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I've only started classes this week, but reading through material in Property, I feel like I can't quite catch on as easily as I do in Torts and Criminal. Assuming professors don't recommend anything, is it really necessary to purchase supplements for classes you get so far? And then if down the road, you start hitting bumps you go and pick one up? I mean, for property I feel like I should definitely get something as I'm having difficulty reading the material (granted we haven't had our first class in it yet, but even after I'm sure it's useful to understand the material ahead of time).

Thanks for any advice.

Supplements are never truly necessary, but they can be a big help in certain classes- civpro comes to mind.

Couple of pieces of advice upperclassmen have given me:


1. Don't even touch the supplements until one month in.

2. After that, use the black letter outlines to create the bare bones of your own outlines.



HTH.

Examples & Explanations can be nice if you're feeling like spending money.


Honestly, if your professor has been teaching his subject for more than 3 years there's some mostly golden standardized outline that's been passed down from year to year. It's likely more in-depth than your own. It's more tailored to your class than any supplement. It's exactly what you need, and it's free (you just need to find it.)

Every other supplement is garbage. Pure garbage.

They're only truly necessary when you don't otherwise understand the material.

I already cracked Torts, Contracts, and Civ Pro E&E open. Diamond's Understanding Torts supplement is pure gold.

They are necessary if you don't buy the actual book/books required for the class and don't actually go to class.

Frankly if you are fortunate enough to find a class where you don't actually have to attend, then do yourself a favor and just buy the study guides and don't bother with the books (at least this is true for the more case driven classes).

But if you are going to buy the book/books and go to class you shouldn't need a study guide unless you are really stupid in which case you probably wouldn't be on a top-law-school forum you would be on a bottom-law-school forum.

I use casenotes keyed to my Property book because the book is so damn hard to read. The cases are all from the 1800s so the casenotes help me get an idea of what is going on. I still read the cases though.

Cardboardbox wrote:I've only started classes this week, but reading through material in Property, I feel like I can't quite catch on as easily as I do in Torts and Criminal. Assuming professors don't recommend anything, is it really necessary to purchase supplements for classes you get so far? And then if down the road, you start hitting bumps you go and pick one up? I mean, for property I feel like I should definitely get something as I'm having difficulty reading the material (granted we haven't had our first class in it yet, but even after I'm sure it's useful to understand the material ahead of time).

Thanks for any advice.

This might be tangential a bit, but I would take a full day (not right now, but in a little bit) and figure out future interests and the present estates. It's kind of everywhere throughout the course (at least for mine).

Otherwise, I think property is straightforward. Just memorize the rules, which are kind of ridiculous. Something is X because it's not Y. It's like that a lot of times. Also, I watched the BarBri video about midway through the course and found it extremely helpful for the rest of the course. I would also read a hornbook. Understanding was awesome.

glannon for civpro is necessary because all your classmates will have it, and it is really good. sure if you really got everything, you don't need it. but you might realize you fucked something up until sir glannon schools your ass.

i do think it's best to construct the bare bones of your outline by yourself and not from a supp though. iuno, trying to figure out how shit should be organized helps you understand it

underdawg wrote:glannon for civpro is necessary because all your classmates will have it, and it is really good. sure if you really got everything, you don't need it. but you might realize you fucked something up until sir glannon schools your ass.

i do think it's best to construct the bare bones of your outline by yourself and not from a supp though. iuno, trying to figure out how shit should be organized helps you understand it

I have my doubts about that. I'm worst person at organizing stuff. I didn't completely understand the direction my civ pro prof was going until I saw a past outline.

My Property prof. recommended us to read "Property in a nutshell." Everyone thinks he rambles and makes no sense but really he's just talking as if you've read those sections of "nutshell" that he's talking about. I guess that's when you need to read the supplements....???

I've been reading the E & E's for my other classes too just to cover my bases but right now I wouldn't say its necessary. But then again, its my 2nd week of 1L so i still have no clue what I'm doing ...lol (nervously).

If I understand a class I never purchase a supplement for it (unless my professor wrote the supplement - then it's too useful of an exam prep tool to skip). I use supplements to fill in the unclear areas, so if a class makes sense to me even after I review my casebook and notes and create my outline, I won't waste my time reading a supplement. Most classes have tricky areas though - UCC 2-207 in Contracts, future interests in Property, etc. - so supplements are often necessary. I think the only 1L class I didn't use a supplement for was Torts.