Bar Exam

July 2015 Michigan Bar Exam Essay Recap

The July 2015 Michigan bar exam had pretty standard subjects but unusual issues.

Specifically, the July 2015 Michigan bar exam tested all of the MBE subjects, Worker’s Compensation, Domestic Relations, Personal Property, Corporations, Professional Responsibility, and Trusts (which we predicted would be tested in place of Wills). There were no questions about Secured Transactions, Conflicts, Agency, Partnership, No Fault, Equity. . . or anything else very unusual.

Some of the questions weren’t too bad (Torts – Assault and Battery, Crim Pro – Search and seizure). For students following our predictions, we accurately predicted a little over 1/3 of the issues (which is about standard – when we are lucky, we get closer to half, but this was kind of a strange exam!). Read more

The Day Before the Bar Exam: Six Mental Exercises to Keep you Calm and Focused!

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It is the day before the bar exam begins. You have been working hard and studying a lot The last thing you want to do is enter panic mode and not be able to sleep the day before the bar exam!

The good news is, if you spend a few minutes making a conscious effort to relax, you can conquer any panic attacks or sleepless nights well ahead of time.

We recommend that you try some of the below exercises. Some may help you a lot ; others may not help you at all. However, these are six strategies that have helped many of our students in the past. Choose the ones that work best for you. They will help you calm your nerves and feel better before the bar exam begins tomorrow! Read more

Last Minute Bar Exam Tips!

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The bar exam is just around the corner! Here are some last-minute bar exam tips to help you. We’ve divided them up into last-minute essay tips, last-minute tips for the multiple choice section, and general tips.

Last Minute Bar Exam Tips for Essays:

Here are some last-minute tips for getting the most points on the essay portion of the bar exam:

Spell it out for the grader. For example, on a Criminal Procedure question, don’t just say: “it was an impermissible search of the defendant’s car.” Instead, start by talking about the Fourth Amendment. Then talk about how it applies to searches by a government agent. Then talk about the search at hand as well as any exceptions. Doing this will help you with the next point . . .
Write long essay answers. You cannot get points for something that is not there. Write complete answers that state the rules, apply them to the facts, and conclude. If you write a half-page answer do not expect full points.
Use paragraph breaks and headings. Make it easy for the grader to see that you know what you are talking about. Do not write one huge long paragraph. No grader will want to filter through. Instead, make it easy for the grader to give you points.
Underline and bold key words. Graders want it to be easy to find the rule statements, analysis, and conclusion. Bold or underline anything you know is correct. (If you are not sure you are correct, though, don’t bold anything!) This will draw attention to what you know.
When you are done writing your essays, review the fact pattern again. It is a good idea to always look back to the fact pattern and ask yourself: “Are there any arguments the parties made that I did not address?” and “Are there any important facts in the fact pattern that I did not address?” If a party makes an argument that you did not address, address it! If there is, say, an entire paragraph that you said nothing about, go back and say something about it! This can get you a lot of points!

Multiple Choice:

Here are last-minute multiple choice tips for picking the right answer:

What to Do the Week Before the Bar Exam (And What NOT to do…)

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What to Do the Week Before the Bar Exam

This is the final week of studying for the bar exam! Your priorities this week should be reviewing (and memorizing the law you do not yet know), taking some timed exams, and also physically and mentally preparing for the bar exam in another week.

Below we suggest some things you should do the week before the bar exam—we also have some suggestions for what you should not do the week before the bar exam! We hope that these checklists help you maximize the use of your time this final week of bar exam preparation. Read more

Michigan Bar Exam Tip: Conclusions Matter!

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Let’s say you were taking the July 2014 Michigan bar exam. And let’s say you were answering the Wills question. The first issue was about whether you could recognize a valid holographic will. The second issue was about the effect of stock increases on a bequest. The third issue was about whether a general directive to pay debts would have the effect of paying off the testator’s mortgage debt. Read more

Looking for a California Bar Exam Tutor?

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The California bar exam is one of the hardest bar exams to pass. It is a grueling three-day test with a 40 percent overall passage rate (as of February 2015). It has two days of essays and MPTs and one day of the MBE. It tests several different subject areas, including a variety of areas for which you will be expected to know California-specific laws.

Whether you have some last-minute questions or are looking for a full, all-out review of the California bar exam subject areas, please do not hesitate to contact us! We have fantastic California bar exam tutors that will help you with not only California law but also the MPT and MBE. We will work with your schedule and your budget − whether you meet us one time or twenty times, we will accommodate you the best we can and do our very best to maximize your chances of passing the California bar exam. Read more

The Michigan Bar Exam Seminar is in One Week!

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Looking for a review of highly-tested topics on the essay portion of the Michigan bar exams?

Wondering how to spend your last few weeks of bar preparation in order to maximize your chance of success? Sign up for our Michigan Bar Exam seminar. The seminar consists of an in-depth review of the highly-tested Michigan distinctions for the multistate subjects (Constitutional Law, Contracts and Sales, Torts, Civil Procedure, Evidence, Criminal Law and Procedure, Real Property) as well as the highly-tested areas of Michigan law that are very likely to be tested again (this will cover highly-tested portions of all remaining areas of Michigan law that could be tested – Secured Transactions, Corporations, Workers’ Compensation, Personal Property, Domestic Relations, Agency, Partnership, Conflicts of Law, etc. ). An outline “booklet” of approximately 50 pages will be provided to all students who attend. Read more

Studying for the Bar Exam while Working Full Time? Read these tips!

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Studying for the bar exam is grueling enough. If you have to work too, that makes studying even harder!

However, it is not impossible to study for the bar exam and work full time. We have several successful students who study for the bar exam while working full time each and every administration . . . you are not alone!

If you are studying for the bar exam and working, we generally recommend that you take as much time off as possible − however we recognize that it is not always possible to take a significant amount of time off of work to study. If you are looking for some tips for studying for the bar exam while working full time, read the tips below. These tips have helped several of our students (and in fact, many of them came from our successful students who study and work full time!). Read more

Michigan Bar Exam Predictions – Make Your Own!

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https://jdadvising.com/bar-exam/new-book-how-to-pass-the-michigan-bar-exam/

Our New Book, How to Pass the Michigan Bar Exam

NOTE: Michigan is switching to the Uniform Bar Exam starting with the February 2023 administration! Find more information here.

We are the first to admit that we have a little bit of an unhealthy obsession with the bar exam — particularly the Michigan bar exam. One thing that we do (in the little free time we have during bar exam season) is make predictions on what will be on the Michigan Bar Exam. When we first started making predictions, we were not very good at accurately predicting what would be on the bar exam. However, now we are consistently correct on approximately 1/3 of the issues that are tested.

For example, we were right about many issues that were on the last two bar exams.

Specifically, we accurately predicted many of the issues on the July 2014 Michigan bar exam including: Read more

Taking the Michigan Bar Exam? Leave your Watch at Home.

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The Michigan Board of Law Examiners updated their security policy to disallow watches in the testing center. The news release explains that “[d]ue to evolving security concerns, the Michigan Board of Law Examiners will no longer allow watches or timepieces of any kind in the Michigan bar examination. Watches and timepieces have been added to the prohibited list of items. Clocks will be placed throughout the examination site so that everyone taking the examination can readily tell the time.”

We were saddened to hear of the update (and we are not really sure what the security concerns are?) because we usually highly recommend that Michigan bar exam students set a watch to 12:00 to more accurately keep track of their timing. Now we recommend that Michigan bar exam takers get used to keeping track of their timing by using a clock when they practice, rather than a watch. Read more

How Many MBE Questions Should I Answer Every Day?

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How Many MBE Questions Should I Answer Every Day?

Many students wonder how many multistate bar exam (MBE) questions they should answer each day. Some students answer hundreds of MBE questions a week. Others answer only a few MBE questions each day.

The best approach is somewhere in between. This “in between” approach is the approach that I used when I studied for the February 2011 bar exam— and I was fortunate to score over 180 on the multistate portion with over an hour to spare on each section.

This post will explain the best schedule for answering MBE questions. Read more

What should My Michigan Bar Exam Essay Writing Schedule Look Like?

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Many students ask us what a good Michigan bar exam essay writing schedule looks like. Some students wonder if completing one essay per day is enough. Other students try to complete several essays each day. We recommend an approach that makes essay-writing a consistent part of your schedule, and yet one that keeps it manageable. We also recommend that your Michigan bar exam essay writing schedule includes several timed essay exams.

The below recommended schedule is an excerpt from our new book, How to Pass the Michigan Bar Exam.

Should my essay answer look just like the Michigan Bar Exam model answer?

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Should my essay answer look just like the Michigan Bar Exam model answer?

Many students get nervous when they start comparing their relatively short and sparse essay answers to the lengthy and detailed Michigan bar exam model answers that are promulgated by the Board of Law Examiners.

At least once a week, someone asks us, “Should my essay answer look just like the Michigan Bar Exam model answer? “

The short answer is no. Your answer will not generally be as lengthy as the Michigan bar exam model answer. It will not generally include citations, case names, or rule numbers.

In fact, the “Michigan bar exam model answer” is not even called a model answer by the Board of Law Examiners (the entity that writes the questions and the answers). Rather, it is called an Examiners’ Analysis. Read more

How to Study Smart for the Essay Portion of the Michigan Bar Exam

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How to Study Smart for the Essay Portion of the Michigan Bar Exam

NOTE: Michigan is switching to the Uniform Bar Exam starting with the February 2023 administration! Find more information here.

In this blog post we’ll focus on how to study smart for the Michigan bar exam and focus on the essay portion. In order to study smart for the essay portion of the Michigan bar exam, the first thing you have to do is review the substantive law of each subject before attempting to answer essay questions on that subject. It is crucial that you are familiar with the relevant area of law before you attempt to answer a question on it. If you do not feel very comfortable with the substantive law, you will answer questions incorrectly, get frustrated, and feel stressed out! Conversely, if you review the substantive law before attempting to answer questions, you will fee more confident.

For Those Who Pass the Michigan Bar Exam: How to Design a Your Perfect Michigan Bar Exam Swearing-In Ceremony

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For Those Who Pass the Michigan Bar Exam: How to Design a Your Perfect Michigan Bar Exam Swearing-In Ceremony

A picture of the Macomb County Swearing-In Ceremony.

First of all, congratulations on passing the Michigan Bar Exam!

Your final step to becoming a lawyer eligible to practice law is a swearing-in ceremony. A swearing-in ceremony basically marks the transition from law student to lawyer (although you will not be able to practice right away—you still have to wait for your P number, which usually takes about a week to get!). If you are completely unfamiliar with what a swearing-in ceremony is, read this blog post on the basics of a Michigan bar exam swearing-in ceremony. Read more