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1L Question about HYS & Take Home Exams

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:20 pm
by Na_Swatch
So I've just started 1L year at one of HYS and, having read through a lot of the great guides and tips, I had a couple of specific questions for other HYS students who have done well, especially given that I'm facing some problems that seem a little different from the regular guides:

1) ALL of my exams will be one day take-homes with very strict word limits (i.e. 3000 words to 6000 words)... This kind of throws me off since I'm no longer quite sure what I should do for a great exam, especially as probing the complicated sides of every issue within a fact pattern/ question will result in going over the word limit.

Any advice from people who have done well on these exams?

2) In several guides people discuss how supplements offer a pretty good overview of the course and talk about the well known hornbooks which will give you a decent idea of the general overview of the class... does this still apply at HYS where basically all my casebooks are by my professors and some have written their own supplements? Or should I resign myself to reading both casebooks and supplements by the professors?

Any help with these questions would be appreciated especially as I still don't have a great idea or plan for approaching 1st semester after the first couple of weeks!

Re: 1L Question about HYS & Take Home Exams

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:23 am
by jkay
Na_Swatch wrote:all my casebooks are by my professors and some have written their own supplements? Or should I resign myself to reading both casebooks and supplements by the professors?
The answer here is painfully obvious. Yes.

Re: 1L Question about HYS & Take Home Exams

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 7:05 pm
by go4hls
jkay wrote:
Na_Swatch wrote:all my casebooks are by my professors and some have written their own supplements? Or should I resign myself to reading both casebooks and supplements by the professors?
The answer here is painfully obvious. Yes.
Yeah, read what your profs wrote.
1) ALL of my exams will be one day take-homes with very strict word limits (i.e. 3000 words to 6000 words)... This kind of throws me off since I'm no longer quite sure what I should do for a great exam, especially as probing the complicated sides of every issue within a fact pattern/ question will result in going over the word limit.
Good Q, I would love to know the answer to this as well.

Re: 1L Question about HYS & Take Home Exams

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:36 pm
by Na_Swatch
jkay wrote:
Na_Swatch wrote:all my casebooks are by my professors and some have written their own supplements? Or should I resign myself to reading both casebooks and supplements by the professors?
The answer here is painfully obvious. Yes.
Yeah I obviously will read the supplements if a Prof has written one... however if a Prof wrote his casebook/ has no supplement, what approach would be best?

And anybody know the best way to approach take-home exams in general? Seems like less info. about it on TLS