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I am wondering if it is ever necessary to study materials neither taught by the professor in class, nor contained in the cases or other reading assigned by the professor. For example, would a professor ever expect you to spot an issue on an exam unrelated to any rule or nuance you have studied in class or in your assigned reading? Essentially, I'm wondering if supplements should be used only to fill holes in your understanding of the material covered by the professor, or if they should also be used to fill holes in your understanding of the subject as a whole, regardless of whether or not your professor assigned or talked about particular rules or nuances. Thanks.

In my experience, there is nothing as counterproductive as using supplements to fill holes in your general knowledge. The content of the assigned reading and, especially, class discussions should delimit the scope of your studying.

edcrane wrote:In my experience, there is nothing as counterproductive as using supplements to fill holes in your general knowledge. The content of the assigned reading and, especially, class discussions should delimit the scope of your studying.

Would you agree that the syllabus is the outer limit of exam content (to the extent the professor follows it)?

edcrane wrote:In my experience, there is nothing as counterproductive as using supplements to fill holes in your general knowledge. The content of the assigned reading and, especially, class discussions should delimit the scope of your studying.

Yup. I have never had a professor test me on anything that was not covered in the reading or class. However, I have been tested on things that were in the readings but not discussed in class.

If they don't cover it in class or specifically state (either verbally or in the syllabus) that you're responsible for it, you typically do not need to know it.

If you put it on the test, you will typically not get any points for irrelevant information. law profs add pts not subtract them for not knowing something

In every piece of advice I have ever read about law school I have never heard anyone advocate learning something that wasn't discussed/assigned in class. In fact, most people have specifically said not to do this.