I were forced to.
So, advice is to handwrite 1 or 2 practice one hour essays and get a feel of how it goes. It will help you figure out if you need to spend less time outlining or reading the question if you were forced to handwrite the answer.
I'm sure you all have heard or imagined terrible situations where the power goes out, or where your computer breaks down.
Anyhow, somewhere toward the end of Barbri, I hand-wrote an essay question. It was really painful, and I couldn't get half as much in as I would typing on a computer. But, it helped to know that I could do it if I were forced to.
So, advice is to handwrite 1 or 2 practice one hour essays and get a feel of how it goes. It will help you figure out if you need to spend less time outlining or reading the question if you were forced to handwrite the answer.
Pacing on Exam Writing
One of the most valuable things I learned in law school from my 1L professor was how to manage time on writing an essay. His advice was never to start writing right away. Anyhow, here is how I approach essay writing and how I suggest you should too for the bar exam.
For 1 hour exam:
1st 15 minutes) read the question + outline
READING: I generally read the questions 3 times. 1st time) Read the question and make a few highlights on key facts. 2nd time) Read again and issue spot, take notes on scratch paper on all relevant issues and make notes by the facts. 3rd time) Reread and see if there are minor issues and if I missed anything.
OUTLINE: I generally make a quick outline of all major and minor and off the wall issues that I see after reading the question for 3 times.
Last 45 minutes) writing the answer
I go thru my outline and start with what I think are the key issues. I analyze all of them and then cross them out on my outline. If I have extra time at the end, I throw in the smaller issues or the off the walls one.
By the way, on a side note, I think the Barbri method of outlining and putting headers on all your issues are very helpful. For those of you not taking Barbri, Barbri has you put a heading for all your issues (i.e. NEGLIGENCE, BATTERY, ASSAULT) before your paragraph answers.
My biggest advice is to spend AT LEAST 10 minutes outlining the question. If you are a fast typer, like I am, spend 15 minutes outlining. It really helps focus your spots and if you read and outline well enough, you won't need to spend a lot of time writing, and you won't be all over the place. You also won't miss key issues or not have enough time to finish.
For 1 hour exam:
1st 15 minutes) read the question + outline
READING: I generally read the questions 3 times. 1st time) Read the question and make a few highlights on key facts. 2nd time) Read again and issue spot, take notes on scratch paper on all relevant issues and make notes by the facts. 3rd time) Reread and see if there are minor issues and if I missed anything.
OUTLINE: I generally make a quick outline of all major and minor and off the wall issues that I see after reading the question for 3 times.
Last 45 minutes) writing the answer
I go thru my outline and start with what I think are the key issues. I analyze all of them and then cross them out on my outline. If I have extra time at the end, I throw in the smaller issues or the off the walls one.
By the way, on a side note, I think the Barbri method of outlining and putting headers on all your issues are very helpful. For those of you not taking Barbri, Barbri has you put a heading for all your issues (i.e. NEGLIGENCE, BATTERY, ASSAULT) before your paragraph answers.
My biggest advice is to spend AT LEAST 10 minutes outlining the question. If you are a fast typer, like I am, spend 15 minutes outlining. It really helps focus your spots and if you read and outline well enough, you won't need to spend a lot of time writing, and you won't be all over the place. You also won't miss key issues or not have enough time to finish.
Memorization: When to memorize everything
So, you probably all realize that the bar exam is not open book, meaning that you will have to memorize all those elements for all those bar subjects. At some point, I started freaking out when I came to the realization. I talked to my friend, who told me he was memorizing bit by bit each night. Here's what I did:
I did not start memorizing until after Barbri ended. I divided up the schedule and created my own schedule for the subjects (which I will get to in another blog). I then tried to memorize elements for 2 or 3 subjects a day. It worked out fine.
Almost everyone I knew started memorizing after Barbri class ended, so don't stress out about that now. Just focus on doing the practice questions and practice essays and formulating something to memorize off of. For me, that was my outlines. For others, it was notecards.
I guess my only advice on this subject for now is not to stress out about it now. In the meantime, you should be complying or creating something that you will memorize off of in the last few weeks (i.e. outlines you make, outlines you bought or got somewhere, or notecards). You really shouldn't be trying to get or make the stuff after Barbri ends. Get that all done now, so all you need to focus on later is the memorization and practice.
I did not start memorizing until after Barbri ended. I divided up the schedule and created my own schedule for the subjects (which I will get to in another blog). I then tried to memorize elements for 2 or 3 subjects a day. It worked out fine.
Almost everyone I knew started memorizing after Barbri class ended, so don't stress out about that now. Just focus on doing the practice questions and practice essays and formulating something to memorize off of. For me, that was my outlines. For others, it was notecards.
I guess my only advice on this subject for now is not to stress out about it now. In the meantime, you should be complying or creating something that you will memorize off of in the last few weeks (i.e. outlines you make, outlines you bought or got somewhere, or notecards). You really shouldn't be trying to get or make the stuff after Barbri ends. Get that all done now, so all you need to focus on later is the memorization and practice.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Vitamins
On another note, I swore by my vitamins when I was studying for the bar exam. After the PMBR early bird and the first week of Barbri, I was utterly stressed out. Actually, I think that first week, I was more stressed than any time afterwards. It was more the anxiety and unknown since I wasn't sure what I was doing was right.
I went to the drug store and packed up on the multi-vitamins. I bought a multi-vitamin and the Vitamin B (Stress Complex). I don't know if it was mental or not, but I really felt the B Stress Complex claimed me down and kept me in check. I also read somewhere about people taking St. John's Wort to calm the stress. Hey, whatever works! If it's mental, that helped too.
Anyhow, I swore by my vitamins and was able to stay healthy the whole time. So, seriously, think about taking some vitamins. They really can't hurt you.
I went to the drug store and packed up on the multi-vitamins. I bought a multi-vitamin and the Vitamin B (Stress Complex). I don't know if it was mental or not, but I really felt the B Stress Complex claimed me down and kept me in check. I also read somewhere about people taking St. John's Wort to calm the stress. Hey, whatever works! If it's mental, that helped too.
Anyhow, I swore by my vitamins and was able to stay healthy the whole time. So, seriously, think about taking some vitamins. They really can't hurt you.
MBE Timing: Too slow on MBEs
Someone posted a question about going too slow on the MBEs. I guess it would depend what you mean by too slow. For a one hour time slot, are you unable to finish 5 questions, or it is 10 or 20? If it's under 5 for every hour, you are still okay right now.
I wouldn't worry too much about timing on the MBEs initially. Also, if you do want to time yourself, I would do at least 30 minutes or 1 hour instead of say focusing on timing per question. Your timing issue may also be inaccurate right now if you are doing 30 "Hard" tort questions because the harder questions will naturally take long.
I guess sometime in the mid-point of your studying, in a few weeks, you should try to do some mixed MBE questions (where there are easy, medium and hard) and see if you are still behind. If you are only 1 or 2 questions behind for every hour, that should be okay, but if you are 5 or more behind, you should really try to find out what is slowing you down.
As I noted in my earlier post, the key is to practice, practice and practice. Do some extra MBEs or focus on speeding up without losing accuracy.
I wouldn't worry too much about timing on the MBEs initially. Also, if you do want to time yourself, I would do at least 30 minutes or 1 hour instead of say focusing on timing per question. Your timing issue may also be inaccurate right now if you are doing 30 "Hard" tort questions because the harder questions will naturally take long.
I guess sometime in the mid-point of your studying, in a few weeks, you should try to do some mixed MBE questions (where there are easy, medium and hard) and see if you are still behind. If you are only 1 or 2 questions behind for every hour, that should be okay, but if you are 5 or more behind, you should really try to find out what is slowing you down.
As I noted in my earlier post, the key is to practice, practice and practice. Do some extra MBEs or focus on speeding up without losing accuracy.
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