LLM - Bar passers - Honest advice pls Forum

[Nybar2015]

I am a foreign lawyer and failed NY Bar 2 times and am taking the bar in Feb. Both the attempts I failed to practice MBE and Essays (only read). I know my mistakes but get discouraged whenever I practice MBE (becoz of low scores) and Essays (fail to identify the issues) and then as usual leave it till the end of the exam day or avoid doing it, thinking I will do it in the exam. I have used Pieper for both attempts. I am currently using - Seperac and Kaplan and Adaptibar for MBE. I find Seperac outlines way better than Pieper Mnemonics and exhaustive outlines.

My questions are:
1. What is the best strategy for MBEs: I am currently alloting 1 week per subject and doing all MBEs I got so far. I am currently using KAPLAN and Strategies by Emanuel (feels very exhausting but not as helpful as Kaplan). Will supplement adaptibar in Jan. As of now I have done Evidence and am averaging only 40-50% on the MBE practice tests.
-- I really get discouraged looking at the scores. I am reading all answers and making further notes in to my outlines becoz I realised there's so much more law in the MBE questions than in an Outline.
-- I take around 50 or 70 MBEs perday and feel exhausted after reading those answers again and understanding the nuances in the Rules (not being lazy but I guess I take time to understand the issues)
-- Am I supposed to retake the same MBEs and see how I am scoring or how do I assess myself on MBEs becoz even after retaking the same MBE I am averaging only 60-70% but I guess I cannot expect the same/similar questions in the Bar. Not sure how to assess myself becoz I drag this depression into the next week and screw my studies on the next subject.
2. Essays: I failed to focus on IRAC method in the exam and was doomed both the times. Honestly, I knew most of the issues in the last exam but I wrote them miserably. So I have decided to do one essay everyday to get used to IRAC approach.
Please let me know your valuable thoughts.
Thank You

[starryski]

i would do less MBEs at a time. use adaptibar and do the questions one by one as opposed to using exam mode. read the answer and make notes. then take some time to actually learn the rules. it seems like you need to learn the law better. same goes for failing to see the issues in an essay. i did poorly on MBE mainly because i fall into all their traps and tricks. but the first step is to learn the law. try doing that before attempting 50-70 mbes in one day.

[ilovetheatre]

i would do less MBEs at a time. use adaptibar and do the questions one by one as opposed to using exam mode. read the answer and make notes. then take some time to actually learn the rules. it seems like you need to learn the law better. same goes for failing to see the issues in an essay. i did poorly on MBE mainly because i fall into all their traps and tricks. but the first step is to learn the law. try doing that before attempting 50-70 mbes in one day.

What? OP's problem is that s/he "failed to practice MBE and Essays (only read)." If anything OP should do more MBE questions, in small sets, large sets, and practice tests. A lot of people get <50% correct on the practice questions early on, but (possible through practice) they are able to gain a better understanding of the law and improve.

[starryski]

i would do less MBEs at a time. use adaptibar and do the questions one by one as opposed to using exam mode. read the answer and make notes. then take some time to actually learn the rules. it seems like you need to learn the law better. same goes for failing to see the issues in an essay. i did poorly on MBE mainly because i fall into all their traps and tricks. but the first step is to learn the law. try doing that before attempting 50-70 mbes in one day.

What? OP's problem is that s/he "failed to practice MBE and Essays (only read)." If anything OP should do more MBE questions, in small sets, large sets, and practice tests. A lot of people get <50% correct on the practice questions early on, but (possible through practice) they are able to gain a better understanding of the law and improve.

i said to do less MBEs at a time. meaning in one sitting or session. it looks like OP is cramming a lot of MBEs but not learning why he/she got answers right or wrong. Obviously, doing more MBEs overall is the correct thing to do.

[NY_Sea]

i would do less MBEs at a time. use adaptibar and do the questions one by one as opposed to using exam mode. read the answer and make notes. then take some time to actually learn the rules. it seems like you need to learn the law better. same goes for failing to see the issues in an essay. i did poorly on MBE mainly because i fall into all their traps and tricks. but the first step is to learn the law. try doing that before attempting 50-70 mbes in one day.

What? OP's problem is that s/he "failed to practice MBE and Essays (only read)." If anything OP should do more MBE questions, in small sets, large sets, and practice tests. A lot of people get <50% correct on the practice questions early on, but (possible through practice) they are able to gain a better understanding of the law and improve.

i said to do less MBEs at a time. meaning in one sitting or session. it looks like OP is cramming a lot of MBEs but not learning why he/she got answers right or wrong. Obviously, doing more MBEs overall is the correct thing to do.

This. This is what I did with the MBE the first time around and it came back to bite me... Doing big chunks and then just going through and grading just to see what % right I got. Taking your time and really understanding why the answer was what it was and identifying words or phrases that trigger certain answers is key to the MBE. It's a standardized test... They're basically games. You need to figure out the tricks of the trade. There's only so many ways they can write questions for certain topics.

OP, quality over quantity... I've been doing maybe 10-15 at a time and reading not just the explanations for the ones I got wrong, but the ones I got right too. You can figure out how the MBE asks questions and how to "beat" it. For essays, if you're struggling with them, you might need to do a quick run-through of your outlines and try to get a better grasp on the law.

You, me and starry are in the same boat... Let's try to help one another out as much as possible. You can do it!

[Nybar2015]

Thank you that really helps.