Make Every Minute Count: 5-Minute Strategies for Law School Exam Prep

Second-year law students are busy people. If you’re a 2L, you’re probably balancing classes along with numerous other demands, such as extracurriculars and searching for a job. The frenetic pace of 2L year doesn’t leave a lot of time for final exam preparation. How can you build exam prep into the tiny windows of your day? Try these bite-sized strategies.

Multiple-choice practice doesn’t have to be completed in long sets. If you have 5 minutes, commit to a single multiple-choice question. Multiple-choice practice questions are a powerful way to prepare for final exams. Each question helps you recall and apply the rules you’ve learned in class. When you review the answer explanation, you’ll reinforce the substantive law and correct any misunderstandings before the exam.

Explain a difficult concept to a study partner. When you explain the concept, you’ll retrieve information from memory, which harnesses the power of the testing effect. According to the testing effect, retention of information is increased when you retrieve information from memory. Teaching a concept offers a greater memory boost than passively reviewing notes or an outline. Plus, teaching a study partner offers another wonderful benefit: immediate feedback. Your study partner can confirm your understanding, ask questions, or raise additional points for discussion. All will deepen your thinking on the topic and prepare you for the exam.

Check your syllabus, and identify a topic that will be tested on your exam. Set the clock for 5 minutes, and write out everything you know about that topic. Can you write out a basic rule statement? Add exceptions, policy considerations, and key facts from cases you’ve read on the topic. When time runs out, self-assess your work. Locate the holes in your knowledge, and make a plan to return to them when you have a block of study time available.

Legal dictionary definitions provide a fast way to get context on tough concepts. Look up the concept in our free dictionary of legal terms. Starting with a plain-English definition can help you build your way to a better, deeper understanding of the concept.

This is an issue-spotting exercise in reverse. Instead of working through a fact pattern, start with a rule that will be tested on your exam. Brainstorm facts that could trigger application of the rule. Doing so will help you spot issues on the real exam. The more creative the facts you brainstorm, the better. Professors love to write exam hypos that fall at the outer edges of a concept you learned. Facts that fit neatly within the rule won’t require as much in-depth legal analysis.

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