July 2016 California Bar Exam Forum

[TXAtty]

Good luck to all that are taking the July bar exam. It is not impossible. Respect and become familiar with your enemy and you will be prepared for it. Took and passed the Feb exam on the first try using barbri prep course. I have all the books including all lectures completed as well. I took the attorney's examination so the MBE materials were never even taken out of the box and are brand new. Will also send over flashcards and outlines that I made if you would like along with any other additional advice i can offer. PM me if interested.

[MrMustache]

I passed the California bar on the second try this February. I will likely soon abandon this website, and would like to offer my experience in the hopes that it may be of some help to you. Most of the general advice has already been covered, so I'll just focus on things I thought were important.

Background: English is my second language, but I've lived here long enough to consider myself fluent. I studied with Themis for my first bar and failed with a score of 1360. I scored 1500 on the MBE on that exam, but failed the written portion. I then studied using BarBri, and passed. Personally, I preferred BarBri because I liked its teaching method more, but I still think I would have likely passed with Themis on my first try had I put as much work into it as I had with BarBri.

Don't lie to yourself. Academically, this exam will likely be the most challenging thing you have done in your life. I know you have likely never failed a test in your entire life. And I'm sure that you will study harder than you ever have for this exam. But your best might not actually be your full potential. If you lie to yourself about doing your best or working your hardest, you might be setting yourself up for failure. That's what happened to me in June. I studied harder than ever and figured that it would be enough, but I didn't study the hardest that I was physically capable of. My failure to pass in July was my very first academic failure. You'll have to go above and beyond in order to raise your chances of passing the bar.

Keep in mind that the Bar is not about minimal competency. It hasn't been about that for a long time, assuming it ever was. I don't buy even for a minute that the reason for these low passage rates is because we have "less able" test takers. Every failed student will end up having to pay close to $800 for a retake, and with each failure comes more cash. They WANT you to fail and they will use every excuse to do so. Minimize the role that luck can play in your grading. Aim to write essays/PTs that will give you a good score even with a bad grader.

Don't do assignments for the sake of doing them. Don't complete assignments on autopilot. Stay engaged. If you are too tired to do what the assignment it asking you to do, take a break and come back to it later. Completing an assignment without paying much attention to it is a waste of time. Either skip it all together, or do it later.

Don't let the essay graders ruin your self-confidence. Whichever prep-course you use, assuming you use one, do every graded assignment they ask you to do, but don't put too much stock into the score. Incorporate whatever they ask you to improve on, and move on. If you got a good score- great. If you didn't get a good score- great, you found something to improve on. Just do not rely on the score. I suggest signing up for BarEssays, if you can afford to, so you can look at how real essays are scored and to compare your writing style to theirs.

Treat it like a job If you've just graduated, it's likely that you haven't really done much work in 3L, and this might be a rude awakening right after graduation. To maximize your chances of passing, treat the bar like a job. The second time around, I'd start at 8 a.m., take a break from 12 to 1 for lunch, and then continue until at least 5p.m. Usually I'd stop around 6 p.m., on rare days I'd go until 8 p.m. I took a couple of days off on some weekends, but I normally studied on weekends as well. Although my weekend days were "laze" and I'd only 5-6 hours of studying. I may have gone overboard, but I didn't try as hard on my first time and took most of my weekends off.

Supplements I found Leansheets and Baressays to be extremely helpful. Leansheets acted as the perfect mini outline that helped me go over a subject without spending too much time on it. Baressays gave me an idea of what my essays need to look like to score higher. I didn't get Critical Pass cards because I didn't want to spend any more money, but I have seen them and thought that they are very convenient for MBE prep.

Other supplements. Caffeine pills were a life saver for me. They gave me the mental stamina to keep studying. I suggest getting 100mg pills if the store has them. I had gotten a pack of generic 200mg caffeine pills. I would break them in half and take them throughout the day, timing the caffeine crash to come at the end of my studies. This way I was able to regulate my caffeine intake throughout the day and find the amount that gave me the best results.

Other than that, as much as this is going to suck, it's even worse when you have to do all of this all over again. Maximize your chances of passing! Good luck with your studies!

[calaw2016]

Good luck all who are studying for July.

It's about 10 weeks away now. I'd start putting in full-time hours. Be doing daily MBEs/PEs by June 1. By July 1, make sure to be doing all of your work close booked (at least partially).

[calaw2016]

I passed the California bar on the second try this February. I will likely soon abandon this website, and would like to offer my experience in the hopes that it may be of some help to you. Most of the general advice has already been covered, so I'll just focus on things I thought were important.

Background: English is my second language, but I've lived here long enough to consider myself fluent. I studied with Themis for my first bar and failed with a score of 1360. I scored 1500 on the MBE on that exam, but failed the written portion. I then studied using BarBri, and passed. Personally, I preferred BarBri because I liked its teaching method more, but I still think I would have likely passed with Themis on my first try had I put as much work into it as I had with BarBri.

Don't lie to yourself. Academically, this exam will likely be the most challenging thing you have done in your life. I know you have likely never failed a test in your entire life. And I'm sure that you will study harder than you ever have for this exam. But your best might not actually be your full potential. If you lie to yourself about doing your best or working your hardest, you might be setting yourself up for failure. That's what happened to me in June. I studied harder than ever and figured that it would be enough, but I didn't study the hardest that I was physically capable of. My failure to pass in July was my very first academic failure. You'll have to go above and beyond in order to raise your chances of passing the bar.

Keep in mind that the Bar is not about minimal competency. It hasn't been about that for a long time, assuming it ever was. I don't buy even for a minute that the reason for these low passage rates is because we have "less able" test takers. Every failed student will end up having to pay close to $800 for a retake, and with each failure comes more cash. They WANT you to fail and they will use every excuse to do so. Minimize the role that luck can play in your grading. Aim to write essays/PTs that will give you a good score even with a bad grader.

Don't do assignments for the sake of doing them. Don't complete assignments on autopilot. Stay engaged. If you are too tired to do what the assignment it asking you to do, take a break and come back to it later. Completing an assignment without paying much attention to it is a waste of time. Either skip it all together, or do it later.

Don't let the essay graders ruin your self-confidence. Whichever prep-course you use, assuming you use one, do every graded assignment they ask you to do, but don't put too much stock into the score. Incorporate whatever they ask you to improve on, and move on. If you got a good score- great. If you didn't get a good score- great, you found something to improve on. Just do not rely on the score. I suggest signing up for BarEssays, if you can afford to, so you can look at how real essays are scored and to compare your writing style to theirs.

Treat it like a job If you've just graduated, it's likely that you haven't really done much work in 3L, and this might be a rude awakening right after graduation. To maximize your chances of passing, treat the bar like a job. The second time around, I'd start at 8 a.m., take a break from 12 to 1 for lunch, and then continue until at least 5p.m. Usually I'd stop around 6 p.m., on rare days I'd go until 8 p.m. I took a couple of days off on some weekends, but I normally studied on weekends as well. Although my weekend days were "laze" and I'd only 5-6 hours of studying. I may have gone overboard, but I didn't try as hard on my first time and took most of my weekends off.

Supplements I found Leansheets and Baressays to be extremely helpful. Leansheets acted as the perfect mini outline that helped me go over a subject without spending too much time on it. Baressays gave me an idea of what my essays need to look like to score higher. I didn't get Critical Pass cards because I didn't want to spend any more money, but I have seen them and thought that they are very convenient for MBE prep.

Other supplements. Caffeine pills were a life saver for me. They gave me the mental stamina to keep studying. I suggest getting 100mg pills if the store has them. I had gotten a pack of generic 200mg caffeine pills. I would break them in half and take them throughout the day, timing the caffeine crash to come at the end of my studies. This way I was able to regulate my caffeine intake throughout the day and find the amount that gave me the best results.

Other than that, as much as this is going to suck, it's even worse when you have to do all of this all over again. Maximize your chances of passing! Good luck with your studies!

Sounds like you had a similar experience with Themis. However, I would have to disagree about it being minimum competency. It's a fair exam, and it should be demanding given the potential impact a lawyer can have on his clients.

[Justpassed2016]

Hey guys - I have CA bar prep materials I am looking to unload if you don't want to pay for the full prep course. I was a second time taker and passed this time around. Shoot me a PM if you're interested in the books!

[EyeTwitchAllSummer]

Hello, fellow bar preppers.
I have an adaptibar code for MBE's if anyone needs it.
Thanks and good luck with this damn exam!

[pinaylawyer]

hi guys

foreign attorney here. I may be in a disadvantaged position among all of the takers here for this barprep because Im not US educated. But I still want to give it a try. I got colleagues and former law school classmates who smoothly passed both NY and CA. I enrolled with Barbri and got myself an Adaptibar account. I don't know how to complete the assignments of barbri and do mbe drill using adaptibar altogether

Just want to know, whats your strategy in studying those essays? when I tried reading 1 essay question, I don't know how to start. lol. should I look at the model answers first or jump right in without looking? should I type or should I write those practice essays. any inputs are appreciated.

[2TimesTheCharm]

hi guys

foreign attorney here. I may be in a disadvantaged position among all of the takers here for this barprep because Im not US educated. But I still want to give it a try. I got colleagues and former law school classmates who smoothly passed both NY and CA. I enrolled with Barbri and got myself an Adaptibar account. I don't know how to complete the assignments of barbri and do mbe drill using adaptibar altogether

Just want to know, whats your strategy in studying those essays? when I tried reading 1 essay question, I don't know how to start. lol. should I look at the model answers first or jump right in without looking? should I type or should I write those practice essays. any inputs are appreciated.

I think it would help if you started by learning the IRAC format. I went to a school that didn't teach it, so I didn't know how to properly use it.

[Das]

I have a very similar background to Mr. Mustache. I too am an immigrant student whose first language is not English. People emphasize this a lot but you really need a new mindset for the bar. You need to be able to spot issues quickly, but this test is not about intelligence. It's a long drawn out endurance test with never-before-seen amount of material to cover.

I was burned out after 3L and just never really took the bar seriously. I studied intensely for maybe the last 2-3 weeks but until then I just watched Barbri lectures and played video games all day. I still almost passed with 1410+ despite halfhearted attempt. I came this close because I was very good at IRAC.

As so many people have said, this is all about IRAC and minimum competency means getting all the major issues right and missing only a few subissues. How do you IRAC and issue spot well? By doing a ton of practice. Yes. You need to do at minimum 100 essays and if possible, 125. You don't need to literally write out the entire essay but you should at least outline your answers and see if any particular essay came up, you would be able to answer them. I did about 8 essays per day and half day dedicated to MBE. I looked at almost every issue ever tested that I could find on baressays. On game day, I had this confidence that no matter what essay comes up, I likely would have seen it at some point and I would be able to at least answer some of it.

I only started doing practice exams and MBEs after about 1 month in. I think it's pointless and waste of time to start doing problems at the beginning of your bar exam prep. All you do is get answers wrong, get discouraged, and review all day. I strongly recommend getting your black letter law foundation before doing the practice tests.

I studied from about 10AM - 12PM - 1PM - 7PM. I put in roughly 8-9 hours a day consistently. I didn't study on Sundays until the last 2 weeks or so. Please, believe me. Practice practice practice under timed condition. Familiarize yourself with every issue you can get your hands on and every MBE question. But remember not to just do a bunch and get them wrong. Get a good foundation of black letter law.

[Rap Genius]

hi guys

foreign attorney here. I may be in a disadvantaged position among all of the takers here for this barprep because Im not US educated. But I still want to give it a try. I got colleagues and former law school classmates who smoothly passed both NY and CA. I enrolled with Barbri and got myself an Adaptibar account. I don't know how to complete the assignments of barbri and do mbe drill using adaptibar altogether

Just want to know, whats your strategy in studying those essays? when I tried reading 1 essay question, I don't know how to start. lol. should I look at the model answers first or jump right in without looking? should I type or should I write those practice essays. any inputs are appreciated.

There's a very good post in here, probably by Male Human where it describes how to approach the essays like a champ. Paraphrasing the advice- read the questions, read the fact pattern, think, read the answer, write. Of course, I'll look for the post unless someone gets it in here first. It is much more detailed.

[Rap Genius]

Guys, since you're prepping and especially since you're writing essays, I wanted to try and use RapGenius' resources to create model answers/ advice on each question. RapGenius was traditionally a site used to annotate the dumbest of all lyrics "I'm hot cause you not" to more complicated things.

I posted a couple essays on there and I'll post more. We can annotate them the same way lyrics are annotated by highlighting specific facts and noting why they are relevant or by posting our own sample answer on there. People can comment on the specific essay. It's very easy to get started and I think it will really help people struggling with Essays (i.e. how to get started, convenient organization, where to place specific issues) because we can list the advice there.

I'll post the link below in case it gets deleted.

[Rap Genius]

Alright, so here is a link to one of the essay questions from February 2016 ... Question 1. I'll try and post more essays soon but really looking for you guys to collaborate with me.

http://genius.com/The-state-bar-of-cali ... -annotated

[Rap Genius]

Ok guys, there's one more that I posted on Civil Procedure. If you guys have any essays you want me to post I can do that for you later today and we can start working on bar essays... together.

Because we're in this... Together.

This is the Civil Procedure Question: http://genius.com/The-state-bar-of-cali ... -annotated

[Raiden]

Mod edit: Linking to professional websites is not allowed in this forum. TLS has a forum for professionals, which you may be eligible to join if you meet the qualifications.

[Rap Genius]

I am having a hard time writing corporations essays. I am looking at the BarBri sample answer for a 10b-5 issue and their rule is about half a page. The rule is not broken up and the analysis does not really track the rule (it is supposed to, right?). Can anyone of you throw out some suggestions (preferably an example) on how they would start off a corporations essay with a 10b-5 issue?

I am working on question 3 of February 2002. Cal weasel (where many of the old essays can be found) has it here: http://calweasel.com/sites/default/file ... nswers.pdf

BarBri's explanation is slightly ridiculous imo.

"Under rule 10b-5, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means of interstate commerce, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security to: (i) employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud..." "A prima facie case for breach of the rule requires proof of: (i) fraudulent conduct, (ii) in connection with the purchase or sale of a security, (iii) use of a means of interstate commerce...

"A fact will be considered material under rule 10b-5 if a reasonable investor..." "Conduct is considered fraudulent only on proof of scienter..." "The Supreme Court has held that a corporate insider who breaches a duty not to use inside information..."

[Fivethumbs]

I used this. https://law.stanford.edu/office-of-stud ... formation/
Scroll down to Corporations - Opening paragraphs. I used these outlines toward the end. Memorize as much of the rule as you can. If you don't get the whole rule right you will still get points for what you did put down.

[Raiden]

I am having a hard time writing corporations essays. I am looking at the BarBri sample answer for a 10b-5 issue and their rule is about half a page. The rule is not broken up and the analysis does not really track the rule (it is supposed to, right?). Can anyone of you throw out some suggestions (preferably an example) on how they would start off a corporations essay with a 10b-5 issue?

I am working on question 3 of February 2002. Cal weasel (where many of the old essays can be found) has it here: http://calweasel.com/sites/default/file ... nswers.pdf

BarBri's explanation is slightly ridiculous imo.

"Under rule 10b-5, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, by the use of any means of interstate commerce, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security to: (i) employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud..." "A prima facie case for breach of the rule requires proof of: (i) fraudulent conduct, (ii) in connection with the purchase or sale of a security, (iii) use of a means of interstate commerce...

"A fact will be considered material under rule 10b-5 if a reasonable investor..." "Conduct is considered fraudulent only on proof of scienter..." "The Supreme Court has held that a corporate insider who breaches a duty not to use inside information..."

An example:

10b-5 Violation

A 10b-5 violation occurs when a defendant (1) purchases or sells a security, (2) in interstate commerce, (3) through fraudulent or deceptive conduct, (4) which was material, (5) done intentionally or recklessly, (6) the plaintiff justifiably relies on defendant's misrepresentation, and (7) causes harm to D.

Purchase and sell of security

In interstate commerce

Fraudulent

Material

Etc.

Normally, I'd recommend against doing such a full blown analysis on 10b-5, but this is a big issue for this essay, and not talking about each of these requirements are points loss. If 10b-5 was not such a big issue, then you shouldn't waste your time doing such a piece-meal analysis. It should be noted that after each sub issue, you should be doing your analysis, applying law to fact, using your because statements like sweet candy.

The better rule you have, the better analysis you can do, and the more points you can gain. However, it can be nearly impossible to have a mastery over every single rule in the 16-some topics you have to learn to tackle the bar. I am sure that when students in 2002 came across this bar question, they had a tough time remembering the details of a 10b-5 violation, it's pretty rare and doesn't come up much in practice. People also have a less understanding of CA bar essay topics in general.

So if you don't remember the exact requirements to satisfy a 10b-5, what do you do? You have to make up the rule to the best of your ability with what you know. You know 10b-5 is about insider trading, so obviously one of the requirements would be (1) the purchasing or selling of security, that is done with (2) some fraudulent means, it was (3) material, (4) intentional, and (5) harmed P. I say that even if you had this incomplete rule, you could score still some significant points, especially if its organized the way bargraders want to see it.

So the moral of the story here is that even if you have not memorized every rule, still try to know the underlying philosophy and reason for certain laws, so that it wouldn't be impossible for you to deduce some of the rules nonetheless.

[Rap Genius]

Solid advice, thank you both.

[thegrayman]

Just wanted to drop in and say hang in there guys. I took the NY and CA bars and passed both first time. I thought CA was tougher because you have to do much better on the written portion whereas in NY you can muscle a pass from a strong MBE and decent essays.

I took barbri both times. Seems like all the top review courses are comparable. I was very happy with barbri fwiw.

I thought that adaptibar was absolutely indispensable. I did not use it for NY because I didn't know about it, but for CA I used it and after ~1000 questions or so you really start to get a good command of the MBE questions. I did probably 1500 questions or so.

I also used the critical pass flashcards. I saved them for the final stretch, I thought that they were a good resource to bang out the BLL. Once you get down to crunch time I think memorization is easier because you are more familiar overall with the material.

Definitely practice essays. In CA you must be able to knock out a decent essay. Also, prepare to bs at least 1 essay question. It's an unfortunate reality that at least 1 part of 1 essay question will blindside you, and you need to be prepared to deal with it to salvage your overall grade. I got hit with a trusts question that I didn't know the answer to, but instead of freaking out I just dealt with it and most likely passed the overall essay question.

Happy to answer questions via PM if you have any specific questions you don't want to publicly broadcast.

Best of luck to all!

[RVM321]

Hey all,

Quick question regarding MBE's:

- Barbri pushes reading the call of the question first before reading the question and answers.

How do you feel about this? I've not done this and performed fairly well on MBE's. But, I am considering switching up if it makes a difference.

Any thoughts?

Thank you!

[Zaizei]

Hi guys. This will be my third time sitting for the bar exam and I want some advice. The first time I went with Barbri, but I feel that I lacked on proper practice for the essays and pt portion. The second time I had a tutor... Which taught me a lot, but his strategy was not right (I only improved 4 points)... This time I want to study by myself, focus on the written portion, since my score in the MBE was a decent one. Also, I got a 75 on the first essay of the feb examination, but got terrible grades on the other ones...

Just so you can give me a better advice, here are my grades:

Essay 1 - 75
Essay 2 - 55
Essay 3 - 55
Essay 4 - 50
Essay 5 - 50
Essay 6 - 55
PT A - 60
PT B - 55
Scaled MBE - 1464

I need to know a reliable web that provides essays and that provide some kind of graders, since I want someone to grade my essays. As well, I need a reliable web for MBE questions, since I want to keep practicing just in case. For the PTs I'll be reading old ones. What do you think? Is this a good strategy?

Thanks!

[a male human]

Hi guys. This will be my third time sitting for the bar exam and I want some advice. The first time I went with Barbri, but I feel that I lacked on proper practice for the essays and pt portion. The second time I had a tutor... Which taught me a lot, but his strategy was not right (I only improved 4 points)... This time I want to study by myself, focus on the written portion, since my score in the MBE was a decent one. Also, I got a 75 on the first essay of the feb examination, but got terrible grades on the other ones...

Just so you can give me a better advice, here are my grades:

Essay 1 - 75
Essay 2 - 55
Essay 3 - 55
Essay 4 - 50
Essay 5 - 50
Essay 6 - 55
PT A - 60
PT B - 55
Scaled MBE - 1464

I need to know a reliable web that provides essays and that provide some kind of graders, since I want someone to grade my essays. As well, I need a reliable web for MBE questions, since I want to keep practicing just in case. For the PTs I'll be reading old ones. What do you think? Is this a good strategy?

Thanks!

Check the first page for a big list of resources. I think BarEssays has grading services but aren't too helpful from what I hear. You might want to ask user Raiden. He will grade your essays for a fee and treat you extra nice if you tell him I sent you.

I would not merely read PTs. That's like reading MBE questions and answers. Like all things, it's harder than it looks. Studying is not necessarily the same as learning. You're better off actually solving the problems yourself and testing yourself -- practicing as if it were the real thing so that you can do the real thing like practice.

Do not underestimate PTs. You need to raise your PTs by at least 10 points.

Also, you seem to have a good grasp of the law itself based on your passable MBE score, but most of your essays are quite low. This suggests to me that you know the law in theory but don't know how to apply it. More practice is required on your part. That means clean and proper IRAC, then getting a lot of practice in (only once you got IRAC down cold).

[rcharter1978]

Hi guys. This will be my third time sitting for the bar exam and I want some advice. The first time I went with Barbri, but I feel that I lacked on proper practice for the essays and pt portion. The second time I had a tutor... Which taught me a lot, but his strategy was not right (I only improved 4 points)... This time I want to study by myself, focus on the written portion, since my score in the MBE was a decent one. Also, I got a 75 on the first essay of the feb examination, but got terrible grades on the other ones...

Just so you can give me a better advice, here are my grades:

Essay 1 - 75
Essay 2 - 55
Essay 3 - 55
Essay 4 - 50
Essay 5 - 50
Essay 6 - 55
PT A - 60
PT B - 55
Scaled MBE - 1464

I need to know a reliable web that provides essays and that provide some kind of graders, since I want someone to grade my essays. As well, I need a reliable web for MBE questions, since I want to keep practicing just in case. For the PTs I'll be reading old ones. What do you think? Is this a good strategy?

Thanks!

I'm not sure who your tutor was. I used a tutor who was a former bar grader so I could get the "inside scoop."

He gave me a few insights that I think were specific to someone that has been a bar grader and has been reading and evaluating essays in 3-4 minutes a piece. He emphasized making the exam easy to read with the heading/subheadings and how the paragraphs are situated under the headings. Additionally how much time and space you give to each issue.

I think that this was a problem for me, because his thought was that sometimes "less is more," however, I always think that "more is more" and I'm scared to leave out any scrap of information that I knew. Because sometimes in law school that extra scrap of information can mean the difference between an A- and a B+. So my rule statements would be super long for EVERYTHING. And the analysis for EVERYTHING would be long and laborious....I would look for each and every creative argument so I could have an in depth analysis.

But....as he pointed out, if someone is taking only 3 minutes to read your essay, for a minor issue they just want to know that you know it....not some in depth analysis. And the more you do that the more you clutter the page and make it hard for them to get to the issues that ARE in depth, and DO get you the big points. And it takes time away from you to write out those issues that get you the big points if you're spending an equal amount of time of small issues and big issues.

So....maybe that could have been part of the issue you had was in recognizing the BIG issues from the little ones and devoting the proper amount of time and effort to each. If that is something you struggle with, perhaps a really qualified reader like Raiden can help with that.

Another incidental insight.....bar grading and bar graders are far more subjective than we'll ever know.

[a male human]

rcharter, what makes Raiden a "really qualified reader"?

I agree with your tutor w/r/t making the paper easy to read. If you've ever read and evaluated a stranger's essays (not your own), you may know that it takes EFFORT for a couple reasons: Bar essays are FUCKING boring, and people typically write like SHIT under pressure so you don't know what the hell you're deciphering, all the while trying to verify the accuracy of what is said that is embedded in a sea of words.

You (whoever's reading this) might think your essays are a masterpiece, but they're master pieces of DOGSHIT. No, they're WORSE than dogshit regurgitated out of a FLY'S ASSHOLE until you show me it got a 75+

"Wh-what? B-bu-but how do YOU know, AMH...?"
A few months ago, I spent hours reading 12 essays and 4 PTs... and it's easily one of the more "kill me" activities I've done. Granted, I was doing it to come up with feedback to give back. And graders get paid $3.25 to grade one essay. But they may have THOUSANDS more to grade for their thankless job. You bet your ass they are going to take whatever shortcuts they can to come up with a number to throw at you that will determine whether you waste another 6 months of your life.

THAT'S WHY YOU NEED TO GIVE THEM THOSE SHORTCUTS.

THAT MEANS CLEAN HEADINGS AND CLEAN IRAC AND CLEAN ORGANIZED STRUCTURES.

HUMAN ATTENTION IS AT A PREMIUM! If your answer to "would AMH successfully resist rage while reading this essay" is "no," then fix it.

[Raiden]

Do not underestimate PTs. You need to raise your PTs by at least 10 points.

I can't emphasis this enough. You can fail an essay and still pass, but you cannot fail a PT and expect to pass the bar exam. PT's are understandably less practiced: (1) there is not law you have to prepare for, and (2) they require three hours of non-stop studying fun times. But every student does an injustice to themselves if they do not come with a game plan of how to attack a PT. Students fail the PT because they bite more than they can chew, and choke on all the information in a PT. AMH's guide on how to attack the PT will definitely give you a headstart, I'd suggest checking that out early in the game. Spend some time each weekend getting familar with PT's, instead of just waiting till the end like Barbri and Themis would recommend.