How to Ace Your Exams

With your LRAW Teaching Fellows: Daniel Ranaldo, Anna Strandberg, Carlton Bowers, Sean Pearman & Lucy Massagee

General tips for exam preparation

 Convert syllabus, table of contents & class notes into a course outline  Create attack outlines for specific problems  Read outlines aloud while standing (“teach” the material)  Keep a checklist of issues; check them off as you practice essays & MCQ  Supplements  Don’t go beyond what your professor has taught  Exam Soft  Test it out with a mock exam; adjust font how you like it

General tips: taking the exam

 Know your time limits before going into the exam  Allocate time according to amount of points awarded per person  Read the call of the question before reading the hypo   Jot down relevant issues, elements/exceptions Write key words in margins as you read the hypos  Essays  Chart/outline your answer before you begin to write  Link facts from hypo to the elements & exceptions of law  Multiple choice  Answer all questions on a given page; then put answers into Exam Soft before turning the page

How did each Fellow generally prepare?

Compton’s Property

 Look to footnotes in the case book  Essay can cover even the smallest concepts in class (including property law with regard to body parts).

 Issue spotting is key.  Know the rule. More importantly, know the exceptions to the rule.

 Work with Examples and Explanations  Talk about Policy behind the rule. Talk about the different “sticks” in the bundle.

Spitz’s Property

 Exam is pretty straight-forward, from class discussion  Multiple choice (practice with Glannon’s) and essay  “Acing Series” book for sample essays  Practice with partner & white board  Circle issues as you read through fact pattern  Use cases in analysis (even if you can’t remember the case name)  If he tells you to read/memorize a statute, he means it & will test on it  Make a list of all topics covered during the semester and check them off as you go  Every topic will be covered, even if in just one multiple choice question

Williams’ Property

 Open book plus one-sided cheat sheet (depends on the semester)  Study as though this won’t be available  Preparation:  Guide your study and outlines from Gilberts  Practice any multiple choice you can get your hands on  Review all problems on class slides and those submitted by “law firms” in class.

 If it looks familiar, READ CAREFULLY. It may have changed slightly.

 MCQs & essay: Long fact patterns. Spot & take note of every issue!

 Showcase your knowledge of the material (anything you can think of).  Case names & relevant statutes  Majority and minority tests (describe the outcome under both)  Avoid conclusory statements. Be thorough in your analysis. Tell her “WHY”.

Janssen’s Civil Procedure

 Policy, purpose, or rationale (2-3 sentence explanation)  Multiple choice: sometimes the best answer is the least wrong answer  For main summary outline: tab it up to save some time  You NEED attack plans. Possible attack outlines:     Erie/Hannah Test for every joinder device Joinder chart, table with rule, type, who may use it, and requirements (Literally, everything you’ve learned will be tested.)  As you read the facts, underline and make notes; note what the essay question is asking  Flow chart book.

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YOU WILL NEED ALL 3 HOURS TO FINISH. STAY ON SCHEDULE.

Lund’s Civil Procedure (Klein is similar)

 Old exams (on library website)  Grading rubric from mid-term  Flowcharts for all Rules, motions & scheduling  Anything is free game (for both essays and MCQs)  Timeline sequence for discovery, joinder, preclusion  Familiarize with the rulebook  Essays: straight IRAC

Finkel’s Torts

 Sue everyone in the problem  Even most unlikely person has at least one contributing factor  But when writing essay, begin with the most culpable person  Know tort elements, exception and defenses  Know types of damages & remedies  Closed-book exam  Multiple choice & essays  MC is MBE-style. Practice them.

 If you’ve read the numbered note cases, you will recognize some questions.  Many people finish early. TAKE YOUR TIME. Points for style.

Anastopoulo’s Torts (Zisk is similar)

 Multiple choice and essay  Multiple choice:  Straight-forward; no tricks  Essay: lots of facts & lots of arguments  Circle issues as you read through fact pattern  Use headings in essay to delineate parties’ claims & defenses  Ping-pong ∏’s claims & ∆’s defenses.  Think of the fact pattern as a trial: what will each party say? How will the other respond?

 Know the rules.

 Address all facts.

Lund’s Contracts (Haynes-Stuart is similar)

 If you can bring a book, take full advantage of the white space available.

 Review the mid-term Qs and As, and all problems from the PowerPoint slides.

 Multiple choice and short essays  Use IRAC. Be very methodical and follow roadmaps.

 Use “white space” to make your essay answer easily readable.

Marcantel’s Contracts

 Allocates the most essay points for rule statement & analysis.

   Wants definitive answers—no liberal artsy “maybes”. Mimic the order of analysis modeled in class.

Not all info in fact patterns is useful.

 Practice writing out rule statements ahead of time.

  Ex: §2-207 Battle of the Forms If Marcantel always says something a certain way, you might want to too.

 Some MCQs will be dense. Prepare to read quickly and carefully.

 Grading is entirely objective; there is a right answer.

Vargas-Vargas’ Contracts

 Statute book may or may not be available  Regardless: know rules & roadmaps as though it will not be available  Preparation  Re-write & memorize practice problems: may be repeated or slightly altered  Prepare & memorize roadmaps for every major contracts issue (including those quickly covered @ end of semester)  Essays   Word limits Be methodical: step-by-step (as she does in class)   Use exact language of the rules & cases; explain how rule operates Very straightforward; she does not try to trick you

The Day Of…

After Each Exam…

DO NOT DISCUSS THE EXAM!

After Exams Are Over

 After your last exam, celebrate!  Do not bug your professors until the next semester begins.  Do arrange office hours with professors (or e-mail them over the summer) to review or discuss your exam.  Do not discuss grades.