Study Groups, Study Aids, and Study Schedules

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Study Groups, Study Aids, and Study Schedules

• What You should be doing Day-to-Day to Prepare
  for Law School Exams

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Study Aids

• Most effective study aids are those you create
  yourself outlines, flowcharts, flash cards
• Ask your professors for recommendations before
  you purchase

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Types of Supplemental Study Aids

• Hornbooks
• Among the most authoritative and respected of the
  secondary sources.
• Usually written by noted scholars and are very
  accurate.
• Typically available for each law school subject.
• Can be used to get an overview of a topic or used
  to fill in any information gaps in your outline.

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Explanations of the Law

• Simpler and more concise explanations of the law
• Usually written by law professors
• Examples
• Examples Explanations Series (Aspen)
• Understanding Series (LexisNexis)
• Concise Hornbook Series (Thomson/West)

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Flashcards and Audiotapes

• Usually available for all core 1L subjects
• Must be cautious about content

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Commercial Outlines

• Can provide hints about how material should be
  organized
• Some contain practice questions and answers
• Examples Emanuel Law Outlines, Emanuels
  CrunchTime, and Gilberts Law Summaries

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Practice Exam Questions

• Examples
• Siegels Essay and Multiple-Choice Questions and
  Answers
• LexisNexis Questions Answers

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If you choose to use a commercial study aid,
remember that it may

• Use different buzz words or phrases than your
  professor
• Use different steps of analysis than your
  professor
• Have totally wrong information
• Have outdated information
• Have wrong answers to practice questions
• Follow a different casebook

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Civil ProcedureProfessor Abramson

• Kentucky Practice, Rules of Civil Procedure
  Annotated (6th ed. 2005)
• Kentucky Practice, Civil Procedure Forms (2d ed.
  2006)
• Civil Procedure (4th ed. 2005)

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Civil ProcedureProfessor Jordan

• James, Hazard, Leubsdorf, Civil Procedure
• Wright, Federal Courts
• Civil Procedure Examples Explanations
• Friedenthal, Kane, Miller, Civil Procedure (4th
  ed. 2005)

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ContractsProfessor Nowka

• Murray on Contracts
• Farnsworth on Contracts
• Contracts Examples Explanations

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ContractsProfessor Giesel

• Contracts Examples Explanations
• Understanding Contracts
• Contracts by Farnsworth
• Calamari Perillo on Contracts

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PropertyProfessor Rothstein

• Provides her own outlines to students throughout
  the semester
• Recommends any of the property hornbooks

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TortsProfessor Leibson

• Prosser on Torts
• Kentucky Practice, Vol. 13 Tort Law

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TortsProfessor Lens

• Dobbs, The Law of Torts
• Diamond et al., Understanding Torts
• Glannon, The Law of Torts Examples and
  Explanations

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Other Option Make Your Own Study Aids

• Flashcards for learning rules or steps in
  analysis
• Mnemonics to increase memorization
• Outlines for each subject
• Flowcharts, Diagrams, Tables
• Hypotheticals
• Audiotapes

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Inexpensive/Free Sources for Study Aids

• Professors Office Hours
• Professors Prior Exams
• Professors Practice Problems
• Structured Study Group
• Study aids from upper-division students
• Academic Success Office

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Study Groups Why Join???

• Discuss material before class
• Discuss concepts after class
• Discuss hypothetical problems
• Prepare for meeting with professor
• Practice problems/Review practice exams
• Compare outlines
• Test knowledge

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Advantages of Joining a Group

• Provides a chance to discuss the material
• Multiple perspectives
• Promotes collaborative learning
• Forces you to keep up with the materials
• Safe place to unwind and vent
• Increases confidence in asking questions about
  the material
• Increased understanding of the material

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Disadvantages of Joining a Group

• Waste of time if logistical factors not addressed
• Unfocused group
• Overly social group
• One person dominates
• Competition within the group

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Common Questions

• How many people should be in a study group?
• How do I choose members?
• Where should we meet?
• When should I join a group?
• Should members of a group share outlines?