Five Valuable MPT Bar Exam Tips

Five Valuable MPT Bar Exam Tips

The MPT portion of the bar exam is often overlooked by many examinees in their bar prep.  However, considering it is a very important component of your final score, you need to adequately prepare for this task!  In this post, we cover five MPT bar exam tips that will be very valuable to you in your preparation.  Don’t ignore the MPT, as doing well here can set you up for success on the bar exam as a whole!

Five Valuable MPT bar exam tips:

• Have the formats of the tasks memorized

In order to save time and pick up points, it is a great idea to have all of the basic formats of the various MPT tasks memorized.  Thus, one of our MPT bar exam tips is to review our MPT one-sheet and try to memorize the formats of each highly tested task.  You should also memorize what kind of tone your writing should take for each task.  This way, when you find out what kind of task you are expected to write, you can immediately format your document with the proper sections and read the library and file with the objective in mind.  You will receive credit for strong organization and writing in the proper tone, so memorizing these things for each task is a great way to get a jump start on a higher score!

• Read the task memo, then the library, then the file

Your chances at success on the MPT bar exam portion can be greatly increased with the proper approach and an emphasis on efficiency.  Many bar exam takers struggle with the timing aspect of the MPT.  Therefore, you need to approach all of the material in the most beneficial manner.  You should always read the task memo first and follow its instructions word for word.  The task memo will tell you what kind of task you are assigned and give you an overview of the problem.  Next, you need to read the library.  By reading the cases, statutes, rules, etc. that will be relevant to the problem, you know the exact legal issues you will be discussing.  You will also discover what kind of facts to be on the lookout for.  Reading the cases first tells you what kind of arguments the courts are receptive to and what ones get rejected.  You can use this information to then begin crafting your strongest argument as you read the facts instead of just guessing what is important if you read the facts first.

Note: there is an exception to this if you happen to get a library only composed of statutes (in which case, you should read the file first). We also recommend you try both to see what works best for you (i.e., try reading the library first some times and the file first other times). However, generally, we recommend reading the library first as this is what is helpful to most students.

• Outline as you read

Another great way to save time, and accordingly one of our MPT bar exam tips, is to outline your response as you read through the library and file.  You should have already created the bones of your answer by having the format memorized ahead of time.  As you read through the library, you can start creating an outline of what your analysis section will look like based on the legal issues raised.  You can also create case citations and write down the relevant facts that were used to reach the conclusion in each one.  This will be useful when you go to compare and contrast with the facts in your case.  Then, as you read the file, you can place the facts you encounter there already in the sections of your response you’ve created.  We advise students to spend 45 minutes of their MPT bar exam time outlining and 45 minutes writing.  A lot can be accomplished during the outline stage!

• Review point sheets and sample student answers

After you’ve written a practice MPT bar exam response, it is important to review it so that you understand what you did well and what you can work on improving.  Each MPT has a corresponding point sheet where the Examiners explain all of the possible arguments that could be made.  You don’t have to have covered every single point made to receive a perfect score.  But at least you can review any angles you might not have thought of.  It is equally as important to review sample student answers.  The Examiners often provide a sample answer from a bar exam taker that earned a high score.  This gives you an idea of what level of detail is necessary to include in order to pick up points.  Comparing your response to both of these documents will tell you where you stand and help guide you in what to work on for your next practice MPT. We provide point sheets and student answers for recent MPTs in our MPT books.

• Practice!

The last of our MPT bar exam tips is to make sure you don’t neglect to practice consistently!  Don’t just do one or two MPTs and then think you have the entire portion mastered.  You should practice each type of task enough times that you are confident in your ability to produce a quality response in the designated amount of time.  As mentioned above, timing is often considered the most difficult part of the MPT.  Practicing is the best way to improve your timing!  Since these kinds of tasks may be somewhat unfamiliar to you, it is understandable that you are a little slower in completing them at first.  However, the more times you practice (and utilize the appropriate strategies!), the better you will get at timing!

Laura Sigler, a JD Advising researcher and essay grader, wrote this post. 

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