a week or so into law school and just some random thoughts/worries Forum

[unsweetened]

The first time I hit a reading, I write a short sentence in the margin summing up what each paragraph means. I'll highlight things like rules and write next to it "this is the rule" and do similar for holdings. At that point, I'll type up the stuff in the margins that is the most important. My handwriting is horrible and hard for me to read. I take my typed notes to class and add extra handwritten notes during class. If the notes are good, I spend most of the time adding check marks to stuff we cover and not a whole lot of time struggling to write quickly. Laptops aren't allowed in most of my classes, so I've found this to be a pretty good method so far.

I checked out some BARBRI outlines for the classes I'm taking and they've not been helpful. Consider joining a campus org that has an outline bank for the classes you're taking. At least it will be a good starting point for making your own outline.

[clshopeful]

maybe 2L/3Ls/graduates can offer some guidance.

everything so far seems okay i guess, but i saw a bunch of people (other 1Ls) in the library with stacks of books furiously writing/typing away or reading. what could they possibly be doing? people are saying they're sleep deprived and i see 20 different colored highlighters, book tabs, etc. i feel kind of anxious about it. should i be doing more work?

also, some of my classmates seem/sound really intelligent when they're speaking in class, and i feel really dumb. i don't feel like i have much to contribute to the discussion in class. i guess this is what "gnawing anxiety" meant in one of those law school advice threads on here.

As to the part of your colleagues being super busy and stressed: Same at my school. Almost everyone freaks out/over highlights and briefs everything. I've found most people dont have a good judgment as to time management and what to brief/pay attention to. Some people do the homework, then meet in groups before class and discuss everything for an hour -- i found this to be a total waste. Most of the time everyone in the group just speculates what they think the takeaway is. I've found it's much more effective to just wait and let the professor TELL YOU the takeaway, so you don't get all confused with what your group thought it was vs. what it really was.

Some girl in my class has 7 highlighters, literally highlights every line of every case. Each color is something different she says: procedural history, arguments, court's reasoning, facts, etc. So unnecessary. Total waste of time.

[Olliedemars]

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