Syllabus and Panic! Forum

[GoodToBeTheKing]

anyone see their syllabus and question your reason for putting yourself through this hell???

My contracts class has 5 tests, each 8 hours long, and I will be reading 100 pages this weekend before my first day of class

[SwollenMonkey]

anyone see their syllabus and question your reason for putting yourself through this hell???

My contracts class has 5 tests, each 8 hours long, and I will be reading 100 pages this weekend before my first day of class

Yes. I question it at times and feel like throwing in the towel while it is still early. However, when I begin reading and practicing exams, I feel like continuing and getting my degree. Honestly, I'd like my law degree.

[inchoate_con]

anyone see their syllabus and question your reason for putting yourself through this hell???

My contracts class has 5 tests, each 8 hours long, and I will be reading 100 pages this weekend before my first day of class

For me, 5 tests is much better than one. Shit, I'd be jumping for joy.

[SwollenMonkey]

I have midterms and finals.

[soaponarope]

anyone see their syllabus and question your reason for putting yourself through this hell???

My contracts class has 5 tests, each 8 hours long, and I will be reading 100 pages this weekend before my first day of class

5 test... each 8 hours long? Are you sure you read that correctly? I can't fathom one course having 5 exams... especially 8 hours long per exam.

[chicagolaw2013]

anyone see their syllabus and question your reason for putting yourself through this hell???

My contracts class has 5 tests, each 8 hours long, and I will be reading 100 pages this weekend before my first day of class

5 test... each 8 hours long? Are you sure you read that correctly? I can't fathom one course having 5 exams... especially 8 hours long per exam.

This. Either you misread, or your professor is smoking rocks.

[GoodToBeTheKing]

My professor is smoking rocks.

[CourierTwelve]

5 tests, each 8 hours long

take-home, I'm sure.

[GoodToBeTheKing]

5 tests, each 8 hours long

take-home, I'm sure.

Yeah, but it's still quite a bit of work in the middle of the semester when you consider that I will be in 3 other classes.

[StudentAthlete]

5 tests in LS? perhaps 5 essay questions on one final exam is what you've read?

[SamuelLChang]

Yeah, but it's still quite a bit of work in the middle of the semester when you consider that I will be in 3 other classes.

Don't psyche yourself out. I'm a rising 3L now, and take homes (especially of the "8hr" variety) are far less daunting then the all-or-nothing single final. Primarily because 8hr usually means 8hrs within which to take the exam, not 8hrs-worth of an exam. Will there be gunners who go for 8hrs straight? of course... but I've had plenty of success submitting an 8hr with 4hrs of work.

You'll be happy, come finals time, to know that a significant portion of your grade is already locked in and that you can focus on maximizing your study time for the remaining classes.

[soaponarope]

Yeah, but it's still quite a bit of work in the middle of the semester when you consider that I will be in 3 other classes.

Don't psyche yourself out. I'm a rising 3L now, and take homes (especially of the "8hr" variety) are far less daunting then the all-or-nothing single final. Primarily because 8hr usually means 8hrs within which to take the exam, not 8hrs-worth of an exam. Will there be gunners who go for 8hrs straight? of course... but I've had plenty of success submitting an 8hr with 4hrs of work.

You'll be happy, come finals time, to know that a significant portion of your grade is already locked in and that you can focus on maximizing your study time for the remaining classes.

Question about the take home exams:

How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

Additionally, how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? What if (hypothetically) I had my family members (many of them are lawyers) assist me.

TIA.

[Omerta]

Yeah, but it's still quite a bit of work in the middle of the semester when you consider that I will be in 3 other classes.

Don't psyche yourself out. I'm a rising 3L now, and take homes (especially of the "8hr" variety) are far less daunting then the all-or-nothing single final. Primarily because 8hr usually means 8hrs within which to take the exam, not 8hrs-worth of an exam. Will there be gunners who go for 8hrs straight? of course... but I've had plenty of success submitting an 8hr with 4hrs of work.

You'll be happy, come finals time, to know that a significant portion of your grade is already locked in and that you can focus on maximizing your study time for the remaining classes.

Question about the take home exams:

How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

Additionally, how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? What if (hypothetically) I had my family members (many of them are lawyers) assist me.

TIA.

Then you would not so hypothetically fail the class and get a very sad note when it comes time to apply to the bar. Law professors will be able to tell because you don't know shit about how to write a memo and it will be terrible compared to the product an actual attorney (assuming your relatives are good lawyers and not hacks) puts out. An analogous example would be a Calc 2 assignment done by a student and one done by a P.h.D. One will probably have plenty of unnecessary steps, superfluous reasoning, and overall messier. The other one will be simple, elegant, and correct. This isn't the first exam a professor has ever seen, just because you or I would have a hard time telling the difference doesn't mean that they will.

My school during orientation had students come up and speak because they cooperated on a Legal writing memo together. One just gave a few formatting changes and had some ideas to add to the other one's paper. They were caught within 6 hours of handing in the assignment and ended up with a D- and F in the class. Don't do it you stupid gunner 1L.

[soaponarope]

Yeah, but it's still quite a bit of work in the middle of the semester when you consider that I will be in 3 other classes.

Don't psyche yourself out. I'm a rising 3L now, and take homes (especially of the "8hr" variety) are far less daunting then the all-or-nothing single final. Primarily because 8hr usually means 8hrs within which to take the exam, not 8hrs-worth of an exam. Will there be gunners who go for 8hrs straight? of course... but I've had plenty of success submitting an 8hr with 4hrs of work.

You'll be happy, come finals time, to know that a significant portion of your grade is already locked in and that you can focus on maximizing your study time for the remaining classes.

Question about the take home exams:

How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

Additionally, how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? What if (hypothetically) I had my family members (many of them are lawyers) assist me.

TIA.

Then you would not so hypothetically fail the class and get a very sad note when it comes time to apply to the bar. Law professors will be able to tell because you don't know shit about how to write a memo and it will be terrible compared to the product an actual attorney (assuming your relatives are good lawyers and not hacks) puts out. An analogous example would be a Calc 2 assignment done by a student and one done by a P.h.D. One will probably have plenty of unnecessary steps, superfluous reasoning, and overall messier. The other one will be simple, elegant, and correct. This isn't the first exam a professor has ever seen, just because you or I would have a hard time telling the difference doesn't mean that they will.

My school during orientation had students come up and speak because they cooperated on a Legal writing memo together. One just gave a few formatting changes and had some ideas to add to the other one's paper. They were caught within 6 hours of handing in the assignment and ended up with a D- and F in the class. Don't do it you stupid gunner 1L.

Appreciate the effort, but you didn't answer my questions. And a Memo? My take home exam has nothing to do with my legal writing class, i.e. the "memo". Additionally, I never said I would "do it"...

So, lets try this again:

#1. How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

#2. how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? (besides the weak argument of your take home test being "simple, elegant, and correct")

[iShotFirst]

Appreciate the effort, but you didn't answer my questions. And a Memo? My take home exam has nothing to do with my legal writing class, i.e. the "memo". Additionally, I never said I would "do it"...

So, lets try this again:

#1. How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

#2. how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? (besides the weak argument of your take home test being "simple, elegant, and correct")

Honor code.

[jayn3]

#1. How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

#2. how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? (besides the weak argument of your take home test being "simple, elegant, and correct")

1. I believe many schools, mine included, use ExamSoft. As I understand it, it's a program that regulates how much time you spend on the exam and also makes it impossible to access anything else in the same time period. I'm sure every school does it slightly differently. I'm also sure your school will explain it to you when you need to know.

2. That is not a weak argument. Furthermore, your question is irrelevant since doing what you are suggesting would do very, very bad things to your career prospects. Stop worrying about cheating and start worrying about getting your shit together so you don't feel the need to.

[soaponarope]

#1. How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

#2. how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? (besides the weak argument of your take home test being "simple, elegant, and correct")

1. I believe many schools, mine included, use ExamSoft. As I understand it, it's a program that regulates how much time you spend on the exam and also makes it impossible to access anything else in the same time period. I'm sure every school does it slightly differently. I'm also sure your school will explain it to you when you need to know.

2. That is not a weak argument. Furthermore, your question is irrelevant since doing what you are suggesting would do very, very bad things to your career prospects. Stop worrying about cheating and start worrying about getting your shit together so you don't feel the need to.

Why does everyone assume that I'm interested in cheating? I was fvcking curious "."

[Omerta]

Because when lawyers ask hypos they mean circumstances that they are currently in but can't directly disclose. Why would you ask? Do you think all of your classmates have relatives that are lawyers and will ask them for help? It's obvious what you were implying.

Stop thinking about how many of your classmates may or may not be cheating and study. That is a way more productive use of your time. And grow up, it's fucking not fvcking. You're in law school, you're not 12.

[soaponarope]

Because when lawyers ask hypos they mean circumstances that they are currently in but can't directly disclose. Why would you ask? Do you think all of your classmates have relatives that are lawyers and will ask them for help? It's obvious what you were implying.

Stop thinking about how many of your classmates may or may not be cheating and study. That is a way more productive use of your time. And grow up, it's fucking not fvcking. You're in law school, you're not 12.

Funny... because I have 0 family members that are lawyers, or in law school. Perhaps I should be the used to the TLS pretentious assholes who can't "fucking" answer a simple question with a simple, concise response.

[sternc]

My Crim I class has one final and the entire thing is multiple choice. After doing LEEWS and mentally preparing for essay exams I was a bit surprised to see this on my syllabus. Do y'all think the MC exam is a good or bad thing?

[skoobily doobily]

#1. How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

#2. how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? (besides the weak argument of your take home test being "simple, elegant, and correct")

1. the professor probably hands it out at 2 in the afternoon and the deadline is 10pm for turning it in.

2. that answer is tcr. You overestimate law school students.

[skoobily doobily]

Back to OP:

I am absolutely freaking out, because I have just now realized how much time my lwrap class is going to take up. I have possibly the most intimidating syllabus in the history of law school.

[SamuelLChang]

How do they regulate students taking the exam, i.e. how do they know you only spent 8 hours (are you logged into to a secured school network timing you?)

Another way (aside from those listed in this thread already) is that you log onto a website, use a secure code assigned to you by the professor, and then download the exam question. After doing this you have 8hrs to upload your answer back to the website.

Additionally, how would the school know if you completed the assignment on your own? What if (hypothetically) I had my family members (many of them are lawyers) assist me.

Take-home exams are only one of the many times in law school that you will be competing against an unknown number of people without an internal sense of honor. Law review write-on competitions, Brief competitions, Moot Court competitions... all of these have vulnerabilities to cheating...

[cendien]

Back to OP:

I am absolutely freaking out, because I have just now realized how much time my lwrap class is going to take up. I have possibly the most intimidating syllabus in the history of law school.

Yeah, that syllabus is absolutely terrifying. The reading for Monday alone is intimidating, and what the hell is up with having classes on days that aren't scheduled? Ugh.