California Bar Exam (July 2014) thread Forum

[Mr. Pink]

How necessary is the CMR reading if you're trying to catch up? Seems like the lectures are supposed to highlight the must knows and i could use those extra hours to double up

I'd like to know this too. It is disturbing when the CMR is different from the lecture. Also, "reading" the California Evidence Distinctions in the CMR made me cry.

Lol at the bolded. I felt the same way.

LOL as well. That was me with the CA distinctions lecture. It's hard enough keeping the FRE details in your mind.

Yep, put me in this group too. Evidence and Con law are my toughest subject, and after the FRE portion of review I was still worried.... then the CA distinctions made me want to throw my laptop.

However, I asked a couple of former graders and they said not to worry too much about every little distinction. One of my practice essays had 4 interrogatories and asked to answer according to CA law. Three of them I had no problem with (one was actually the same as FRE) but I could not remember the distinction for the 4th. I wrote according to FRE because I figured a correct application of inapplicable law was better than incorrect CA law application. Two graders said that was fine and they would not have deducted points at all; a third grader said that she would have knocked off a few points, but not that much as long as I applied the FRE properly.

That made me feel a little better. I'm going to scan through the CA distinctions to know the big differences, but I think I may just study up on FRE and take the minor hit if I can't figure out the distinction.

Also, fuck evidence.

[hyc9598]

Is there anyone that uses 11 inch macbook air for writing essay or pt during bar exam? When USING Softest or Exam-soft for cbx? Any inconvenience? Or was it better? Compared to 13 or 15 inch air or pro? I think 15 inch is clumsy. I am weighing between 13 and 11 inch air. For money reason, I think 11 inch is better for me. It is 899 dollars. But I never saw someone take bar exam with 11 inch. I heard someone say he will take bar exam with 11 inch air. Well, someone even said that he took exam with netbook. Considering someone types well with even iPad, we can type or TAKE exam well with 11 inch perhaps. Any thoughts? How about speed? I think 11 inch keyboard will or may be more comfortable than 13 or 15 inch. Do you think so? Their keyboard size are same and because it is lower and does not have wider sides, it may be more comfortable. The hands can or might move or work faster, I guess.Typing fast is critical in cbx as it is speed game and it you write one more issue or page, this will affect the score positively. You can fail by one point. If you write faster and write one more issue that could save you so that you could have passed. Sometimes, even if you know, because of time, you cannot write.

[jarofsoup]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

[JJDancer]

I'm pretty behind on Kaplan's work. Up to date on the lectures though. Should I be worried? Going to stick to the 3 essays/1 pt a week schedule starting this week. Anyone else in the boat of feeling behind - just want to commiserate. I had been focusing on MBE Qs for the first 2 weeks.

Using the critical pass flashcards to drill the law since I exclusively took classes with open book finals because I hate memorizing

[ph14]

I'm pretty behind on Kaplan's work. Up to date on the lectures though. Should I be worried? Going to stick to the 3 essays/1 pt a week schedule starting this week. Anyone else in the boat of feeling behind - just want to commiserate. I had been focusing on MBE Qs for the first 2 weeks.

Using the critical pass flashcards to drill the law since I exclusively took classes with open book finals because I hate memorizing

This is pretty similar to where I am sitting, except i'm studying with Barbri.

[JJDancer]

I'm pretty behind on Kaplan's work. Up to date on the lectures though. Should I be worried? Going to stick to the 3 essays/1 pt a week schedule starting this week. Anyone else in the boat of feeling behind - just want to commiserate. I had been focusing on MBE Qs for the first 2 weeks.

Using the critical pass flashcards to drill the law since I exclusively took classes with open book finals because I hate memorizing

This is pretty similar to where I am sitting, except i'm studying with Barbri.

I think everyone is supposed to feel behind with BarBri though, whereas Kaplan is specifically meant to be actually manageable?
i think..

[Mr. Pink]

I'm pretty behind on Kaplan's work. Up to date on the lectures though. Should I be worried? Going to stick to the 3 essays/1 pt a week schedule starting this week. Anyone else in the boat of feeling behind - just want to commiserate. I had been focusing on MBE Qs for the first 2 weeks.

Using the critical pass flashcards to drill the law since I exclusively took classes with open book finals because I hate memorizing

Yes and no. I work full time so I never feel like I do enough on bar review. But I am ahead of schedule on the daily tasks (Taking the mid-term Tuesday). My plan is to hurry and get through the substantive stuff and make all the outline, then focus on essays and PTs for the last month. I have been doing a ton of MBEs throughout.

Have yall tried the Kaplan app? I think it's great for doing MBEs on the go but it crashes a good bit too.

[Cade McNown]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

Checking in. Same here. I assume your PT was "Farley v. Dunn" too? I didn't even finish, and after reading the lengthy sample answer, I've gotta think 90 mins is not enough time to write certain PTs. Also, is the lecturer's advice to read the Library first usually credited? IMO I would have been better off reading the Complaint & Answer first for Dunn.

Anyone have suggestions for approaching a Motion for Summary Judgment PT question? OR time-saving tips for the PTs in general?

[LSATNightmares]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

It was the first, so I wouldn't get too bummed. It was hard -- I had a hard time figuring out how to organize everything and by the time I did I was mad rushing to finish.

[ilovesf]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

Checking in. Same here. I assume your PT was "Farley v. Dunn" too? I didn't even finish, and after reading the lengthy sample answer, I've gotta think 90 mins is not enough time to write certain PTs. Also, is the lecturer's advice to read the Library first usually credited? IMO I would have been better off reading the Complaint & Answer first for Dunn.

Anyone have suggestions for approaching a Motion for Summary Judgment PT question? OR time-saving tips for the PTs in general?

I had that assigned for today and I haven't even done it yet... Oops. I'm so behind.

[Cade McNown]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

Checking in. Same here. I assume your PT was "Farley v. Dunn" too? I didn't even finish, and after reading the lengthy sample answer, I've gotta think 90 mins is not enough time to write certain PTs. Also, is the lecturer's advice to read the Library first usually credited? IMO I would have been better off reading the Complaint & Answer first for Dunn.

Anyone have suggestions for approaching a Motion for Summary Judgment PT question? OR time-saving tips for the PTs in general?

I had that assigned for today and I haven't even done it yet... Oops. I'm so behind.

Spoiler Alert: It sucks as much as everything else.

[ilovesf]

Is it in the normal essay book or online? If essay book I can't even do it till Thursday. Not even sure I can submit it that late since it has some due date thing on it

[Cade McNown]

It's in the California Performance Test book. It'll be too late to submit, but you can still do it and read the sample answer.

[FutureInLaw]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

Checking in. Same here. I assume your PT was "Farley v. Dunn" too? I didn't even finish, and after reading the lengthy sample answer, I've gotta think 90 mins is not enough time to write certain PTs. Also, is the lecturer's advice to read the Library first usually credited? IMO I would have been better off reading the Complaint & Answer first for Dunn.

Anyone have suggestions for approaching a Motion for Summary Judgment PT question? OR time-saving tips for the PTs in general?

Totally agree about reading the File first and Library second. I gave the lecturer the benefit of the doubt regarding his approach of reading the Library first and File second, but I hated the approach. His argument is that you will wind up reading the facts again, but if you do it his way, you just wind up reading the law again. So either way, you're re-reading something. And I'd rather have an idea of why I'm reading the law and what I'm looking for the first time around. I'm switching my approach for the next one.

[LSATNightmares]

Pretty sure I failed the practice PT for barbri. Oh well.

Checking in. Same here. I assume your PT was "Farley v. Dunn" too? I didn't even finish, and after reading the lengthy sample answer, I've gotta think 90 mins is not enough time to write certain PTs. Also, is the lecturer's advice to read the Library first usually credited? IMO I would have been better off reading the Complaint & Answer first for Dunn.

Anyone have suggestions for approaching a Motion for Summary Judgment PT question? OR time-saving tips for the PTs in general?

Totally agree about reading the File first and Library second. I gave the lecturer the benefit of the doubt regarding his approach of reading the Library first and File second, but I hated the approach. His argument is that you will wind up reading the facts again, but if you do it his way, you just wind up reading the law again. So either way, you're re-reading something. And I'd rather have an idea of why I'm reading the law and what I'm looking for the first time around. I'm switching my approach for the next one.

I also noticed the problem. It seems like there's no clear answer -- maybe one day reading the File will be best, and the next time reading the Library will be best. One thought I had right after the test -- not sure if it's the best -- is to start with the Library like they suggested, and if after a couple of cases you don't see how anything will fit together, you can read something from the File that might shed insight into what's going on. It might hedge your bets regarding committing to one thing too much. I might try that with a practice test and see how it goes. But the lesson that I ultimately gleaned from the PT is that the cases themselves don't always provide the structure for your writing. In this case, it was the initial memo.

[jarofsoup]

Am I just wasting my time with this whole I think I am going to pass thing. I just got a 6/18 on an MPQ and last night I got a 15/18 on the same subject.

[LSATNightmares]

Am I just wasting my time with this whole I think I am going to pass thing. I just got a 6/18 on an MPQ and last night I got a 15/18 on the same subject.

I've noticed similar trends with myself. I find that fatigue plays a big factor. It's not that I don't know the law, it's just that I misread questions or get lazy in thinking things through. Bad scores frequently happen after a long day of studying. Plus, some of the Barbri questions are just written really ambiguously. I'm hoping the real exam won't be as ambiguous in what they're trying to communicate. So don't give up.

[ilovesf]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

[LSATNightmares]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I have my ticket ready to print, for Santa Clara. I assume you got the email about registering your laptop as well?

[ilovesf]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I have my ticket ready to print, for Santa Clara. I assume you got the email about registering your laptop as well?

No. I don't think so. When was it sent? I am now really worried that for some reason I am not getting any bar e-mails, and i have no idea why (I know that I am registered to take it).

[puttycake]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I don't have mine. Mine says "eligibility pending."

[ilovesf]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I don't have mine. Mine says "eligibility pending."

Ok phew. That is what mine says too. I was starting to get worried because other people got theirs. Did you get the laptop e-mail?

[puttycake]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I don't have mine. Mine says "eligibility pending."

Ok phew. That is what mine says too. I was starting to get worried because other people got theirs. Did you get the laptop e-mail?

I gots NOTHIN'.

[hyc9598]

If you see someone studying bar exam in university library where there are not many people, is it better to make friends or keep silence?

[LSATNightmares]

Does anyone have their admissions tickets ready to print yet? I don't have mine, and I'm taking at Oakland. Just wondering.

I don't have mine. Mine says "eligibility pending."

Ok phew. That is what mine says too. I was starting to get worried because other people got theirs. Did you get the laptop e-mail?

I gots NOTHIN'.

Yeah, the email about printing the ticket and registering laptop are one in the same, sorry for freaking you out. I got my last week for Santa Clara, so hopefully yours will be coming soon.