Using Outside Sources and Study Aids Effectively

Generally, the vast majority (and many times all) of the material you will need to command in order to do well on the final exam is available from your casebook, briefs, and class notes. Many professors recommend outside reading, but usually they do so from the perspective of broadening your horizons, not assigning you additional material that must be briefed, memorized, and mastered.

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In a code- or rule-related class, the set of statutes or rules involved also must be read and understood. Examples are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in a civil procedure class, or the Bankruptcy Code in a bankruptcy class. By "understanding" such materials, we mean that you should possess a working knowledge of the codes and rules and be familiar with their organization-not verbatim memorization. Do not attempt to use the code or rules as a framework for your outline, because they were probably not organized the way you need to organize your outline for class purposes. While the individual code provisions or rules may well become incorporated into your outline, you should fit them into the framework of the course material, not vice versa.

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In some classes, an outside set of relevant rules may exist but not really be central to the course material. Examples are the Uniform Partnership Act in a business organizations class, or the Model Penal Code in a criminal law class. Such codes may or may not have been adopted, in whole or in part, as the law within the relevant jurisdiction. Even if such model codes or uniform acts have not been adopted in your state, your professor may still wish to use them as teaching tools, comparing and contrasting their provisions with the actual statutes. You will have to take cues from your professor as to how familiar you should be with such outside materials.

Hornbooks and commercial outlines should also be used as guide-posts when you become conceptually lost. They should not be used as sources for learning vast amounts of course material, though, unless your professor is truly inept. In these rare situations, turn to the commercial course outline, learn the black letter law, and hope for the best on the exam. The commercial course outline will contain most of what you need, and the hornbook can be relied upon for more expansive treatment of an area you still find cloudy.

Generally, however, your resort to these outside sources should be purposeful and limited. The hornbook provides a scholarly exposition on basic legal principles germane to a given subject. Thus, hornbooks are most useful in shedding some light on areas in which classroom discussions or the assigned reading may have left you puzzled (such as, perhaps, when you are trying to figure out the role of foreseeability in the negligence cause of action, or the concept of proximate cause).

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Carefully read the section dealing with the area causing your difficulty. Do not attempt to read the hornbook cover to cover or to use it as the primary source of information on the course. It contains far more information than you need at this stage-and far more than most people could digest and retain.

As mentioned before, commercial course outlines are useful in providing a starting point for your own outlines, and in studying or clarifying course concepts as well. In contrast to hornbooks, commercial outlines are written with the law student specifically in mind. They therefore tend to provide an appropriate (and not excessive) amount of detail on the subject matter. Hornbooks are designed for use by lawyers, judges, and legal scholars (not just law students). Thus, of necessity, they serve as bulky reference works and legal research tools. Since law students are generally interested in a brief, straightforward statement of the pertinent rules, commercial outlines (not hornbooks) are the more efficient source for getting the big picture.

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