Top Five Law School Exam Tips

Top Five Law School Exam Tips

Are you wondering what to do to boost your chances of getting an “A” on your law school exams!  Check out our video to see our top five law school exam tips!

Top Five Law School Exam Tips

1. Figure out the format early!

Knowing whether you are facing one long essay, a series of short essays, or a large set of multiple-choice questions at the end of the semester could change how you approach studying throughout the semester!  If you know you will be given an essay exam, the details of each individual case that you read in your casebook are less important.  However, multiple-choice questions lend themselves better for testing the nuances of cases and rules.  Finding out the format of the exam early will help you determine how important the nuances will be!

2. Outline early! And memorize the law!

If you wait until the end of the semester to outline, you likely won’t have time to finish all of your outlines.  Even if you do finish them, there is little to no chance that you will have time to review and memorize them!  Therefore, we recommend that you work on your outlines throughout the semester so that you have time to review them, memorize them, and work on practice exams at the end of the semester!

3. Practice!!

Taking a law school exam is a unique experience – law school exams are not like undergraduate exams!  Therefore, it is important that the first law school exam you take not be your first time experiencing that kind of exam!  The best way to prepare is to take practice exams!

There are many resources for practice exams – some professors hand them out to the class, or some schools have old exams on file, or you can find exams online!  After you practice an exam, it is also important that you review your answer carefully and learn from your mistakes!

4. Use IRAC on exams!

Utilizing the issue, rule, analysis, conclusion format on law school exams will not only make your answer more organized, but it also serves as a checklist for you to make sure you cover everything that you need to for each issue!

5. Don’t outline dump!

Part of the exam is to properly identify the actual issues being tested.  A GREAT answer to a law school exam only discusses the issues that are actually relevant.  It is very easy to want to show the professor everything you know about the subject, but sometimes holding back and only including the relevant information actually results in a higher score!

For more information about each of these tips, be sure to check out our video on the Top Five Law School Exam Taking Tips!

• Seeking Success in Law School?

  • Benefit from personalized one-on-one tutoring by our seasoned law school tutors.
  • Explore our NEW and highly acclaimed law school study aids, available for a free trial.