Are you currently in law school or just starting? For those of you who don't know yet, law school A's are hard to come by. They are generally reserved for the top 10-15% of scorers, but this depends on the school, the professor and they type of class (some have lower A percentage ratios, while some have higher). Notwithstanding the law school specific differentials, I believe my techniques are transferable among different schools and therefore can assist you in achieving that law school A that you desire. But, keep in mind that no matter the advice, whether it's mine or someone else's, I found that the most important thing to do when preparing for an exam is doing what works for you. That is finding your own rhythm and study routine. I'm only offering suggestions and giving advice on what worked for me. Best of luck.
Instructions
1. Read all the material assigned to you. I know that there are some other students who refuse to do this, or even show up to class for that matter, and still get A' s, but for me that strategy would never work. The reason I advise reading all the material assigned (though not briefing the first time around) is because it helps you develop the skills necessary to pick out what's important from that particular case for that particular subject. Cases are not all created equal. Some cases give you the rule of law, while other cases apply the rule for you in a whole new fact scenario, while other merely give you an exception to the general rule. This is important to keep in mind because on the final exam you generally will be asked to apply the rule to a whole new fact situation, not just regurgitate facts back to the professor. By reading the case material assigned you'll develop a deeper understanding on apply the rule by looking at how previous courts applied the rule to a fact situation.
2. After reading the assigned material you might be tempted to brief the case. Briefing every single case assigned, in my opinion, is too narrowly focused. While being able to regurgitate facts, procedural history, holding, rule, conclusion and reasoning help you understand that single case, robotically going about it doesn't really help you understand the course and what's important. (If you are in a "Socratic method" class however, you might want to briefly jot down notes about the case to ignite your memory so if your called on in class you wont seem like a total dunce). Since not all cases are created equal, time spent noting material not important for the final exam is really just wasted effort. What I've found most effective for exam purposes is that after reading a case (step 1) asking myself what is important about this case for this particular class and how does this case relate to the other case material around it? Law school topics for the most part can be compartmentalized (such as a 4th Amendment "search and seizure" issue or a 5th Amendment "Miranda warning" issue etc...) so seeing how that case fits into the bigger picture will help you evaluate what you need to get out of it.
Note: At this point you should acquire an already made outline to figure out where everything fits- I suggest getting one from an upper class man who did well in the course or obtaining one from outlinedepot.com and searching for your professor/course.
3. Depending on the course and professor, taking diligent notes on everything the professor says might or might not help you. This is class specific and a judgment call is required. However, paying attention in class is of utmost importance because class time is the "discovery" period. It helps you discover what key points are important about a particular case in that particular subject (i.e. what the takeaway is) and apply the law to new facts. The professor usually assists students in applying the rule to new facts by asking questions such as "what if this happens" or "change the facts and xyz happens." By really paying attention to how your professor thinks, you'll make gains in your ability to understanding how particular issues turn on particular facts (i.e. which facts are outcome determinative). Not all issues have outcome determinate facts, but many do, so keep an eye out.
4. Get a copy of a sample exam and review it once in the beginning of the semester and again in the middle of the semester (if possible). On a final exam you will be asked to analogize or distinguish new facts of a rule/theory studied in the course to a new fact situation. By reviewing previous sample exams (and answers) made by that particular professor you'll get an idea of which compartments/topics/issue areas are likely to be tested on and additionally how the professor likes to test. Some professors will test the gamut of topics, they are called race horse exams. Some professors look to test your creativeness and understanding of the "outcome determinative" facts by asking you to apply the rule to an obscure fact situation. Its important to expose yourself to previous tests to see what your final exam might look like. Professors are creatures of habit and tend to be test in a format that is consistent year in and year out. However, you will also want to ask your professor whether or not the sample exam is reflective of what your exam will be like. Oftentimes they will say yes, but this can sometimes change.
5. If after going through steps 1-4 you still don't get it, never fear. That just means you'll have to turn to outside sources (like a treatise or hornbook) to understand that topic. If your professor is the author of a treatise or hornbook, its usually good advice to pick that one up. In any event, get a referral from a former student who did well in that class. The caveat here is that by using outside treatises and hornbooks you fall risk to the fact that they are not course specific, they tend to be generalized and so may skimp on some topic areas heavily covered in class and they tend to be over inclusive in terms of subject matter (the treatise will go over more topics than you need to know for your final exam). So proceed with caution.
6. Begin preparing for finals at least a month before final exams. I wait to do my own "outline" after I feel that I've gotten enough of the "big picture." I don't advise getting started too early because you might have missed writing (or typing) down earlier key points that didn't get fully flushed out until later in the course. But, once you get the big picture and see how the material is interrelated your ready to start the review process. If you start too late, well you just wont have enough time and you'd be cramming. That's never good for a law school exam. If you start too early, you might have missed some things that were important that you didn't think were important.
7. Outlining. I usually start with a topic area heading, then write down the general rule of that topic area. Next, I'll write out any exceptions to the general rule (whether by case name or by black letter law). Next, I'll go through the cases again from the beginning to end, but rather than reading them in depth, I'll skim them to get the key point(s) so I can plug the case into my outline. Sometimes a case will present the rule and apply it, sometimes a case will apply the general rule to a new fact situation, sometimes a case will present an exception to the rule, sometimes a case will present a "statute issue" (cases that focus on an interpretation of a particular term in the statute) and sometimes a case will present you with all of the above key points.
8. A few days before your exam you'll want to go over a previous exam (if available) with your outline. You'll want to test your ability to spot issues while concurrently memorizing the rules. Then in your head (or written down) you'll want to pick out the facts that support the ?'s side and the facts which support the ?'s side. Issue spotting is key here. Issue spotting practice helps you pinpoint which case(s) are your guides in helping your hypothetical characters resolve their legal dispute(s) (and by case I mean which rule is implicated and which case or cases provide the example analysis to assist in deciding which situation this is more reflective of). For example, you'll say either this situation is more like "a previous case studied" or distinguishable from "a previous case studied." (i.e. this hypothetical is more like XYZ case because in XYZ case the facts were...and here the facts are...whereas in ABC case the facts were...and so are unlike the situation presented here because...).
Tags: case will, fact situation, final exam, apply rule, case will present, general rule