EXAM-TAKING TIPS

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EXAM-TAKING TIPS

• Job Description
• Before You Write
• While You Write
• Efficient Use Of Time
• Exam Preparation
• Afterward

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7 COMMON EXAM ERRORS

• Wrapping Paper
• Cabbage
• Pinball Machine
• Wine Tasting
• Sports Ticker
• Mobius Strip
• Socket Wrenches

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WARNING

• Most of what Ill say probably applicable to most
  law school exams
• Need to check re your own professors
• Look at old exams model answers
• Talk to Prof
• Talk to Deans Fellow
• Read Instructions for Particular Questions

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JOB DESCRIPTION
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JOB DESCRIPTION

• NOT to show how much you know

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JOB DESCRIPTION

• NOT to show how much you know
• Use what you know from course to address new
  legal problems

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JOB DESCRIPTION

• NOT to show how much you know
• Use what you know from course to address new
  legal problems
• Address the questions you are given

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JOB DESCRIPTIONISSUE-SPOTTING QUESTION

• DRAFT OF
• ANALYSIS SECTION
• OF LEGAL MEMO

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JOB DESCRIPTIONISSUE-SPOTTING QUESTION

• No elaborate introductions or conclusions

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JOB DESCRIPTIONISSUE-SPOTTING QUESTION

• No elaborate introductions/conclusions
• No separate fact section or questions presented

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JOB DESCRIPTIONISSUE-SPOTTING QUESTION

• No elaborate introductions/conclusions
• No separate fact section/questions presented
• Imperfect sentences OK

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JOB DESCRIPTIONISSUE-SPOTTING QUESTION

• No elaborate introductions/conclusions
• No separate fact section/questions presented
• Imperfect sentences OK
• Getting ideas on paper more important than style
  or rhetoric

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BEFORE YOU WRITE
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BEFORE YOU WRITE

• Read/Follow General Instructions

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BEFORE YOU WRITE

• Read/Follow General Instructions
• Read Each Question Carefully More Than Once

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BEFORE YOU WRITE

• Read/Follow General Instructions
• Read Each Question Carefully More Than Once
• Look at Call of the Question First

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WRAPPING PAPER
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WRAPPING PAPER

• Found on the outside of a box.

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WRAPPING PAPER

• Found on the outside of a box.
• If the Professor gives you limits on the scope of
  the question, stay within the box you are given
  to work with.

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WRAPPING PAPER

• Found on the outside of a box.
• If the Professor gives you limits on the scope of
  the question, stay within the box you are given
  to work with.
• Wrapping paper is easy to dispose of

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COMMON LIMITATIONS

• Apply particular case or rule
• Play particular role
• Use law from particular jurisdiction
• Do not discuss
• Assume certain facts

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BEFORE YOU WRITE

• Read/Follow General Instructions
• Read Each Question Carefully More Than Once
• Look at Call of the Question First
• Select Most Important Topics to Discuss

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CABBAGE
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CABBAGE

• Game Show Grocery Cart Race for
• Useful Items Meat, drugs, saffron
• Cabbages Cantaloupes Take up lots of space,
  not worth very much

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CABBAGE

• When choosing among issues, maximize score by
  focusing on issues lawyers will fight about

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CABBAGE

• When choosing among issues, maximize score by
  focusing on issues lawyers will fight about
• Issues nobody will contest are cabbage.

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BEFORE YOU WRITE

• Read/Follow General Instructions
• Read Each Question Carefully More Than Once
• Look at Call of the Question First
• Select Most Important Topics to Discuss
• Roughly Organize Your Answer

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PINBALL MACHINE
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PINBALL MACHINE

• When operating a pinball machine, you try to
  score as many points as possible without worrying
  about the order in which you hit them.

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PINBALL MACHINE

• When operating a pinball machine, you try to
  score as many points as possible without worrying
  about the order in which you hit them.
• When writing an exam, make your points in a
  logical order and make that order apparent to the
  reader.

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POSSIBLEORGANIZATIONAL SCHEMES

• Chronology
• Major Causes of Action (by Character)
• Elements/Factors from Causes of Action
• Decision Trees
• Most Complex First

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Roughly Organize Your Answer

• Outline Before You Write
• List Major Issues to Discuss

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• Negl by Truck Driver
• Prod. Liab. Truck Mfr.
• Negl by Nurse
• Jt/Several

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Roughly Organize Your Answer

• Outline Before You Write
• List Major Issues to Discuss
• List Some Details/Arguments Youll Cover

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• Negl by Truck Driver
• Speeding Stat Viol
• Contrib by P
• Prod. Liab. Truck Mfr.
• Which Rule Applies
• Rel. of Industry Stds
• Signif of Subseq Modification
• Causation??!!
• Negl by Nurse
• Shd Double-Check Pill Bottle?
• Causation?
• Jt/Several
• Statute Looks Like Indiana

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Roughly Organize Your Answer

• Outline Before You Write
• List Major Issues to Discuss
• List Some Details/Arguments Youll Cover
• Indicate Order Rough Weight/Time

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• Negl by Truck Driver (2) 5-10mins?
• Speeding Stat Viol pretty quick?
• Contrib by P
• Prod. Liab. Truck Mfr. (1) 20-25 mins?
• Which Rule Applies (B)
• Rel. of Industry Stds (D) pretty quick
• Signif of Subseq Modification (C)
• Causation??!! (A) lot here
• Negl by Nurse (3) 10-15 mins
• Shd Double-Check Pill Bottle?
• Causation? lot here
• Jt/Several (4) (if time)
• Statute Looks Like Indiana

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Wine Tasting
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WINE TASTING

• Take one roughly equal taste of each wine offered

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WINE TASTING

• One roughly equal taste of each wine
• All issues are not alike drink more deeply of
  more complex issues

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Roughly Organize Your Answer

• Outline Before You Write
• List Major Issues to Discuss
• List Some Details/Arguments Youll Cover
• Indicate Order Rough Weight/Time
• Dont Spend 38 Minutes Outlining 1 Hour Q

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WHILE YOU WRITE
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WHILE YOU WRITE

• Discuss One Thing At a Time
• Finish one major issue before starting next
• If you have ideas about other issues, jot them on
  outline
• Do separate paragraph or section to discuss
  interaction between major issues

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IRAC v.IRACv.IRC
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WHILE YOU WRITE

• Discuss One Thing At a Time
• Show All Work

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SPORTS TICKER
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SPORTS TICKER

• Provides results of sporting events without
  analysis.

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SPORTS TICKER

• Provides results of sporting events without
  analysis.
• On exams, always provide analysis before
  attempting a conclusion.
• No points for unsupported conclusion
• May commit you too strongly to stated position

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SPORTS TICKER

• Provides results of sporting events without
  analysis.
• On exams, always provide analysis before
  attempting a conclusion.
• On an open book exam, virtually no points for
  simply stating a rule then an unsupported
  conclusion.

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WHILE YOU WRITE

• Discuss One Thing At a Time
• Show All Work
• Argue both sides

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MOBIUS
STRIP
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MOBIUS STRIP

• A single loop of ribbon or paper with a
  half-twist built into it. Its most notable
  quality is that it has only one side.

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MOBIUS STRIP

• A single loop of ribbon or paper with a
  half-twist built into it. Its most notable
  quality is that it has only one side.
• Assume there are serious arguments on at least
  two sides of each major issue.

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WHILE YOU WRITE

• Discuss One Thing At a Time
• Show All Work
• Argue both sides
• Use Both Law and Facts

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USE OF LAW FACTS

• Dont discuss facts in a vacuum
• Start with some legal test
• Use it to structure your arguments

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USE OF LAW FACTS

• Dont discuss facts in a vacuum
• Try to use all the facts in the problem

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USE OF LAW FACTS

• Dont discuss facts in a vacuum start with some
  legal test
• Try to use all the facts in the problem
• Only refer to legal authority you are using to
  assess problem

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Socket Wrenches
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SOCKET WRENCHES

• If you take your car to be fixed, when you come
  to pick it up, you dont want the mechanic to
  show you his socket wrenches and brag about what
  fine tools they are you want to see that he used
  the tools to fix the car.

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SOCKET WRENCHES

• You dont want the mechanic to show you his
  socket wrenches and brag about what fine tools
  they are.
• On your exams, do not simply show me rules,
  tests, policies, or facts of cases. Show me that
  you know how to use them to address the exam
  question.

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SOCKET WRENCHES

• You dont want the mechanic to show you his
  socket wrenches and brag about what fine tools
  they are.
• Show me that you know how to use rules, tests,
  policies, or facts of cases to address the exam
  question.
• As soon as you write down a legal test, apply it.

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WHILE YOU WRITE

• Discuss One Thing At a Time
• Show All Work
• Argue both sides
• Use Both Law and Facts
• Briefly Discuss Which Position is Stronger

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EFFICIENT USE OF TIME
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General Tips on Saving Time

• Use abbreviations short-form citations
• Party Names Albert Beatrice A B
• Case Names Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon
  Mahon
• Long Words/Phrases Used Repeatedly
• Negligence Neg.
• Government Govt
• If not obvious, just indicate the first time you
  use
• Personal Jurisdiction (PJ)
• Res Ipsa Loquitur (RIL)

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General Tips on Saving Time

• Use abbreviations short-form citations
• Avoid lengthy introductions
• This is a complex problem involving several
  causes of action, including possibly negligence
  by several different parties, some of whom will
  have defenses, including contributory negligence.
  I will discuss each claim in turn followed by
  relevant defenses.

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General Tips on Saving Time

• Use abbreviations short-form citations
• Avoid lengthy introductions
• Replace topic sentences transitions with
  headings and subheadings

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The first issue I will discuss is adverse
possession. Adverse possession has five elements
actual, continuous, open notorious, exclusive,
and adverse/hostile. I first will address the
actual element.
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The first issue I will discuss is adverse
possession. Adverse possession has five elements
actual, continuous, open notorious, exclusive,
and adverse/hostile. I first will address the
actual element.

• Adverse Possession
• (1) Actual

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General Tips on Saving Time

• Use abbreviations short-form citations
• Avoid lengthy introductions
• Replace topic sentences transitions with
  headings and subheadings
• Write concisely

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On the other hand, in response to these
arguments, the other side will probably rely on
Ortiz v. Jeter to argue that it is unnecessary
for a plaintiff to have pled a negligence claim
with specificity.
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On the other hand, in response to these
arguments, the other side will probably rely on
Ortiz v. Jeter to argue that it is unnecessary
for a plaintiff to have pled a negligence claim
with specificity.BUT plaintiff need not plead
negl. w specificity. Ortiz.
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General Tips on Saving Time

• Use abbreviations short-form citations
• Avoid lengthy introductions
• Replace topic sentences transitions with
  headings and subheadings
• Write concisely
• Avoid repetition, especially in conclusions

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EXAM PREPARATION
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EXAM PREPARATION

• Allocate Available Time

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EXAM PREPARATION

• Allocate Available Time
• Outline (or Equivalent Summary of Arguments in
  Course)
• Prep for Open Book Exams as though Closed
• EXCEPT Checklists for Open Book

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EXAM PREPARATION

• Allocate Available Time
• Outline
• Use Old Exams

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EXAM PREPARATION

• Allocate Available Time
• Outline
• Use Old Exams
• Make Time for Group Work

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EXAM PREPARATION

• Allocate Available Time
• Outline
• Use Old Exams
• Make Time for Group Work
• Go to Office Hours/Review Sessions

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AFTERWARD
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AFTERWARD

• Dont discuss substance of test immediately after
  test

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AFTERWARD

• Dont discuss substance of test immediately after
  test
• Do get feedback after grades posted

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REPEAT WARNING

• Most of what Ill say probably applicable to most
  law school exams
• Need to check re your own professors
• Look at old exams model answers
• Talk to Prof
• Talk to Deans Fellow
• Read Instructions for Particular Questions

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Questions?