7 Weeks Until the February 2011 New York Bar Exam

Dear New York Bar Exam Applicants,

After a one week holiday hiatus, welcome to the latest installment of our NY bar exam newsletter. In this issue, we consider:

• Important Upcoming New York Bar Exam Dates
• New York Bar Exam Study Strategy: Improving MBE Exam Fitness
• New York Bar Exam Essays In-Depth: Issue Identification & Recognition, Part 1
• Next Issue Preview

Important Upcoming New York Bar Exam Dates

• New York Bar Exam administered, February 22-23, 2011

New York Bar Exam Study Strategy: Improving MBE Exam Fitness

A key to preparing effectively and efficiently for the bar exam is balancing reviewing/memorizing the material with improving test-taking skills, including essay writing, answering MBE questions, and completing performance tests. If you spend too much time reviewing the substantive material, your essay writing and multiple-choice fitness will be limited and under-developed.

MBE Practice With Answer Explanations

In terms of MBE exam fitness, the best way to prepare for the MBE is practicing questions and reviewing answers to missed questions. As part of your bar review, you should possess a number of practice MBE questions available to you. Remember, you need MBE questions with explanations to the answers in order to correct your incorrect answers and learn from your mistakes. Unless you are taking a diagnostic or full practice MBE, answering practice MBE questions without answer explanations is counter-productive, as you will not know why a question was answered incorrectly.

Frequency and Volume of MBE Practice

The frequency, nature, and volume of MBE practice sessions should be an elementary component of your bar review. There are several variables you should consider when undertaking practice MBE questions. First, you should spend just under 2 minutes (1:48 to be exact) on each question to mimic exam conditions. Avoid the temptation to spend 3 or even 4 minutes per question during your initial practice sessions. You will get more out of the practice if you spend 2 minutes on a question, answer it incorrectly, and then review the explanation as to why your answer was incorrect, then if you spend 4 minutes on a question and answer it incorrectly anyway. Additionally, by adhering to a per question time limit, you are constantly training yourself under exam time constraints. Besides a per question time limit, you should also consider the volume of practice questions as your bar review progresses. This should be spelled out in your bar review study schedule with each MBE practice session becoming longer while simultaneously increasing the time interval between practice sessions. For example, in the first couple of weeks of your bar review it is not uncommon to do 25-50 practice MBE questions a day in several sittings per day. However, by the last couple of weeks of your bar review, MBE practice sessions should reach at least 100 in one sitting. Of course, due to the sheer time commitment to complete 100 questions and review incorrect answers, the sessions will be less frequent than your initial practice sessions of just a handful MBE questions at a time. Remember, the difference in mental and physical effort between completing 10 MBE questions in 20 minutes and 100 questions in 3 hours is significant.

New York Bar Exam Essays In-Depth: Issue Identification & Recognition, Part 1

Our Essays In-Depth feature is an excerpt from our New York Bar Exam Essay Solution On-Demand Workshop. This week we begin a series on Issue Identification & Recognition. Specifically, we introduce the concept of subject checklists.

The Problem: Failing to Identify "The Issue"

A common problem individuals face when preparing for the NY bar exam essays is a tendency to fail to identify or "miss" an issue on an essay question. Unfortunately, a "missed" or incorrectly identified issue can lead to a significantly reduced essay score.

The Solution: Create and Utilize a System to Identify and Confirm Essay Issues

To avoid the predicament of "missed" issues, one method that minimizes the possibility of missing an essay issue is the utilization of a systematic approach in identifying or verifying essay issues.

Subject Checklists as One Alternative

In simplest terms, a Checklist is a highly synthesized subject outline in a list or other format (e.g., a "Torts Checklist"). Generally, each entry in a checklist will be a cognizable "issue" or set of issues for the subject being tested. Continuing with the Torts example, a Torts Checklist might include, among other items, each testable intentional tort.

Checklists can be created in a wide variety of formats. A simple list is one possible format for a checklist. Other formats include acronyms or other mnemonic devices. Regardless of the format, the substantive content of the checklist will not vary: cognizable legal issues.

How A Checklist Can Help You Identify NY Essay Issues

The function of a checklist is to serve as an aid in recognizing and/or recalling possible issues for the particular subject being tested. For many individuals, the task of issue recognition on essay questions is problematic. Checklists are designed to alleviate issue recognition problems by providing a definitive list of possible issues, which can be relied upon and "checked" when such individuals are unable to recognize legal issues being tested from reading the fact pattern alone. Additionally, a subject checklist can serve as a mental security blanket for an individual during the bar exam itself. When time or exam pressures mount, a checklist can be an invaluable tool for an individual to rely upon.

Next Issue Preview

In our next issue, our Essays In-Depth feature will continue our series on issue identification and recognition.

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Study smart,

-The BarReviewSolutions.com Team