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Do you have practice tests at least? The most helpful thing for me last semester was getting my mentor's answers to the practice tests and trying to emulate that.

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Compare answers with other students and talk to the professor about the exams during office hours. Some professors will actually tell you a lot about what they want to see.

scottidsntknow wrote:Do you have practice tests at least? The most helpful thing for me last semester was getting my mentor's answers to the practice tests and trying to emulate that.

Visiting professor, all the tests are from like 2002

If your class has a Siegel's book or something comparable with sample essay questions and model answers those were helpful to me in my classes w/o model answers last semester

Study your source material. I never took a law school exam where the answer to the question was not at least something touched on in the text. How to study? Like normal - make your outline and learn the material and not be a parrot waiting to be fed the pre-approved answer. Learn to think. Sorry for the soapboxishness, but you sort of capture what I dislike about TLS. All this emphasis on "find the upperclassman(woman)'s outline who got an A, rely on professors exams" - you know, people used to learn law by fucking studying cases. Then apparently time became the commodity it now is and people forgot how to execute fucking independent thought and learning - or never learning how to fucking think in the first place.

What will you do, on the spot, faced with novel argument from intelligent opposing counsel who wants your client to lose the million dollar case? "Der der der, someone tell me what to do because I'm fucking a fucking sheep idiot who cannot think for myself. Will you help me der?"

You know who aces a class where the prof provides no model exams? Inherently smart, creative students who put in hard work learning the material. There is your answer. Fucking work for it.

Why are you worried about this right now?

NotMyRealName09 wrote:Study your source material. I never took a law school exam where the answer to the question was not at least something touched on in the text. How to study? Like normal - make your outline and learn the material and not be a parrot waiting to be fed the pre-approved answer. Learn to think. Sorry for the soapboxishness, but you sort of capture what I dislike about TLS. All this emphasis on "find the upperclassman(woman)'s outline who got an A, rely on professors exams" - you know, people used to learn law by fucking studying cases. Then apparently time became the commodity it now and people forgot how to execute fucking independent thought and learning.

You know who aces a class where the prof provides no model exams? Inherently smart, creative students who put in hard work learning the material. There is your answer. Fucking work for it.

bootstraps!

eta: also, be inherently smart and creative

Are model answers a regular thing at other schools?

NotMyRealName09 wrote:Study your source material. I never took a law school exam where the answer to the question was not at least something touched on in the text. How to study? Like normal - make your outline and learn the material and not be a parrot waiting to be fed the pre-approved answer. Learn to think. Sorry for the soapboxishness, but you sort of capture what I dislike about TLS. All this emphasis on "find the upperclassman(woman)'s outline who got an A, rely on professors exams" - you know, people used to learn law by fucking studying cases. Then apparently time became the commodity it now and people forgot how to execute fucking independent thought and learning.

You know who aces a class where the prof provides no model exams? Inherently smart, creative students who put in hard work learning the material. There is your answer. Fucking work for it.

Wouldn't the smartest, most creative students work towards maximizing efficiency though?

Do your shit from your outline, and you'll realize when you don't know the law. Then thank god you have the opportunity to look it up on westlaw with zero pressure. Then add it to your outline.

The thing about law school exams is that you're pretty rarely ever flat incorrect. I guess you could completely just miss shit on an issue spotter bc you blanked...but i feel like you should basically recognize "hmmm this seems like it could be important but i dont really know the answer now." so then you fucking look it up.

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utahraptor wrote:Why are you worried about this right now?

Professor just announced there was no model answers.

All my classes had model answers last quarter (or at least, student answers, or vague "answer keys").

NotMyRealName09 wrote:Study your source material. I never took a law school exam where the answer to the question was not at least something touched on in the text. How to study? Like normal - make your outline and learn the material and not be a parrot waiting to be fed the pre-approved answer. Learn to think. Sorry for the soapboxishness, but you sort of capture what I dislike about TLS. All this emphasis on "find the upperclassman(woman)'s outline who got an A, rely on professors exams" - you know, people used to learn law by fucking studying cases. Then apparently time became the commodity it now is and people forgot how to execute fucking independent thought and learning - or never learning how to fucking think in the first place.

What will you do, on the spot, faced with novel argument from intelligent opposing counsel who wants your client to lose the million dollar case? "Der der der, someone tell me what to do because I'm fucking a fucking sheep idiot who cannot think for myself. Will you help me der?"

You know who aces a class where the prof provides no model exams? Inherently smart, creative students who put in hard work learning the material. There is your answer. Fucking work for it.

This was a proportionate response.

utahraptor wrote:Why are you worried about this right now?

Quarter system.

But seriously, you'll be fine. If you think you can work out a system to exams from model answers, you're either an evil genius, or (more likely) you're deluding yourself.

This might shock you, but I always had model answers available and rarely read them. That's because most model answers are either far too perfect (written by the professor/without time constraints) or they're awful, because even A exams are, most often, verbal train wrecks.

If you have past exams, you're fine. I'm serious, you're fine.

Kimikho wrote:Sometimes, people like knowing how professors personally like their exams to be argued. You know--like how a judge might have a specific way for a brief to be argued.

But mostly, people don't like assholes.

You know who also aces a class with no model answers, in addition to people who "work hard"? People who luck out. HTH.

I like you, but this post is a mixture of delusion, naïveté, neuroticism, and ironic assholishness.

Calm down.

Yeah I kinda brutted out there

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Find exam/model answers from a bunch of other professors. If it is a 1L doctrinal class, there's only so much variation between professors. It's better than nothing. Use those exams to practice issue spotting, and then just make sure you apply what your professor taught you.

jk148706 wrote:had a class w/ no model answers last semester. I found another smart student in the class and we just compared answers. idk what else you can do

+1. Also,
FIND A 2L AND GET THEIR MODEL ANSWERS.

Lol I could never in good conscience give away my practice exam answers because they were terrible. That's part of the process imo.

I revoke your dispensation

anyriotgirl wrote:I revoke your dispensation

justified, though