The month before the bar exam is often the most stressful, but also the most defining period of your study journey. Remember that memory kicks into high gear before a significant event, and we recall information better under pressure. Therefore, this one month period matters. At this stage, your study plan should focus on three core activities:
a) Daily Memorization of Black Letter Law,
b) Practice MBE Questions (approx. 25-35), and
c) Timed Essay Writing (one to two).
1. The Morning Warm-Up: 25–35 MBE Questions
Begin each morning with 25–35 MBE questions.
- Switch Between Focused and Mixed: Some days, target a specific MBE subject or topic; other days, mix them up. Your brain needs to get used to “context switching” rapidly between different areas of law, just like on exam day. But it’s still early enough that you want to do a deep dive within each MBE subject.
- The Strategy: Use these questions as a planning tool for your daily memorization of black letter law. Always track the legal topics that you missed.
- The Rule: Don’t go down the rabbit hole of spending hours researching case law on topics you missed, or every single distractor answer choice. Note what you got wrong, find the rule, and move on.
2. Daily Memorization of Black Letter Law
Dedicate at least two hours each day to memorize black letter law.
- The 50/50 Split: Devote half of your memorization time on the topics you missed during your morning MBE session. This creates a feedback loop between practice and review. Spend the other half on your known weak areas.
- Revision is Critical: Review the law that you got right last week or last month. Revision keeps the black letter law at the front of your mind. Confidence in familiar topics fades quickly without reinforcement.
3. Timed Essay Writing
Put it to the test.
- Integrate Daily Memorization of the Law with Essays: Pick essay topics that align with black letter law you just memorized. This lets your revise what you learned, and builds confidence in your ability to apply the law under pressure.
- IRAC: Graders are looking for the IRAC methodology: Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion. Their primary focus is on your knowledge of the R (Rule) and A (Analysis).
- Analysis Over Conclusion: You earn points by spotting issues, stating accurate rules, and applying them to the facts. Even if your conclusion differs from the model answer, a strong rule and analysis can still carry you to a passing score.
- The Review: After you finish writing your essays, review the model answer to confirm that you spotted all the issues, wrote down the rules and definitions accurately using the keywords graders look for, and analyzed facts sufficiently.
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