How Many Issues Can You Miss on the MEE and Still Pass the Bar Exam? Forum

[S0M21L]

How many issues can you miss on the MEE and still pass the bar exam? For example, will points be given by examiners for essay answers with any of the following: incomplete rule statements, incorrect rule statements, incomplete analysis, or incorrect analysis? Thank you.

[teaearlgreyhot]

It really depends on how you performed on the other parts of the exam. Here's how it was explained to me by my bar prep class, (disclaimer, this may only be helpful if you're in NY): In NY the passing score is 266. Since the MBE and your written average each count for 50% of your overall score, you're looking for a 133 on each. But, you could score very high on the MBE (let's say 160), making the essay part of your overall score less crucial to your passing: a 160 MBE score means you only need to get a 106 written score, which is very doable.

On each of the essays and the MPTs, you want a score of approximately 50 (scores can range from 20 to 80). If you scored above 50 on any essay or MPT, it helps you toward passing, and if you score below 50, it would weigh you down. Your stronger essays can help make up for your weaker ones, as could a high MBE score, as explained above.

TL;DR It's impossible to tell how you are going to be graded, because grading is a bit of a mystery, but I know people on this forum who skipped an entire essay question, and still passed. So, if you missed some components, or gave an incorrect definition of the law, it does not necessarily mean you failed. Try to stay positive and keep your head up!

[cats]

How many issues can you miss on the MEE and still pass the bar exam? For example, will points be given by examiners for essay answers with any of the following: incomplete rule statements, incorrect rule statements, incomplete analysis, or incorrect analysis? Thank you.

What's your LSAT score?

[fire_ice]

How many issues can you miss on the MEE and still pass the bar exam? For example, will points be given by examiners for essay answers with any of the following: incomplete rule statements, incorrect rule statements, incomplete analysis, or incorrect analysis? Thank you.

What's your LSAT score?

Def. higher than yours.

[cats]

How many issues can you miss on the MEE and still pass the bar exam? For example, will points be given by examiners for essay answers with any of the following: incomplete rule statements, incorrect rule statements, incomplete analysis, or incorrect analysis? Thank you.

What's your LSAT score?

Def. higher than yours.

181

[edwardt1988]

It really depends on how you performed on the other parts of the exam. Here's how it was explained to me by my bar prep class, (disclaimer, this may only be helpful if you're in NY): In NY the passing score is 266. Since the MBE and your written average each count for 50% of your overall score, you're looking for a 133 on each. But, you could score very high on the MBE (let's say 160), making the essay part of your overall score less crucial to your passing: a 160 MBE score means you only need to get a 106 written score, which is very doable.

On each of the essays and the MPTs, you want a score of approximately 50 (scores can range from 20 to 80). If you scored above 50 on any essay or MPT, it helps you toward passing, and if you score below 50, it would weigh you down. Your stronger essays can help make up for your weaker ones, as could a high MBE score, as explained above.

TL;DR It's impossible to tell how you are going to be graded, because grading is a bit of a mystery, but I know people on this forum who skipped an entire essay question, and still passed. So, if you missed some components, or gave an incorrect definition of the law, it does not necessarily mean you failed. Try to stay positive and keep your head up!

This is putting it mildly. Everyone needs to calm down a bit.

[S0M21L]

It really depends on how you performed on the other parts of the exam. Here's how it was explained to me by my bar prep class, (disclaimer, this may only be helpful if you're in NY): In NY the passing score is 266. Since the MBE and your written average each count for 50% of your overall score, you're looking for a 133 on each. But, you could score very high on the MBE (let's say 160), making the essay part of your overall score less crucial to your passing: a 160 MBE score means you only need to get a 106 written score, which is very doable.

On each of the essays and the MPTs, you want a score of approximately 50 (scores can range from 20 to 80). If you scored above 50 on any essay or MPT, it helps you toward passing, and if you score below 50, it would weigh you down. Your stronger essays can help make up for your weaker ones, as could a high MBE score, as explained above.

TL;DR It's impossible to tell how you are going to be graded, because grading is a bit of a mystery, but I know people on this forum who skipped an entire essay question, and still passed. So, if you missed some components, or gave an incorrect definition of the law, it does not necessarily mean you failed. Try to stay positive and keep your head up!

Thank you!

[JustaQ]

It really depends on how you performed on the other parts of the exam. Here's how it was explained to me by my bar prep class, (disclaimer, this may only be helpful if you're in NY): In NY the passing score is 266. Since the MBE and your written average each count for 50% of your overall score, you're looking for a 133 on each. But, you could score very high on the MBE (let's say 160), making the essay part of your overall score less crucial to your passing: a 160 MBE score means you only need to get a 106 written score, which is very doable.

On each of the essays and the MPTs, you want a score of approximately 50 (scores can range from 20 to 80). If you scored above 50 on any essay or MPT, it helps you toward passing, and if you score below 50, it would weigh you down. Your stronger essays can help make up for your weaker ones, as could a high MBE score, as explained above.

TL;DR It's impossible to tell how you are going to be graded, because grading is a bit of a mystery, but I know people on this forum who skipped an entire essay question, and still passed. So, if you missed some components, or gave an incorrect definition of the law, it does not necessarily mean you failed. Try to stay positive and keep your head up!

In other words, if you totally bombed one of the MPTs, but did really well on the other, you should be where you need to be? Likewise if you can pull the essay split (three really good and three bad). Then it would just come down to the MBE?

[teaearlgreyhot]

In other words, if you totally bombed one of the MPTs, but did really well on the other, you should be where you need to be? Likewise if you can pull the essay split (three really good and three bad). Then it would just come down to the MBE?[/quote]

That's how I interpret it. Again, who knows how they grade, but seeing as the written score is an average, the essays that I feel confident about should help make up for the ones that I struggled with. I don't feel so confident in the MBE that my essays wont matter, but I also don't think I am doomed because I messed up x,y,z. And neither should any of you!

At the end of the day, I would rather focus on the things I feel good about and hope for the best, then spend 3 months assuming the worst. (But obviously I am just as nervous as the next person, or I wouldn't be on here the day after the test )

[teaearlgreyhot]

It really depends on how you performed on the other parts of the exam. Here's how it was explained to me by my bar prep class, (disclaimer, this may only be helpful if you're in NY): In NY the passing score is 266. Since the MBE and your written average each count for 50% of your overall score, you're looking for a 133 on each. But, you could score very high on the MBE (let's say 160), making the essay part of your overall score less crucial to your passing: a 160 MBE score means you only need to get a 106 written score, which is very doable.

On each of the essays and the MPTs, you want a score of approximately 50 (scores can range from 20 to 80). If you scored above 50 on any essay or MPT, it helps you toward passing, and if you score below 50, it would weigh you down. Your stronger essays can help make up for your weaker ones, as could a high MBE score, as explained above.

TL;DR It's impossible to tell how you are going to be graded, because grading is a bit of a mystery, but I know people on this forum who skipped an entire essay question, and still passed. So, if you missed some components, or gave an incorrect definition of the law, it does not necessarily mean you failed. Try to stay positive and keep your head up!

Thank you!

You're welcome! Keep the faith!

[hockeyman969]

I missed more than 6 issues and ended up with a 155 combined MEE and MPT from July 2016, you'll be ok.

[S0M21L]

I missed more than 6 issues and ended up with a 155 combined MEE and MPT from July 2016, you'll be ok.

Thank you

[Florence Night]

Literally all of them, depending on how you do on the other sections.

[mjmjmj]

You can miss MANY issues on the MEE and still not only pass, but get a super high score. Coming out of the exam, I realized that I had misread one essay question which led me to talk about something totally irrelevant. I also know I missed issues in at least three other essays. I got all nervous because I figured if I totally misanalysed issues, one third of one essay, one half of another... and I thought I would end up failing. I scored something around a 178 on the essay section. So please, don't count issues. And just try not to worry.

[Rhiannon17]

I passed the MEE portion of the exam and legit didn't even get to answer the question on one of the essays. I had like 2 minutes left and just wrote down like 2 rule statements really fast. Passed.

[Smiddywesson]

How many issues can you miss on the MEE and still pass the bar exam? For example, will points be given by examiners for essay answers with any of the following: incomplete rule statements, incorrect rule statements, incomplete analysis, or incorrect analysis? Thank you.

It's a writing sample and a job interview, you can miss a lot of issues because issue spotting is not the sole characteristic they are evaluating. Take a hard look at the grading system. The way I described it to my wife was the examinee is like a juggler. If I drop one ball but do better with the remaining balls, my grade could even exceed someone who didn't miss the issue. For example, if you misstated the law but did a great job explaining your logic and weaving in the facts, you could have blown away someone who spotted all the issues.

On the other hand, missing main issues means one missed all the subsidiary issues related to that main issue, and that can lead to death by a thousand cuts. However, even this worst case scenario is softened by the general rule of the juggler, bad performance in one aspect of the game can be made up in all the other components being graded. It's also a scaled test where the first fifty percent of the points are awarded for providing a steaming pile of dog vomit to the examiner. The chief problem in missing big issues is foreclosing the opportunity to stick the essay, not failing it. Passing the essay is pretty much assumed if you put in a legit but flawed effort. The people who fail essays do so due to time management, not issue spotting. You are fine, do not worry about these things. I intentionally refused to look up anything until the last 3 days of alcohol fuzzed up my memory and prevented me from peeking. Now I have to wait the five weeks in ignorance.