Multistate Essay Exam Writing Advice

Multistate Essay Exam Writing Advice

Improving your writing on the MEE is an easy way to boost your score without even learning any additional law!  In this post, we provide Multistate Essay Exam writing advice!

Multistate Essay Exam Writing Advice

1. Stick to the IRAC format.

IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion.  There are multiple benefits to using IRAC on MEE answers.  First of all, it makes your answer organized.  There is a natural progression from the issue, to the rule, to the analysis, and then to the conclusion.

Second, it serves as a reminder to yourself to include all of those things within your answer to ensure that you earn all the points possible.  If you find yourself stating the rule, and then immediately concluding, you are missing out on valuable points!  Double-checking that you have actually included each portion of the IRAC will help maximize your score! Check out our breakdown of how to maximize your use of IRAC on the bar exam!

2. Don’t start with a conclusion!

IRAC is arguably a superior format to others such as CRAC or CIRAC.  Those formats suggest starting with a conclusion first.  There are a few reasons why you don’t want to start with a conclusion.  First, if your conclusion happens to be incorrect, you are telling the grader right away that everything you are about to say is going to lead to the incorrect conclusion.  You don’t want the incorrect conclusion to be the first thing they read – they may skim over other accurate, relevant things that you state within the rules and analysis!

Second, if you start with a conclusion, and then re-state your conclusion at the end of the paragraph, you run the risk of changing your mind and having inconsistent conclusions.  It is entirely possible that you forget to go back and change your first conclusion, and now the grader has no idea what your conclusion is.  Therefore, it is better to state your conclusion once at the end of the issue.

3. Use headings and paragraph breaks.

Using bolded or underlined headings to separate the different issues within your answer makes it not only visually appealing but also easier for the grader to clearly spot where one issue stops and the next issue begins.  It is also a good reminder to yourself to only discuss one issue per heading, and not blend issues.

Using a separate paragraph for the rule, analysis, and conclusion also makes it easier for the grader to read and ensures that you actually address each of the components of IRAC! If you use this format and notice that you only have two paragraphs for an issue, chances are, you missed a good chunk of the points!

4. Save time to proofread.

Although it may not lead to a significant reduction in points, excessive typos or unfinished sentences can be very distracting.  Also, if you included all the correct substance in your response, a well-written essay could be the difference between a good score and a great score!  Proofreading is also a great time to ensure that there are no additional facts that you need to incorporate into your analysis at the last minute!  As you practice writing MEEs, try giving yourself a couple of minutes less to write the answer. Then, use those extra minutes at the end of your time to proofread and make corrections.

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