Mastering the Law School Exam
Author:
Darrow-Kleinhaus, Suzanne
Edition:
1st
Copyright Date:
2006
15 chapters
have results for exam
Chapter 5: Preparing for Law School Exams 60 results (showing 5 best matches)
- It’s not enough to memorize and understand elements and rules without some idea of how the issues present and will be tested. Exams vary greatly in their format, composition, and emphasis. Taking an essay exam is quite different from taking a multiple-choice exam. Unless you have some idea of what to expect and practice applying what you know in the context of the particular format, you will not be able to perform as well as you should on exam day. How you prepare for each of your exams will therefore vary according to the type of exam you’ll take.
- Consider each practice exam a dress rehearsal by writing your essays within what will be the time parameters on the exam. If you’re working with your professor’s released exams, follow the guidelines identified for the individual questions. If they are not available, calculate your own time allocations based on the overall length of the exam. Refer to Chapter 6 for guidelines on allocating your time.
- Here’s where experience plays a significant role in your success. A large part of experience is simply having done something before. And having done it before, you get a pretty good idea of what to expect in the future. The same is true for exams. You need experience in taking exams to know what to expect from them and from your own performance. The only way to get this type of experience before the actual exam is to practice from simulated exams.
- There is a method to learning from practice exams and you may be surprised to discover that it’s not just about sitting down and answering the questions. That’s what you’ll do on exam day but not when you’re studying for the exam. The difference is between just answering the questions and using the questions to learn. One of the most important things you can keep in mind as you study is that the only test that counts is the one you take on exam day. All the rest is preparation.
- While we’ll discuss using released exams with respect to preparing for the final exam, it’s also an effective means for learning along the way. You should answer exam questions your professor has on file and ask to have them evaluated. You just have to be more careful in selecting your problems to choose ones which test the material you’ve covered so far since you haven’t completed the semester. A quick perusal through the exam should indicate the topics you’re capable of handling at any given point.
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Chapter 6: Exam-Taking Basics 42 results (showing 5 best matches)
- One student told me that she was so afraid of exams that she decided to calm herself before exams with relaxation techniques. The problem was that they worked so well and she was so relaxed that she never finished the exam. She was so mellow that it took her more than half an hour after the exam had begun to function at full capacity. Since this would never do, we changed her pre-exam routine to include a quiet period where she read some final review materials to keep focused on the task to come. This allowed her to maintain her composure and proceed without delay when the exam began.
- There are three basic exam formats: the closed-book, the open-book, and the take-home exam. Most of the following discussion is appropriate for the closed-and open-book exam. The take-home varies the greatest but mostly with respect to budgeting your time.
- For an open-book exam, make sure you have the materials you’re allowed to bring to the exam in the precise form the professor has specified. Be attentive to page limits and format requirements. You don’t want your materials confiscated during the exam – or worse.
- Take a quick look through the entire exam to get an overview of what you’re facing. Note the number of questions and the overall composition of the exam. A general sense of the exam is necessary to let you plan your time and keep focused by knowing what you’ll be expected to do. For example, if you see that all the questions are targeted and specific, then it is not an issue-spotting exam and you won’t what to waste mental energy going down paths you won’t need to address.
- The first rule of exam taking and reaching the exam zone is that you must know the law to write the law. There is no substitute for knowledge of the law. You must know the rules with specificity both to identify the legal problems presented in the facts and to write a comprehensive answer that gets points. The second rule is to let go of a prepared script and respond to what comes your way.
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Chapter 4: The Course Outline and Its Relation to The Exam 44 results (showing 5 best matches)
- You should identify checklist questions for each of the general principles of law covered in your course because each is a potential exam issue; by structuring your studying around such questions, you can effectively “pre-take” your exam. With some thought and effort, it’s easy to determine the major exam topics for each of your courses and come to the exam having studied the appropriate checklist questions. Once you read the specific exam question, you can rely on the analytic formula and proceed to the facts.
- Another reason in favor of writing over typing is that it develops the stamina required for exam writing. If you’re not going to be typing your exam, you’ll need to be able to write for long periods of time, which can be anywhere from three to four hours at a stretch. Maybe more. Taking your notes in class every day prepares you for writing exams.
- Most students think that open-book (and take-home) exams are easier, but they’re not. They require the same preparation as closed-book exams, perhaps even more because the professor’s expectations for an organized and legally precise exam answer are higher. All this means is that your outline is still vital for success and you need to create it with the same diligence and effort as if you were taking a closed-book exam.
- How you perform on the exam begins here with how you learn the rules. The process of outlining facilitates learning because it requires that you organize the material in a meaningful way that allows you to remember it. In fact, a disorganized exam answer is usually the direct result of a disorganized outline. This makes perfect sense.
- These questions belong in your outline so you can become fully familiar with the structure of the rule. They are the ones you’ll ask on the exam if you encounter a problem dealing with this topic. Having identified the relevant questions when studying, you’ll move quickly through your exam analysis.
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Chapter 7: Taking the Exam 58 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Once you’re familiar with the basic structure and substance of essay questions, we’ll consider the possible formats. As we noted in an earlier chapter, the most common format is that of the closed book exam. It’s the one you’re most likely to encounter in law school and certainly when you take the bar exam. In fact, some professors claim that they give closed book exams to prepare their students for the bar exam. In any case, a closed book exam requires that you know the material “cold” – that you come into the exam with all the material clearly understood and memorized. On the other hand, “open book” and “take-home” exams allow access to certain materials, so rote memorization is not the issue. But you’re still expected to understand the rules and apply them thoroughly.
- The open-book exam is something of a mixed blessing: the need for pure memorization is eliminated because you can bring materials into the exam but you can lose valuable time searching through them if you’re not well organized. Your best bet is to learn the law as if you were taking a closed-book exam. Then you can think of the materials you bring into the exam as a security blanket and not a life preserver.
- Law school exams are all about solving problems. The only difference between exams is how the problems “present” and how you provide the solution. Essay exams require you to write and explain your answers while short, objective-style questions require you to match your thinking to one of the answer choices.
- With a take-home exam, it’s only natural for your professor to have heightened performance expectations. There’s no excuse for turning in a disorganized and carelessly written exam. Generally, professors give take-home exams to provide you with the opportunity for a more thoughtful and thorough analysis and therefore the burden on you is greater to provide one.
- Write an organized exam. While your professor is willing to overlook the usual forms of disorganization that occur in the heat of the typical exam, there’s a lot less forgiveness with a take-home exam. Here you’re expected to turn in a polished and organized response.
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Chapter 8: An Exam Make-Over 45 results (showing 5 best matches)
- What I am about to share with you is based on my work with students, much of it spent in meeting with them after they’ve met with their substantive course professors to review exams. We go over the exams again. In doing so, I’ve learned a lot, and not just about the types of exams that other professors like to give.
- Let’s get started by taking a look at a hypothetical you might have encountered on your Contracts exam. For our purposes, I’ve edited the problem to a single issue so that we can examine the response in detail. In contrast to the way we worked through sample exam questions in the earlier chapter on Taking the Exam, here we’ll be looking back and analyzing what the writer did rather than planning ahead for what might be done on exam day. As you’ll see, this involves a very different way of thinking and looking at the material.
- What I can tell you that’s different is how we’re going to use these comments to make changes in your thinking and your writing, and ultimately, your grades. What I can do is give you a personal “exam make-over.” Everyone loves a make-over. Why not an exam make-over?
- Reviewing your exam with your professor is essential to developing your written communication skills. If you think about it, your primary interaction with your professor thus far has been primarily oral – either you were called upon in class or you met outside of class to talk about the material. What you’ll learn from your written exam will probably surprise you. For example, you might learn that you “knew the law’ but failed to receive credit because your answer wasn’t responsive to the professor’s question. Or you might discover that your reading of the problem was so flawed that you added your own facts or misconstrued them, either of which could have led to disappointing results. Only by meeting with your teacher to go over the exam will you get a sense of how your thinking and response to the questions differed from what your professor had in mind.
- What we’re going to do next won’t be easy but it’s essential if we’re going to improve your grades. You see, it’s not enough to go through the exercise of looking over the exam with your professor or comparing what you’ve written to a sample answer – you need to know why what you wrote on your exam didn’t earn the grade you think it deserved. To do this, we need to get inside your head to see where what you were thinking departed from what you should have been thinking.
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How to Use This Book 14 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Even if you have not read any of the other chapters in this book and it’s the end of a semester, begin here. These chapters provide all you need to know about exam taking, from the various types of exams and how to prepare for them, to what to do the night before and exactly how to budget your time on the exam. Chapter 7 will take you through every step of reading and answering exam questions, including short answer questions, multi-issue fact patterns, and multiple choice questions.
- If you’ve received a disappointing grade on a quiz, mid-term, or final exam, turn to this chapter for an exam make-over. I would also recommend beginning here if your grades are anything less than an “A” because you’ll learn how to make that happen.
- To supplement individual student meetings with detailed explanations of the most common questions regarding such law school basics as note-taking, outlining, and exam preparation.
- As a source for additional hypotheticals with evaluation sheets so students can practice their exam-writing skills and get immediate feedback.
- To explain the conceptual path from note-taking -to outlining-to exam writing.
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Chapter 10: Practice Makes “A” 14 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The key to success in any endeavor is preparation. While you prepare for class by reading and briefing the assignment, you need to prepare for exams by writing out practice essays. Familiarity with the structure of essay questions and how to respond to them will go a long way in alleviating your anxiety on exam day. The key to success on exams is to engage in this practice on a regular basis and to begin well before the final examination.
- Your law professor expects an exam answer that is a well-reasoned, well-organized, articulate analysis of the relevant rules of law with respect to the facts. This demonstrates your mastery of the material covered during the course of the semester and your ability to write in the language of the law. Your professor does not expect you to do this without adequate preparation by practicing from prior exams. Consequently, many professors have copies of their old exams on file.
- 4. Use exam questions to let you see the relationships between concepts and how topics come together.
- Pay attention to the directions that accompany exams – specifically with respect to what you are asked to do in the question.
- The only way to know exactly how your professor expects you to address a question comes from experience in reading your professor’s exams and in asking what she expects in an answer.
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Chapter 2: Understanding Law School Exams 24 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The essence of lawyering is written communication and essay exams afford an objective measurement of your ability to communicate knowledge of the substantive law in an organized and articulate manner. Writing a well-constructed essay is a learned skill that requires mastery of the law and the nature of logical argument. Essay exams also demonstrate your ability to manage time effectively, organize the material, and use the proper legal terminology. “Sounding like a lawyer” in writing your exams is essential to marking your transition from novice to law student to practicing attorney.
- Understanding law school exams gives you the perspective necessary to bring order to the learning process. By identifying the basic skills that exams seek to test and the way in which they do so, you can target your study efforts and design an effective study plan that incorporates skills practice as well as substantive review.
- It’s easy enough to get lost in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of class discussions and hard to know what to expect on the exam when you spend most of your class time being questioned on cases. Much to your dismay, you’re asked to judge the cases that you read – sometimes in your very first law school class. You’re asked whether you think the court was correct in reaching its decision or whether you would have found differently. Then you get to the exam and there’s nothing about cases. Or at least nothing that’s obvious. You have to wonder: why does the exam seem so different from what went on in class?
- In many respects, law school exam questions are written to simulate client problems. As a result, what you’re expected to do on the exam is pretty similar to what you’re expected to do for your client: listen to the story, sort through the facts to see what’s legally significant, identify the controlling rule of law, analyze the facts with respect to that law, determine whether your client has a viable claim, and, if so, assess the likely outcome. This process – both on the exam and in practice – tests your substantive and analytical skills: you need to know the law to “spot the issues” in the facts and you must analyze those facts with respect to the law to predict the likely consequences.
- The good news is that problem-solving is a skill. And because it is a skill, you can acquire it much like any other, through practice and more practice. It also requires a level of self-awareness, a willingness to explore how you think and write, and knowing how to look at these processes objectively. Exam performance is pretty much tied to the time spent in learning the material, reflecting on what is learned, and applying that knowledge in the context of simulated exam questions.
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Chapter 9: Forensic Irac 46 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Just as the previous chapter was an “exam think aloud” where we stepped inside a student’s head and learned what she was thinking from what she wrote in her exam answers, now we’ll go inside your head and figure out what you were thinking when you wrote your essays and selected multiple choice answers.
- Just as exceptions make for good exam questions, responses that provide the context of the general rule make for good exam answers because they make for complete answers. This, in turn, demonstrates your complete understanding of the material.
- For the most part, your professors are pretty clear from the beginning what they want from you on exams: it’s analysis, not answers. Your exam essay should demonstrate your ability to engage in legal thought and reasoning.
- A common explanation for failing to include sufficient explanations of the law is that the teacher already knows it. It’s certainly true that the professor knows the law – and it’s not likely you’re going to teach her anything new. But she doesn’t know whether you know the law and that’s the point of the whole exam – to see what you know. If you don’t write it, she won’t know you know it. Think of your job on the exam as an opportunity to be a show-off. It’s your recital, your moment on the stage. If you realize that your job on an exam is to convey what you’ve learned, and especially that you’ve mastered the substantive material of the course, you won’t leave out the main course.
- If you find that you become practical on exams and replace the black letter law for what you think would occur in the real world, then you’re going to end up with some incorrect answers. Your exam is not the time or place to become “practical” and consider what you think would happen in actual practice. Many students have defended incorrect answer choices to me by explaining “I know it couldn’t happen like that in practice. That’s why I didn’t choose that answer.” My response is that this isn’t “real” life. It’s a law school exam! This is not to say, however, that exam questions have nothing to do with the practice of law or the “real world.” It’s just that in law school, we are studying and working with the theoretical rule of law and what should be, not necessarily what is. When answering a question from your professor, apply the rule of law as you’ve learned it and you’ll be fine.
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Chapter 1: A Hypothetical Universe 19 results (showing 5 best matches)
- But there’s another side to exam-taking you need to consider. If properly written to reflect the material covered during the course, exams serve an important function. They are endpoints in the task of learning, no less a part of the process than deadlines are in the attorney’s everyday world of client meetings, conferences, and court appearances. But even more important, they require that you learn the material in a way that you would not do otherwise. Without the impetus of an impending exam, cases would not be reviewed, outlines would not be written, and the rigor required to synthesize, understand, and master the material simply would not be expended. This effort is required for the study of law and not just for taking the exam. Most, if not all of the information learned about a subject is necessary and relevant, if not for the exam, then for the actual practice of law. In law school, it’s not possible to study too much – only incorrectly, inefficiently, and ineffectively, as...
- Still, it’s critical that you don’t mistake the importance of using the structure of exams to inform your learning process with the more important goal of learning the law. Your primary goal is to learn the law and, if you do, good grades will naturally follow. While grades are important for a number of reasons, they’re not the reason I’m recommending we begin our work with an understanding of law school exams. Rather, it’s because exams simulate the same types of problems and require that you apply some of the same skills you’ll use in actual law practice. Despite the funny names and almost comical situations you find on law school exam questions, they test such basic lawyering skills as reading comprehension and reasoning, identifying and formulating legal issues, organizing information, following directions, and writing ability. From day one of law school, your professor’s goal is to develop these skills; your job on an exam is to show that you’ve mastered them.
- In addition to the basics of taking law school exams, we’ll consider the following questions which concern all law students – and are intimately related to success on exams:
- Knowing what is expected of you is essential to knowing how to prepare and preparation is the key to avoiding unwanted surprises. Unlike some activities where you’re not supposed to skip ahead and check out the ending because it will spoil the surprise, a good lawyer does not want to be surprised. Not ever. Neither does a good law student. Surprise is avoided by always knowing what to expect. For law students, part of knowing what to expect means knowing what to expect on exams. The only way to know what to expect on exams is to practice them well before exam day. You practice them to get good at them, the same way you develop any other skill. The more you do something, the better you get at it, whether it’s playing the piano, shooting hoops, or solving legal problems.
- The only way to know what’s expected of you on exams is to become familiar with them ahead of time – both with the structure, format, and content of exams and with your responses to them. You can be sure there are no classes in law school that address this topic and very few professors, if any, discuss the final before the end of the term. Even then the discussion is mostly about form – how many questions there will be, whether there will be multiple choice questions, or essays, or both. While useful, this discussion won’t help you learn how to approach the questions and how to write solid exam answers. This book will.
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- This information should make you realize that writing practice essays or answering multiple choice questions in one subject area is useful for others in developing your writing and analytical skills. If you can write an “A” Torts exam, you are capable of doing the same in any subject, given the same level of preparation and understanding. Accordingly, the many examples in this book are valuable even if they are not identical to what you’ll see on one of your exams. The problems we discuss are universal and the approaches for resolving them are common to all.
- The mistake is that this is not all there is to know; there is nothing straightforward or easy in assessing the “intent” required for commission of a battery or any of the intentional torts. Nor is there anything easy about other areas of Tort law but novice law students remain unconvinced – at least until the final exam.
- “Why Torts?” I ask. The answer is invariably something like, “it’s so clear and straightforward and easy to follow.” I think to myself, “so wrong. So very, very wrong.” It’s none of those things but they won’t realize it until the final exam when it’s too late. Students are suckers for elements and they
- While it is outside the scope of this book to discuss specific legal doctrine, it is appropriate to indicate some of the recurrent themes you’ll encounter to help you make the connections so vital to effective learning. Often as you proceed through each area of doctrinal law, you’ll find it necessary to take a very narrow, focused approach because there is only so much you can assimilate at a time. Still, there is a downside: the same tunnel-vision that lets you navigate enormous amounts of information limits your consideration of other perspectives. This obscures your ability to see the major themes both between and within topics – at least not right away. Typically, these connections emerge when you study for finals or the bar exam but there’s no need to wait until the end when it can assist your learning along the way.
- legal memorandum, read and briefed somewhere between 300 to 500 cases in three or four areas of doctrinal law while developing a working knowledge of the vocabulary and structure of the American legal system. Even though you’ll still have a long way to go, the most intense, exhausting, and challenging period in law school will be behind you – that is until you study for the bar exam. But that’s a whole other story and a whole other book.
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Preface and Acknowledgments 6 results (showing 5 best matches)
- and overwhelmed when beginning law school. In awe and frightened, the student sees the professor as all-knowing and wonders, “how will I ever know?” The universe of what there is to learn seems to be without end. Often, the student gets lost in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of class discussions and case readings. And since the law school exam typically looks nothing like what goes on during an ordinary class, the student is left at a loss in knowing how to prepare and how to respond on the exam.
- At its core, the book provides a blueprint for preparing for and taking law school exams. However, in so doing, it also links and explains the conceptual path from note-taking -to outlining-to exam writing. It identifies the thought processes involved in these activities because the problems students have in writing about the law are often “mirror images” of the problems they have in thinking about the law. Most study aids do not address this gap in conceptualization since they tend to focus on the discrete tasks and not their connections.
- In the end, only you, the user, is in a position to judge whether this book accomplishes all I’ve intended it to do. If it serves as a useful and effective learning tool, it will be found in your growing sense of comprehension and competency and the reality of improved exam grades. Only then will it have achieved its purpose.
- Finally, 1 would like to thank my students. There are far too many to name individually, but a few made very real contributions. Specifically, I’d like to thank Randi Schwartz and Rachel Basher, Class of 2006. I’d also like to thank Spencer Horn, Class of 2005, for his eagerness to learn, his willingness to work hard, and his infectious enthusiasm. Spencer sought me out voluntarily before he had even taken a law school exam. He realized that law school learning was different from other kinds of education and wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to succeed. We met regularly to work on legal writing and analysis, time management, and exam preparation. You might say that much of what is in this book is a result of our work together. He encouraged me to write about it because he believed it would be valuable to others. In many ways, this book is as much his as mine. Thank you, Spencer.
- My deepest appreciation to Dean Lawrence Raful and Vice Dean Gary Shaw for their unhesitating support of my work. I am especially grateful to Gary for his confidence in my ideas and encouragement. I would also like to thank my colleagues for permission to include their exam questions: Myra Berman, Rodger Citron, Nicola Lee, Judge Pratt, Gary Shaw, and Teddy Silver.
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Title Page 2 results
About the Author 1 result
Mastering The Law School Exam — an Outline 38 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Publication Date: November 10th, 2006
- ISBN: 9780314162816
- Subject: Academic Success
- Series: Career Guides
- Type: Academic/Prof. Development
- Description: Darrow-Kleinhaus’ Mastering the Law School Exam is designed to provide students with a knowledgeable, reasonable, and rational voice to navigate the intricacies of law school exams. The text offers a practical rather than theoretical approach, by including examples that show students precisely “how to do it” and “how to write it.” It examines each type of law school exam, providing examples with detailed analysis of sample answers. Numerous illustrations in the context of substantive law are included to help students learn to: Fill the gap between what the professor refers to as learning to “think like a lawyer” and the actual means for doing so Create a successful path from note-taking, to outlining, to exam writing Tailor individualized study programs Much more