THEMIS JULY 2018 - DISCUSSION Forum

[White Dwarf]

Civ Pro Question: Bank presents strong evidence that a signature on a check was not forged, Plaintiff basically just says "Yes, it was forged." Is that simple denial by the plaintiff enough to defeat summary judgment? Themis says yes, but that seems utterly ridiculous.

[siriuslysaucy422]

Civ Pro Question: Bank presents strong evidence that a signature on a check was not forged, Plaintiff basically just says "Yes, it was forged." Is that simple denial by the plaintiff enough to defeat summary judgment? Themis says yes, but that seems utterly ridiculous.

There's got to be more than that? Did P put forth any evidence that check was forged?

[unsweetened]

Civ Pro Question: Bank presents strong evidence that a signature on a check was not forged, Plaintiff basically just says "Yes, it was forged." Is that simple denial by the plaintiff enough to defeat summary judgment? Themis says yes, but that seems utterly ridiculous.

"genuine" dispute to a material fact would be my guess.
there are some MC question answers where I'm like "where the hell did that come from?" and I still don't get it

[Neilt001]

Has anyone experienced a decline in scores and then just flat-lined on MBEs . . . and still passed? I am really trying to hold it together because I am studying as hard and as efficiently as I am capable of doing and my scores are still baaaaad. My essays have been decent, most recent ones were 7/10 and 6/10, but my last several single subject MBE's have all been in the upper 40s, with the exception of Crim and Evidence both coming in at 59 - these are not my overall subject scores, just the most recent MBE scores. My overall MBE is 55% and I am at 60% completion. I will start the mixed MBE's tomorrow. I'm looking at the scores on here and not coming in anywhere near those ranges. I don't know if I even have a chance at this point

I experienced a serious decline in results too when I wrote in Feb 2018. I was getting in around mid 60s, and then started getting mid-50s. I really didn't think it was because the questions were getting harder though. They seemed to be about the same to me, and my Themis rep didn't mention that it was getting harder when I freaked out to her. So who knows. It could be study fatigue or maybe, as someone above said, the more you know, the more you overthink.

I passed and did really well on the MBE though so don't worry.

[Neilt001]

my god . If i fail its solely b/c i bombed con law and evidence. I seem to just completely not understand any concept on con law. bombing the MC questions over and over.

If you have the critical pass flash cards read those over for con law. After my rant post last night (which everyone has justifiably ignored lol) I read those over and things make a lot more sense now.

Agreed. I used Critical Pass not just for memorization, but also to actually understand certain concepts because it's laid out so easily. I found they were particularly helpful for con law and also in civ pro with respect to personal jurisdiction and all that shit.

[lawbug123]

Has anyone experienced a decline in scores and then just flat-lined on MBEs . . . and still passed? I am really trying to hold it together because I am studying as hard and as efficiently as I am capable of doing and my scores are still baaaaad. My essays have been decent, most recent ones were 7/10 and 6/10, but my last several single subject MBE's have all been in the upper 40s, with the exception of Crim and Evidence both coming in at 59 - these are not my overall subject scores, just the most recent MBE scores. My overall MBE is 55% and I am at 60% completion. I will start the mixed MBE's tomorrow. I'm looking at the scores on here and not coming in anywhere near those ranges. I don't know if I even have a chance at this point

I experienced a serious decline in results too when I wrote in Feb 2018. I was getting in around mid 60s, and then started getting mid-50s. I really didn't think it was because the questions were getting harder though. They seemed to be about the same to me, and my Themis rep didn't mention that it was getting harder when I freaked out to her. So who knows. It could be study fatigue or maybe, as someone above said, the more you know, the more you overthink.

I passed and did really well on the MBE though so don't worry.

I'm in the same boat except I'm doing better in Con Law than any other subject lol. Whatever happens will happen. No point in freaking out when you're doing all that you can. Just take the bar with the intent to kill it; then actually kill it; and go to sleep afterwards.

[Pajsa18]

Has anyone experienced a decline in scores and then just flat-lined on MBEs . . . and still passed? I am really trying to hold it together because I am studying as hard and as efficiently as I am capable of doing and my scores are still baaaaad. My essays have been decent, most recent ones were 7/10 and 6/10, but my last several single subject MBE's have all been in the upper 40s, with the exception of Crim and Evidence both coming in at 59 - these are not my overall subject scores, just the most recent MBE scores. My overall MBE is 55% and I am at 60% completion. I will start the mixed MBE's tomorrow. I'm looking at the scores on here and not coming in anywhere near those ranges. I don't know if I even have a chance at this point

I experienced a serious decline in results too when I wrote in Feb 2018. I was getting in around mid 60s, and then started getting mid-50s. I really didn't think it was because the questions were getting harder though. They seemed to be about the same to me, and my Themis rep didn't mention that it was getting harder when I freaked out to her. So who knows. It could be study fatigue or maybe, as someone above said, the more you know, the more you overthink.

I passed and did really well on the MBE though so don't worry.

I'm in the same boat except I'm doing better in Con Law than any other subject lol. Whatever happens will happen. No point in freaking out when you're doing all that you can. Just take the bar with the intent to kill it; then actually kill it; and go to sleep afterwards.

I really appreciate all the advice and support on my declining scores - it really does help to know that you are not the only one going through it

[unsweetened]

FWIW my scores have been sucking this week. At least it's not July yet?

[White Dwarf]

Really starting to hate this company. I got 20 of the first 23 questions right on the 5th Civ Pro set, then missed 8 of the last 11. They just decided to unload every niggling little exception that wasn't covered in the lectures or the final review outline. It's like they're saying "Oh, you think your hard work is starting to pay off? F*** you, here's a 68."

[Molj1987]

Really starting to hate this company. I got 20 of the first 23 questions right on the 5th Civ Pro set, then missed 8 of the last 11. They just decided to unload every niggling little exception that wasn't covered in the lectures or the final review outline. It's like they're saying "Oh, you think your hard work is starting to pay off? F*** you, here's a 68."

A 68 is passing.

[dabigchina]

Really starting to hate this company. I got 20 of the first 23 questions right on the 5th Civ Pro set, then missed 8 of the last 11. They just decided to unload every niggling little exception that wasn't covered in the lectures or the final review outline. It's like they're saying "Oh, you think your hard work is starting to pay off? F*** you, here's a 68."

A 68 is passing.

Yeah, i def got way worse than 68% on set 5 lol.

[houritsu]

my god . If i fail its solely b/c i bombed con law and evidence. I seem to just completely not understand any concept on con law. bombing the MC questions over and over.

If you have the critical pass flash cards read those over for con law. After my rant post last night (which everyone has justifiably ignored lol) I read those over and things make a lot more sense now.

Agreed. I used Critical Pass not just for memorization, but also to actually understand certain concepts because it's laid out so easily. I found they were particularly helpful for con law and also in civ pro with respect to personal jurisdiction and all that shit.

Also a fan of Critical Pass, here. Apart from how the cards themselves present the info, the note sections on each card and the extra cards in each deck have been especially useful for jotting down nits I got lucky on or missed concepts from the practice MBE question explanations. Has helped keep my MBE practice scores on an upward trend (though the occasional dip still happens).

[wildhorse1991]

Currently at 42% fell really behind some unfortunate emergencies, am I totally screwed? Anything I can try to focus on and skip to salvage this? Weary about only outlining essays but feel like I have no choice at this point, any help would be appreciated! thank you!

[l18]

Also a fan of Critical Pass, here. Apart from how the cards themselves present the info, the note sections on each card and the extra cards in each deck have been especially useful for jotting down nits I got lucky on or missed concepts from the practice MBE question explanations. Has helped keep my MBE practice scores on an upward trend (though the occasional dip still happens).

Good idea about jotting down notes on the extra cards, going to do that for each subject from my notes.

I am still not doing great on con law MBE, but with this strategy hopefully I get it all down for the exam.

Currently at 42% fell really behind some unfortunate emergencies, am I totally screwed? Anything I can try to focus on and skip to salvage this? Weary about only outlining essays but feel like I have no choice at this point, any help would be appreciated! thank you!

Skip reading the long outlines.

I am at 48.5 but I've marked all long outlines as complete. I've been focusing on doing all of the lectures and one or two MBE sets for each to get a handle on the remaining subjects. You can also skip the MBE review lectures after you do the first set and just review each question as you do it. Listen to the first couple of minutes though and jot down the areas she tells you to focus on. Then the plan is to practice as much as you can until the exam. You're not that far behind.

If you haven't done crim and crim procedure lectures yet those go by pretty quick. Hopefully, you've taken crim pro in law school. Obviously listening to lectures at 2x speed makes it go by much quicker...

My viewpoint at the moment is that there is no point in stopping now. We've already registered & paid for the test. Let's do our best and give it all we have on exam day!

[wildhorse1991]

Currently at 42% fell really behind some unfortunate emergencies, am I totally screwed? Anything I can try to focus on and skip to salvage this? Weary about only outlining essays but feel like I have no choice at this point, any help would be appreciated! thank you!

Skip reading the long outlines.

I am at 48.5 but I've marked all long outlines as complete. I've been focusing on doing all of the lectures and one or two MBE sets for each to get a handle on the remaining subjects. You can also skip the MBE review lectures after you do the first set and just review each question as you do it. Listen to the first couple of minutes though and jot down the areas she tells you to focus on. Then the plan is to practice as much as you can until the exam. You're not that far behind.

If you haven't done crim and crim procedure lectures yet those go by pretty quick. Hopefully, you've taken crim pro in law school. Obviously listening to lectures at 2x speed makes it go by much quicker...

My viewpoint at the moment is that there is no point in stopping now. We've already registered & paid for the test. Let's do our best and give it all we have on exam day!

Thank you for the advice, what are you doing regarding essays are you doing every essay/PT assigned/only outlining them? skipping some?

[l18]

Thank you for the advice, what are you doing regarding essays are you doing every essay/PT assigned/only outlining them? skipping some?

Copy the essays into word and outline them. Then I copy the answer and highlight all of the law and review the essay. You can always go back and redo the essay, but for now getting down how to write the essay/law and formatting seems most important.

PT's I spend 30 minutes outlining by hand and reading the entire PT. Then I do the same as for the essay, copy the answer and read over.

[dabigchina]

I wish Themis would just make all their sets uniform in difficulty instead of playing these mind games with me. I don't see the point in varying the difficulty this much.

[abogado2018]

I cannot for the life of me understand mortgages, and I didn't find Kramer's video all that helpful. Anyone who is getting mortgages right--how did you figure them out? Any non-Themis resources?

[BlueLaw11]

I cannot for the life of me understand mortgages, and I didn't find Kramer's video all that helpful. Anyone who is getting mortgages right--how did you figure them out? Any non-Themis resources?

The Themis materials were super weak re mortgages imo. This isn't a perfect resource, but it helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShBjbw4to4Y


In other news, anyone else getting absolutely enraged by these larceny-by-trick vs embezzlement vs false pretenses questions? They just feel cheap, I can't seem to get any of them right

[abogado2018]

I cannot for the life of me understand mortgages, and I didn't find Kramer's video all that helpful. Anyone who is getting mortgages right--how did you figure them out? Any non-Themis resources?

The Themis materials were super weak re mortgages imo. This isn't a perfect resource, but it helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShBjbw4to4Y


In other news, anyone else getting absolutely enraged by these larceny-by-trick vs embezzlement vs false pretenses questions? They just feel cheap, I can't seem to get any of them right

Thanks!

[RobertGolddust]

If it makes anyone feel better, I'm way behind. I still need to learn crim law and con law, and all the minor essay topics before the exam. Have been skipping most the essays. July has come too fast and feel overwhelmed. Just got my dream job which I will lose if I don't pass. About to sign an expensive apartment lease too.

Hoping mastery of the MBE will carry me to victory.

[l18]

I cannot for the life of me understand mortgages, and I didn't find Kramer's video all that helpful. Anyone who is getting mortgages right--how did you figure them out? Any non-Themis resources?

The Themis materials were super weak re mortgages imo. This isn't a perfect resource, but it helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShBjbw4to4Y


In other news, anyone else getting absolutely enraged by these larceny-by-trick vs embezzlement vs false pretenses questions? They just feel cheap, I can't seem to get any of them right

Good video, this is the stuff themis left out and there were so many questions on this.

I am pretty sure that larceny by trick wasn't even covered in the lecture or I totally missed it. Saw that on one question and realized that it does but had no idea what it means.

Have you tried handwriting the rules for each and spending a couple of minutes figuring out the differences yourself? Sometimes struggling through it by yourself helps.

[Neilt001]

I cannot for the life of me understand mortgages, and I didn't find Kramer's video all that helpful. Anyone who is getting mortgages right--how did you figure them out? Any non-Themis resources?

personally, I chalked mortgages up to something I'll never understand. I tried and it didn't work and so I decided not to waste much time on them. One issue is that MBE mortgage questions are long and convoluted, and so I didn't want to waste precious exam time on them. I wrote the Feb 2018 bar (and passed) but I recall that it included a one-page mortgages question. ONE WHOLE PAGE. So I was happy with my decision not to waste too much time on those. It's not worth it, unless you're already scoring 90% and you want to nail those final few points. But for the rest of us, don't worry too much about them. Just do your best and don't expect to ever fully understand.

[Neilt001]

Thank you for the advice, what are you doing regarding essays are you doing every essay/PT assigned/only outlining them? skipping some?

Copy the essays into word and outline them. Then I copy the answer and highlight all of the law and review the essay. You can always go back and redo the essay, but for now getting down how to write the essay/law and formatting seems most important.

PT's I spend 30 minutes outlining by hand and reading the entire PT. Then I do the same as for the essay, copy the answer and read over.

Agreed. No need to fully write out the essays if you're pressed for time. Definitely try to issue spot, maybe even do headings or dot points, and ALWAYS copy the model answer into word and then mark/highlight it and ensure you know the answer. The reality with the essays is that you may not know the answer, you already know the answer, you may not have time to answer it, etc. So don't feel the need to write them out unless you've got plenty of time.

Also agreed that there's no need to read the subject outlines. Personally, I watched the lectures and took my own notes from them. I didn't open the outlines once. but then again it depends on how you study.

[CBlaw]

How did everyone do on the beginning mixed mbe question sets? Wanted to get an idea about how everyone is scoring?

Just got a 50% on the first one and was like wow. But was looking at the ones i got wrong and most were in the medium-hard section. Seems there were a lot missed. Are they giving us super hard mixed question sets?

I wish they gave stats on everyone else's scores like the do for the practice tests.