How to write a law school exam
Mar 16 '00
Exams, of course, are the key part of the law school experience. They are usually your entire grade. Here are some tips for taking law school exams, which are different than any other exam you will ever take.
Don’t Get Nervous
Don’t worry. You know this stuff. People who do any studying at all very rarely fail their exams, and the curve ensures that you will probably be around the median. The goal is to get higher, but good hard work can get you to the middle.
Know Your Professor
You will do best on an exam if you know what the professor wants. Get every past or practice test you can. Don’t just read the questions and model answers. Instead, take the test yourself (or at least outline the answers) and then compare to the model answers. Make sure you read the top student answers. The professor’s memo almost never includes all of the hidden and creative points made by top students (see creativity, below). Also, don’t just think “I knew that” and move on. The idea is to know it, recall it, and use it in an exam, so you need to make sure that you are getting at least the major issues on paper in practice.
Also, look back at your class notes. What did the professor emphasize? Was there any issue he dealt with quickly but seemed really intrigued by? What types of answers did he look for in class? Broad or meticulous? Policy or rules? These concerns will help you frame your exam.
Type Your Exams
Invest in a lightweight electric typewriter and type your exams. I have found that, on the whole, typed exams score better. It could be that the smarter people type exams, but more likely, it is because typed exams are easier to read. You should save the typewriter, as you will want to use it to type the bar exam as well.
Use Headings
Just like the headings in this epinion make it easier to read, headings in your exam answers will make it easier for the professor to read, and will show that you are organized.
Outline First
Using headings gets much easier if you have outlined your basic points first. Make sure you have outlined all the issues you can see, but don’t spend too much time outlining (you will think of more issues later). Just make sure your arguments are in the order you want to present them.
Use IRAC
Every paragraph you type should be in IRAC format.
Issue: What is the issue you have found? This is 3/4 of the story; if you run out of time, just list the issues.
Rule: What rule applies to this issue?
Application:How does the rule apply to the facts presented? This is very important - the professor wants to see if you really understand what he has taught.
Conclusion: This is less important, but a sum up sentence makes the exam answer flow. Make sure you answer whatever question the professor has asked. If you followed the IRA part, your actual conclusion is usually irrelevant, just so long as you state one.
Hit All the Issues But Don’t Over Focus
First year students have a tendency to focus too much writing time on the easy, obvious issues. They then run out of time for all of the other issues, and don’t leave enough time to think creatively. So, make sure you don’t focus too much time on any one issue, as the professor is really looking for someone who can spot all the issues. Of course, this rule is subject to “know your professor” - you may get a professor who wants an exposition on a single issue, but that is rare.
Use Creativity
Professors always plant “hidden” issues in questions. The exams that score the highest points are those that look for and find those hidden issues and creatively think about them. Think about your entire class, and not just the part of the class that was obvious to this issue.
For example, on my criminal law exam, the professor gave us facts where someone opened a door to a bathroom to beat them up. Of course assault and battery were obvious. I hit those issues, and then stated that there might be a burglary, which covers entry into any room to commit a felony. This is not the typical application of burglary, and the creative point scored huge points.
Hopefully these tips will help you do well in your first year (and later years) of law school. I can’t guarantee success, but I do know these tips help.
This is the second of a two part series. See my other epinion, entitled "How to Survive (and Thrive) during the First Year of Law School"
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.