Taking the Law Exam at Law School

1. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM

Many people recommend that you go to a movie or otherwise relax the night before an exam, rather than staying up all night cramming. All other things being equal, you probably will perform better on an exam if you are well-rested. If cramming has been your most successful study method in the past, however, you should feel free to stay with it. Research concerning first-year law students' study methods indicates that grades are not affected by whether a student crams for a test or spreads his study time' more evenly over the course of the semester. You should take into account, however, that law school exam periods normally are longer in length and test greater amounts of material than you previously have experienced. Therefore, keep these differences in mind when planning your preparation strategy so that you can maintain your performance level through the end of the exam period.

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2. DURING THE EXAM

Feeling nervous during the exam is absolutely normal. Work to channel your adrenaline into taking the exam. The adrenaline will help you focus your full attention on the questions and on the course materials. If you are too panicked to focus your thoughts, take a few deep breaths and remind yourself that you have worked hard in the course, all you can do at this point is give the exam your best effort, and you only have to get through the next few hours and then you can go home and forget about the exam. Take a minute to think through the following rules about reading the questions and about organizing and writing your answers. If you can follow these rules, you will avoid many of the common test-taking errors and will write answers that best demonstrate your knowledge and abilities.

• Taking Notes

As you go through each of these reviews, taking notes is critically important. The notes need not be elaborate. You should write just enough to remind yourself of issues that you have spotted and of the facts that are relevant to those issues. Depending on the rules your school may have about note taking, you can write the notes in the margin of the test or on a separate sheet of paper. By doing this, you will have a checklist for organizing and writing your answer.

The importance of taking notes cannot be over-stated. Under the stress and hurry of taking an exam, you may spot an issue and then forget it or forget, to write about it. Often a student who believes that his grade on an exam does not reflect his knowledge of the subject matter is shocked when he reviews his bluebooks after the exam and finds that he failed to write about an issue that he was sure he had discussed. This situation is especially frustrating because it is so easy to avoid. Note taking requires very little time and can have a significant effect on your exam performance.

• Thinking Through and Organizing Your Answer

Carefully reading the exam question is just the first preparatory step to writing your answer. The other crucially important steps are thinking through your answer and organizing its presentation. You should use at least one-quarter of your time for each question on this process. Some people advise that you use as much as one-half of your time. Although you probably will feel a strong urge to start writing your answer immediately after reading the problem, especially when everyone around you seems to be furiously writing, curb that urge. Overall, you will save time because you will avoid writing about irrelevant issues, writing an answer that you later decide is incorrect, and losing yourself in the convoluted presentation of an argument.

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The easiest and best format for you to use is the one that you have used in class and in your legal writing program:

• Identify each issue raised by the problem;
   
• Identify the legal rule that governs that issue;
   
• Analyze the facts in light of the legal rule; and
   
• Reach a conclusion.

Just as you did when reading the problem, take notes as you think through and organize your answer. By doing so, you will remember to include each part of your answer and you will be sure to follow the organization you have developed. The outline need not be extremely detailed. Rather, it should include just enough information to serve as a checklist.

• Identifying Issues

When reading the problem, you will have identified issues that potentially are raised by it. As you now think through the problem and your answer, ask yourself which of these issues must be resolved to answer the question. In other words, identify the legally relevant issues. Although the facts in the problem may raise many issues, you should address only those that have a bearing on the specific question you have been asked. This process of identifying the legally relevant issues is the same one you have used in your classes and on your legal writing assignments. You are distinguishing the relevant facts and law from the irrelevant. Writing a brilliant discussion of an irrelevant issue will not increase your grade.