Top Law Schools

In May I have 5 closed book exams. Lucky for me I have a terrible memory. My midterms in December didn't go so well for me so I need to figure out a better way of memorizing. What in your opinion would be the best way to start going about this? Start memorizing now and risk wasting time and forgetting? Try to cram it in at the end?

What are your best strategies for going into closed book exams?

Also how do you not get overwhelmed by having to memorize so f ing much!?

It always helps me to just keep going over it. Read it over again and again. Read it slowly. Think about each word. Type your hand written notes up. Then write out your typed notes by hand. Think about the 5 elements of trespass in the shower. Recall the definition of battery on your way to work. Obviously you don't want to do this the whole semester --you'll drive yourself crazy. Start a couple weeks before the exam.

Really, merely working with the material and learning it inside and out is the best way to go. I actually prefer closed book exams because it awards you for your knowledge of the material, not how well you can make an outline.

Work through the E&E questions, practice former exams, get Siegel's guides for each class and work through them.

Everyone else is in the same boat as you. Relax.

Do practice exams. Make up your own hypos and write out answers to them. Practice writing BLL spiels from memory over and over.

Repetition and practice.

I actually prefer closed book exams. Anyway, I suggest memorizing as you make your outline. If you make your outline throughout the semester, then memorize throughout the semester; if you make it a month before finals, then start a month before finals. Memorizing your notes as you go is likely a waste of time because you're memorizing things you don't need to know (hence my suggestion).

BeachandRun23 wrote:Obviously you don't want to do this the whole semester --you'll drive yourself crazy.

I actually did do this all semester...and almost did drive myself crazy. Worth it though.

flash cards helped tremendously with this

Try to see if your prof is going to help you on the exam. I had two closed exams last semester, and I learned rather late that 1) my Civ Pro professor would give us all the relevant federal rules and statutes on the exam, and 2) my Contracts professor would give us a list of all the cases we read with a parenthetical on what the case was about (he really wanted us to compare cases). If you learn about those things, you can spend less time memorizing. Professors usually want you to understand ambiguities rather than just regurgitate information.

I also have bad memory (I've been out of school for 4 years, and I mainly wrote papers in undergrad). It ended up fine, and I didn't lose points because of memorization issues.

Outline all semester (or flashcards) and periodically memorize these outlines throughout the semester and you'll be fine. Whatever you do just don't wait until the last month.

f0bolous wrote:flash cards helped tremendously with this

Wish I would have realized this sooner than the week before exams last semester. Flashcards are the shit

I second (third?) flashcards.

Last semester had 2 closed book and 2 'outline allowed' exams.

Did flashcards for the closed book exams. Did WAY better on them than on the ones I got to use an outline on.

Will be pretending all exams are closed book and using flashcards this semester.

3 suggestions:

1. Come up with single sentences that incorporate all of the elements of something into them in a way that is clear

2. Create acronyms for these elements

3. Write both of these out, by hand, over and over.

There is a big list of links for all sorts of memory techniques at memorymethods.com.
Sites devoted to mental athletes are popping up all over.

I'm in the same boat. I've been using this word generator to plugin the first letter of important elements to remember and it gives me words or phrases that help remember elements. For instance the five standards of care for negligence is CCROPS (children, customs, reasonable person, owner/occupier, professional & special relationships). Whatever you can come up with helps.
http://www.wineverygame.com/index.php

Type your outline over and over and over and over and over and over. For stuff you know you suck at, handwrite it.

And for flashcards, studyblue.com is ridiculously awesome.

AVBucks4239 wrote:And for flashcards, studyblue.com is ridiculously awesome.

Nice. I wish I had known about this site before today.

Just to give everyone an update because somehow this thread was reborn after a few months, I failed to take your advice and am pretty much memorizing each class in the 2 days in between each exam. God I should have listened to you all.

rawrab wrote:Just to give everyone an update because somehow this thread was reborn after a few months, I failed to take your advice and am pretty much memorizing each class in the 2 days in between each exam. God I should have listened to you all.

To speed shit up, make notecards and memorize them one section at a time. You'll be overwhelmed if you try to do them all at once and won't learn them as quickly.

yeah I have flashcards all made which are helpful. The most helpful thing is condensing everything in my outline into 1 pg, writing that over and over again to remember it and just writing that on the test and bsing the rest using the rules from the 1 pg.