The Game Plan

The OBJECTIVE of the bar exam is to OUTPLAY THE GAME.

The key to passing the bar is knowing the exam itself.  Next, after knowing the exam, it's knowing the law.

Materials:

You only need a few materials to pass the exam: 

1) Copies of every essay exam and model answer that you can access.
2) Copies of every PT and model answer that you can access.
3) A book that synthesizes the rules for each area of the law tested.  Conviser was my "go to" source.
4) Strategies and Tactics for the MBE. 
5) Purchase the NCBE on-line MBE practice tests.
6) Bar Bri MBE's or MicroEdge or Adaptibar.  I used Bar Bri's MBE's.
7) PMBR CD's or Flemings CD's and Outlines.

Here's how I began:

I developed a study schedule and stuck to it.  I studied 8 hours a day and got a good night's sleep.

I studied early and I studied two subjects per week. 

Once I developed my schedule, I listened to PMBR's CD's for each MBE subject to review the law.  I scheduled 1 Day per subject for review only.  Once I had completed my review of all subjects, I studied one subject for 2-3 days and rotated through all subjects at least 3 times.  With each rotation, I did more practice and less review of the law.

Knowing the California Bar Exam Essays:

It's more important to understand HOW the model answers are written and WHAT subjects are tested.  There's a formulaic way to write the essay answers in IRAC form and simple rule statements that are typically written in the model answers that the bar examiners expect.

I developed a grid of EVERY subject tested over the past 15 years. I organized every essay and model answer into 3-ring binders for EACH subject - Torts, Con Law, etc.  And, then I wrote 60 essays and formally outlined another 40.  I skimmed each essay to ensure that I KNEW each sub-subject that the bar examiners had tested.

For example, in Con Law, not only did I develop a 1st amendment templated answer, and a Commerce Clause template, but I also knew zoning law and some of the more obscure sub-subjects tested.  GO AHEAD, I thought, throw something at me that I don't know!

Adachi's "Bar Breakers" book is helpful but I don't like his answers.  Bar Bri model answers are helpful to ensure that the rules you get from the model answers are correct.  Answers from "The Recorder" are helpful but they are not simplistic like the model answers.  The model answers from the bar exam are not always correct so I wanted to ensure that I knew the black letter rules.

Always IRAC - Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion.

TIP - PLAY THE GAME...and don't be a perfectionist. 

Knowing the California Performance Exams:

My strength is writing; I have been doing legal research and writing for licensed attorneys and judges in between three bar exams.  Performance exams are fun for me, because case analysis is what I do for a living.  That said, I took Essay Advantage offered by Bar Bri and found it immensely helpful.  However, what they offered for a small fortune was pretty simple.  I summarized my approach to the PT's in an earlier post.

http://changingvenue.blogspot.com/2011/01/performance-exams-tips.html

To prepare for the PT's, I wrote 4 PT's under timed conditions and analyzed my answers against the model answers.  I used a grid of all PT's tested during the past ten years to ensure that I knew the expected approach to all types of PT's - objective memorandums, persuasive memorandums, opening statements, closing statements, appellate briefs. 

If PT's are your weakness, I've also heard great things about Holtz'es seminars.

The MBE's:

Although I nearly passed the July 2010 exam, the scores were due to my writing and not to the MBE's.  In fact, in Feb. 2009 (my first abysmal attempt at the bar), I scored 103 on the MBE's after having taken PMBR's 6-day course and done 750 MBE's.

For the July 2010 exam, I did 2,250 MBE's under timed conditions, reviewed each question that I got wrong, and developed a journal of rule statements and MBE "triggers."  In July 2010, my MBE score was 106.

Thus, I knew that none of my methods worked.  So, I followed the advice of a friend who raised his MBE score from 107 to 139.  Here's how:

My friend began his studies early and took one MBE subject at a time.  He used MicroEdge.  Beginning with Contracts, he made sure that he understood how the MBE's tested each sub-subject.  For instance, offer, acceptance, consideration, third party beneficiaries, assignment.  He did NOT focus on how many questions he did - his focus was on the QUALITY of his understanding.  All told, he did 1,500 questions and rocked the MBE's.  (His weakness was his essay writing.)

This past exam, I studied Strategies and Tactics for each subject area, spending one day outlining each S&T section for each subject area.  I did 10 to 15 questions a day, and after answering one question, I then examined the answer and the explanation.  I journaled any rule and trigger statement that I got wrong.  As I got nearer the actual exam, I focused on my timing.  But, I began to study the MBE's without a focus on my time.  My focus was on understanding HOW the MBE's were tested.

In essence, I followed Bar Guru's Attack Plan and found that it worked well for me.  Instead of flashcards, however, I journaled my rule statements and trigger facts.

http://barexamguru.com/category/mbe-study-tips/

Mock Exams:

PLAY the game.  Schedule at least 3 mock essay exams and at least 2 full day mock MBE exams.  Do mock PT exams.  Do all mock exams under timed conditions and spend time analyzing what you did wrong and what you did right.

Study Partners:

I've been fortunate to have study partners.  We scheduled time to outline essays once a week and did mock exams together.  It's not necessary to have a study partner, but it's a heck of a lot less lonely.  However, if you and your study partner conflict, ditch your partner and go it alone.

Mental Edge:

Throughout my life, I have had difficulty with standardized tests. In fact, I scored so poorly on the PSAT's, that my high school supervisor told me that I was "too dumb to go to college."

Having read some nasty comments on repeater's blogs and Bar Exam JD, I have to laugh at the insensitivity and bold, egotistic statements from people who have passed the bar exam the 1st time and who state, "You're too dumb to pass the bar exam on your first try." It takes particular tenacity to repeat the exam and to face and calm one's own anxiety about one's ability to win the game. Many of us who may lack the straight linear thinking that seems natural for some people, are hardly "dumb." We are different. Viva la difference!

Although I was "too dumb" to go to college, not only did I receive a one-year's scholarship in a well respected MBA program and graduated with honors, I rose to the level of VP in a leading international corporation, made more money than most attorneys, and went to law school at night to pursue a second career. Although I was "too dumb" not to pass the bar exam on my 1st or even my 2nd try, I was "smart enough" to pass the exam on my 3rd try. So, to my fellow repeaters, my hats off to you for your tenacity. FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS and let nasty comments fall by the wayside.

Hypnosis:

The same friend who crafted his success to winning the MBE game, gave me tapes designed for the California bar exam which were developed by a hypnotist.

Every night, I played a CD which lulled me to sleep and reduced my anxiety. When I went to the exam, I repeated to myself, "You're a winner. You are confident, cool, and collected."

And when I faltered and couldn't remember the rules, I rubbed my thumb and forefinger together and repeated three times, "Memory, recall. . ." and let the issue rest, moving on to the next issue. I let my subconscious work and the rule statement for the issue rose to my mental surface and was available to me.

If you can, beg or borrow a good hypnosis program. I attribute the hypnosis tapes to helping provide me a mental edge.

Mom:

This past year has been extraordinarily difficult for me.  In May, my mother died.  In May, I was so poverty stricken that I had faced, for a few days, a reality of living in my car with my cat, Sherlock.  My friends - real friends - came to my rescue.  They sheltered me and Sherlock until I could find a new room to rent.  I had so little money, that I lost weight because I could not afford much food.  I am burdened by debt, that I am slowly paying down.  And, I used my last $400 to find a Motel 6 for the bar exam, and to pay for gas to get there. 

When I wanted to simply to cry...when I wanted to give up and give in. . .I thought about my Mom.  I heard her saying, "This time is your last time at the bar exam.  It's your last time because you will pass and move on with your life.  Don't give up.  I will die, but don't let that stop you.  Do this for me.  Do this for you."

I took my Mom's favorite ring to the exam.  It sat on the desk in front of me.  And when I was too tired to go on, I stopped - for a minute - and I took the ring in my hand and said, "Mom, give me courage."  And, like the lion in the Wizard of Oz, I gathered the courage that I had all along.

YOU can do this, too!