So much for studying in the law school. The place is overrun--I don't remember it being this crowded when I was a 1L. Perhaps that's because I always noticed who wasn't there, not who was there. It made me feel better knowing that even though there were 100 1Ls camping in the library, there were at least 70 who weren't, and maybe, just maybe I had something on them. Wishful thinking.
Anyway, like most 3Ls, I've perfected the art of not taking finals. After having taken 9 last year, I'm on pace for 3, maybe 4, for this entire year. I'd much rather half-ass my way through a paper for an 84-86 than bust ass for a month straight, studying for some monster Securities exam, and notch up an 84-86.
I was scrolling through TWEN, looking for some practice exams for my whopping 2 finals. And then I thought I'd share with you 1Ls the most valuable thing I've ever done for any law school exam--write out practice exams, repeatedly, incessantly. Get some friends to write out those same exams. No 'outlining' the answer or any of that BS. Do it all. Take an afternoon and bust one out. You'll see marked differences between your answers and your friends', which will be good either way. I remember taking Eid's fake mid-term in Torts, doing a very average to below average job, and then subsequently writing out every single available exam she had. I hassled 4 friends into doing the same and we all ran the table in that class. Of course, purely an anecdote, and I've been extremely unsuccessful in many classes as well, doing almost the same thing. It's law school, after all.
Yeah, so now I realize how unenlightening this post is. But I just know there are 1Ls in the library as I write this re-reading the cases or supplementing their outlines with extra information from hornbooks. It makes me sick just thinking about it.
2 comments:
I suspect - having no personal experience whatsoever, mind you - that your advice is spot on. And practice exams are my plan....
Don't know about the crowded library thing. It's never that crowded when I'm there... but I'm never there after 2PM.
Right now, I think the 1Ls are recovering from Skiing this weekend... or obsessing over the Open Memo (due Wednesday).
while i think that practice exams are important, i find that quantity is more important than writing out the entire answer. if you only have a limited amount of time, looking at more questions and doing the analysis is more important than writing the whole essay. but definitely go over it with friends. i hated studying in groups but other people can pick up on issues you missed so you can see how to maybe pick up those issues later. i also used CALI lessons a lot. http://www2.cali.org/index.php?fuseaction=lessons.home (you'll have to copy and paste the link) the school signed us all up for it. not sure if they still do it.
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