Tempted to quit Forum

[idk]

and it's only been 6 weeks. I am THAT behind.
$120K is a lot of money. A lot more than the $10-$20K I've blown this semester.
I love my professors, but I cannot keep up with the work. It keeps piling and I apparently can't write...so I spend all my time agonizing over LRW, to the detriment of my doctrinal classes. Have I mentioned how much I HATE LRW? It is the bane of my 1L existence. I skipped 1/4 of my classes this week trying to perfect a 7 page memo, and it still sucked.
I know my failings are my fault and not some flaw with the system. I just don't know what to do.

[JCFindley]

and it's only been 6 weeks. I am THAT behind.
$120K is a lot of money. A lot more than the $10-$20K I've blown this semester.
I love my professors, but I cannot keep up with the work. It keeps piling and I apparently can't write...so I spend all my time agonizing over LRW, to the detriment of my doctrinal classes. Have I mentioned how much I HATE LRW? It is the bane of my 1L existence. I skipped 1/4 of my classes this week trying to perfect a 7 page memo, and it still sucked.
I know my failings are my fault and not some flaw with the system. I just don't know what to do.

Take this for what it is worth but take a deep breath and accept that LRW is just not worth the stress.

Don't get me wrong, it is probably the one class you will learn stuff that you actually WILL use but it is one credit which is not much compared to the others when computing your GPA. I am sure it depends on the school but at mine LWR is one credit and only one credit for fall and spring as compared to 26 or so other credits. That means it doesn't mean a lot for your GPA.

I am sure this also depends on the school, but our curve is that three students get As, the rest get Bs but she "can" give a couple Cs if they really suck. I have simply accepted that there are three other people that WILL write better than me so while I put effort into it, I am fine with that. Now, my other classes, I put a lot of effort into.

At the very least, take this three day weekend and try and play some catch up. Worst case scenario is you still feel this way in Dec and drop out then. You have already payed to play the game until then. Keep playing.

Good luck and keep your chin up.

[aca0260]

Stop spending so much time on LRW. You already know this so just do it.

[Birdnals]

and it's only been 6 weeks. I am THAT behind.
$120K is a lot of money. A lot more than the $10-$20K I've blown this semester.
I love my professors, but I cannot keep up with the work. It keeps piling and I apparently can't write...so I spend all my time agonizing over LRW, to the detriment of my doctrinal classes. Have I mentioned how much I HATE LRW? It is the bane of my 1L existence. I skipped 1/4 of my classes this week trying to perfect a 7 page memo, and it still sucked.
I know my failings are my fault and not some flaw with the system. I just don't know what to do.

Stick it out through the semester and re-evaluate after you have had time to come down from finals stress.

For now take a step back and really think about what you are doing and where you can cut back because there is no way this early you should be over your head with work. Maybe instead of outlining at this point, spend that time just going over the notes after cases and understanding the substantive law. Yeah, the weeks memos are do are going to be more busy than others, but treat school like a 9-6 job and you shouldn't need to put in entirely too much work on the weekends to not go out at least once.

[Lyonsoccer87]

Stop wasting all your time with LRW!! i had an LRW class that was worth just as much as my doctrinal classes, but after a couple of grades, i figured out that i was either a bad writer or the grading is random BS. so i stopped giving a crap about LRW and just turned in shit and hoped for the best. Result was slightly below median at LRW top grade in all casebook classes. If your gonna do bad in LRW, the worst thing you can do is to allow that Godforsaken class to also ruin your casebook grades.

Second semester i did my LRW work the night before and i got a better grade.

[idk]

Stop wasting all your time with LRW!! i had an LRW class that was worth just as much as my doctrinal classes, but after a couple of grades, i figured out that i was either a bad writer or the grading is random BS. so i stopped giving a crap about LRW and just turned in shit and hoped for the best. Result was slightly below median at LRW top grade in all casebook classes. If your gonna do bad in LRW, the worst thing you can do is to allow that Godforsaken class to also ruin your casebook grades.

Second semester i did my LRW work the night before and i got a better grade.

Thanks for this. The class is 4 credits total--2 credits/semester. I guess as long as I learn how to properly cite sources with the Bluebook, I should be okay to pass. I'm now weeks behind in my doctrinal classes and catching up seems impossible...but I must try.

[dextermorgan]

Do you get a fall break? Buckle down and do nothing but work until you catch up.

I stopped caring about LRW when I skipped a 4 credit class for a memo worth 5% of my LRW grade. I advise you to do the same.

[idk]

Do you get a fall break? Buckle down and do nothing but work until you catch up.

I stopped caring about LRW when I skipped a 4 credit class for a memo wo rth 5% of my LRW grade. I advise you to do the same.

Thanks! Yeah, fall break now. I skipped 4 doctrinal classes to work on the first memo. Never again. The whole school seemed to be panicking over the memo, I figured I clearly needed to put in the extra time...NEVER AGAIN.

[TTH]

Dat 1L

[mrtoren]

and it's only been 6 weeks. I am THAT behind.
$120K is a lot of money. A lot more than the $10-$20K I've blown this semester.
I love my professors, but I cannot keep up with the work. It keeps piling and I apparently can't write...so I spend all my time agonizing over LRW, to the detriment of my doctrinal classes. Have I mentioned how much I HATE LRW? It is the bane of my 1L existence. I skipped 1/4 of my classes this week trying to perfect a 7 page memo, and it still sucked.
I know my failings are my fault and not some flaw with the system. I just don't know what to do.

I see two different issues here. One, you're questioning whether law school is worth the investment. Two, you're questioning whether you can keep up with the assignments. The latter of the two questions is simple; you just have to improve on your time allocation. I would also recommend breaking the writing process down over a period of days, if not weeks. Dedicating huge chunks of time to writing is counterproductive if your "LRW mojo" isn't flowing. You have to be in the mood. Secondly, if you're not outlining before writing...OUTLINE. I was a hold-out for a long time. I thought outlining was a waste of time and energy. It's not. It's vital.

The former of the two questions is where things get tricky. If you're questioning law school, you may be questioning your choice of profession. The two are very different beasts (most lawyers hate law school), but some people just don't have the passion it takes to get through. As I'm sure you already know, law school consists of long, monotonous hours in the books. Idle free time is a thing of the past and the pressure of insurmountable assignments will always be there. If you're not wired for this lifestyle, if you're not willing to adopt it, bail out now. If you're willing to do what it takes, then push through the rough patch and carry on.

[dingbat]

I am sure it depends on the school but at mine LWR is one credit and only one credit for fall and spring as compared to 26 or so other credits.

you might want to double-check that. Legal Writing is 2 credits and Legal Research is 1 where we go to school

[cinephile]

You can't get your money back at this point for most schools, so you might as well stick out the semester and do your best. However, if you still feel this way by the time winter break comes around, request a leave or just tell the school you're not re-enrolling for the next semester. I wouldn't wait till you see your grades because 1) they often come after the deadline for getting a good portion of your money back and 2) they might convince you to stay even though you're miserable.

[dingbat]

Do you get a fall break? Buckle down and do nothing but work until you catch up.

I stopped caring about LRW when I skipped a 4 credit class for a memo wo rth 5% of my LRW grade. I advise you to do the same.

Thanks! Yeah, fall break now. I skipped 4 doctrinal classes to work on the first memo. Never again. The whole school seemed to be panicking over the memo, I figured I clearly needed to put in the extra time...NEVER AGAIN.

Most, but not all, of my fellow 1Ls at my school were freaking out about the memo. I did not.
Most of them spent every waking hour on the assignment, I briefed the relevant cases, then wrote the memo in less than 2 hours, followed by 1 or 2 editing sessions. I did no better and no worse than anyone else.

Nobody knows how to write a memo when they start out. Panicking dos not make you a better memo-writer. Spending countless hours on it does not make you a better memo writer. Everyone sucks the first time round.

[aca0260]

Absolutely do not follow the masses. I avoided that as much as possible and I was confident in my study plan. A big component of my study plan was not giving a damn about LRW.

[dingbat]

Absolutely do not follow the masses especially when they're panicking

[shredderrrrrr]

and it's only been 6 weeks. I am THAT behind.
$120K is a lot of money. A lot more than the $10-$20K I've blown this semester.
I love my professors, but I cannot keep up with the work. It keeps piling and I apparently can't write...so I spend all my time agonizing over LRW, to the detriment of my doctrinal classes. Have I mentioned how much I HATE LRW? It is the bane of my 1L existence. I skipped 1/4 of my classes this week trying to perfect a 7 page memo, and it still sucked.
I know my failings are my fault and not some flaw with the system. I just don't know what to do.

I see two different issues here. One, you're questioning whether law school is worth the investment. Two, you're questioning whether you can keep up with the assignments. The latter of the two questions is simple; you just have to improve on your time allocation. I would also recommend breaking the writing process down over a period of days, if not weeks. Dedicating huge chunks of time to writing is counterproductive if your "LRW mojo" isn't flowing. You have to be in the mood. Secondly, if you're not outlining before writing...OUTLINE. I was a hold-out for a long time. I thought outlining was a waste of time and energy. It's not. It's vital.

The former of the two questions is where things get tricky. If you're questioning law school, you may be questioning your choice of profession. The two are very different beasts (most lawyers hate law school), but some people just don't have the passion it takes to get through. As I'm sure you already know, law school consists of long, monotonous hours in the books. Idle free time is a thing of the past and the pressure of insurmountable assignments will always be there. If you're not wired for this lifestyle, if you're not willing to adopt it, bail out now. If you're willing to do what it takes, then push through the rough patch and carry on.

Completely agree with the bolded. I have wasted hours making myself work on my memos only to get a paragraph done. When I just accept I can't focus and come back at a later time, I can fly through it. Also, just a simple outline helps tons. I just take a pencil and paper and jot down a rough layout. When I find new information, I just note where it goes in the outline. It really does make it seem much more manageable.

[JCFindley]

Most, but not all, of my fellow 1Ls at my school were freaking out about the memo. I did not.
Most of them spent every waking hour on the assignment, I briefed the relevant cases, then wrote the memo in less than 2 hours, followed by 1 or 2 editing sessions. I did no better and no worse than anyone else.

Nobody knows how to write a memo when they start out. Panicking dos not make you a better memo-writer. Spending countless hours on it does not make you a better memo writer. Everyone sucks the first time round.

There was a fair amount of panic wasn't there?

I am sure it depends on the school but at mine LWR is one credit and only one credit for fall and spring as compared to 26 or so other credits.

you might want to double-check that. Legal Writing is 2 credits and Legal Research is 1 where we go to school

Really? I can't keep up. Research doesn't count as it is P/F so a credit or not it doesn't count towards the GPA.

OK, LRW is TWO credits out of 26ish for the two semesters then. (I also have no earthly idea how many credit hours my other classes are worth, thus the ish on the number.)

[noleknight16]

My school makes LWR 2 credit hours and it's graded on a curve.

Bastards.

[kalvano]

All of you can suck it. 3 credit hours per each 1L semester, and curve-graded.


And OP, LRW is a terrible class that taught me very little of any value. Stop devoting so much time to it and focus on other classes. See how things shake out after this semester.

[JCFindley]

All of you can suck it. 3 credit hours per each 1L semester, and curve-graded.


And OP, LRW is a terrible class that taught me very little of any value. Stop devoting so much time to it and focus on other classes. See how things shake out after this semester.

That's brutal.

[zanzbar]

OP I feel the same way except its not my writing class so much as just the entire experience. Everyone else seems to be happy in my section, and able to handle the work, but for some reason I feel like I am just drowning, and that just makes me want to lay around and do nothing when I get done with class everyday. I overheard some people talking about how they have their outline already up to date, and I haven't even started on mine yet... I am pretty much accepting the fact that I am going to quit after the semester because my debt number will be less than 10k, and I am tired of just being miserable.

[aca0260]

"Outlining" interpreted as having a final, golden piece of paper is overrated. You really don't have much time to consult your outline. Don't get me wrong, you need a good outline on an open book final. But it's really about the process of learning. You can't lean on your outline on the exam - you won't have time. Plus, you have PLENTY of time to build an outline. I recommend you get one from a 2L or 3L as a base and build on it.

[Lyonsoccer87]

I agree with the above poster. I do a bunch of outlines and throw them out through out the year. for me, outlining is just a different and effective way of memorizing/learning the material. If you think having "the perfect" outline is the key, go buy the Emmanuel cause it'll be better than whatever your first semester 1L friends are bragging about. also, don't let anything your peers say freak you out cause no one knows what they are talking bout first semester. being confident before 1st semester tests and getting good grades did not correlate in my experience. Cheer up, try your best and you can weigh your options after grades, but if you spend all your time moping around then you actually are putting yourself at a disadvantage.

[zanzbar]

Thanks, I have forced myself to keep up with the readings so I am not behind. I just need to find an hour or so each day to work on the outline process, and buckle down more on Friday/Saturday.

[uvabro]

Maybe our school is different but we have student graders, and it's pass/fail. Everyone takes it so seriously. My plan is just to pass - it's really hard to fail, and when I actually get a job reteach myself the course. I only have so many on the ball hours each day, and don't want to waste them on the ungraded.