Monday, September 13, 2010

Timing the Study Schedule

In preparing for the Bar Exam, you should design a study schedule that works around your daily life. Ideally you would be able to study for two months before the exam without having to work but for most of us, that is not possible. I have learned from experience that you must give yourself time to prepare and if that means skipping an exam and planning for the next one so be it.

If you allow time to review the substantive material and take plenty of practice exams then you will significantly improve the probability of you passing the bar exam. One thing I have learned for certain after failing the bar exam more than once, is that there is no way around practicing, particularly writing essays.

I encourage anyone preparing for the bar exam to visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners web site (www.ncbex.org) and order past exams to use in your exam practice. Also check with your State Bar office to obtain copies of past exams in your jurisdiction. When you design your study schedule use timed conditions. For example, if you jurisdiction has one hour essays, schedule one hour for a single essay.

In many cases you will want to delay practicing exams because you will believe you do not know enough substantive law. That is a mistake. You will learn more substantive law by working through practice exams then you will by reading outlines. PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! If possible find someone who has already passed the bar exam to review your essay answers and critique the for you. The feedback is invaluable.

If you are a bar exam repeater and you are planning to take the February 2011 bar exam, it is not too early to begin a study schedule now. Be careful not to burn out early but pace yourself and you will feel more confident come February 2011.

Good luck!

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