Exams

If you were to write a book for youngsters about how to play baseball, or an adult-oriented romance novel, your “audience” would be easy to identify.  In the first example, you’d be writing for an age group between 7 and 11; the readers would all be interested in baseball; and they’d be, let’s say, beginner-to-intermediate level of capability and sophistication in the sport.  In the second example, you could Google the demographics for who buys

This is terrific!  Look what The Wall Street Journal has done for you!  Yes, it's a couple of years old ... but some things never change. 

Taylor Wemmer is a first year law student at The University of San Diego School of Law. She is a native of San Diego and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  Ms. Wemmer recently posted some excellent advice for 1Ls ... about how to handle finals.

Check out her tips on what's helpful and what's not at: Ms. Wemmer's advice to 1Ls.

Rebecca Flanagan is the Director of Academic Success Programming at the University of Connecticut School of Law.  When she suggests something is important, I listen.  In her recent blog entry on one of my favorite blog sites, she summarized an article from the online version of the New York Times.

I agree with "The Lawyer Mentor" website which insists that, "The more you can practice issue spotting and answering exam questions, the more of an edge you'll have on exam day."

The "Mentor" also suggests a seven-step approach to constructing high point-scoring answers ... an approach that is consistent with what most other experts teach: 

Yes, final exams loom large on the near horizon.  "No need to panic, though – there’s still plenty of time to prepare with our ABCs." That's the beginning of advice from the J. Michael Goodson Law Library at Duke University.

Add these four timely tips to your list of "to-do's" before the last few study days!

"You are a most unusual person if you are not scared of having a three or four hour exam determine your grade in a course for which you have given so much of your blood, sweat and tears."  These are the (accurate) words of Carolyn Nygren, a legal education consultant now retired from full-time teaching, most recently at Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center.

Studying for a final exam?  "Back in the day," when I was in law school, then studying for the California Bar Exam, I found flashcards to be quite a help.  Your learning styles and preferences may be different, of course.  But I still use flashcards (I'm looking at a tall stack on my desk right now) to expand my Spanish language vocabulary.  For me, this method works.

I found a tip today about electronic flashcards ... and I'm passing it along to y'all.  

The National Latina/o Law Student Association Blog offers some sage advice about “How to Outline for Law School Exams.”  When you’re preparing your course summaries (aka “outlines”) you ought to be doing this with your eyes on the prize: the highest grade you can earn on each exam.  As the NLLSA blog entry explains, “The key to success in the traditional law school class is to focus on the exam.  The pressures of the Socratic method often lead law students to dwell on their performance in class instead of on the only graded exercise in the course.  Instead, spend your ti

Thanksgiving approaches. Time to commit your study plan to writing!  

For each course, set target dates for completion of your outline (course summary), early completion of your briefing for class, and the number of practice exam questions you intend to answer.  Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 25, 2010. Usually, law schools have no classes on the day before, Wednesday, November 24. Reading week and exams follow shortly after the semester resumes.