Top 5 Reasons that Bar Exam Takers Ignore the MPT

Top 5 Reasons that Bar Exam Takers Ignore the MPT

In this post, we discuss the top five reasons that bar exam takers ignore the MPT portion of the bar exam. Hopefully, after reading these reasons, you will decide to take the MPT seriously. In fact, it may also help to check out this post on five reasons to take the MPT seriously! 

1. They worry too much about the MBE or (less likely) the essay portion.

We see students worry a lot about the MBE portion and completely neglect to study for the written portion of the exam, including the MPT. They think they can just “wing” the MPT since it is a closed-universe test (i.e., you don’t need to know any outside law going into the exam).

Unfortunately, this is not the case. The MPT is a difficult portion of the exam and it is one you should take very seriously!

2. They tell themselves that they are a good writer (or have legal experience or whatever) so they do not need to study for it.

If only being a “good writer” or having legal experience was enough to get you a passing MPT score! While both of these pose advantages to you, you still have to study for the MPT!

The truth is, a poor writer with no legal experience who works hard is more likely to pass the MPT portion than a good writer with legal experience who does not practice this portion of the exam.

The biggest problem that good writers/those with legal experience have is they run out of time! It may be easy for you to write a memo, brief, or letter if you have all day. But it is much harder to complete in 90 minutes if you have not practiced adhering to that deadline.

3. They don’t realize how much of their score it is worth!

In a uniform bar exam jurisdiction, the MPT is worth 20% of your score — or the equivalent of 70 MBE questions! In most other jurisdictions, the MPT portion is worth at least 10% of your score.  This is a big chunk of your score and you should allocate your study time accordingly. For example, if it is worth 20% of your score, consider devoting around 20% of your time to this task — at least until you have sufficient practice and experience with it.

4. They don’t have good materials.

One of the reasons that students ignore the MPT portion of the bar exam is because they do not have good materials. Many bar review courses do not supply materials in a logical format–or they supply the questions, but no answers (which does not help anyone!).

It is best to have (a) the MPT questions, (b) the MPT answers, and (c) the MPT student answers at your disposal. This will help you study for the MPT in the most efficient way possible.

If you are looking for past MPTs with NCBE answers and student answers, check out our MPT books. We have heard time and time again from students regarding how the MPT books helped them buckle down for this very important section of the bar exam!

5. Their friends ignore the MPT.

When everyone is ignoring the MPT around you, it is easy to ignore the MPT yourself.

If your friends are ignoring the MPT, it should only encourage you to study for it more! Since so many students procrastinate this portion of the bar exam, a little bit of studying can go a long way toward impressing the grader and boosting your score.

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