Are you taking the Bar Exam this summer? We give you 5 tips to study efficiently.
The Bar Exam is like nothing you’ve seen before. It requires a more structured, disciplined and intensive approach. First, you need to understand the differences between Law School Exams and the Bar Exam: for example, bar exam essays are shorter and require a more concise and well-organized response than law school essays. Second, you need to pay attention to your health and well-being: you are going for a long run! not a sprint. So how to study efficiently in this context? Here’s our five tips.
1. Your study Schedule
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. The life’s lesson here is to great a routine in your life. Having no routine or structure is draining mentally, physically and emotionally. On the contrary, having a schedule can help you establish priorities, limit procrastination, keep track of goals, and even make you healthier.
-> Start your day by doing a to-do list. In addition to your Bar Prep schedule, what else you have to do? Exercise, breaks, additional readings?
-> Take regular breaks throughout the day: it keeps you from getting bored and losing focus. I used the Pomodoro Technique during my Bar Prep and it was just great. Here how it works:
-> Break your day into chunks: schedule your lunch, schedule rewards (TV shows?), etc. Remember to spend as much time possible doing what you want by maximizing your time!
-> Have a theme for your week: that one can follow your Bar Prep course. You will focus your week according to what topic you are reviewing. But remember: don’t have two days that look the same.
2. Memorization
The secret here is about repetition. The best way to memorize something is to see it multiple times. It could be flash cards, outlines, or any other methods that works with you. During my Bar Prep, my bedroom was entirely covered with giant sticky notes. At some point, I used to remember rules depending on the room where they were attached.
Write it down: review a topic, then write it down. Do it again and again until you get the rule right.
Make flowcharts: I was a big fan of flowcharts. It help you visualize the rule. Our outlines have a lot of flowcharts.
Use mnemonics: for instance in Rea Property, remember TTIP: for a joint tenancy to be formed, the interests must have vested at the same Time, the same instrument must have granted Title, all must possess an equal share of the property (the same Interest), and all tenants must have identical rights to Possess the property.
3. Optimize your body
-> Breathe: when I was frustrated, I would take three deep breaths to relax, but in general, why don’t you try this exercise where you do 10 breathing exercises a day:
“Full breathing” is a natural and powerful detoxifier.
-> Eat “productive” food: we’re talking about fish for your brain, nuts & seeds for vitamin E, a bit of dark chocolate for the antioxidants, etc. Make some research and ditch your junk food now.
-> Drink water: 9 cups for women, 13 for men.
-> Get out of your chair: don’t sit all day, instead try to use a standing desk times to times! Especially when you feel tired!
4. Use quality materials
In another post, we enumerated quality materials as a way to survive Bar Prep and the Bar Exam. This is very important for effective bar studying. Don’t waste time with lengthy outlines or other study books. Find materials that utilize colors and charts! and most importantly, use released MBE questions.
We made our outlines out of different sources and added colors and flowcharts to facilitate memorization. Find out more here.
5. You are not alone
-> Ask for Help: if you’re stuck on something, or if something doesn’t make sense: ask your teachers about it! or talk to you friends and fellow students! Don’t move on until you understand the point.
We also offer tutoring services where we provide help for your preparation and grade your essays.
-> Don’t forget your family: You can take breaks to be your family (just not days), they are probably the reason that you are doing this in the first place! Being with your family will refill your batteries.
-> Talk to people: don’t be isolated. Sometimes it is good to take 30 minutes to talk with your friend or even go out for a drink.
Conclusion
Once you start to make a routine out of Bar Prep, it is not as painful as people say. Find a way to put our five tips into practice, this will take a lot of pressure out and you will boost your self-confidence.
Now is the time to come up with your own strategies: these tips are only some of the things you can do and you might already have things that work for you. Whatever it is, when you find something that works for you, put it into practise and go for it!
