What are the highly tested Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) subjects?

In this post, we tell you what the highly tested multistate essay exam subjects are. These are the ones that you need to know well to pass the MEE! Please examine our Multistate Essay Exam Frequency Chart above. (You can see the most updated version of this chart in this post). Below, we will analyze the most highly tested multistate essay exam subjects in three tiers. Tier One is the most tested. Tier Two contains less tested subjects. This data came from looking at bar exams from February 2011 to February 2017, but we do not expect it to change drastically in years to come:

The Most Highly Tested Multistate Essay Exam Subjects

Below we have divided the most highly tested to least tested essay subjects.

Tier One: Subjects Tested on the Multistate Essay Exam More than 9 times
These subjects were tested at least 9 times on the multistate essay exam since 2007. They are in order from most-to-least tested.

Civil Procedure (18 full essays)
Family Law (14 full essays)
Corporations and LLCs (in recent years, Corporations or Agency/Partnerhship– rather than both – tend to be tested) (13 full essays)
Secured Transactions (12 full essays)
Trusts and Future Interests (this has become more popular than Decedent’s Estates in recent years) (12 full essays)
Contracts (12 full essays)
Agency and Partnership (11 full essays, and 2 essays combined with another subject)
Real Property (11 full essays)
Decedent’s Estates (Wills) (10 full essays)

Tier Two: Subjects Tested on the Multistate Essay Exam between 6-9 times
These subjects were tested at least 6-9 times on the multistate essay exam since 2007.

Constitutional Law (9 full essays)
Evidence (9 full essays, 1 essay combined with another subject)
Torts (7 full essays, 2 essays combined with another subject)

Tier Three: Subjects Tested on the Multistate Essay Exam Less than 5 Times
These subjects were tested less than 5 times on the multistate essay exam since 2007:

Criminal Law (4 full essays, 1 essay combined with Criminal Procedure)
Criminal Procedure. (4 full essays, 2 essays combined with Criminal Law and Evidence)
Conflict of Laws. This is usually combined with Wills and Trusts, Family Law, or Civil Procedure. It is not tested on its own. (0 full essays, 6 essays combined with another subject such as Torts, Family Law, and Civil Procedure)

A few additional notes:

Sometimes the National Conference of Bar Examiner’s (NCBE) labels a subject “Criminal Law and Procedure” when really it is just one or the other being tested. We listed the true amount of times those subjects were tested above.
We started collecting data from 2007 on because that is when the NCBE started testing multistate bar exam (MBE) subjects on the multistate essay exam so it paints a truer picture of what is really tested on the multistate essay exam!
Prior to February 2014, the NCBE used to create 9 questions for the multistate essay exam and allow jurisdictions to choose which six to include on their exams. Now, the NCBE only creates six questions. (If you are wondering which subjects have been heavily tested on the uniform bar exam, please see this post!)

Should you only focus on the highly tested multistate essay exam subjects when you study? No! While the highly tested MEE subjects are (by definition) the most highly tested. You should also pay attention to trends in what the writers of the exam have been testing so you can see what is coming up. Check out our MEE predictions here, for example. Or if you want to make your own, look at the chart and ask yourself what they have not tested in a while that they may want to circle back around to.

Lastly, just like all subjects are not treated equally,
neither are all topics!

The NCBE tends to test certain topics within each subject more than other topics.

See this post for an overview of the highly-tested MEE topics. If you are looking for an overview of the highly-tested topics on the MEE, check out our MEE one-sheets. These give you an overview of the highly-tested areas of the MEE in one sheet, front and back. We sell them in our online store.

We hope you found this Multistate Essay Exam advice useful! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.

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