TheSeaLocust's 1L Anxiety Meditation Retreat & Spa Forum

[arklaw13]

Have done nothing on my Civpro outline with 12 days until the exam. Got one from a 3L who took the same prof. Don't know what her grade was in the class, but her overall grades are good. Its 60 pages. I don't do outlines that large. My contracts outline is less than 20 and will stay that way, for example.

Option A: Make my own outline from scratch, use hers for comparison/gap-filling.
Option B: cut and paste the good stuff from her outline into a 20 page outline. Spend the extra time taking practice exams.
Option C: cut my losses and drop out now before I find out this was all a huge mistake.

Thoughts?

[thesealocust]

No strategy here. You have plenty of time, the method you use to study matters less than just getting it done. But you do have time and it will be O.K.!

[eerie_erie]

No strategy here. You have plenty of time, the method you use to study matters less than just getting it done. But you do have time and it will be O.K.!

Yeah I agree. Stop worrying about the amount of time that you have because that's just going to make you panic more and be unable to focus. The exam date is coming no matter what, might as well try to be calm getting there. I think you should try to get a good skeleton of all the major issues before getting into the nitty-gritty of everything. Also drawing a concept map helps me too; it gives me an idea of what is important or not before I just start going crazy and trying to study everything at once.

(3L here, oops, was I supposed to stay out of this forum?)

[AlanShore]

Yeah I agree. Stop worrying about the amount of time that you have because that's just going to make you panic more and be unable to focus. The exam date is coming no matter what, might as well try to be calm getting there. I think you should try to get a good skeleton of all the major issues before getting into the nitty-gritty of everything. Also drawing a concept map helps me too; it gives me an idea of what is important or not before I just start going crazy and trying to study everything at once.

(3L here, oops, was I supposed to stay out of this forum?)

No because you're providing anti-anxiety advice to 1Ls! Thanks!

[KD35]

TSL: How was it waiting for grades for that 3-4 week period after the first set of finals your 1L year? I know it is early, but any recommendations on how to not freak out in that period? Or just how to minimize the freaking out.

[thesealocust]

It's a very anxious time, and to some extent there's nothing to do but gut it out. You'll have a lot on your mind. Some things to make a bad situation less awful though:

1. DO NOT DISCUSS YOUR EXAMS WITH ANYONE. You'll freak each other out. You will second guess yourself no matter what, you absolutely don't want to hear Jim talk about the XYZ issue and have a sinking feeling that you missed something.

2. Further to #1, do not open or otherwise re-read your answers even if you can. Trust me, they won't be pretty to you in hindsight even if they're pretty when graded on a curve.

3. Scotch.

[brotherdarkness]

.

[eerie_erie]

Doing creative things with no structure helps as well. Scrapbooking, taking a dance/parkour class, writing stories...basically anything that isn't "productive" in the traditional sense but gives you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I suppose hangovers can also qualify as some sort of accomplishment...maybe...

[stillwater]

Doing creative things with no structure helps as well. Scrapbooking, taking a dance/parkour class, writing stories...basically anything that isn't "productive" in the traditional sense but gives you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. I suppose hangovers can also qualify as some sort of accomplishment...maybe...

some hangovers can be QUITE the accomplishment

[Easy-E]

Have outlines for every class, did almost nothing as far as making my own outlines. My notes themselves are pretty concise (I made a point to include all relevant rules and BLL along the way), less than 20 pages for every class, but fuck I feel like I dropped the ball big time. I don't know why I thought we had a longer time after Thanksgiving before finals, but K's is next Monday. Also, I have class until Wednesday. Two of them are Q&A days which are cool I guess, but Torts we have a ton of reading (not happening) because he couldn't keep the class on track, and took 3 fucking days on dram shop liability for some stupid reason. I thought most schools had a full week off before first final?

[stillwater]

Have outlines for every class, did almost nothing as far as making my own outlines. My notes themselves are pretty concise (I made a point to include all relevant rules and BLL along the way), less than 20 pages for every class, but fuck I feel like I dropped the ball big time. I don't know why I thought we had a longer time after Thanksgiving before finals, but K's is next Monday. Also, I have class until Wednesday. Two of them are Q&A days which are cool I guess, but Torts we have a ton of reading (not happening) because he couldn't keep the class on track, and took 3 fucking days on dram shop liability for some stupid reason. I thought most schools had a full week off before first final?

i wish i was at the dram shop right now.

[Easy-E]

Have outlines for every class, did almost nothing as far as making my own outlines. My notes themselves are pretty concise (I made a point to include all relevant rules and BLL along the way), less than 20 pages for every class, but fuck I feel like I dropped the ball big time. I don't know why I thought we had a longer time after Thanksgiving before finals, but K's is next Monday. Also, I have class until Wednesday. Two of them are Q&A days which are cool I guess, but Torts we have a ton of reading (not happening) because he couldn't keep the class on track, and took 3 fucking days on dram shop liability for some stupid reason. I thought most schools had a full week off before first final?

i wish i was at the dram shop right now.

i'm gonna be slammin' drams December 20th

[Easy-E]

Well, I think I might be fucked, and it's no one's fault but my own. Didn't realize K's was closed-book, didn't outline shit. Don't know why I didn't realize we only had a week before exams after Thanksgiving. So, with a closed-book exam in 7 days, should I even both outlining? I can't even figure out how to start, I'm pretty much paralyzed.

[stillwater]

Well, I think I might be fucked, and it's no one's fault but my own. Didn't realize K's was closed-book, didn't outline shit. Don't know why I didn't realize we only had a week before exams after Thanksgiving. So, with a closed-book exam in 7 days, should I even both outlining? I can't even figure out how to start, I'm pretty much paralyzed.

yea, why not outline? you can probably get all the doctrine done for Ks within 3 days. 1L classes are a limited universe. you can do it.

[Easy-E]

Well, I think I might be fucked, and it's no one's fault but my own. Didn't realize K's was closed-book, didn't outline shit. Don't know why I didn't realize we only had a week before exams after Thanksgiving. So, with a closed-book exam in 7 days, should I even both outlining? I can't even figure out how to start, I'm pretty much paralyzed.

yea, why not outline? you can probably get all the doctrine done for Ks within 3 days. 1L classes are a limited universe. you can do it.

I started earlier today, but it's jut not coming to me as easy as the other courses. Considering I can't even use the outline on the exam, should I just be focusing on getting BLL down and not both including cases in there? Also, The Farnsworth text's organization frustrates me to no end.

And thank you for the reassurance.

[North]

Do it dude. I outlined K's in three days of suck. Spend 2 days memorizing/PTing. You'll be good. Lexis headnote the cases.

[thesealocust]

Well, I think I might be fucked, and it's no one's fault but my own. Didn't realize K's was closed-book, didn't outline shit. Don't know why I didn't realize we only had a week before exams after Thanksgiving. So, with a closed-book exam in 7 days, should I even both outlining? I can't even figure out how to start, I'm pretty much paralyzed.

You have plenty of time!

Still outline, there's no better way to memorize the material. If you don't distill it first, it will be way too much. But there's time even for that.

[sublime]

..

[thesealocust]

I am not sure if I am relatively relaxed because I don't care, because I am overconfident, or because I am not adequately prepared and am ready to accept whatever my fate is.

You are a leaf on the wind.

[North]

I am not sure if I am relatively relaxed because I don't care, because I am overconfident, or because I am not adequately prepared and am ready to accept whatever my fate is.

This is how I feel too. Just brought some brews to the lib to help with cleaning up torts OL. Leaf on the wind breh.

[Easy-E]

Do it dude. I outlined K's in three days of suck. Spend 2 days memorizing/PTing. You'll be good. Lexis headnote the cases.

Well, I think I might be fucked, and it's no one's fault but my own. Didn't realize K's was closed-book, didn't outline shit. Don't know why I didn't realize we only had a week before exams after Thanksgiving. So, with a closed-book exam in 7 days, should I even both outlining? I can't even figure out how to start, I'm pretty much paralyzed.

You have plenty of time!

Still outline, there's no better way to memorize the material. If you don't distill it first, it will be way too much. But there's time even for that.

Thanks guys. I've been plowing through it all day. I know you advised using your syllabus as "frame" for your outline, but like I said, I can't stand the way Farnsworth's book is organized, so I'm just using the structure of Chirelstein's supplement. I don't see why I would want the types of damages spread out all over my outline rather than under one heading.

Also, anyone ever use the Law in a Flash for K's? I may just make my own if I have the time, but for memorization nothing works better for me than flash cards, I just don't feel like paying for cards and only needing half of them.

[sublime]

..

[Dolphine]

ugh....im not feeling well today, worried im getting sick, now is not the time...i cant get sick...

[Easy-E]

Do it dude. I outlined K's in three days of suck. Spend 2 days memorizing/PTing. You'll be good. Lexis headnote the cases.

I've been checking out the Lexis headnotes...do you just take the first one down, or do you just use this as a refresher for cases? I'm coming across ones from K's that I honestly don't know why we had to read them. Did I mention how much I hate this casebook? The first chapter has absolutely zero focus. Here's measuring damages, then here's one case on contracts for the sale of real estate, oh how about some consideration weaved in and out with no helpful structure?


Edit: I was having a horrible go at outlining this class, found an old outline that is really helping. Adding/cutting what I need to, gonna start making those flash cards soon. Is it safe to assume that for a closed book exam the professor would not be expecting actual section numbers from the Restatement, at least for majority of them?

[thesealocust]

On a closed book exam, the curve is going to save you, not the professor's expectations. They can want citations and good analysis all day and all night, they know well that having the exam be closed book will lower the average quality of exams for all kinds of reasons (not just restatement number application vel non)

Think of it as an opportunity to stand out