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Do You Need to Write Out Practice Exams?

April 27, 2013 By Lee Burgess 6 Comments

1380082_13568771As law students around the country continue to prepare for final exams, many students are wondering if it is worth their time to write out practice exams. Isn’t reading and outlining enough? I argue, no!

Writing out practice exams is worth your time because you will be able to work on key exam-taking skills.

  • Writing out practice exams allows you to work on your analysis. Most professors request that you write your exams using some form of IRAC. But what some students don’t fully understand is that the IRAC form looks more like this: irAc. The “A” is the most important part of the formula. Doing analysis is something that really needs to be practiced. This is where you write about how the law and the facts are linked and go together. Although you can do this by brainstorming or “issue spotting” an exam, most students find it more challenging to have to actually write out the analysis. Sometimes, that is why they don’t want to do it! But if the analysis is critically important to your exam score (and it is), you need to invest time in writing practice.
  • Writing out practice exams helps you work on time-management issues. I talk to a lot of law students and I very seldom hear any of them say, “I have plenty of time to work on this exam. I am not worried about getting it done at all.” Almost every student is worried about finishing the exam. If this is you, you need to write out entire practice exams to work on your time- management skills. How do you allocate time between major and minor issues? How fast do you need to write to get to the end? How extensive should your rule statements be? These are questions that can be answered by practice.
  • Although writing out practice exams may not feel like studying, it is! Writing out practice exams is a form of learning. You are going to be writing out rule statements, which is a great way to test yourself as to whether you know the law. And even more important than knowing the law is understanding the law. If you can apply the law to a fact pattern, you are well on your way to a passing score.

Although writing out practice exams may not be your favorite pastime, it is definitely an activity you should invest your time in. Although it may not seem as “important” as hours spent reading your outline, it is going to help you be best prepared for exam day.

—

Best of luck on exams! For more advice, check out Law School Exam Prep 101.

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Image by ColinBroug via stock.xchng.


 

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About Lee Burgess

Lee Burgess, Esq. is the co-founder of the Law School Toolbox, a resource for law students that demystifies the law school experience and the Bar Exam Toolbox, a resource for students getting ready for the bar exam. Lee has been adjunct faculty at two bay area law schools teaching classes on law school and bar exam preparation. You can find Lee on Twitter at @leefburgess, @lawschooltools, & @barexamtools.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julia

    05.01.13

    This is the best exam advice ever. It is awful while you are doing it, but it pays off a million times over.

    Reply
  2. Kristin

    04.17.15

    How soon should you begin writing practice exams?

    Reply
    • Lee Burgess

      04.17.15

      As soon as possible. Earlier is better. Use your outline while you do the practice if you don’t know the law yet.

      Reply
      • Darren

        09.29.16

        How is it done? I’m confused. Am i going to write my own set of facts and formulate my own legal issues?

        Reply
        • Lee Burgess

          09.29.16

          You want to use practice exams provided by your professors and write out answers. If you get a chance, you can take your answers to your professors to see if you can get any feedback on them too.

          Reply

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