THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019 Forum

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by Cmal123 » Sun Nov 25, 2018 6:11 am

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:49 pm

Neilt001 wrote:Hey guys, personally I didn't crack open the long outlines at all, not even once. I found most of the stuff was in the lectures (from which I took notes by hand). I just couldn't bring myself to read those huge slabs of text after a long day at work. I just don't' absorb stuff in that way and get bored.

All my learning occurred through MBE PQs, over and over again.

As to the fatigue/feeling drained/unmotivated/feeling like you're not progressing, welcome to the next 4 months of your life! The good news is that's normal. You'll have good days and bad days. Even in the days leading up to the bar exam I had some really dismal test scores and felt like I was getting dumber by the day. It's really miserable, but it's the bar exam after all!!
Would you consider 40-50% in Real Property MBE PQ's dismal? Lol. I feel like a fucking idiot. One set I missed most of the future interest questions and nailed the mortgage questions (50%). On the third set I did today, I bombed the mortgage questions (41%). I'm writing down the rules I either miss or guess at and I review them over and over before bed, but it seems like none of those rules get asked again on the subject MBE PQ's. Any advice?

DodgerBlues1991

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by DodgerBlues1991 » Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:29 am

Is the equivalent of the BARBRI Convisor, for themis the Final Review Outlines?

inyourhonor07

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Thu Nov 29, 2018 2:28 pm

DodgerBlues1991 wrote:Is the equivalent of the BARBRI Convisor, for themis the Final Review Outlines?
Sort of. I do not find the Themis Final Review Outlines very helpful though. The MBE PQ's ask a lot of nuance that's not in the FRO for Real Property.

Do you see the Final Review Outlines online anywhere or are they just in the books?

DodgerBlues1991

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by DodgerBlues1991 » Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:19 pm

inyourhonor07 wrote:
DodgerBlues1991 wrote:Is the equivalent of the BARBRI Convisor, for themis the Final Review Outlines?
Sort of. I do not find the Themis Final Review Outlines very helpful though. The MBE PQ's ask a lot of nuance that's not in the FRO for Real Property.

Do you see the Final Review Outlines online anywhere or are they just in the books?

As far as I know they are only in the books. I am honestly not a fan of either the Themis big outline or the Final Review outline, wish we had something similar to mini convisor. I probably since I am a repeat taker just use Mary Basicks book as my main outline and whatever gaps I have in knowledge hope that the essays model answers and mbe explanations will help fill

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longwait

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by longwait » Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:24 pm

I used Themis for J18 (Cali). Agree that FROs are not very helpful.
Themis lecture notes, the workshop handouts and essay workshops (Ide-don?) are great for final review.
I used Barbri for UBE couple years back, and I don't think there is a CMR equivalent for Themis.
But Themis workshops are much better in the last week for final review than Barbri workshops.

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Neilt001

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by Neilt001 » Sun Dec 02, 2018 8:16 pm

inyourhonor07 wrote:
Neilt001 wrote:Hey guys, personally I didn't crack open the long outlines at all, not even once. I found most of the stuff was in the lectures (from which I took notes by hand). I just couldn't bring myself to read those huge slabs of text after a long day at work. I just don't' absorb stuff in that way and get bored.

All my learning occurred through MBE PQs, over and over again.

As to the fatigue/feeling drained/unmotivated/feeling like you're not progressing, welcome to the next 4 months of your life! The good news is that's normal. You'll have good days and bad days. Even in the days leading up to the bar exam I had some really dismal test scores and felt like I was getting dumber by the day. It's really miserable, but it's the bar exam after all!!
Would you consider 40-50% in Real Property MBE PQ's dismal? Lol. I feel like a fucking idiot. One set I missed most of the future interest questions and nailed the mortgage questions (50%). On the third set I did today, I bombed the mortgage questions (41%). I'm writing down the rules I either miss or guess at and I review them over and over before bed, but it seems like none of those rules get asked again on the subject MBE PQ's. Any advice?

Hi there! Not a great result, but it's just so early in your studying that there's no reason to be worried. you've got plenty of time to hammer those MBE PQs and get those scores up. I had a few similarly dismal practice runs, but it all worked out in the end!

Good luck

DodgerBlues1991

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by DodgerBlues1991 » Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:00 pm

wondering is there a point of getting adapti bar if we already have themis? I have heard that many of the themis questions are the same ones on adapti bar so kinda wondering if I have themis already, if i should even get adapti bar.

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anon sequitur

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by anon sequitur » Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:38 pm

except for civ pro they are the exact same questions, don't do it

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inyourhonor07

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:39 am

1. What are you guys finding helps you focus after work?
For me, doing a quick 10 minute cardio workout when I get home helps me. I think by keeping my tennis shoes on in our home office, it makes my body think I can't relax or lay back in the chair.

After the 9 or 9:30 p.m. slump, I get a wave of energy and can go until 11 or 11:30 easily. That slump is ROUGH though.

2. How's your progress? I'm at 25% and almost done with Torts MBE PQs, but I'm trying to get farther ahead. I slowed down a little bit last week to make sure I'm taking the time to read the lecture handouts carefully and learn the material. I spent one night just reading and trying to memorize some Real Property concepts instead of doing what Themis had assigned. It helped my Real Property score so much.

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by Psmith0717 » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:03 pm

I’m at 26%, I just started civil pro this morning. I’ve been getting up at 2:30am/3:00am and studying until 7:00am before workand I review from 5:30-7:30pm at night- bed by 8:00pm. I’m a morning person there’s no way I can do this after work. I’ve been following Themis mostly but I did take additional time for property since I hate that subject so much. We got this!

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by washington_mystics » Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:38 am

NY Bar - Feb 19.

Foreign writer but common law jurisdiction / English native-speaker.

I started a few months back with the LLM Early Access to get a handle on Civ Pro, Evidence, Constitutional and ended up going through Contracts and Sales as well. Only at 5% of the bar review (working full-time at the minute).

I don't have much thoughts on the process so far but felt like the first-set of Contract & Sales MBE PQs (47%) were harder than any of the four sets of 17 that I went through in early access (averaged 65% - 70%).

yennem

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by yennem » Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:13 am

Im still at 8%. How sereiously are you taking the essay writing at this point in time?

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by sg.cambs » Mon Dec 10, 2018 9:14 pm

Foreign taker, working full time.

How are people finding practice essays? I can usually spot the key issues in a question but miss some of the less important headings from the model answer - any insight on how much this is penalised in the exam?

DodgerBlues1991

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by DodgerBlues1991 » Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:05 pm

struggling on the Contracts PQ'S so far 55% and 53% through two, any good ideas on how to improve? also still wondering if I should get adapti bar as well or if these questions are the same as adaptibar.

inyourhonor07

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:43 pm

DodgerBlues1991 wrote:struggling on the Contracts PQ'S so far 55% and 53% through two, any good ideas on how to improve? also still wondering if I should get adapti bar as well or if these questions are the same as adaptibar.
I think psmith and I had similar scores on the first couple Contracts PQs. You will get better the more questions you do. Real Property will probably be just as hard, if not not worse, but Con Law and Torts are pretty easy if that makes you feel any better. I noticed my scores for Contracts and Real Property improved when I took some time to just study the lecture handouts for a full night instead of forcing myself to keep going with everything Themis had assigned. I didn't know the material well enough to just keep going with PQs and new topics, so taking my time with the two subjects I knew would be my hardest was worth it. You can always double up on work over the weekend so you don't fall too far behind. It's not the end of the world if Themis shows you did nothing that day even though you really studied for 5 hours. Also, make sure you're writing out each rule you miss or guess at so you don't keep missing it.

DodgerBlues1991

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by DodgerBlues1991 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:20 am

inyourhonor07 wrote:
DodgerBlues1991 wrote:struggling on the Contracts PQ'S so far 55% and 53% through two, any good ideas on how to improve? also still wondering if I should get adapti bar as well or if these questions are the same as adaptibar.
I think psmith and I had similar scores on the first couple Contracts PQs. You will get better the more questions you do. Real Property will probably be just as hard, if not not worse, but Con Law and Torts are pretty easy if that makes you feel any better. I noticed my scores for Contracts and Real Property improved when I took some time to just study the lecture handouts for a full night instead of forcing myself to keep going with everything Themis had assigned. I didn't know the material well enough to just keep going with PQs and new topics, so taking my time with the two subjects I knew would be my hardest was worth it. You can always double up on work over the weekend so you don't fall too far behind. It's not the end of the world if Themis shows you did nothing that day even though you really studied for 5 hours. Also, make sure you're writing out each rule you miss or guess at so you don't keep missing it.
awesome thanks would you recommend writing it out, or just copying and pasting what it says on the themis explanation. Would you also say that the lecture handout is the best place to go to learn the material for mbe if I want to take a breather and just review. Thinking of taking a day off and just reviewing S & T for contracts.

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Psmith0717

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by Psmith0717 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:07 pm

I didn’t do well on the first sets of contracts but my score improved towards the end. After each set, I wrote down every questions I got wrong/guessed on a notecards and I went through my notecards on my lunch break and after work. I also wrote the rules multiple times until they stuck. It helped a lot. I agree that torts is much easier.

KPocius

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by KPocius » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:16 pm

Hi All,

Currently at 24.6% and just started Civ Pro.

For those who already had a look at it, is it possible to get away with just lectures, without looking at the long outline which is around 100 pages...

many thanks!

inyourhonor07

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:31 pm

DodgerBlues1991 wrote:
inyourhonor07 wrote:
DodgerBlues1991 wrote:struggling on the Contracts PQ'S so far 55% and 53% through two, any good ideas on how to improve? also still wondering if I should get adapti bar as well or if these questions are the same as adaptibar.
I think psmith and I had similar scores on the first couple Contracts PQs. You will get better the more questions you do. Real Property will probably be just as hard, if not not worse, but Con Law and Torts are pretty easy if that makes you feel any better. I noticed my scores for Contracts and Real Property improved when I took some time to just study the lecture handouts for a full night instead of forcing myself to keep going with everything Themis had assigned. I didn't know the material well enough to just keep going with PQs and new topics, so taking my time with the two subjects I knew would be my hardest was worth it. You can always double up on work over the weekend so you don't fall too far behind. It's not the end of the world if Themis shows you did nothing that day even though you really studied for 5 hours. Also, make sure you're writing out each rule you miss or guess at so you don't keep missing it.
awesome thanks would you recommend writing it out, or just copying and pasting what it says on the themis explanation. Would you also say that the lecture handout is the best place to go to learn the material for mbe if I want to take a breather and just review. Thinking of taking a day off and just reviewing S & T for contracts.
I write out the rule for each one I miss or guess at in a notebook. I sometimes review them before bed, but I always review the rules before my next MBE PQ. It's all about repetition for me, but you should do what works best for you.

I prefer the lecture handouts because I don't think the Final Review Outlines cover a lot of the nuances tested and the really long outlines are just ridiculous.

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by gurya123 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:43 pm

Hi,

Do you have MBE real questions? how did you prepare for it?
Would like to share some thoughts about how to pass the bar.

Thanks

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Neilt001

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by Neilt001 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:27 pm

sg.cambs wrote:Foreign taker, working full time.

How are people finding practice essays? I can usually spot the key issues in a question but miss some of the less important headings from the model answer - any insight on how much this is penalised in the exam?
Hi there. My advice (having done quite well on the essay portion of the bar last year) is to seriously familiarize yourself with the Themis model answers. Obviously don't worry about the fact-specific stuff, but the rules and the headings and the law should all become very familiar to you. Highlight/mark-up the answers and do your best to memorize em.

As for writing the essays, it's not a huge problem to miss some of the smaller issues. You can still pass without getting them all. Just make sure you don't miss the main issue.

And then there's the important ability to bullshit - I personally completely bullshitted two out of six essays on thre NY bar and still scored in the 90th percentile. You just need to learn the format, use lots of headings and signpost language, and you can essentially make up rules if you don't know em. So I BSd 2 of 6, and I'm sure I didn't absolutely ace the other four.

So my advice is to learn the form, make sure you're able to write a cogent-sounding essay, even if the rules are completely wrong, and even if you miss a few issues. And definitely print out the themis model answers cause they're pure gold.

Good luck!

2018ukgrad

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by 2018ukgrad » Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:28 pm

Hi! I'm sitting the paper in February too, and I'm currently enrolled with Themis' LLM course but it's been a really rough ride. I'd say I'm slightly ahead of schedule, but it's been a lot of work to stay ahead, and with Xmas coming up, I can already see myself lagging behind. Hope we can keep each other motivated hahah

I'd love to get a convo and a study group going with my fellow test takers, but I don't check this forum account often and I'd hate to miss your messages.
If it's possible, could you guys hit me up through my email (pearlhyren@gmail.com) or my Whatsapp (+852 94874116)?
Good luck with your studies, guys! Hope to hear from y'all soon

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by 2018ukgrad » Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:35 pm

inyourhonor07 wrote:
Neilt001 wrote:Hey guys, personally I didn't crack open the long outlines at all, not even once. I found most of the stuff was in the lectures (from which I took notes by hand). I just couldn't bring myself to read those huge slabs of text after a long day at work. I just don't' absorb stuff in that way and get bored.

All my learning occurred through MBE PQs, over and over again.

As to the fatigue/feeling drained/unmotivated/feeling like you're not progressing, welcome to the next 4 months of your life! The good news is that's normal. You'll have good days and bad days. Even in the days leading up to the bar exam I had some really dismal test scores and felt like I was getting dumber by the day. It's really miserable, but it's the bar exam after all!!
Would you consider 40-50% in Real Property MBE PQ's dismal? Lol. I feel like a fucking idiot. One set I missed most of the future interest questions and nailed the mortgage questions (50%). On the third set I did today, I bombed the mortgage questions (41%). I'm writing down the rules I either miss or guess at and I review them over and over before bed, but it seems like none of those rules get asked again on the subject MBE PQ's. Any advice?
Hello! Property is one of my worst subjects, so I completely feel you on this point. I've realised that a lot of the hard questions were on subject matter that did not come up on the lectures or the lecture/essay handouts, such as nonnegotiable promissory notes, nonrecourse loans, right of first refusals, options etc. They are found in the outlines, so I was really thrown when these questions came up in the first and second practice question sets. However, the fact patterns for these questions are quite easy to spot, so I guess there's no choice but to just memorise the rules and apply them, even if you don't understand them.

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Re: THEMIS DISCUSSION - FEBRUARY 2019

Post by inyourhonor07 » Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:25 pm

Really jealous of everyone taking a UBE bar exam because these state distinctions suck. Anyone have any advice for making sure I keep these separate from the MBE rules in my mind?

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