Should I Make My Own Bar Exam Outlines?

Of all the tasks to complete before you take the bar exam, making outlines might be the one people put off the longest. Many often wonder “Should I make my own bar exam outlines? Is it worth it?” In this post, we go over some things to keep in mind if you are considering drawing up your own outlines for review!

Should I Make My Own Bar Exam Outlines?

If you want to make your own bar exam outlines, consider the following:

1. Making an outline is not the same as copying an old one.

When you make your own bar exam outlines, you should be distilling information into them from a variety of sources. It will not help you on the bar exam if you simply take an outline and recopy it. If you make your own bar exam outlines, you should be editing, ordering, and revising the information so that it is easier to study and covers the breadth of the subject you are creating it for. Otherwise, it’s not worth the time and effort you will put into it!

2. Making your own outline can be a great way to review.

Don’t think of “If I make my own bar exam outlines, I’ll just be doing a boring task so I can really start studying later!” Making your own bar exam outlines is actually a great way to review. By thinking about both what you want in your outline, and how to organize them, you’re actually engaging with the material in the same way you do when you study. So, if you are thinking “I should make my own bar exam outlines,” you are actually giving yourself a good opportunity to review the material!

Recently, we had a multiple time bar exam taker who finally had a breakthrough in Contracts by making her own Contracts outline. She credited finally understanding the material to having to really understand it for her outline. Which leads to our next point…

3. Making bar exam outlines is time-consuming.

Making your own bar exam outlines is a great way to review the material. However, it is probably not feasible to do this for every subject. It takes time to reorganize your old notes, integrate them with outside material, and then make a new outline. We advise that, instead of making new outlines for every subject, to make ones only for those subjects you struggle with. Like the example above, you will get more out of making an outline for a subject you struggle with than one you understand well.

So, if you are wondering “Should I make my own bar exam outlines?”, we advise to make them for those subjects you think you need the most help in!

Another tip: Try making a “bar exam attack outline”

If you are looking to review by outlining or condensing material, you may want to try to make your own bar exam attack outline. In this post, we tell you how to make a bar exam attack outline (and where to purchase them if you prefer to buy them).

If you do not want to make your own bar exam outlines, JD Advising sells our highly regarded outlines!

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