Hello everyone!
~It's been awhile, but if you are in law school you know that what little free time you have you end up using it on errands and catching up on sleep.~
This post will deal with exams.
Right about now you have finished taking your very first set of law school exams and are most likely waiting for your grades. Perhaps you have already recieved some of your grades and are either unhappy with them or happy but wish to do better.
The first thing you should know is that there is no one set way to study or take a test. Everyone is different and what may work for your friend may not work for you.
At the end of this post I will give you a list of resources that you can use for when you study.
Again, some of this may work for you and some of this may not, it is up to you to figure out what works for you.
#1 Start studying earlyThis is the best advice that I can give you. Nothing will work as well as starting early. Law school is not like undergrad, where you could cram the night before and then spit out all the information on the exam. You will need time to: memorize, process the information, understand it, be able to explain it and be able to apply it to various situations.
As you have most likely noticed, the exams no longer test how well you can spit back what you memorized. The exams also no longer test one concept/rule at a time.
Professors will write essay prompts and multiple choice questions that will test 2 or more rules at the same time. So, if you cram the night before, not only will you miss half of the information since there is a lot to remember, but you also will not be able to apply multiple rules at the same time because you will not fully understand them.
Personally, depending on my classes, I usually start studying for finals at least A MONTH in advance.
#2 Create a study schedule
The way I do it is I write my study schedule directly on a calendar that is hanging on my wall. This way everyday I can look at it and know what subject I should be working on.
Here's an example of how I do my schedule .
December:
Week 1: M-Sun- Torts (T)
Week 2 M-Sun- Property (P)
Week 3 M-Sun- Contracts (C)
Week 4M- Friday- Civ Pro (CP) and Crim Law (CL) (because Crim Law was a class that was easier for me than the other classes I could afford to spend half the day doing Civ Pro and half the day doing Crim Law).
Sa-Su- CL
Finals Weeks: this is where it gets a little complicated.
Finals Week 1
M CL Study
Tu CL FINAL MORNING
T Study
W T Study
Th T Study
F T FINAL MORNING
CP&P Study
Sa CP&P Study
Su CP Study
Finals Week 2
M CP FINAL MORNING
P Study
Tu P Study
W P FINAL MORNING
C Study
Th C Study
F C FINAL MORNING
Here, I did the schedule in no particular order. In reality, if there is a class that is difficult for me, I will adjust the schedule to give myself more time for that subject. If there is a class that is easy or open note then I will adjust the schedule accordingly. If all are hard, I will start studying a few weeks earlier.
#3 Know yourself and stick to it, but don't be afraid to try something new.You have been in school for many many years. You know what works for you and what doesn't. So, stick to what works. Just because someone is studying in a way that you don't and they seem to know everything, doesn't mean you should switch to their way of studying if you know for a fact that you have tried it before and it did not work.
For example: For me, I know I cannot study in large groups. I either need to be on my own or with only one other person for Q&A stuff. I know people that do groups and it works wonders for them. Just because it works for them, does not mean it will suddenly work for me when I know it never has. So, I stick to what I know works.
Now, what if someone is doing something you have never tried?
Try it. If it works, great! Keep it and do it. If it doesn't, skip it and don't come back.
For example: I never tried making my own outline to study from, but everyone in law school kept saying how great outlines are. So, I tried something new, but it did not work. To me, it was a waste of time. So, I dropped it and went back to my notes.
#4 Don't get distracted, but do take breaks.It's easy to get distracted when all you are doing for a month or more is homework, going to class and studying. Try to push through it.
On the bright side, you will be on vacation soon.
Don't forget to take lunch/dinner and small breaks in between. Law is taxing and you will get exhausted quickly. So, you need those breaks to let your mind recuperate.
#5 Know that you can do it! You got this! I have confidence in you.
Some useful study tools: (Some of these worked for me and some did not, but they may for you).
1.
Emanuel Outlines- My personal favorite. Neatly explains everything you need and has some practice questions. Also come in various topics.
2.
Examples & Explanation Books- They have them for various topics. You can purchase them online or see if your school library has them.
3.
Barbri 1L outlines and MC book- You can get these by paying 25$ (maybe a bit more now) to your Barbri rep. The $25 will get you the books, online access to some 1L MC questions and will lock in your Barbri bar prep course at the price offered for that year.
4.
Online Barbri 1L multiple choice questions
5.
Lexis Nexis online outlines
6.
Westlaw online outlines
7.
CaliLessons - Technically for California only, but for 1L courses the lessons can be used by other states. These are lessons on different subjects with follow up practice questions and answers.
8.
Q&A Books- These books come for various topics. They have essays and multiple choice questions. You can either buy them or go to your Law Library and find them there.
9.
MC/Essay Books (Barbri, Kaplan, other)- These books come for various topics. They have essays and multiple
choice questions. You can either buy them or go to your Law Library and
find them there.
10.
CDs- You can go on amazon and find CDs that have a recording of a person explaining a topic. They helped me a lot with my 1L classes.
11. LifeOfALawStudent podcasts- You can find these for free online or itunes. The podcasts are similar to CDs, except they are for free.
12.
Your notes
13.
Your friends
14.
Your professors
15.
Your Librarian- S/he can direct you to other resources that are available to you through your library, such as old tests and other MC/Essay books.
16.
baressays.com - You can look at past bar essays and prompts. This is great for issue spotting and figuring out how to write your rule statements and explanations.
Good luck!
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