Three Reasons You’re So Nervous About The MBE

Three Reasons You’re So Nervous About The MBE

So many choices. So little time. A and B both look correct. It’s definitely A…. unless…. it’s B. Sound like a familiar dialogue? If so, you’re probably in the middle of studying for an upcoming administration of the bar exam. Specifically, you’re probably in the middle of practicing MBE questions.

Many students are nervous about the MBE portion of the bar exam. We want to assure you that some anxiousness over the MBE portion of the exam is totally normal! Each year thousands of students carry some nervousness going into the MBE only to successfully conquer that portion of the bar exam. Let’s take a closer look at common reasons students feel nervous going into the MBE portion of the bar exam.

Three Reasons You’re So Nervous About The MBE

It’s Been Years Since You’ve Taken a Multiple Choice Test

Multiple-choice tests can be tough due to the format. Law school focuses primarily on improving legal writing skills. The majority of law school exams are essay exams, and students learn and master skills such as drafting memorandums, complaints, answers, and briefs. For many law school students, it’s not uncommon to graduate from law school without taking a single multiple-choice exam! That means for some students, the last time they took a multiple-choice test was during their undergraduate years. Shifting their mindset from essay writing to evaluating multiple choice answers causes many students to be nervous about the MBE portion of the bar exam.

The best way to get back into the “multiple-choice mindset” is to simply practice MBE questions.  Some students spend all of their memorizing the material that they forget to practice MBE questions until much later in their bar prep!  By spending some quality time practicing MBE questions throughout your time preparing for the bar exam, you’ll be ready to take on the MBE and those multiple-choice questions!

The Process of Elimination

Many students get nervous about the MBE portion of the bar exam because of the “both could be right” dilemma. We’re talking about the difficulty students have when they narrow down the choices from four to two, with the final two both appearing to be correct.  Once students narrow the answers down to two choices, they often feel like they are destined to pick the wrong answer or they feel like they need to guess. Both can cause nervousness in preparing for the MBE.

If you find that you are often debating between two answers as you practice MBE questions, know that you are not alone!  Many students have difficulty picking between answers on the MBE, and we have put together some strategies to help you as you practice MBE questions during your bar prep.

The Practice Material

Students also get nervous going into the MBE portion of the bar exam because they are concerned the practice materials they used will be different from the questions they encounter on the MBE.  Students sometimes claim that the practice questions were nothing like those on the actual bar exam. Thus, students preparing for the MBE portion sometimes feel nervous over whether the test questions they use to practice will adequately prepare them for the bar exam. This is why we here at JD Advising often recommend using only officially released MBE questions from previous exams. Practicing with real MBE questions from previous exams ensures you know the type of questions you might encounter on the bar exam.

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