I’ve seen that a few bloggers who got good news this weekend have already starting posting advice/examples of what courses they took, how they studied, etc. that helped them to pass. I don’t particularly feel that I have any great advice to give on how to study, but I do feel that I have been an exception to the bar-study rule from the outset. For people out there who think that there is only one way to do things (i.e. Barbri), I suppose my story might be of use.

For one, I didn’t take Barbri, at all – in fact, I didn’t take *any* study course the second time around (except a 1-day thing for the PT). I knew it wouldn’t be the right study method for me. I’m NOT a lecture person. I bought the PMBR CD’s, but thought they were utterly useless because they took up way too much time and the lecturers kept reminding me of how much there was to know and how I could never remember it all, etc, etc. and I didn’t need that. I did buy the PMBR books from Craigslist (for last July) and a friend gave me hers when I started studying again. So, I had two sets – 2006 & 2007. I thought that their MBE subject outlines were much better than Micromash’s or any of the Barbri outlines that I had come across from other friends’ materials. I looked into private tutors, but the two whose information I received were already booked up by that time. At this point, it was the beginning of January and I knew I needed to get serious. So – this is what I did.

1) I asked myself what went wrong the first time. The thing I determined is that I didn’t know the law well enough. I was not worried about writing the essays, because I am a good writer, but I didn’t do a good enough analysis of the questions and I didn’t know the law.

2) I printed out every exam question and model answer on the state bar website and read it. I underlined sections of law that were very well stated and incorporated them into my outlines. I pored over every essay to see how much in depth people went in their answers. I also made notes about how the essays were organized. From these notes, I created outlines for certain types of essays – equal protection con law essays, comm prop essays, conveyances, etc. as examples of how to approach them.

3) Since I didn’t know the law well enough, I tried to figure out ways to help me know it better. I tried writing and rewriting my outlines, but that took too long. I tried constant re-working of my outlines to get them shorter and more fine-tuned, in the hopes that going over them so much would help me. That didn’t really work. I finally caved in and started to make flashcards – putting my entire outline into flashcard-form. This was a HUGE step in the right direction for me.

4) I identified the areas of law that I absolutely could not memorize. I realized one day that I could remember words to songs I had heard once but, for some reason, could not remember points of law that I stared at for five -ten hours a day. That is when I came up with the idea of my black letter poetry. Putting the law into some sort of a rhyme helped me consider it in a different context and enabled me to put the law into true layman’s terms. Struggling to fit it into a poetry form meant I really had to dumb it down and get to the nitty gritty of it. This helped me think it out and the rhyming structure helped me to remember it. I think my favorite was the property one I came up with regarding the differences between easements, covenants, etc.

5) I spent last time worrying about the MBE’s. My problem the first time around on everything was that I didn’t know the law well enough. The first time around, though, I fell into thinking that I had to do 25-50 MBE’s everyday. This time, though, I stopped worrying about them until closer to the exam. I spent the majority of my time just studying and memorizing. I would go through some MBE’s occasionally, but I knew that I had to get the law down first otherwise I wouldn’t do very good on the MBE’s at all! So, I focused on the law during the week and then would do 30 MBE’s in one of the subjects I had just reviewed every couple of days. I also didn’t let me MBE scores define me. I used them, instead, to identify further what areas of law I needed more review on. Like evidence – I kept getting screwed on the character evidence issues. So, I knew that I needed to work more on that, but that I had the hearsay rule down, etc.

6) I did fewer practice essays. My first time around, I was trying to do several full practice essays a week. This time, though, I would study my outlines, and then outline 2 -3 practice essays in that subject. Eventually I got down to where I was going over 5-6 subjects a day (usually on weekends because I was working during the week) spending 2 hours on each subject – one hour reviewing my outline and then giving myself an hour to outline 2 essays. But, overall, I didn’t worry about writing full-out essays. I knew I could do that, but I used them, again, to identify what areas I needed further practice on. Once, I picked up a con law essay question from a previous exam, read it, and realized I had NO clue what they wanted me to write about or how to address it. That made me realize I needed to go back and read the model answer again, look at my sample outline, and consider that topic more…

7) I took a 1-day prep course for the performance exam offered by John Holtz. I think it was one day (maybe 2? I forget). Was it worth the money? Since I will never know what I scored on the PT’s, I can’t really say. For one, it does not need to be a whole day. Or two whole days. If he were more focused and didn’t josh around so much, you could get what you need in half a day and then go back home and work on implementing it in your study program. Additionally, the class I took was two Sundays before the Bar, and he actually gave us a piece of paper that listed all the things we should have done to prepare for studying and all the subject areas we should know. Are you *kidding*?!?! A week before the Bar and you have the audacity to tell us where we should be at in our studying? That alone made me want to get up and leave. I have to say, though, that his method of organizing for the PT’s was quite helpful and although not all PT’s fit nicely into his method, it was useful (sorry – we’re not supposed to disclose his approach).

8.) I got lucky. As mentioned in the previous post, I would have been screwed if they had asked for contracts or civ pro. I just hadn’t spent as much time on those areas and though I probably could have written some sort of answer, it wouldn’t have been nearly as strong as those I was able to spit out this time. Everyone has their own strengths and no one can be 100% solid on all thirteen (??) subjects. It just isn’t possible. And with the additional stress of waiting to see what sorts of California distinctions they are looking for in bus ass, evidence & civ pro, you cannot be prepared for everything. I just happened to luck out and be prepared for the questions they asked and the subjects they tested.

Some people take every class out there, hire a private tutor, buy lots of books, etc. I couldn’t afford to that and I didn’t think it would help me. Yes the exam is full of tricks, but the most important thing for me was to know and understand the law and its application. So that is what I focused on. I studied by myself. I met someone at the library once to see if the study partner thing would work, but she was a total spaz and I couldn’t concentrate for more than 5 minutes with her. So, I worked full-time, went for an hour run after work, then went to the library for 4-5 hours each night, with longer days on the weekends. and I cried – a lot. But, this is what I learned.

So, the moral of the story for me was figure out what I needed to do better and do it. I didn’t follow the crowd, I didn’t take long prep courses, I didn’t study with anyone else. In the end, I really did get lucky on the Exam, but I do believe that, along the way, I must have done something right. There are lots of people out there who took courses, read books, etc. and that worked for them. The thing I hear from all the people I’ve talked to is that there is no “right” way to prepare for the exam. You have to know how you learn and study best, and you have to follow the method that is right for YOU. I’m able to say that my method was right for me because I passed. But, had I not passed, I honestly don’t know what I would have done differently the next time around. I just don’t want others like me – who don’t want to take Barbri & don’t want to spend a lot of money – to feel like they have to. Because there are other ways to achieve your goal.

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