5 Strange but Effective Ways to Prep for a Law School Exam or the Bar Exam

There are tried-and-true methods to ace law school exams and the bar exam, but it’s ok to break the mold. Here are a few unconventional study strategies to try next time you find yourself in exam preparation mode.

Begin with a multiple-choice question. Instead of simply selecting an answer option, write a mini-essay in response to the question. Include an issue statement, the rule, application, and a conclusion. Next, compare your mini-essay to the answer explanation. Adjust your response if your rule statement and reasoning don’t align with the explanation.

Many students like the speed of IRAC-ing multiple-choice questions. Taking and reviewing a full-length essay practice exam requires at least an hour. But with the multiple-choice method, you’re honing legal-analysis skills in an approachable, bite-sized format. 

This technique is reverse-engineering at its best. Begin with the model answer to an essay question. Use the rule statements to create a template that will guide your analysis on the exam.
Making an essay template is a useful strategy for attacking open-book finals. But even if you can’t bring the materials into the exam with you, the template helps cement your memory of the rules and prepares you to produce organized analysis.

To master material, write it down by hand. We can type a mile a minute, but when we handwrite, we have to slow down. The slower pace of handwriting yields learning benefits. Researchers hypothesize that handwriting forces deeper mental processing of the material and thereby creates stronger conceptual understanding.

There are many ways you can put pen to paper in the course of exam preparation. Write the rule statements you’ll need to apply on the exam. Create handwritten flashcards. Write a checklist of the concepts you’ll look for in an essay fact pattern. Take a multiple-choice quiz, and then rewrite rule statements for any questions you missed. 

Take a comprehensive outline and distill it into its most essential form. Strip away discussions of policy, lengthy rule explanations, and case illustrations. Leave only the key words and phrases you’d use to analyze the concept if it appeared on the exam.

Study groups are a good antidote to the isolating experience of preparing for an exam, but it can be difficult to study effectively and efficiently in a group format. Discussions get off track, and it’s unwieldy to produce a course outline as a team.

Instead, try an essay practice exam with a study group. Before the meeting, one member selects the essay question. During the meeting, each group member writes out an essay response. Next, share your work. Trade laptops, or take turns reading your responses to the group. Prepare for lightbulb moments: there is magic in getting to see how someone else analyzed the problem.

Quimbee has your back in law school and beyond. Expert-written case briefs, outlines, and a practice-oriented bar review course give you the edge you’ll need to ace law school finals and conquer the bar exam.