P.A.S.S. The Bar Exam

Timing of practice tests --are you finishing?

How are the practice tests going?   Are you completing the equivalent of 33 MBEs each hour in your practice sets?  How about essays.  Are you reasoning to conclusions having analyzed all the main issues within the 60 minutes?   And PTs?  Are you keeping note-taking brief enough and reading critically enough, with an effective system, so that you are writing organized, thorough responses to what was asked of you, within 3 hours?

As we move into July, this is a great time to work on shaving off a few minutes here and there.  Adjust to working with the clock.  Figure out now where you are on track and where you need to speed up.  Work on memorizing, effective outlining, and systems to logically move through your analysis of all the main issues, and on the PTs stream your note-taking.  There are many tips and tricks on working faster while still working thoroughly. A good bar review course should be helping your with timing and skills, as well as substance.  Practice timing tips now!!!  It won't help you if you write beautiful essays but take 75 minutes to complete each one.  Three hour blocks fly by.  To succeed, you must learn to keep up. 

As you study and work on practice exams this week, debrief your process of practice testing and figure out anything that may be bogging or slowing you down.  For example, are you re-reading fact patterns too many times --looking for missed issues?  Develop a system. Are you stalled in how to phrase rules that you know you know but just don't have readily memorized yet?  Time to work on flashcards.  Are you finding you are too tired to concentrate so not focusing fast enough?  Get more sleep.   Whatever you find that can give you even a minute's boost, use it.  Your success depends on your knowledge, skills and most certainly on your time management.

After a Practice Essay... What's next??

The review and critique of course!  It's critical that you do lots of practice tests and under timed conditions, but to get a lot out of that work, you must do some diagnostics after completing the practice test. 

Look at the sample answer. Compare and contrast your own to the sample.   A few of the questions to ask are:

1. Did I see and analyze all the main discussable issues?

2. Did I organize my answer logically?

3. Did I use all the facts?

4. Were my rules stated correctly?

5. Did I apply the facts to those rules to support my conclusions?

 

What other questions do you ask yourself after you complete an essay?  And what do you do to put yourself on track to make the improvements to correct any shortcomings you identify????   What comes after the practice test??????

Perfect Weekend for Practice Performance Tests!

It's a holiday weekend for many people --but not if you're studying for the February Bar.  Oh, sure, you can (and should) take off for a holiday dinner tonight.  You may even want to take all of Christmas day off, that's Tuesday, and perhaps all of New Year's day --that's next week. 

But today?  Tomorrow?  Even Monday --put in some study time.  Serious study time.  Do some practice tests!

A PT is a perfect practice test to do now --it's self-contained, all the law you need is right there in it, your memory can take an afternoon off.  (They are open book exams --but you know the deal --each PT is worth twice each essay on the California Bar Exam.)  You don't need to take out any heavy law books or outlines --a plus if you are not in your home or office but away on vacation somewhere.

(And, NO --you do not get the vacation excuse.  Anywhere there's internet access you can get a practice PT and do it.  Just do it!)

Download one of the past tests from the state bar, and set yourself 4 hours: 3 to do the exam and complete it!  And, one additional hour to compare and contrast your answer to the sample answers.  Don't stress about your exam "not" being good enough --just look for 3-5 concrete ways you see that your answer could be improved and then put the exam away.

After that, you can go to a holiday dinner and enjoy yourself --feeling like you put in some productive time and you are ready to eat, drink and relax!   (If the company stresses you out, leave and go to sleep.  Be polite and use the bar as an excuse if you need one, to leave early.  But don't let yourself stay surrounded by people who stress you out.  On the other hand, if the company and conversation make you happy and allow you to escape your world of studies for a bit, great!  Enjoy!  Have fun.  Then, go home feeling like you put in a good day of studying, a good evening of socializing, and get a good night's sleep --so you can get back to another good study day tomorrow.)

All good!  Right??? 

pssssst --so what type of practice test are you doing this afternoon??????

Have you done a practice test today?

If yes, excellent!

If not, why not???? Go do one now!

Are you still doing practice tests under timed conditions?

Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favors the prepared mind." Your chances for success multiply geometrically the more prepared you are. And for the Bar Exam, the best preparation is practice tests under timed conditions. So, are you doing them? Are you doing them daily and studying the model answers?? (And, please do not be Doing the Ostrich, meaning avoiding the model answers. They are the key to learning!)

It's not too late. It is not too late. You can still absorb a ton, and you can train yourself to be ON for the three hour blocks of total concentration.

Practice daily. Just do it.

Want to Succeed? Consistently Complete Practice Tests.

Studying for the Bar --you're reading those outlines, attending those lectures. All good. But, are you writing practice tests???? Are you really doing them? Writing them out in full, under timed conditions, and then, studying your answers and the sample answers, comparing and contrasting in order to IMPROVE your own answers. Are you?

You must be. (If you are not, why not? Do you want to PASS the test? Decide now, and commit; if you are not fully committed to success already, commit to passing today. Imagine yourself being "sworn in" as the newest member of your state's bar.

MBE Questions
As to MBE questions, you want to shoot to do many (perhaps up to several thousand questions total). But more important than quantity is daily consistency.

Plan on at least an hour block every day, if not a two-hour block to do practice MBE questions. If you plan on an hour, you’ll want to complete 17 in the first half hour and spend the second thirty minutes reviewing the sample answers. If you plan a two-hour block, complete 33 questions in the first hour and the second hour study the answers.

Be sure to study those answers to questions answered correctly as well as those answered incorrectly. And, keep track of questions you felt you knew the answers to versus practice questions you knew that you were merely guessing on. (Be honest!) Then, write flashcards for every rule you did not know as you read through the sample answers.

After each practice set, determine why you got the right answers and especially the wrong answers. (If you got lucky, that does not count!) What you want to know is whether you are missing because you read the question wrong, for example, or didn’t know the correct rule of law.

Each practice test sitting is a chance to incrementally improve both your accuracy and speed. It is another chance to learn and review the law.

Do not ever get frustrated by wrong answers. Waste of time. So long as you know why, you are ahead. Practice tests are learning opportunities! So be very pleased with yourself that you are doing them. Do not worry about scores, and keep at it.

Essays
As to Essays, complete several in full in every substantive subject. Again, plan on completing several essays each week (rather than cramming in a bunch right before the test.) At first, when you are more than a month away from the exam (and you still have a couple of weeks left in that category), look up rules if you cannot complete your answer.

The closer you get to the test, the more the need to complete exams closed book, however, and under timed conditions. As you get closer to the exam, when time is running short, do more practice tests but by outlining the issues and studying the model answers. This is a good "shortcut" when you do not have enough time to write the questions out in full.

When time is really short, read questions, issue spot in your head, and then study the sample answer. Read aloud so you are certain you are paying attention. Read to review the law and to learn the moves –e.g. to see how the issues are tested.

Then, take the time to write/edit your issue approach checklists so that you learn how issues tend to come up and what issues to look for and where, when you take future tests. (A good bar review course such as PASS Bar Review will provide you checklists that you can annotate and personalize; but you can make your own issue approach checklists as well. Shoot for about 1-4 pages on each substantive subject, so that your lists are manageable and memorizable.)

Performance Tests
Performance Tests also must be practiced. They do not involve memorization but skills, so you can really learn how to approach any one they might throw at you on your Bar Exam. Plan on doing anywhere from four to eight performance tests before your Bar Exam --at least -- in full, under timed conditions. (Complete at least four if you are finding the performance tests easy and your answers compare favorably to the model answers, and write out at least eight performance tests if you need more help getting your answers to passing quality. )

A good way to get these in to your study schedule is to plan on completing one PT every Sunday afternoon (2-5pm), then spend at least one hour reviewing and studying the sample answer. Many students overlook the performance test, yet each PT on the California Bar Exam for example counts twice each essay. In other words, each good grade on a PT is insurance in your back pocket for a slip-up on an essay question.

Working with Answers
When you study sample answers to Essays and PTs, the key is in the work you do comparing and contrasting your answer to the sample answer. Outline your answer and outline the sample answer and you will easily see if you missed issues, discussed irrelevant issues, or if your writing was disorganized. Then, review them paragraph by paragraph to see how you can improve your own answer.

What if anything can you do to write clearer rule statements, to pull in and use more facts to prove or disprove elements in any of the causes of action you discuss.

This type of assessment will help you see where you need to improve. And, while it can be great to have a good bar review instructor or tutor point this sort of thing out, to the extent you see for yourself where you need to improve, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments and keep those changes with you so you pass the bar exam.

So, when a friend asks you how many practice questions you’ve done, answer, hopefully, with your head held high, that you’ve done a ton, a whole lot, of MBEs, Essays, and PTs. But, remember, whatever number you answer with, it’s really about quality not just quantity.

So, make sure you’ve studied the sample answers and used your practice exams as the true key to learning that they can and should be, so you too can go out and pass this Bar Exam!

Test Yourself (Taking the Bar??)

…Dufus calls Attorney X incompetent; Dufus genuinely believes this. No problem.

…Dufus calls Attorney X incompetent; Dufus is lying --Dufus actually believes Attorney X is highly competent. Attorney X has a claim for _________ [what potential cause of action]???

What do you think?

Study by Writing Practice Tests --and Analyzing the Answers!

So, you’re studying for the Bar Exam. You are reading outlines, attending lectures. All good. But, are you writing practice tests????

Practice tests are the key to success. And, it’s not just how many you write, but how and when and how long you spend writing them, and most important how you study your answers and the sample answers you should be comparing your answers to.

Using California as an example, the CA Bar Exam really has three tests in one: MBE, Essay, and PT. What does that mean? You must do practice questions of all three types.

As to MBE questions, you probably want to try to do several thousand questions total. But the key is in daily consistency. Plan on at least an hour block every day, if not a two-hour block to do practice MBE questions. If you plan on an hour, you’ll want to complete 17 in the first half hour and spend the second thirty minutes reviewing the sample answers. If you plan a two-hour block, complete 33 questions in the first hour and the second hour study the answers. Be sure to study those answers to questions answered correctly as well as those answered incorrectly. And, keep track of questions you felt you knew the answers to versus practice questions you knew that you were merely guessing on. (Be honest with yourself!)

Then, take the time to write flashcards for every rule you did not know as you read through the sample answers.

Most important, determine why you got the right answers and especially the wrong answers. (If you got lucky, that does not count!) What you want to know is whether you are missing because you read the question wrong, for example, or didn’t know the correct rule of law. This can help you in your quest to improve. And, that is the object. Each sitting is a chance to incrementally improve ---both accuracy and speed. It is your chance to learn the law. Don't ever get frustrated by wrong answers. So long as you know why, you are ahead. Practice tests are learning opportunities!

As to Essay questions, be sure to complete at least one in every substantive subject tested on your Bar Exam, if not two or three in each subject. Again, plan on completing several essays each week (rather than cramming in a bunch right before the test.) At first, when you are more than a month away from the exam, look up rules if you cannot complete your answer. The closer you get to the test, the more the need to complete exams closed book and under timed conditions. (For California Bar Exam candidates, you have to plan on writing out in full at least ten essays as part of your bar review, and hopefully you will complete many more.)

As you get closer to the exam, when your time is running short, do more practice tests by outlining the issues and studying the model answer (when you do not have enough time to write the questions out in full). When time is really short, read the question and the sample answer. Read aloud so you are certain you are paying attention. Read to review the law and to learn the moves –e.g. to see how the issues are tested. Then, take the time to write/edit your issue approach checklists so that you learn how issues tend to come up and what issues to look for when you take future tests. (A good bar review course such as PASS Bar Review will provide you Checklists, but you can make your own issue approach checklists as well. Shoot for about 1-4 pages on each substantive subject, so that your lists are manageable and can be memorized.)

Performance Tests are also, in fact they are particularly, the types of exams you want to practice. They do not involve memorization but are skills-based, so you can really learn how to approach them and then do well on them on your Bar Exam. Plan on doing anywhere from four to eight performance tests before your Bar Exam. Complete at least four if you are finding the performance tests easy and your answers compare favorably to the model answers, and write out at least eight performance tests if you need more help getting your answers to passing quality.

A good way to get these in to your study schedule is to plan on completing one PT every Sunday afternoon (2-5pm), then spend at least one hour reviewing and studying the sample answer.

Many students overlook the performance test, yet each PT on the California Bar Exam, for example, counts twice what each essay does. In other words, each good grade on a PT is insurance in your back pocket for a slip-up on an essay question.

When you study sample answers to Essays and PTs, the key is in the work you do comparing and contrasting your answer to the sample answer. Outline your answer and outline the sample answer and you will easily see if you missed issues, discussed irrelevant issues, or if your writing was disorganized. Then, review them paragraph by paragraph to see how you can improve your own answer. What if anything can you do to write clearer rule statements, to pull in and use more facts to prove or disprove elements in any of the causes of action you discuss. This type of assessment will help you see where you need to improve. And, while it can be great to have a good bar review instructor or tutor point this sort of thing out, to the extent you see for yourself where you need to improve you will be able to make the necessary adjustments and keep those changes with you so you pass the bar exam.

So, when a friend asks you how many practice questions you’ve done, answer, hopefully, with your head held high, that you’ve done a ton, a whole lot of MBEs, Essays, and PTs. But, in addition, know in your heart that it’s really about quality not just quantity, so make sure you’ve studied the sample answers and used your practice exams as the true key to learning that they can and should be, so you too can go out and pass this Bar Exam!

Good luck!!

Bar Exam

Did you do your practice MBEs today?

Are you studying?

Know anyone who has paid for bar review and expects that because he or she paid money, the knowledge will enter??  Hey, while you're at it, buy several bar reviews --throw in some supplemental courses-- and surely the expertise will attach.  Right?

The painful truth is No.  No, no, no.  It's not because you signed up and paid that anything will happen.  You must do the work.  The quality work, the real work ---the thinking, the learning, the understanding, and the pulling it all together.

On July 25th, you start your own personal Olympic Games.  You are competing.  Bar review might be likened to your trainer.  Ever see how hard those coaches work those atheletes?  How many hours do the skiers take another run, the gymnasts one more routine, the runners one more lap?  Each time, just one more. 

Push yourself.  Go beyond your own expectations and everyone else's.

So, it's the weekend.  What are you doing?  Just one more practice essay (outlined and written out in full in one hour)?  Just another hour set of 33 MBEs (with a critical review of the explanatory answers)?  Three hours and one more practice PT, or perhaps a first PT!   (Please do not let the documents that come your way on Tuesday, July 25th around 2 pm be your first "practice" PT !!!)

I hope so.  I hope you are training (or sleeping!).  Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope it's not a distraction from but a movement toward your goal of passing.  You can do it.  Just one more lap, then one more, and another, and another, and so on....