A lot has been written about succeeding in law school. Please keep in mind that success is not only measured by doing well on your law school exams, but if you are interested in that type of success (that is doing well on your law school exams), here are three (3) practical tips to succeed in law school by acing your exams.
Tip #1: Practice Taking Law School Exams
Malcom Gladwell popularized 10,000 hours of practice in his bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success. Although there is still debate in academia about Gladwell’s proposition that 10,000 hours of practice in the correct way is the key to achieving true expertise in any skill, the theory is applicable to acing your law school exams. If you have reviewed any article on law school success, taking practice exams is inevitably listed. For example, the Chapman University Fowler School of Law in its 20 Tips for Success in Law School, Take Practice Exams is listed as number 14. In the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s article, The 10 Habits of Highly Successful Law Students, Practice, Practice, Practice is listed as number 7.
Ideally, you will take practice examinations authored by your law school professor, but if those are not available, practicing with the practice law exams at LawExams.Com is the next best thing. The purpose of practice exams is to strength your issue spotting skills and give you practice on writing clear and concise answers. After you have practiced answering a large number of practice law school exams, you should also gain the confidence you will need to ace your actual law school exams.
Tip #2: Attend Class and Listen
Although you may be deftly afraid of being called on in law school, it is still very useful to attend class and listen. Take notes on what the professor deems important. It is always possible that your professor will cover some materials that are not discussed in your readings. Does your professor like to focus on the minority rule? Does your professor like to use a specific set of characters in his hypotheticals? Trying to grasp these subtle nuances and what is important to your law school professor will help you write a law school exam answer that stands out. Additionally, the LawExams.Com materials have a specific section entitled, How to Write Your Law School Essay Exam Answer to Stand Out.
Tip #3: Memorize Material Early and Practice Writing the Black Letter Law
A reiteration of tip number 1 stresses the persuasive need to practice. After you have covered a specific area of law, you should memorize the material and practice writing the black letter law. For example, in Torts, most classes will start with intentional torts. Did you know that all intentional torts require a volitional act with intent (i.e., intent to do the act, knowledge with substantial certainty that the act will occur, or transferred intent) to cause the act, which was in fact the actual cause and proximate cause of the injury to the plaintiff. Being able to write the black letter law will put you at ease for your actual law school exams. If you are having trouble memorizing your materials or deciphering the Black Letter Law, LawExams.Com includes a series of Elemental Reviews that comes with your subscription for Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, and Torts that you can readily adopt and use.