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Your Frequently Asked Questions, Answered – Exam Season

November 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment

This week we welcome back guest writer Shirlene Armstrong to answer all of those burning questions about exams.

You spend all semester reading cases, attending lectures, and trying to learn the law. Countless hours spent trying to master your different classes and applying the law to real factual situations. And now it is time to show your professors what you’ve got! It’s final exam season yet again, one of the most daunting parts of law school. Final exams are a major cause of stress and anxiety for many law students. After all, most classes base their grades solely on the final exam! So what are finals like? How should you prepare for finals? And when will I ever get my grade? Fret not my friend! I have successfully maneuvered through 6 rounds of final exams and am here to spread my wisdom to help you be successful yourself. [Read more…]

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Law School Midterms: How Effective Preparation Can Also Set You Up for Final Exam Success

October 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Law School Midterms: How Effective Preparation Can Also set you up for Final Exam SuccessThis week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to discuss how preparing for midterms can also help you to prepare for final exams.

Imagine learning that your fate in achieving a specific goal would all be based on one factor? Well if you’re in law school you’re probably well aware of this dilemma. Unlike your undergraduate courses, in law school there aren’t a variety of exams, homework assignments, pop quizzes and papers that factor into your final score, giving you the flexibility to track how you’re doing and improve accordingly. Law school grading is typically based on one final exam which is the judgment of how you’ve done all semester. Therefore, if you wake up on the morning of a final exam not feeling your best, your performance on that day outweighs all the work you’ve done that semester, so good luck because it all boils down to that one score. Unless, however, you receive the gift of a midterm exam! [Read more…]

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Law School SOS: Help! I Might Fail My Final!

April 23, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Law School SOS: Help! I Might Fail My Final!!We welcome back guest writer and current 3L Shirlene Armstrong to talk about dealing with finals approaching and what to do if you’re worried you won’t do well.

One of the most daunting parts of law school for many students are final exams. You spend an entire semester trying to learn the law and apply it to real life facts. However, the law is confusing, and it is very easy to be left frustrated at the end of the class, still trying to figure out what the heck you were just taught. So, what happens if you feel like you are going to fail your final exam? And what should you do? You probably are feeling extremely stressed and no matter how much you prepare, you believe your grade is a lost cause. While it is understandable to feel discouraged, you don’t have to give up and feel like you’re going to fail! Instead, here are some tips to help you through this exam season and help you get back on the success track. [Read more…]

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Test Anxiety: What To Do When You Struggle With Multiple Choice Tests

April 9, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Test Anxiety - I Suck At Multiple-ChoiceThis week we welcome back 3L guest writer Shirlene Armstrong to talk about her struggles with multiple choice exams.

I have always considered myself to be an excellent student. I have always loved school and learning. I would get excited for the start of the new school year: the fresh pencils, the crisp notebooks, and the thrill of what new adventure would come my way. However, the thing that I always hated about school was multiple-choice exams. Simply put, I suck at multiple-choice questions. Unfortunately, multiple-choice questions are a part of every student’s life, especially law students. And since I am a 3L and in my last semester of law school (haha, stressed??), I am going to be dealing with the worst and most important multiple-choice exam of my life: the bar exam. [Read more…]

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Confronting Injustice On The Bar Exam

October 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Reconciling Social Justice With Bar Exam SuccessPlease welcome guest writer, Mihal Ansik, tutor for the Bar Exam Toolbox, to talk about how to balance personal feelings about justice with bar exam questions.

I can’t count how many times I died a little inside answering bar exam questions upholding doctrine that was legal, but, in my opinion, unjust. With fact patterns that require us to justify long term solitary confinement and concede to the flimsy 4th Amendment protections at border crossings, the bar exam demands complicity—fleeting as it may be—from those of us who feel responsible for challenging these very laws. So, when faced with an MBE question requiring me to affirm the constitutionality of deplorable prison conditions, did I engage in an act of resistance and fill in the answer aligned with what I knew to be true in practice, even if it was the wrong bubble? The honest answer is, I didn’t. [Read more…]

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Struggling with Law School Exams? We Talk to a Law Professor for Tips!

May 9, 2014 by 1 Comment

Law school professor exam adviceIt’s law school exam time, which means it’s time for a collective law student freakout. Why not take a nice, deep breath and read on for some exam prep tips from Melissa L. Greipp, an Associate Professor of Legal Writing at Marquette Law School? Melissa teaches courses in Legal Analysis, Writing and Research, and Appellate Writing and Advocacy and she’s got some great advice for doing well on exams and studying productively throughout the semester.

Welcome!

It’s exam time at most law schools, and students have one question on their minds: What is my professor looking for? Being only one person, you probably can’t answer definitively, but what DO you think professors are looking for? Are there certain traits or characteristics of a good exam answer, which demonstrate mastery across the board?

[Read more…]

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Law School Exams Getting You Down? The Best (Free) Exam Stress-Buster

May 1, 2014 by 2 Comments

Get some exerciseWorried about law school exams? Of course you are!

That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Elena DuCharme, a lawyer turned performance coach, who’s here to offer a great (free) suggestion for surviving exams with your sanity intact.

Stress is a fact of life. And it has a big upside. The human race, and indeed, all plants and animals, have evolved by adapting to stressful situations and coming out stronger and more capable as a result — becoming more “resilient.”

As a budding lawyer at exam time, you now have the opportunity to create your own positive, resilience-building habits. The payoff is feeling calm and empowered in the face of challenges, rather than freaked and anxious.
[Read more…]

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Kate’s Counsel: Chill Out About Exams

December 3, 2012 by 3 Comments

Sad law studentJust in the nick of time, Kate McGuinness returns with some words of hard-earned wisdom about law school exams & your future career!

In an astonishing display of clairvoyance, I will correctly predict the emotional state of each of the nation’s law students. Ta-da, it’s anxiety.

Exam Time!

Exams are coming, and no matter how hard you worked over Thanksgiving break, you’re certain you didn’t work hard enough. You finished reviewing your class notes, but you’ve given up creating your own outline. Gilberts and E&Es sit unopened on your desk. You haven’t taken a single practice exam yet.

Here’s my advice:

[Read more…]

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Two Steps to a Winning Law School Exam Strategy

November 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Law School Exam StrategyIt’s almost time for the final law school exam push, so I’ll make this brief.

What are you going to do these last few weeks, to ensure you’re ready to go on exam day?

  • Re-read your class notes?
  • Try to memorize a bunch of cases?
  • Cram a commercial outline into your head?
  • Look over a practice answer or two?
  • Give up and go to sleep?

Any of these could be useful, but let’s talk big picture — What’s a winning overall strategy?

[Read more…]

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The Story of My (Almost Disastrous) Second Semester of Law School

April 18, 2012 by 13 Comments

LibrarySome of you might be laboring under the misconception that I was a model law student. Let me assure you that was NOT the case!

If you’re in the middle of a massive flip out about your impending exams, trust me, I’ve been there.

Let me tell you about my second semester of law school…

[Read more…]

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