Law School Secrets: Outlining for Exam Success
Author:
Batoff, Jeffrey S.
Edition:
1st
Copyright Date:
2012
9 chapters
have results for exam
Preparing for Law School Exams 50 results (showing 5 best matches)
- What should you do the night before the exam? Some suggest that you go bowling or go to a movie. My reaction to these suggestions is concisely stated: BULL! If you are normal you will not be able to enjoy anything. You will constantly be thinking about the exam.
- On your second review, you will commit the outline to memory, even if it is an open book exam
- I would first allocate 100 pages for each course to each day before the exam and after the prior exam (but not for the day just before the exam). For Criminal Law, I would plan to outline 300 pages (100 pages per day) from 12/16 through 12/18. On 12/19, I would plan to study and review the outline. This would leave 400 pages that would have to be outlined prior to 12/16. The same formula applies to the other subjects.
- . The outline will act as an index to all of the course materials. This type of index will be of incredible value especially in open book exams. I found that most of my law school exams were open book.
- Even for closed book exams the Skeletal Outline, and also SAM, will be helpful, but as study aids
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Writing the Exam 77 results (showing 5 best matches)
- When the exam is first handed out, take a few minutes if the exam is closed book to recreate your mnemonic phrases on scrap paper
- Professors usually do not expect you to cite the exact statute or rule numbers in closed book exams. My Evidence exam was completely closed book; we could not even bring to the exam the Federal Rules of Evidence. The professor told us that there would be no need to know the rule numbers in the exam, that we just had to understand how the rules worked. Unless your professor tells you otherwise, you should avoid citing section or rule numbers in a closed book exam.
- Some humor in writing an exam is helpful; it can entertain the professor enough so that he or she might think better of your exam than of the 30 boring exams he or she has just read. But I warn you: do not overdo it.
- After exams, I suggest that you go out with friends. If at all possible take the rest of the day or the evening off. Relax. Try to enjoy yourself before studying for your next exam. But whatever you do, do not talk about the exam you just took. Such discussions can only serve to induce anxiety and can actually affect your performance on the next exam.
- You must bring something to time yourself with to the exam. It is extremely important that you keep track of time
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Appendix A. Sample Skeletal Outline 1 result
- If you are in an open-book exam, you would use this Skeletal Outline as a checklist to identify issues. For example, assume you’ve reviewed the outline and determined there’s a Causation in Fact issue in your Torts exam. You would then know that “Cause in Fact” is explained more fully in your Substantive Outline at page 24.
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Overview 10 results (showing 5 best matches)
- If you have come to the conclusion that the main objective of exam-taking is to translate your substantive legal knowledge into the written exam, then you are like most law students. No one can deny that this is important, but it overlooks the institutional framework within which examinations are given. Every exam is given by a particular professor.
- For law school exams, the task is simple. Put yourself in the place of the professor and ask: “What is it that I, as a professor, want from the students?” First, the professor wants you to demonstrate that you can identify the issues and that you understand the law and can apply it to the facts in a cogent and well-expressed response. Second, in the vast majority of cases, the law school exam question proposes a hypothetical to which there is no ready answer. You’ll find that you can easily choose between two opposite conclusions. ..., if the professor is a super-liberal then that’s the view you’ll take for the exam—even if you’re an avowed arch conservative. If the question asks you to evaluate the merits of certain exceptions to the Exclusionary Rule (whereby evidence is excluded at trial of criminal defendants because of a violation of their constitutional rights) the answer for the liberal professor is usually that such exceptions are unwise. You must put aside your own personal...
- You must analyze the professor as a human being and answer the exam question as that human being would
- EXAM PREPARATION
- Adequate preparation is more than half the battle in your quest to write a superior exam.
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A Note to Law Students 2 results
- Law school examinations are a source of great anxiety. As a first year student, you are probably frightened. You have no idea how to prepare for exams, and everyone you ask for advice gives you different answers to the same questions. As a second or third year student you are probably frustrated. You don’t understand why you haven’t matched your superior undergraduate record. You may well have noticed students with less ability getting higher grades.
- Do not expect to be taught at law school how to study for exams
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Half Title 2 results
Table of Contents 14 results (showing 5 best matches)
Title Page 2 results
- Publication Date: January 26th, 2012
- ISBN: 9780314278920
- Subject: Academic Success
- Series: Academic and Career Success
- Type: Academic/Prof. Development
- Description: This book answers the most-asked questions of first, second, and third year law school students. Exam Preparation: How long should my outline be? What should I include in my outline? What secondary sources should I use? Are study groups effective? Should I swap outlines with other students? How do I prepare for open and closed book exams? And much more Writing the Exam: What is the best way to read the exam questions? How do I schedule my time? How do I organize my answer? When do I need to assume facts? How do I impress the professor? And much more
