NY July 2015 Support Group Forum

[victortsoi]

My Torts essay has been graded, but the comments are not showing up. I'm using a Mac. Any suggestions? Thanks!

go into "review" then mess around until you see options for show comments, etc...

[bmonroe]

My Torts essay has been graded, but the comments are not showing up. I'm using a Mac. Any suggestions? Thanks!

go into "review" then mess around until you see options for show comments, etc...

The guy or girl who graded my essay left some pretty hilarious comments . But I was two points from a passing score. Meh. I guess

[myrtlewinston]

My Torts essay has been graded, but the comments are not showing up. I'm using a Mac. Any suggestions? Thanks!

go into "review" then mess around until you see options for show comments, etc...

I clicked on the essay assignment link and then on the "review" button. Nothing. I've e-mailed Barbri. Thanks, though.

How was your Procedure weekend?

[Notmyfavbar]

How is everyone weaving in the NY rules/distinctions for the MBE subjects? reading over the shit once just doesn't cut it for me.

[bmonroe]

How is everyone weaving in the NY rules/distinctions for the MBE subjects? reading over the shit once just doesn't cut it for me.

I'm still figuring it out . I started to write the distinctions on the blank side of my critical pass cards but idk ? Some of the rules are so long they don't fit . I might have to put them on regular flash cards . Interesting enough, Themis has the best outlines. My friend sent me his Themis outlines and they literally have the NY distinctions next to the common law rule . I have no idea why Barbri makes you go to the middle of the CMR.

[Notmyfavbar]

How is everyone weaving in the NY rules/distinctions for the MBE subjects? reading over the shit once just doesn't cut it for me.

I'm still figuring it out . I started to write the distinctions on the blank side of my critical pass cards but idk ? Some of the rules are so long they don't fit . I might have to put them on regular flash cards . Interesting enough, Themis has the best outlines. My friend sent me his Themis outlines and they literally have the NY distinctions next to the common law rule . I have no idea why Barbri makes you go to the middle of the CMR.

Same, I started to write out some distinctions on the critical pass cards after torts. That was taking too long...and it was taking me ages to go through the MBE material so NY seemed to be impossible to touch. It's a big effin mess. I'm thinking that at some point in time I'll just have to make them into sep notecards now?

Anyone else feel like you should be memorizing right now?

[dj2jd]

How is everyone weaving in the NY rules/distinctions for the MBE subjects? reading over the shit once just doesn't cut it for me.

I'm still figuring it out . I started to write the distinctions on the blank side of my critical pass cards but idk ? Some of the rules are so long they don't fit . I might have to put them on regular flash cards . Interesting enough, Themis has the best outlines. My friend sent me his Themis outlines and they literally have the NY distinctions next to the common law rule . I have no idea why Barbri makes you go to the middle of the CMR.

Same, I started to write out some distinctions on the critical pass cards after torts. That was taking too long...and it was taking me ages to go through the MBE material so NY seemed to be impossible to touch. It's a big effin mess. I'm thinking that at some point in time I'll just have to make them into sep notecards now?

Anyone else feel like you should be memorizing right now?

I'm definitely memorizing, but I learn a lot better through practical application, so I do a lot of MBEs and then read all the explanations, whether I got them right or wrong, and I also read why ALL the other wrong answers to see WHY they are wrong. the MBE is almost like a giant LSAT, so learning how they try to trick is perfect in trying to boost your score. I've gone from 40% to 80% in 2 weeks on ConLaw, CivPro, Contracts, and Torts

[myrtlewinston]

My Torts essay has been graded, but the comments are not showing up. I'm using a Mac. Any suggestions? Thanks!

go into "review" then mess around until you see options for show comments, etc...

I was finally able to read the comments today (updated my software). Grader took points off because I didn't state the elements of negligence a second time. This is even though I wrote "see above for elements." Not very pleased with Barbri today. Rant over.

[JulyNYbar]

I subscribed to Seperac for the Feb. 2015 NY Bar Exam, and the materials were extremely helpful. Since I bought one subscription, I have decided to sell only one set of Seperac materials (from Feb. 2015).

I will sell the complete set of Seperac notes for $90 (or the best offer received), via paypal.
Email me if you are interested: JulyNYbar@gmail.com

Good luck to all those preparing and studying.

[myrtlewinston]

Did you update the material?

[northwood]

I'm taking Pieper and the lectures are either 4 hours or 6 hours. Then they assign about 50 pages of reading and 30 questions a night on top of reviewing notes. They should just change their slogan to Pieper People Panic.

I used Pieper last summer (and passed). Never read one of those cases that they assigned- instead I read the outline, outlined an essay or two after the lecture and spent the rest of the time drilling MBE questions (got the Strategies and Tactics book and used Adapitbar). Spent most of my time memorizing the mnemonics and making sure I understood the concepts behind it. When it came time to hone in on memorization in the last few weeks I studied primarily off the mnemonic sheets- and used my lecture outline/ books only when I was totally stumped.

By the way Pieper People Do Pass!!

Do you have any advice on learning New York Practice?

i memorized the statute of limitations to the point where I could apply a statute of limitation in themost broad sense to any essay topic and incorporate that law into the beginning of the rule statement( maybe gets you a tenth of a point or not, IDK). for each subject I went with MBE, NY rule.. if It got confusing I went with MBE.. as for NY practice, honestly I looked like it as it was an instruction manuel- boring and very technical but essential to know to get it right and dedicated myself to learning the basics down pat ( stick with memorizing the mnemonics). You can apply NY practice to any NY essay- so try to get it in there if possible

[myrtlewinston]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

[northwood]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

I condensed the main outline as I went through it. When I honed in on memorization- I primarily used Pieper mnemonics but added to them with my own notes to enhance my understanding. I then focused on memorizing all of the mnemonics once the class ended ( I went ahead so I had an extra 3 days to memorize in July). It really wasn't that bad- I just divided the course into number of subjects/ days left and drilled each subject and outlined essays. Made sure to do at least 50 MBE questions/ day starting in mid June (had to adjust my approach by removing review materials after class ended to compensate and extended my time studying per day).

BY the way I highly recommend handwriting at least 2 full essays in a row with no breaks. I also recommend taking one day and devoting it to essay writing (good way to solidiy your knowledge and gain experience into what it is like to have to write 3 essays in a row with no break, take a 45 minute lunch break, then do 2 essays and a MPT with no break- and a hard time allotment.. i.e. Day 1 of the exam minus NY MC. and then doing 100 MBE questions in 3 hours, a 45 minute break and then 100 more in 3 hours... But do this relatively early (end of June/ before 4th of JUly so you wont get discouraged) Due to a computer malfunction I ended up having to handwrite the exam ( luckily it died before the exam started) so luckily I was able to recognize the essay prompt, similarities in the fact pattern and was able to recall how above average answers responded so I just basically started writing off that and used the facts to support my analysis (only was able to do this because I outlined at least 2 essays a day starting around this time).

FWIW I ended up finishing all of the essays (albeit with seconds to spare) and most importantly passed.

Y'all can do this.. Remember essays are 40%, MBE is 40%, NYM is 10% and MPT is 10%... a solid MPT is better than 1 essay (each essay is approx. 8% of your score) AND THERE IS NO MINIMUM TO PASS EACH SUBJECT, JUST NEED A 665+ to pass

[Danger Zone]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

I condensed the main outline as I went through it. When I honed in on memorization- I primarily used Pieper mnemonics but added to them with my own notes to enhance my understanding. I then focused on memorizing all of the mnemonics once the class ended ( I went ahead so I had an extra 3 days to memorize in July). It really wasn't that bad- I just divided the course into number of subjects/ days left and drilled each subject and outlined essays. Made sure to do at least 50 MBE questions/ day starting in mid June (had to adjust my approach by removing review materials after class ended to compensate and extended my time studying per day).

BY the way I highly recommend handwriting at least 2 full essays in a row with no breaks. I also recommend taking one day and devoting it to essay writing (good way to solidiy your knowledge and gain experience into what it is like to have to write 3 essays in a row with no break, take a 45 minute lunch break, then do 2 essays and a MPT with no break- and a hard time allotment.. i.e. Day 1 of the exam minus NY MC. and then doing 100 MBE questions in 3 hours, a 45 minute break and then 100 more in 3 hours... But do this relatively early (end of June/ before 4th of JUly so you wont get discouraged) Due to a computer malfunction I ended up having to handwrite the exam ( luckily it died before the exam started) so luckily I was able to recognize the essay prompt, similarities in the fact pattern and was able to recall how above average answers responded so I just basically started writing off that and used the facts to support my analysis (only was able to do this because I outlined at least 2 essays a day starting around this time).

FWIW I ended up finishing all of the essays (albeit with seconds to spare) and most importantly passed.

Y'all can do this.. Remember essays are 40%, MBE is 40%, NYM is 10% and MPT is 10%... a solid MPT is better than 1 essay (each essay is approx. 8% of your score) AND THERE IS NO MINIMUM TO PASS EACH SUBJECT, JUST NEED A 665+ to pass

This all sounds incredibly excessive

[myrtlewinston]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

I condensed the main outline as I went through it. When I honed in on memorization- I primarily used Pieper mnemonics but added to them with my own notes to enhance my understanding. I then focused on memorizing all of the mnemonics once the class ended ( I went ahead so I had an extra 3 days to memorize in July). It really wasn't that bad- I just divided the course into number of subjects/ days left and drilled each subject and outlined essays. Made sure to do at least 50 MBE questions/ day starting in mid June (had to adjust my approach by removing review materials after class ended to compensate and extended my time studying per day).

BY the way I highly recommend handwriting at least 2 full essays in a row with no breaks. I also recommend taking one day and devoting it to essay writing (good way to solidiy your knowledge and gain experience into what it is like to have to write 3 essays in a row with no break, take a 45 minute lunch break, then do 2 essays and a MPT with no break- and a hard time allotment.. i.e. Day 1 of the exam minus NY MC. and then doing 100 MBE questions in 3 hours, a 45 minute break and then 100 more in 3 hours... But do this relatively early (end of June/ before 4th of JUly so you wont get discouraged) Due to a computer malfunction I ended up having to handwrite the exam ( luckily it died before the exam started) so luckily I was able to recognize the essay prompt, similarities in the fact pattern and was able to recall how above average answers responded so I just basically started writing off that and used the facts to support my analysis (only was able to do this because I outlined at least 2 essays a day starting around this time).

FWIW I ended up finishing all of the essays (albeit with seconds to spare) and most importantly passed.

Y'all can do this.. Remember essays are 40%, MBE is 40%, NYM is 10% and MPT is 10%... a solid MPT is better than 1 essay (each essay is approx. 8% of your score) AND THERE IS NO MINIMUM TO PASS EACH SUBJECT, JUST NEED A 665+ to pass

Thanks, Northwood. I'm watching the lectures first, so that the black letter law has time to sink in. July (and the last part of June) is reserved for practise.

[northwood]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

This all sounds incredibly excessive

It may, but its not. Your goal is to take this exam once and be done with it. Why not have a dry run of the bar exam? Studying for 8 hours straight is not the same as writing an exam response for 3 consecutive hours. You need to be able to apply the law and do so under time constraints. Same for MBE questions. You need to be able to have the same focus on question 100 that you did on question 7. If you are mentally spent- you may be more likely to miss questions.

You don't need to re write your outlines/ notes. Simply focusing on what you need to know will work.

You also do not need to write an essay completely each and every day. Outlining the intro paragraphs and the law is fine. Especially once you can consistently write an essay under your allotted time

Everyone learns/ studies according to what works for them. I'm simply sharing what worked for me. Do what works for you.

[bmonroe]

Thanks for the advice! Did you make an outline or did you use the Pieper mnemonics solely? Good call to practise NYP in the essays.

I condensed the main outline as I went through it. When I honed in on memorization- I primarily used Pieper mnemonics but added to them with my own notes to enhance my understanding. I then focused on memorizing all of the mnemonics once the class ended ( I went ahead so I had an extra 3 days to memorize in July). It really wasn't that bad- I just divided the course into number of subjects/ days left and drilled each subject and outlined essays. Made sure to do at least 50 MBE questions/ day starting in mid June (had to adjust my approach by removing review materials after class ended to compensate and extended my time studying per day).

BY the way I highly recommend handwriting at least 2 full essays in a row with no breaks. I also recommend taking one day and devoting it to essay writing (good way to solidiy your knowledge and gain experience into what it is like to have to write 3 essays in a row with no break, take a 45 minute lunch break, then do 2 essays and a MPT with no break- and a hard time allotment.. i.e. Day 1 of the exam minus NY MC. and then doing 100 MBE questions in 3 hours, a 45 minute break and then 100 more in 3 hours... But do this relatively early (end of June/ before 4th of JUly so you wont get discouraged) Due to a computer malfunction I ended up having to handwrite the exam ( luckily it died before the exam started) so luckily I was able to recognize the essay prompt, similarities in the fact pattern and was able to recall how above average answers responded so I just basically started writing off that and used the facts to support my analysis (only was able to do this because I outlined at least 2 essays a day starting around this time).

FWIW I ended up finishing all of the essays (albeit with seconds to spare) and most importantly passed.

Y'all can do this.. Remember essays are 40%, MBE is 40%, NYM is 10% and MPT is 10%... a solid MPT is better than 1 essay (each essay is approx. 8% of your score) AND THERE IS NO MINIMUM TO PASS EACH SUBJECT, JUST NEED A 665+ to pass

This is a great idea. Granted, I took a course in law school completely dedicated to taking MPTs ( writing for the practice of law ) but I should consider doing essays and MPT back to back. The horror.

[rhs100]

(reposting on this thread) Does anyone have access to good mnemonics for Crim (or any other subject)? Would be great help if you could share!

[Notmyfavbar]

Barbri people - Is everyone using the lecture notes primarily... and supplementing them with the CMR? I relied on the CMR in the beginning but it def takes a lot more time to go through that once than to rely on the lecture notes. Also, I know some instructors told us to rely on the lecture notes for specific classes... BUT def doesn't feel right to not go through the CMR.

Btdubs.. the NY Practice lecture notes... wtf.

[bmonroe]

Barbri people - Is everyone using the lecture notes primarily... and supplementing them with the CMR? I relied on the CMR in the beginning but it def takes a lot more time to go through that once than to rely on the lecture notes. Also, I know some instructors told us to rely on the lecture notes for specific classes... BUT def doesn't feel right to not go through the CMR.

Btdubs.. the NY Practice lecture notes... wtf.

Good questions . I take the lecture notes but barbri always test on stuff the lectures didnt cover .

[scaliaantics]

Barbri people - Is everyone using the lecture notes primarily... and supplementing them with the CMR? I relied on the CMR in the beginning but it def takes a lot more time to go through that once than to rely on the lecture notes. Also, I know some instructors told us to rely on the lecture notes for specific classes... BUT def doesn't feel right to not go through the CMR.

Btdubs.. the NY Practice lecture notes... wtf.

Whats wrong with the ny practice lecture notes other than that they are super long and boring?

[myrtlewinston]

Barbri people - Is everyone using the lecture notes primarily... and supplementing them with the CMR? I relied on the CMR in the beginning but it def takes a lot more time to go through that once than to rely on the lecture notes. Also, I know some instructors told us to rely on the lecture notes for specific classes... BUT def doesn't feel right to not go through the CMR. Btdubs.. the NY Practice lecture notes... wtf.

Whats wrong with the ny practice lecture notes other than that they are super long and boring?

I find them complete and clear, like his Evidence notes. But, they are boring and long.

[Notmyfavbar]

Barbri people - Is everyone using the lecture notes primarily... and supplementing them with the CMR? I relied on the CMR in the beginning but it def takes a lot more time to go through that once than to rely on the lecture notes. Also, I know some instructors told us to rely on the lecture notes for specific classes... BUT def doesn't feel right to not go through the CMR. Btdubs.. the NY Practice lecture notes... wtf.

Whats wrong with the ny practice lecture notes other than that they are super long and boring?

I find them complete and clear, like his Evidence notes. But, they are boring and long.

I was just being a baby about the length. Im getting the feeling that most of the essay is just regurgitating all the rules and a very small analysis - I say this because I keep finding myself rambling on and on in my analysis.. and then I look at the model answers and it's so basic. clearly i don't know how to be concise and just feel the need to talk

[ashle484]

I also would't waste time studying/practicing for NY mc. I had never looked at an NY mc question going into the exam, and I passed. If you study NY law sufficiently, the questions are easy.

Also, similar to the sentiments expressed above, I would dedicate your time to going through as many essays as possible and at the very least issue spot. I'm next to positive doing that is why I passed in Feb, because I had barely any time to dedicate to all the NY specific law since I was working full time. I should note that I was coming off of the California bar, which helped me out with the MBE, but still essay practice was key.

[myrtlewinston]

I also would't waste time studying/practicing for NY mc. I had never looked at an NY mc question going into the exam, and I passed. If you study NY law sufficiently, the questions are easy.

Also, similar to the sentiments expressed above, I would dedicate your time to going through as many essays as possible and at the very least issue spot. I'm next to positive doing that is why I passed in Feb, because I had barely any time to dedicate to all the NY specific law since I was working full time. I should note that I was coming off of the California bar, which helped me out with the MBE, but still essay practice was key.

Congratulations on passing 2 very difficult Bar exams!

Thanks for your input re: NY MCQ. What was your approach to the MPT?