Why Avoid Outdated MBE Practice Questions

In this post, we cover why using outdated MBE practice questions can do more harm than good during your prep. Read further to see why you should avoid these types of questions at all costs!

Why Avoid Outdated MBE Practice Questions

When preparing for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), you want to make sure that you practice plenty of questions. The MBE is not about repeating back abstract legal concepts, but about applying those concepts to concrete fact patterns. The MBE won’t directly ask you “What are the elements of contract formation?”. Instead, the MBE will provide a fact pattern and leave it to you to recognize the question as a Contracts law question, spot the issue, and provide the right answer.

If you search the Internet for MBE practice questions, you will find plenty of courses providing practice questions. Some of those MBE practice questions are actual released questions used on past MBE exams. But some of those MBE practice questions are simulated questions written by bar exam company. Your best bet is to use the actual released MBE questions for your practice runs. Plenty of these questions exist and you will get practice with the format of the real MBE. You can read more about why you should use actual released MBE questions in this blog post.

However, even if you are using actual released MBE questions, you may not be using the most recent questions available. Some bar prep companies use older questions and recycle them from year to year. In this post, we will point out things to watch for in using outdated MBE practice questions.

Here are our tips on where to find real MBE questions to practice with.

Older questions can have outdated law and formatting

One thing to watch for in using older questions is whether the law has changed. As you know, the law constantly changes, so the MBE changes as well. While the basic fundamentals are unlikely to change (such as the elements of a tort or the jurisdiction rules in civil procedure), more complicated issues may change from time to time. You don’t want to practice with MBE questions that apply outdated law!

Also, the format of the MBE changes from time to time. While the MBE will likely stay as a multiple-choice test, the way that questions are written can change over time. You want to use up-to-date MBE practice questions to make sure you are ready for the upcoming MBE administration, not the MBE from decades ago.

No answer explanations

Another pitfall with using outdated MBE practice questions is the lack of answer explanations. Older MBE practice questions may have the answer key, but not detailed explanations of the answers. Without these explanations, you are left trying to figure out why one answer is correct while the others are not. The MBE is a tricky test; in picking an answer for a question, you will not be choosing between one obviously right answer and several obviously wrong answers. You will have answers that seem right, but get one aspect wrong or miss a subtle exception to the rule (or an exception to that exception). Newer actual released MBE questions include answer explanations, so make sure to use updated MBE practice questions!

Get updated actual released MBE questions

Interested in getting up-to-date actual released MBE questions? Check out the JD Advising’s!

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Why Avoid Outdated MBE Practice Questions