How to Study for the Bar Exam in a Week – A Procrastinator’s Guide
How to Study for the Bar Exam in a Week – A Procrastinator’s Guide
There is one week left until the bar exam. If you are like many people that “put things off” to the last minute, you are not alone. We are not saying you can complete a comprehensive bar exam prep program in a week. However, it is possible to boost your score significantly with the week you have left — especially if you use your time most effectively.
Here we have some general tips first – then a schedule to follow if you are looking for a day-by-day schedule of what to do the last week of bar prep.
How to Study for the Bar Exam in a Week – Tips for Each Section
Before diving into the day-by-day schedule below, review these tips. (You can also refer to them as you complete the day-by-day schedule!)
MBE:
- Read our guide on how to prepare for the MBE at the last minute. This will give you some great tips and put you in teh right mindset!
- Focus on the highly tested areas of MBE law this week. You do not have the time (nor probably the desire) to learn the intricacies of the Rule Against Perpetuities. Instead, focus on negligence, hearsay, contract formation….To see the most highly tested topics on the MBE, see this post.
- Get MBE questions. The best source are real MBE questions. But regardless of what you are using, at this point, make sure you have a clean book of mbe bar exam questions (rather than one that is written all over, with answer choices crossed out or circled). You want some MBE questions by subject and some mixed questions.
Essay Portion:
- Learn the basics. If you are in an Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) or Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, read our guide on how to study for the MEE at the last minute.
- Focus on the highly tested areas of law. If you are attempting to study for the bar exam in a week, there is no time to spare! If you are in a state that administers a state-specific essay exam, take time each day to bullet point past essays and see what topics you see coming up over and over again. If you are in an MEE state, there are even easier ways to figure out the highly tested topics: Purchase our MEE one-sheets (we offer priority express or overnight delivery options) for a super-efficient approach to the MEE or attend our Multistate Essay Exam seminar. Check out this link on highly tested MEE topics if you want a free overview.
- Learn Basic Essay Structure The bar exam is not law school! And you do NOT want to write a law school answer. Knowing the law is one thing but being able to apply it is another. Check out this post for great bar exam essay tips. If you are in a Uniform Bar Exam or Multistate Essay Exam jurisdiction, read our post on how to write an MEE answer and our best Multistate Essay Exam advice. Lastly, make sure you look at how to structure a multistate essay exam answer.
- Bullet point some past essays. Taking time to bullet point past essays is critical. Do not ignore this step. You will learn a lot especially if you have never done this before.
MPT Portion:
- Most states (including all UBE jurisdictions) administer the multistate performance test (MPT). And most students are completely unprepared for it! If you are in a UBE state, the MPT is worth the same as 70 multiple choice questions (it is 20% of your score). So, it is time to buckle down, especially if you are a decent writer, as it is much easier to improve your MPT score with one week left than it is to improve your MBE score. So make up your mind to take the MPT seriously first and foremost! (And read the post at the link if you are skeptical – because the MPT can give you a great advantage!)
- Read this post on how to study for the MPT at the last minute.
- Obsess over the MPT formats and structure. Here is an “MPT format attack” post – with formats and organization for all of the MPT tasks.
Daily Study Schedule:
This study schedule takes you through all of the MBE topics and all of the MEE subjects and MPT tasks. (Basically, it is geared toward a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction. If you are not in a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction then you will have to add state subjects and/or tasks!)
Monday:
- MBE: Real Property outline – review outline and focus on highly tested areas
- MBE: Real Property MBE questions
- Essay: Consider purchasing MEE one-sheets if you are in a UBE or MEE jurisdiction
- Essay: Learn state topic highly tested areas (e.g. Real Property, Wills and Trusts)
- MPT: Look over MPT formats and structure.
- MPT: Persuasive Brief – practice. Read this post for more detail on how to format a persuasive brief on the MPT. If you struggle with the persuasive brief, we have tips on how to improve your persuasive brief here.
Tuesday:
- MBE: Evidence outline and Torts outline – review outlines and focus on highly tested areas
- MBE: Evidence & Tort MBE questions (and some mixed MBE questions)
- MBE: Briefly review Real Property from yesterday
- Essay: Learn state topic highly tested areas (e.g. Evidence, Torts, Family Law)
- MPT: Continue to look over MPT formats and structure.
- MPT: Objective Memorandum – practice. For more detail on how to format an objective memo, see this post. For a breakdown on how to write an objective memo on the MPT, see this post.
Wednesday:
- MBE: Constitutional Law and Contracts – review outline and focus on highly tested areas
- MBE: Constitutional Law and Contracts MBE questions
- MBE: Briefly review Real Property, Evidence and Torts
- Essay: Learn state topic highly tested areas (e.g. Constitutional Law, Contracts, Conflicts of Law)
- MPT: Continue to look over MPT formats and structure.
- MPT: Demand Letter – practice. For more information on how to form a demand letter on the MPT, see this post. For more demand letter tips, see this post.
Thursday:
- MBE: Criminal Law & Procedure – review outline and focus on highly tested areas
- MBE: Criminal Law & Procedure MBE questions
- MBE: Briefly review Contracts and Constitutional Law (& other MBE if necessary)
- Essay: Learn state topic highly tested areas (e.g. Criminal Law & Procedure, Secured Transactions)
- MPT: Continue to look over MPT formats and structure.
- MPT: Opinion letter – practice. Read this post for more tips on how to write an opinion letter. And see an example of an opinion letter format here.
Friday:
- MBE: Civil Procedure – review outline and focus on highly tested areas
- MBE: Civil Procedure MBE questions (and some mixed MBE questions)
- MBE: Briefly review Criminal Law & Procedure (& other MBE if necessary)
- Essay: Learn state topic highly tested areas and review from prior weeks (e.g. Contracts & Sales, Corporations & LLCs, Agency and Partnership)
- MPT: Make sure formats and structure are memorized
- MPT: Practice an “unusual” task. For more tips on what to do if you see an unusual task, see this post!
- MPT: Bullet point MPTs at random
Saturday:
- Review all MBE subjects – focus on highly tested areas and anything you wanted to go back to.
- Mixed MBE questions
- Bullet point MPTs
- Read this post on five essential last minute bar exam tips. Get physically and mentally prepared!
Sunday:
- Review all essay subjects
- Essay – bullet point essays
- Review one-sheets if in MEE jurisdiction
- Review MPT formats
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