Top Law Schools

Assuming you respond to the message clearly, can you use somewhat fllowerly language on law school exams? Of course I understand that this will largely depend on the Professor but I was hoping this forum could limn some middle ground for me or elaborate on the whole law school "writing" process.

blueblueblue wrote:Assuming you respond to the message clearly, can you use somewhat fllowerly language on law school exams? Of course I understand that this will largely depend on the Professor but I was hoping this forum could limn some middle ground for me or elaborate on the whole law school "writing" process.

i think this works if and only if you are actually funny. you might want to consult an objective source. the fact that you said "flowery language" terrifies me.

blueblueblue wrote:Assuming you respond to the message clearly, can you use somewhat fllowerly language on law school exams? Of course I understand that this will largely depend on the Professor but I was hoping this forum could limn some middle ground for me or elaborate on the whole law school "writing" process.

This is likely not something you want to do. Use as few words as possible to flag the issue and analyze it, and then move on.

blueblueblue wrote:Assuming you respond to the message clearly, can you use somewhat fllowerly language on law school exams? Of course I understand that this will largely depend on the Professor but I was hoping this forum could limn some middle ground for me or elaborate on the whole law school "writing" process.

You won't have time. Most of my exams were written in shorthand.

I did this on multiple exams. Had no effect on my grades. When I went into review the exams only one professor even mentioned it.

Understood.

I sometimes referred to in jokes from the class about certain legal concepts on an exam. Mostly only when the joke was a shorter way to refer to a legal concept than describing the concept itself.

I would, occasionally, make a joke on the exam. 2 provisos: 1) I had to know the professor's sense of humor, 2) I made them super short (2-5 words, max) and only while I was trying to think about what to type next.

What kind of shorthand would you use on exams? I would not have assumed this was acceptable. :/

I always make jokes on exams. I need something to fill the time.

swimmer11 wrote:What kind of shorthand would you use on exams? I would not have assumed this was acceptable. :/

I will type out a term, then put in parenthesis the shorthand for it. The profs are all cool with it. I.e. "Next we come to the question of Res Ipsa Loquitur (RIL). RIL has the following elements: blah, blah, blah..." Or "Patty Plaintiff (PP) most likely has a cause of action for Breach of Contract (Breach). Breach requires blah, blah, blah... PP would have to establish blah, and blah, but blah is most likely established by the fact pattern when it says blah..."

swimmer11 wrote:What kind of shorthand would you use on exams? I would not have assumed this was acceptable. :/

Depends on the issue spotter. But if your profs give exams with tons of issues that just need to be dispatched quickly, then you'll end up using abbreviations and super short sentences. You'll see.

nonprofit-prophet wrote:

swimmer11 wrote:What kind of shorthand would you use on exams? I would not have assumed this was acceptable. :/

Depends on the issue spotter. But if your profs give exams with tons of issues that just need to be dispatched quickly, then you'll end up using abbreviations and super short sentences. You'll see.

Yeah. I doubt I had a sentence over 20 words long on a single exam. You just don't have time to do anything but the most incredibly simple sentences.

Or, you know, you could write long flowery sentences that Shakespeare would be proud of, miss half the issues because of time constraints, and fail the exam.

I'm a firm believer in this tactic. It conveys confidence in your knowledge of the material, and I think professors subconsciously attribute more brilliance to your statements if they pick up on witty humor.

Edit: That said, don't waste much time on it. I personally was met with good success when I referenced things like jokes the professor made in class, or goofy phrasings that the professor used.

I'd imagine it can go terribly wrong. That said, it's a risk/reward kind of thing. If you think you could get your point across without it, don't take the risk. If that's just your style and you're most comfortable with it, then you may benefit. Professors can be real tools, too.

Disclaimer: 0L here.

Instead of answering one policy question, I put in my version of the Aristocrats. Booked it.

facile princeps wrote:I'd imagine it can go terribly wrong. That said, it's a risk/reward kind of thing. If you think you could get your point across without it, don't take the risk. If that's just your style and you're most comfortable with it, then you may benefit. Professors can be real tools, too.

Disclaimer: 0L here.

Get the fuck out.

OP, I actually cracked jokes on two exams, but they were two exams where I was comfortable that I (a) absolutely nailed that shit, and (b) had a professor who was likely to laugh. It didn't hurt my grades at all, but that probably has to do with my parameters. YMMV.

delusional wrote:Instead of answering one policy question, I put in my version of the Aristocrats. Booked it.

This is hilarious. But writing jokes on an exam seems like a horrible idea. So easy to rub people the wrong way.

I put one joke on each exam. Like everyone else says, you have to know your professor. Though I wouldn't say you have to know their sense of humor as much as know that they have one at all. Grading exams must be the most boring thing on the planet. Throw them a bone

Protip—if you see jokes on the model answers, go ahead and joke! Those people clearly did and still got As.

Two of my professors made the same joke in class. That joke ended up on my exam answers. It was worth it.

.

.

I naturally end up thinking of jokes as I'm writing out the exam. I include one per exam. I think it has the ability to wake the professor up while they are grading so they don't just drone through. It just has to be in the professor's wheelhouse of humor and has to make you look like you're engaging with the material, not making light of it. I had a professor explicitly tell us not to use humor on an exam, obviously I did not use a joke there.

That said, all the times I have used jokes, they have come up (positively) in my exam review. Professors get bored reading exams and I think they like if a student relates to the material enough to be witty about it.

One of my professors said at least one ridiculous thing during every class. (See, for example, "You should charge Frosties to Harvard Law School, even though they have tubs of money," "In Japan, the husband should spend twenty hours a day working, and the other four hours drunk," and perhaps the best, "It won't be long before Posner starts tweeting from the bench during oral arguments: @rposner What a terrible argument #dick.")

I snuck in one of his less ridiculous statements as a footnote in my exam. I got the same grade I got in almost every other exam. Your milage may vary.