Making outlines and other study aids is a time-honored law school tradition. But how do you know if the time you’re investing in outlines is time well spent?
Read on for advice on when to outline, why to outline, how to outline, and how to assess and use your outline.
Enjoy!
When to Outline
- When is the Best Time to Start Outlining your Law School Courses? The best time to start outlining your law school courses is when your law professors completes discussion in class of the first topic listed on the syllabus. Usually, this occurs sometime between the third and fourth week of law school.
- Are You in Law School Crisis Mode? Here’s How to Get Out In your second semester of law school and perhaps didn’t do as well as you had hoped in your first semester? In crisis mode because nothing has changed? All is not lost. With some very disciplined and dedicated work you can actually save this semester and get ready for finals.
- When Should I Start Outlining in Law School? You can't start outlining on day one, but you should probably start sooner than you think!
- Video Quick Tip: When Should You Start Outlining? Outline early, outline often! Find out when to get started in this video Quick Tip.
Why to Outline
- The Value of Issue-Spotting and Strategies to Improve Your Skills Improve your all-important issue-spotting skills with these strategies.
- A Student's Perspective: 1L Outlines As a 1L, you may have an idea of what outlines are and how to do them, but you still may not be sure about how to start them or why they were so important. We have you covered! Read on to hear all things outline.
- Ahead of the Curve: Time Management -- The Value of Valuable Work Throughout the Semester Preparing for class alone is not enough. You need to incorporate key tasks after each lesson, chapter, and (ultimately) semester in order to survive and ultimately thrive in law school! Here are some ways to improve your performance throughout your entire law school career.
- 10 Reasons Why You Should Make Your Own Outline It can be tempting to forgo the outlining process and buy a commercial outline or borrow an outline from another student. Resist that temptation! Here are ten reasons why you should make your own outline.
- Law School Outlining: What’s the Point? You hear a lot about outlining in law school, but -- really -- what's the point?
How to Outline
- Keys to Outlining in Law School Outlining. It's a process that's almost unique to law school, and many law students don't know what it is or how to do it. If you want the rundown on the best approach to this process, this is the post for you!
- 4 Steps to Creating a Useful Outline in Law School Every law student knows that a course outline is an absolute necessity in law school. But not every law student knows how to make a course outline that will actually help them prepare for final exams. Try following these four simple steps to create a useful course outline.
- Organizational Tools for Outlining Legal Subject Areas Even if you are a first-year law student, you are now far enough along in your legal education that you need to start outlining the law for your substantive courses and taking practice exams. Here are three tools to make sure that you're on track to have your outlines and practice exams done in time to be prepared for your midterm and final exams.
- How to Outline with Help from Supplements One of the most important skills to master in law school is outlining. We give you tips on how to master outlining with supplements.
- Ahead of the Curve: Reading Cases: From Syllabus to Exam -- Prepare the Case for the Exam On top of reading and briefing cases, after class discussion, you will have notes capturing your professor’s take on a case. As you work on drafting your outline and thinking about how cases could factor into your exam, keep the following advice in mind.
- Follow Up: Policy Arguments in Outlines Policy questions often appear on final exams. You can be prepared for them by analyzing the policy bases of rules discussed in class and including policy points in your outline. Use these tips for success
- Can Your Law School Outline Be Too Long? Can your law school outline be too long? Yes, definitely! Find out what you should be aiming for here.
- How to Turn Your Law School Class Notes Into an Outline Wondering how to turn your class notes into an outline? Wonder no more!
- Podcast Episode 65: How to Make a Useful Law School Outline Today we’re talking about making outlines and other study aids, which are important in helping you make sense of everything you’re learning in law school. This episode is based on a question we got from a 1L listener.
How to Assess and Use Your Outline
- How to Move From Outline to Exam Answer Here are some tips for using your outline to prepare for exams – even if you haven’t finished your outlines yet.
- Taking Your Law School Outlines Beyond “Legal Trivia” It's easy for law school outlines to get stuck in "legal trivia" mode. Here's how to make sure yours is useful on an exam!
- How Are Those Law School Outlines Coming? Are your outlines a work of art yet? If not, here are some resources to help.
- Video Quick Tip: Are Your Outlines Working for You? Are you sure your outline is working for you? If not, check out this Quick Tip video for ideas.
Need help making your outlines the best they can be? We can help! Let one of our awesome law school tutors guide you as you learn how to make useful outlines that will really help on exams.