Top Law Schools

Cut it down?

I am thinking about tabbing.

I know everything in it anyways. I am just being extra careful if I miss anything.

if you know everything in it then dont worry. just tab it. you will probably only refer to it a couple of times during the exam anyway

Make a TOC

The length of the outline doesn't matter nearly as much as how well you know its contents

SBL wrote:Make a TOC

The length of the outline doesn't matter nearly as much as how well you know its contents

This is what I plan on doing for my >100 pg Torts outline.

Jesus Christ 100 pages???

My longest outline is like 1/10th of that

you people stress me out.

D. H2Oman wrote:Jesus Christ 100 pages???

My longest outline is like 1/10th of that

.

outlines are for pussies

General Tso wrote:

D. H2Oman wrote:Jesus Christ 100 pages???

My longest outline is like 1/10th of that

it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

although 10 pages is awfully small.

dailygrind wrote:it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

Maybe, but everyone knows thicker is better.

showNprove wrote:When you're a 2L, you're going to realize how much time you wasted making a 100 page outline.

One of our deans said that to have a workable outline, we'd have to cut ours down to 60 pages, because there was no way we could get through a 100 page outline during the test. As my classmates had heart attacks, I couldn't help but laugh. My longest outline is for contracts at 22 pages and my shortest is for criminal law at 8. There's no magic number, but if you can't quickly flip to the information you need in case your brain shuts down during the final, you're doing it wrong.

At 100 pages, it sounds like you're just combining class notes and case briefs.

dailygrind wrote: it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

although 10 pages is awfully small.

I should clarify, in criminal law, we also have a supplement that has the MPC elements of every type of crime we discussed. I didn't include that in my outline. Also, our professor cares 0% about cases.

sundance95 wrote:

dailygrind wrote:it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

Maybe, but everyone knows thicker is better.

at some point it's gotta become so thick that it's too cumbersome to use. 100 pgs might be that point.

OGR3 wrote:I should clarify, in criminal law, we also have a supplement that has the MPC elements of every type of crime we discussed. I didn't include that in my outline. Also, our professor cares 0% about cases.

this would make all the difference. my crim outline's around mid 20s, but if i cut out all the cases i'd probably around 10. jealous.

dailygrind wrote:

sundance95 wrote:

dailygrind wrote:it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

Maybe, but everyone knows thicker is better.

at some point it's gotta become so thick that it's too cumbersome to use. 100 pgs might be that point.

Here I thought we were rolling with the TWSSs, but no, you had to take it right back to srs bsns.

showNprove wrote:When you're a 2L, you're going to realize how much time you wasted making a 100 page outline.

Very true!

If you are making 100pg outlines then you have not mastered the skill of pulling the important things from cases and lecture. Cut that down!
Though I agree, I never really look at an outline during an exam, unless I want a specific quote or something, so I guess it is not fatal to have a 100 pg outline, but you are/did waste your time and paper making this outline.

Outlines need not exceed 30-40 pages in my opinion.

sundance95 wrote:

dailygrind wrote:

sundance95 wrote:

dailygrind wrote:it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

Maybe, but everyone knows thicker is better.

at some point it's gotta become so thick that it's too cumbersome to use. 100 pgs might be that point.

Here I thought we were rolling with the TWSSs, but no, you had to take it right back to srs bsns.

i was playing it both ways.

My outline for property is about 100 pages, but that's pretty much just because I've been building on it all semester without properly paring it down. A 100 page outline is worthless to me for exam prep. My plan now is to do with it what I did with my torts outline - start out with 50, cut to 30, cut to 20 and then a supplemental one-page checklist. I've found that my greatest understanding of everything has been the process of printing out my outline, and going over it with a pencil while trying to decide which topics are the most important and how I can phrase them in a more length-efficient manner.

I usually prepare two outlines, one around 10-20 pages and one around 100 pages, and have them cross-referenced with each other. I basically use the short one for working through the elements on exams, but have the option of flipping to the corresponding section of the longer one if for some reason I need more detail (e.g., in a line-drawing problem, if i want to compare two cases on either side of the line, and get into a factual analogy/distinction between those cases and the problem on the exam).

dailygrind wrote:

General Tso wrote:

D. H2Oman wrote:Jesus Christ 100 pages???

My longest outline is like 1/10th of that

it isn't the size that matters. it's how you use it.

although 10 pages is awfully small.

I WAS IN THE POOL

G. T. L. Rev. wrote:Longer outlines =/= better outlines. Frankly, a really good 5 page outline that you know well is much more useful than a 100 pager you'd have to frequently flip through and read. Knowing the rules and the policies that animate them is what is most important. When your outline gets past 40 pages or so, you're likely filling it up with stuff you don't need.

Thank god, I was second guessing myself for a second. My max is going to be around 30 pages, with my torts outline being roughly 12 pages.

1. I know everything in my outline.
2. They are just my notes
3. I paired it down. It is now 85 pages.
4. Plus I have a 3 page "attack sheet"

no real big deal.

beach_terror wrote:

G. T. L. Rev. wrote:Longer outlines =/= better outlines. Frankly, a really good 5 page outline that you know well is much more useful than a 100 pager you'd have to frequently flip through and read. Knowing the rules and the policies that animate them is what is most important. When your outline gets past 40 pages or so, you're likely filling it up with stuff you don't need.

Thank god, I was second guessing myself for a second. My max is going to be around 30 pages, with my torts outline being roughly 12 pages.

I have a very detailed professor who gives a lot of "notes" during class that you can't find anywhere. Plus, I have been working on it since the start of the semester.

Helmholtz wrote:My outline for property is about 100 pages, but that's pretty much just because I've been building on it all semester without properly paring it down. A 100 page outline is worthless to me for exam prep. My plan now is to do with it what I did with my torts outline - start out with 50, cut to 30, cut to 20 and then a supplemental one-page checklist. I've found that my greatest understanding of everything has been the process of printing out my outline, and going over it with a pencil while trying to decide which topics are the most important and how I can phrase them in a more length-efficient manner.

Did you get an A?

I have never had an outline longer than 7 pages.