Themis Bar Review Hangout - July 2016 Forum

[ok2bedifferent]

Full-time worker taking the NY bar this July!

I have taken Barbri in the past and have quite a bit of notes compiled, so I'm wondering if I am wasting my time watching the lectures, filling out the handouts, and condensing the handouts to flashcards. Maybe I should just condense my Barbri notes to flashcards? I don't know

I kind of figured I want to start afresh and just start at the beginning with Themis. However, I question their suggested study methods of reading through the outlines, watching the lectures, filling out the lecture handouts, and making your notes from the handouts themselves. I don't know about you, but I retain absolutely nothing from just reading through the outlines. Comparing the handouts and the outlines, I find a lot of missing items - are we not supposed to learn that stuff from the outlines or are we just going by probabilities here and just heding on the fact that only the stuff in the handouts will be tested? also, do people see inconsistencies? For example, the K handout specifically states: "the party receiving the protection of the [express] condition may waive the condition by words or conduct". Yet, on the quiz, one of the question's correct is: "an express condition can only be waived by express language". Huh???

[Raiden]

Word of advice: listen to the lecture 1.5x speed or possibly 2x speed if you can. They often talk slow and you can still keep up. Save yourself time as well.

[soj]

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[FSK]

Checkin in for PA, starting tomorrow. This thread has already eased my nerves. Seems like if you put in the time in a smart way, you do fine.

[Rahviveh]

How many hours are y'all putting in per day?

[Nebby]

Checkin in for PA, starting tomorrow. This thread has already eased my nerves. Seems like if you put in the time in a smart way, you do fine.

Today's the day, brother. Ve Con Dios, Hermano

[Fivedham]

How many hours are y'all putting in per day?

I've been doing roughly 4-6 active studying per day with light review of the outline and handouts in my "off-time" for about an hour or two. The lectures and assessment quizzes take most of that time, and I usually do an end-run review of every chapter after the lecture. I've been told by peers who did Themis not to go all out in the first few weeks, so I'm treating it like a full-time job.

Skimming the outline before the lectures seems appropriate, there's way too much info in them to be worth anything.

I like the 1.5 speed, but some of the professor speak way too quickly for it. I'd have to slow it down for Geis whenever he was going through a problem set.

[Nebby]

If you skip a day, Themis automatically changes your tasks and reorganizes them in order to fit in the tasks you skipped.

Does this principle also work in reverse? If I do two days work in one day, will Themis change the tasks and spread them out over the additional day I just saved; or will I just log in tomorrow and it say "No tasks for today?"

I have the course outline, so I can just go by that, but it would be nice if it reorganized tasks to reflect doing more work as well as doing less work.

[unidentifiable]

If you skip a day, Themis automatically changes your tasks and reorganizes them in order to fit in the tasks you skipped.

Does this principle also work in reverse? If I do two days work in one day, will Themis change the tasks and spread them out over the additional day I just saved; or will I just log in tomorrow and it say "No tasks for today?"

I have the course outline, so I can just go by that, but it would be nice if it reorganized tasks to reflect doing more work as well as doing less work.

So, far, in my experience, it will adjust if you do more work in one day. But I dont think it will give you a day off, it will just move up your assignments by one days and possibly thin them out in the long run.

I havent done two whole days of assignments in one single day, yet, but I have done 2 assignments from the next day. It just moved up one or two assignments from the day AFTER that day, making my week work load a little less.

[AlanShore]

Is there any way to have a task drop off? I don't intend to do every single practice essay they have assigned and it keeps following me day to day but I kind of want it to go away.

[unidentifiable]

Is there any way to have a task drop off? I don't intend to do every single practice essay they have assigned and it keeps following me day to day but I kind of want it to go away.

open it, mash your face against the keyboard, and submit.

[anon sequitur]

The schedule they set up for you is pointless and aggravating. Flex scheduling is the way to go.

[Easy-E]

Checking in.

Finished the first day, gonna plow through most of the second day later today, since I still have some work to finish up this week. Being able to read the outlines on a Kindle is nice.

[FSK]

I love that the speed changes are hotkeyed. Also finished the first day before morning. Writing my own short outline this afternoon for repetition's sake.

[Easy-E]

If you skip a day, Themis automatically changes your tasks and reorganizes them in order to fit in the tasks you skipped.

Does this principle also work in reverse? If I do two days work in one day, will Themis change the tasks and spread them out over the additional day I just saved; or will I just log in tomorrow and it say "No tasks for today?"

I have the course outline, so I can just go by that, but it would be nice if it reorganized tasks to reflect doing more work as well as doing less work.

I remember someone in the 4L thread saying it just moves everything up, and if you do front load too much, it will end up with you finishing the course early. I'm using the course outline and working it out myself (e.g. do two days today since I can't do as much tomorrow).

[Nebby]

I started today 5/23

I did Day 1 and Day 2, because Day 1 only took an hour and day 2 only took 2.5 hours. I'll probably just follow the course outline rather than the dynamic scheduling and stop at points that make the most sense. My hope is to have one day off every week, and one more day off every other week (so one day off this week, two days off next week, repeat).

Once I get down to the last four weeks I'll probably switch back to just one day off a week

[ultimolugar]

Hey all. State-specific stuff is frustrating as all get out.

[Fivedham]

Hey all. State-specific stuff is frustrating as all get out.

The NJ essay stuff was so pointless. They take like four videos to explain IRAC/CREAC.

[Easy-E]

I started today 5/23

I did Day 1 and Day 2, because Day 1 only took an hour and day 2 only took 2.5 hours. I'll probably just follow the course outline rather than the dynamic scheduling and stop at points that make the most sense. My hope is to have one day off every week, and one more day off every other week (so one day off this week, two days off next week, repeat).

Once I get down to the last four weeks I'll probably switch back to just one day off a week

Wait, how? My Day 1 was two hours of video alone, and I'm only taking NY.

How are you guys approaching the "summarize" portion? Just outlining/flowchart basically? I know it says to do what worked in LS, but frankly, nothing worked all that well for me.

[ultimolugar]

Nothing fucks with your confidence like going from 76% to 53% in the span of 2 hours on the same topic.

[throwaway7]

ultimolugar: are you talking about the 3rd set of MBE pqs? if so, they are ridiculously difficult. some of the questions are just patently stupid and I read some other people having issues too. I dropped from 80% to 44%, then went back up to 80% on the next set.

[Easy-E]

The conversation over in the 4Ls thread is freaking me out. Are you guys doing anything in addition to what Themis prescribes?

Also, how quickly are ya'll reading through these outlines?

[throwaway7]

I'm not reading the outlines at all, I think that's a waste of time at first. How I'm doing it: listen to the lectures, fill in the pdfs, and then when it comes to actually doing the PQs and essays, I write together an outline based on the outline they give you, questions I fuck up on the PQs, the fill-in PDF, that sort of shit. Then i do the questions and the essays. Working pretty well so far.

I don't think you need to do extra stuff. There's plenty of people in this thread and in the big wide world who are saying that themis/barbri/kaplan is enough, you don't need to go out and drop a ton more money on other shit like adaptibar. I think the 1L law school-mentality of freaking out and monitoring how much work and what kind of work everyone else is doing is very unproductive.

[Rahviveh]

Anyone with adaptibar finding those qs a lot harder?

[Easy-E]

I'm not reading the outlines at all, I think that's a waste of time at first. How I'm doing it: listen to the lectures, fill in the pdfs, and then when it comes to actually doing the PQs and essays, I write together an outline based on the outline they give you, questions I fuck up on the PQs, the fill-in PDF, that sort of shit. Then i do the questions and the essays. Working pretty well so far.

I don't think you need to do extra stuff. There's plenty of people in this thread and in the big wide world who are saying that themis/barbri/kaplan is enough, you don't need to go out and drop a ton more money on other shit like adaptibar. I think the 1L law school-mentality of freaking out and monitoring how much work and what kind of work everyone else is doing is very unproductive.

Yeah, I skipped the most recent outline. I think I'll probably utilize them more for subjects I'm entirely unfamiliar with, but it seems like a time suck at this point. Thanks. The intro video certainly put me at ease.

Also, 1.5x speed lectures are credited af.