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Do any of you read the answers before the questions on the MBE?

I started doing this for questions with longer fact patterns and I've found it to be helpful.

I've done it for some of the questions based on the call of the question. Usually when the call tells you what the cause of action is, you can bounce a couple of the wrong answers immediately. For instance, if the call tells you it's a strict liability CoA, you could bounce all the answers that use negligence explanations.

I don't know how helpful it is in the long run, and I'm sure that it depends on personal preference.

1. read the call

2. skim the answers

3. read the facts

you need to read the facts with a "relevance filter;" relevant information is determined entirely by the call and the available answers.

Personally, I do the following:

1. Read the call of the question

2. Read fact pattern

3. Read answer choices

Works for me well. I know what subject I'm in with the call, but then I still read the fact pattern without being distracted by the answer choices (some of which are tricky as hell). Gives me a chance to "predict" the correct answer before viewing the choices too.

Tiredbuthappyitsover wrote: I still read the fact pattern without being distracted by the answer choices (some of which are tricky as hell). Gives me a chance to "predict" the correct answer before viewing the choices too.

True. This is why I merely skim the answer choices...essentially just scanning for key words or concepts. This is especially helpful if the call is vague ("Will plaintiff prevail in her claim?").

jdk wrote:

Tiredbuthappyitsover wrote: I still read the fact pattern without being distracted by the answer choices (some of which are tricky as hell). Gives me a chance to "predict" the correct answer before viewing the choices too.

True. This is why I merely skim the answer choices...essentially just scanning for key words or concepts. This is especially helpful if the call is vague ("Will plaintiff prevail in her claim?").

Yeah I pretty much do what Tiredbuthappy does unless I need to look at the answer choices to determine the subject matter. I then also sometimes read the end of the question first if there's important info at the end like a recording act or the type of comparative/contributory negligence.

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