
The Essential Rules for Bar Exam Success
by Friedland, Steven I.; Shapiro, Jeffery Scott-
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Summary
Table of Contents
Preface | p. iii |
Acknowledgements | p. v |
About the Authors | p. vii |
A Note From Steven I. Friedland | p. ix |
A Note From Jeffrey Scott Shapiro | p. xi |
Prologue | p. xiii |
Introduction | p. 1 |
One Cruel Trick | p. 1 |
Bar Prep Blues | p. 1 |
What Makes the Bar Exam So Tough? | p. 2 |
No Real Professor | p. 2 |
No Casebooks | p. 3 |
No Loose Requirements of Conciseness and Precision | p. 3 |
No Accompanying Law School Course | p. 4 |
No Total Focus on Issue-Spotter Essays | p. 4 |
No Essays Containing a "Discuss" Call of the Question | p. 5 |
Supersized: Not Just One Course at a Time | p. 5 |
It's All or Nothing: No Easy Electives to Balance the Schedule | p. 6 |
Familiarity With the Bar Exam | p. 7 |
The Test on Paper - The Multistate Exam | p. 7 |
Some Highly Tested Topics | p. 8 |
Scoring | p. 9 |
The State Components | p. 11 |
Essay Questions | p. 11 |
Multiple Choice Questions | p. 12 |
Performance Testing | p. 12 |
The Basics of Multiple Choice and Essay Questions | p. 12 |
Dissecting Multiple Choice Type Questions | p. 12 |
Components | p. 13 |
Sample Stems | p. 14 |
Stem Tasks | p. 14 |
Three Primary Multiple Choice Question Types | p. 16 |
Dissecting Essay Questions | p. 17 |
Common Mistakes Bar Takers Make | p. 19 |
Not Studying | p. 20 |
"I can always take it again." | p. 20 |
"I'm not sure if I am going to practice law." | p. 21 |
"I'm just not motivated." | p. 21 |
"I am the master of the universe!" | p. 22 |
"My family and friends need attention." | p. 23 |
Letting Time Slip Away | p. 23 |
Wasting Precious Time | p. 23 |
Substituting the Main Course for Side Salads | p. 24 |
Location, Location, Location: Finding a Place to Go to Work | p. 25 |
Working While Studying | p. 26 |
Adopting A Passive Studying Approach | p. 28 |
Making the Connection Between Reading and Applying | p. 28 |
The Wrong Kind of Reading | p. 29 |
Digesting and Comprehending | p. 29 |
Reading for the Wrong Reasons | p. 30 |
Illustration: Training for a Marathon | p. 30 |
Skimming the Rules and Principles | p. 31 |
A Skimmer's Approach to Reading and Understanding the Rules | p. 31 |
Illustration: Tommy the Skimmer | p. 32 |
Over-Studying | p. 33 |
Illustration: Danni, the Queen of Coverage | p. 34 |
Letting Negativity Get the Best of You | p. 35 |
Illustration: The Allure of the Unknown | p. 35 |
Quick Tip: Unrecognizable Answer Choices Are Almost Always Wrong | p. 36 |
Failing to Create Exam Strategies and Tactics | p. 37 |
Mistake #1: Not Having a Strategy For Responding to Multiple Choice Questions - Don't Go to Vegas, Go to Hawaii | p. 37 |
Mistake #2: Not Having a Strategy For Writing an Effective Essay | p. 38 |
Test-Taking Judgment Errors | p. 39 |
Personal Maintenance | p. 39 |
Other Distractions | p. 40 |
Things to Watch Out For - Catching a Last Minute "Redeye" to Vegas | p. 40 |
Qualities of Successful Exam Takers | p. 42 |
Introducing the Successful Bar Examinee | p. 42 |
The Skills You Need Now | p. 42 |
Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing | p. 45 |
Critical Reading - The Whole Package | p. 45 |
Critical Thinking - A Learning Pyramid of Skills | p. 50 |
Critical Writing | p. 54 |
The Question Asked | p. 54 |
What Contract Law Applies? | p. 55 |
Was a Contract Formed? | p. 55 |
Commitment to Passing the Bar Exam | p. 55 |
Get Disciplined! | p. 55 |
How Badly Do You Want It ... Really? | p. 56 |
Treat the Exam as a "Big Rock" | p. 57 |
Illustration: Well-Rounded Ted | p. 57 |
Every Day Counts | p. 58 |
Here is the Real Question: How Much Does It Cost to Fail? | p. 58 |
Illustration: "Time is a Jar of Marbles" | p. 59 |
Remove Temptations | p. 60 |
Dedicate a Study Place | p. 60 |
Go ahead and do it! | p. 61 |
Display the "Do Not Disturb" Sign | p. 61 |
Treat Bar Prep as Your First Law Job | p. 62 |
Exercising Judgment | p. 63 |
Managing Time Effectively | p. 64 |
A Failure to Prioritize: Thinking All Topics Are Created Equal | p. 65 |
Illustration: The Big Rocks | p. 66 |
Big Rocks for the Multistate Bar Exam - What You Really Need to Know | p. 66 |
Evidence | p. 66 |
Torts | p. 67 |
Contents | p. 67 |
Criminal Law | p. 67 |
Property | p. 68 |
Constitutional Law | p. 68 |
Poise | p. 68 |
Goals Are Everything - A Schedule for Bar Exam Success | p. 70 |
Goals | p. 70 |
Timing | p. 71 |
When | p. 71 |
What | p. 71 |
Where | p. 74 |
How | p. 75 |
Schedule Output, Not Input | p. 75 |
Studying Blocks | p. 76 |
McNuggets | p. 76 |
Variety | p. 77 |
Test Yourself | p. 77 |
Feedback | p. 78 |
Sample Schedule - Two Months Away | p. 78 |
Sample Schedule - Two Weeks Away | p. 82 |
Techniques for Success | p. 85 |
Frameworks and Protocols: Learn a Dance, Not A Pose | p. 85 |
Frameworks and Protocols-Travel Maps for Courses and Legal Rules | p. 85 |
Essay Questions | p. 92 |
Whole Rule Analysis | p. 94 |
Funnel It | p. 95 |
The Right Direction | p. 97 |
Critical Reading Techniques | p. 98 |
Practice Reading Critically: Apply Active Studying Techniques | p. 98 |
Step #1: Understanding That Not All Words are Created Equal | p. 100 |
Step #2: Spotting Important Words | p. 100 |
Technique #1: Practice Translation | p. 101 |
Technique #2: Identifying "Real" Issues | p. 106 |
Critical Thinking Techniques | p. 111 |
Critical Thinking Techniques | p. 111 |
Technique #1: Aim for Mastery | p. 111 |
Technique #2: Funnel | p. 112 |
Technique #3: Practice Thinking Out Loud | p. 113 |
Technique #4: Make Flash Cards | p. 114 |
Learning the Vocabulary of Bar Prep - The Elements | p. 114 |
Technique #5: Make Car Tapes | p. 115 |
Technique #6: Repetition-Recapturing Rules and Elements | p. 115 |
Technique #7: Magic Opening Phrases | p. 115 |
Technique #8: Memory Enhancers | p. 116 |
Technique #9: Doctrinal "Triggers" | p. 117 |
Critical Writing Techniques | p. 118 |
Critical Writing Techniques | p. 118 |
Technique #1: Identifying and Emphasizing Real Issues | p. 119 |
Technique #2: Mind the "Big Picture" and the Details | p. 120 |
Practice, Practice, Practice | p. 121 |
Ditch Irac | p. 121 |
Box It Up | p. 125 |
Use Anchor and Trigger Words | p. 127 |
The Approach to Game Day | p. 131 |
Three Weeks to Go | p. 131 |
Schedule | p. 131 |
Nerves | p. 132 |
Cool as Ice | p. 132 |
Avoid Quicksand | p. 133 |
Natural As Granola | p. 134 |
Stay the Course | p. 134 |
Do You Feel Lucky? | p. 135 |
Take a Walk | p. 136 |
I Have Studied and I Have Learned | p. 136 |
Toxic People | p. 137 |
One Week to Go | p. 138 |
Keep Staying the Course | p. 139 |
Focus | p. 139 |
The Day Before the Exam | p. 140 |
The Night Before the Exam | p. 141 |
The Exam is Now - Strategies and Tactics | p. 143 |
Dismantling Pressure | p. 143 |
Clothing | p. 143 |
Food | p. 144 |
Housing | p. 144 |
The Exam Itself - Time, Tools, Temperament, Reading, Frameworks | p. 146 |
Post-Mortems | p. 150 |
After a Question | p. 150 |
After a Day | p. 151 |
After the Exam | p. 152 |
The Workbook Chapter: Applying Your Knowledge | p. 155 |
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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