Common Mistakes that First-Time Michigan Bar Exam Takers Make

Common mistakes first-time Michigan Bar Exam Takers Make – and how to avoid them!

In this article, we discuss some common mistakes that first-time Michigan bar exam takers make when they prepare for the bar exam. We also tell you how to avoid these mistakes so that you maximize your chance of passing the Michigan bar exam!

Common Mistake #1: Not focusing on the highly tested areas of law.

Not all areas of law are tested equally. Some are tested more than others. For example, present and future interests will make up 2-3 questions on the MBE and they have not been tested on Michigan bar exam essays since the 1990’s. On the other hand, negligence will make up 12-13 questions on the MBE and is regularly tested on the essay portion of the Michigan bar exam. Thus, it makes much more sense to dedicate time to negligence than to present and future interests. This is how you study efficiently for the bar exam! 

How to avoid making this common mistake:

Make sure you acquaint yourself with the highly tested rules and focus on these when you study. This does not mean you should ignore other rules. But you should spend the most time on the areas where you are likely to earn the most points. We have two resources that will reveal the highly tested areas of law:

• First, our How to Pass the Michigan Bar Exam book. (We have “one-sheets” in the back of the book that reveal the highly tested areas of law!)
• Second, our Michigan bar exam seminar. This popular seminar fills up quickly. It focuses on highly tested areas and predictions!

Common Mistake #2: Not memorizing the law from the beginning.

Many students wait until their two-week review period to start memorizing the law. This is a mistake for a few reasons:

• First, by the two-week review period, you will feel overwhelmed if you have several outlines to memorize! It is also not realistic that you can memorize the vast quantity of bar exam material you have reviewed in two weeks.
• Second, you will not see significant progress on your MBE score or essay score until you make it a habit to learn the laws. If you take practice exams prior to learning the law, you are trying to apply law you don’t even know! This leads to frustration, anxiety, and “piecemeal” learning of the law, which is not efficient. It is a much better idea to memorize the rules prior to trying to apply them.

How to avoid making this common mistake:

Don’t rush right from lecture to completing practice problems. Instead, take time after lecture to memorize the law. Once you have the key elements memorized, then complete practice problems. If you are not sure of proper memorization techniques to use, check out how to memorize your bar exam outlines here.

Common Mistake #3: Not practicing enough essay questions or ignoring the essay portion.

This mistake is made for two reasons:

• First, many commercial courses do not assign students enough essays or do not emphasize the essay portion, so students do not realize that they need to be answering questions regularly.
• Second, some students worry so much about the MBE that they ignore the essay portion because they feel more comfortable with writing than answering multiple-choice questions. This is a mistake! Remember that the MBE is worth the same as the essay portion and there is no minimum passing score on each section. So, if writing is your strength, focus on the essay portion!

How to avoid making this common mistake:

Make it part of your daily routine to look at 1-2 essays. You will be so happy you did by the time you take the bar exam!

Common Mistake #4: Not using real MBE questions as part of their bar exam preparation.

Many commercial courses don’t use real MBE questions.  Instead, they write their own.  While they are certainly still good tools for practice, they aren’t the best examples of what you will see on the actual test.  Thus, another of the mistakes first time bar exam takers make is to rely solely on these questions.

The best way to prepare for the MBE is to use actual MBE questions released by the NCBE.  These are questions that were on past bar exams and are far more representative of what your MBE will look like. You will feel more prepared when you take the test if you have used real MBE questions during your practice.

How to avoid making this common mistake:  

Make sure to incorporate using released MBE questions in your practice! We tell you where to get real MBE questions here.

Common Mistake #5: Worrying too much about completing a percentage of one’s bar exam course and not studying efficiently.  

Some students find themselves “going through the motions” so they can check something off of their to-do list – and as a result, they don’t study efficiently. They complete tasks just for the sake of doing them rather than because the tasks help them make progress toward passing the bar exam. While is helpful to use your commercial course schedule or to do list as a guide, but don’t complete tasks just for the sake of completing them. 

How to avoid making this common mistake: 

Remind yourself of your goal – to pass the bar exam (not to complete your commercial course!). Make it a point to adapt your schedule to what you need. You know your learning style, your strengths and weaknesses, and well as your personal schedule much more than a commercial course does. So, if you need to add, eliminate, or tweak a task that your commercial course assigns, do so.

Common Mistake #6: Not practicing exam questions in a timed setting.

Many students struggle with timing on the Michigan bar exam. Michigan bar exam essays are lengthy and they seem to be getting longer and more complex as time goes on. Remember, you have to allocate about 20 minutes per question if you want to finish the bar exam in time. It is also common to struggle with timing on the MBE.

You should be especially aware of timing issues if you struggled with timing in law school. 

How to avoid making this common mistake:  

It is so important to time yourself early and often!  Start by just taking three-question one-hour timed exams in the beginning of your bar prep. Then, start taking two-hour timed exams composed of six questions. Then, make it three-hour timed exams composed of nine questions. Do the same with the multiple-choice portion. Set aside one morning a week to practice timing. Start with one hour taking 33 questions. Then, complete 66 questions in two hours. And lastly, complete 100 questions in three hours. Doing so will not only help you maximize your chances of finishing the exam but it will also give you confidence going into the exam. If you struggle with timing, we have useful timing tips for the essay portion of the Michigan bar exam here.

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