So, it’s mid June, which means that you are in the midst of a stressful and overwhelming summer. You may feel like you can’t possibly check off everything on your list. So, a bit of advice on overall bar exam prep.
First things first, realize this summer will NOT be fun. This has probably already occurred to you, perhaps a few weeks ago. I don’t say that to scare you, but if you buckle down over the next couple months you will never have to do this again. Secondly, don’t pay attention to what your friends are doing. Everyone has a method that works for them. If you spend too much time looking over your shoulder at everyone else, you will just stress yourself out. The key is to do as much as you can do, so that you know you put in maximum effort, without worrying about anyone else.
Once we’ve gotten that out of the way, there are some things that can make the summer a bit less stressful, and make your chances of passing the bar a bit higher. Practice, for one. Yes, that seems a bit obvious – why wouldn’t you practice? But many students want to spend a ton of time reviewing your outlines, and memorizing black letter law. While you DO need to know the black letter law, simply reviewing it for months will not get you where you need to be. Don’t wait to practice, start right away! Learn from each MBE question you practice, this is key. The MBE won’t ask you to define battery. Instead, they will give you an odd ball fact pattern, and ask you what the plaintiff’s chances of success will hinge on. This means that you need to know MORE than the black letter law, and the only way to do this is to practice more and more MBE questions. Having said that, don’t JUST practice. If you aren’t learning something from EACH MBE question you do, you are wasting your time. I teach bar review, in fact, my whole life centers around the bar exam and even I can find better things to do than MBE questions just for fun.
As for your essays, again, you need to practice. I know, I’m not really coming up with a new and unique idea here, you’ve all been told to practice before. However, despite that, so many students fight me on practicing. Use your notes to practice essays – it’s better than writing wrong law! Take your time and practice technique! Don’t start testing yourself right away. The more essays you practice, and not just outline, the easier exam day will be.
Good luck!
