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I just finished my first week. As most of you already know, there are usually introductory paragraphs that discuss the topics contained in the upcoming case. These paragraphs seem to have an infinite density of information, all of which seems important.

My question is: how do you approach this? Do you write down the rules and terminology used in it to prepare for the case/class? Or, should you read it to have a general idea of the upcoming case and only write down what the professor mentions in class? I've been writing down the important stuff from it, which is helping to understand the case, but it is incredibly time consuming.

Advice?

AVBucks4239 wrote:I just finished my first week. As most of you already know, there are usually introductory paragraphs that discuss the topics contained in the upcoming case. These paragraphs seem to have an infinite density of information, all of which seems important.

My question is: how do you approach this? Do you write down the rules and terminology used in it to prepare for the case/class? Or, should you read it to have a general idea of the upcoming case and only write down what the professor mentions in class? I've been writing down the important stuff from it, which is helping to understand the case, but it is incredibly time consuming.

Advice?

Are you able to start your car without someone showing you how to start it? Figure it out.

This sort of thread is so annoying. I wish they could just be auto answered by some system that responds: IT DEPENDS. No one on here can tell you what method of studying will work for you, or for a given professor. You've dealt with dense reading before I assume. What did you do then?

P.S. Don't mean to be a jerk about it. I get that during first week of 1L everyone is looking for any source of comfort/advice/advantage they can get. Rest assured almost no one in your class has any better idea what's going on than you do.

DanInALionsDen wrote:P.S. Don't mean to be a jerk about it. I get that during first week of 1L everyone is looking for any source of comfort/advice/advantage they can get. Rest assured almost no one in your class has any better idea what's going on than you do.

I understand. I only asked because the over-arching theme of almost every piece of advice on here in one way or another relates to efficiency.

If this isn't necessary, I don't want to keep doing it. I would rather be looking at supplements to get the over-arching principles of what I'm reading instead of taking 10-20 minutes to notate a single page of reading.

I am just beginning my first week of reading. I just finished orientation today. I have been using this text as a guide on what to look for in the case. Some things I look out for... what is the rule they are going to discuss and are they going to discuss it or some weird common rule. Basically I just look for the clear statements of the rules and then watch for them in the case.

P.S.

I am also realizing that reading a case written in 1891 sucks compared to reading a case from 1991. The issues are never easy to find.

AVBucks4239 wrote:

DanInALionsDen wrote:P.S. Don't mean to be a jerk about it. I get that during first week of 1L everyone is looking for any source of comfort/advice/advantage they can get. Rest assured almost no one in your class has any better idea what's going on than you do.

I understand. I only asked because the over-arching theme of almost every piece of advice on here in one way or another relates to efficiency.

If this isn't necessary, I don't want to keep doing it. I would rather be looking at supplements to get the over-arching principles of what I'm reading instead of taking 10-20 minutes to notate a single page of reading.

The people who consistently get As in my school will take the 10-20 minutes extra to write marginal notes in a single page of reading, and then will also read supplements. It's about endurance.

Read it. If something seems important (and much much much more will seem important right now than later in the semester), take a note of it (or don't and come back to it later). You're overthinking this.

Depends.


My Property book last year was filled with detailed rules (Singer book) before and after each case so I tended to spend a lot of time noting down important rules before class (I redacted information as needed during class). My Contracts book on the other hand was very light on the rules so I basically skimmed the notes and took notes based on what the professor told us in class. My property professor was also very unclear and did not give us rule statements while my contracts professor gave us the black letter law.

Depending on the situtation, you might have to take more notes from the book or go with what the professor gives you in class. Some professors give you clear rule statements/etc, in which case you go with what they tell you. Otherwise, you have to rely on the book and take more detailed notes from the book.

lol

When I get on the subway there are ads listed above the seat, just below the lights. They are standard sizes, but have different colors and text. Sometimes the ads are for graduate schools, sometimes they are for doctor's offices or for new books that are coming out or alcohol and beer. Sometimes I see ads that interest me and sometimes not so much.

My real question here is; what should I do? Should I write down every advertisement? Or should I write down only the ads that interest me or better still, should I start keeping an online database. I really just don't know what to do. I want to have a slight advantage over my fellow subway riders and be the most efficient subway rider I can be. Someone, anyone help? What should I do?

AVBucks4239 wrote:
My question is: how do you approach this? Do you write down the rules and terminology used in it to prepare for the case/class? Or, should you read it to have a general idea of the upcoming case and only write down what the professor mentions in class? I've been writing down the important stuff from it, which is helping to understand the case, but it is incredibly time consuming.

Advice?

Quit doing so much writing. Pull the case brief from Lexis or West and paste it into an outline to use for class, just in case you are called on. Then put the case in your study outline with just the main rule to remember and a few notes. Get an outline from someone that took the class last year but use it for reference only. You MUST do your own outline. You can skip most of the reading in the casebook and spend your time on the E&E. In law school time is your enemy and the only thing that matters is the essay test at the end of the semester.

Read it, remember it well enough to talk about it for the one day you're covering it in class, and then retain whatever information your professor focuses on.

I'm having flashbacks of myself this time last year.

reasonable_man wrote:When I get on the subway there are ads listed above the seat, just below the lights. They are standard sizes, but have different colors and text. Sometimes the ads are for graduate schools, sometimes they are for doctor's offices or for new books that are coming out or alcohol and beer. Sometimes I see ads that interest me and sometimes not so much.

My real question here is; what should I do? Should I write down every advertisement? Or should I write down only the ads that interest me or better still, should I start keeping an online database. I really just don't know what to do. I want to have a slight advantage over my fellow subway riders and be the most efficient subway rider I can be. Someone, anyone help? What should I do?

So...what you're saying is, only pay attention to rules that prominently feature attractive women?

Read it. For ancient cases, like those at the beginning of your property textbook, the author's text is usually there to make sense of the Judge's terrible writing.

I actually don't recommend that you bother reading that stuff, because that's what you'll be talking about in class. Your professor will be teaching you all the concepts being introduced before the cases, and you'll be better off learning it from your professor than from the book. I skim that stuff and spend my time reading the cases, returning to the pre-case reading only if the professor makes note of it in class.

But I agree with all the people here saying that you need to figure out what works best for you.

sundance95 wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:When I get on the subway there are ads listed above the seat, just below the lights. They are standard sizes, but have different colors and text. Sometimes the ads are for graduate schools, sometimes they are for doctor's offices or for new books that are coming out or alcohol and beer. Sometimes I see ads that interest me and sometimes not so much.

My real question here is; what should I do? Should I write down every advertisement? Or should I write down only the ads that interest me or better still, should I start keeping an online database. I really just don't know what to do. I want to have a slight advantage over my fellow subway riders and be the most efficient subway rider I can be. Someone, anyone help? What should I do?

So...what you're saying is, only pay attention to rules that prominently feature attractive women?

Yea That about sums it up...

Ah, new law students. As a 2L who did reasonably well, here is my advice. Your mileage may vary.

- Read the case for the big general picture. You can basically SKIM it.

- Don't brief it in detail. Don't worry about the minutiae. I suggest actually copying a canned brief into your notes from one of the many free caned brief websites, or reading the "casenote" supplement and taking notes on that.

- Understand the rule, not the facts. More importantly, understand how the rule relates to and potentially modifies the rules from other cases.

- Go to every class and enhance your notes with what the professor stresses.

- Chuckle to yourself at those who have spent hours reading each case and wasting their energy on committing irrelevant details to memory. Your final exam won't ask you what piece of machinery broke in Hadley v. Baxendale.

Royal wrote: Your final exam won't ask you what piece of machinery broke in Hadley v. Baxendale.

It was one of these:



I can haz A+?

After my first couple readings I have determined that it can help sometimes and is worth the 5 minutes.