Law School Academic Support Blog

Happy Holidays and Enjoy the Semester Break

All of us at the Law School Academic Support Blog wish you and your families Happy Holidays! We appreciate you reading our posts.

We are taking a break to celebrate the season. Posts will begin again the week of January 6th.

(The Editors)

Time for the Holiday Break and . . . Bar Prep

Jack Frost is nipping at the door, at least in some places.  Mall parking lots are packed.  The line to see Santa is 100 people long before he even arrives.  Christmas lights shine throughout the skies.  The holiday season is here, which also means it is February bar prep time.

The February bar exam is a unique test to prepare for.  Our students only have 9 weeks between the last final exam and the bar exam, but summer takers have 10 weeks.  The shorter time combined with the holidays makes the exam harder to prepare for.  My experience is the key piece to successful bar prep is completing the vast majority of the assigned work.  BARBRI recommends at least 400 hours of studying.  Kaplan, Themis, and other bar prep companies are similar.  I usually recommend approximately 500 hours.  Examinees who start prep slowly won't get to those numbers.  Below are a few tips to get off to a great start and complete enough work to be ready for the bar exam.

1. Make a schedule.  Spend time writing down how many hours you have available each day and how many hours you will study.  Add all of the hours up.  Make sure you can get above at least 400.  If not, rework your schedule.
2. Setup a meeting with your Academic Support Professional.  Bring your schedule and talk about the schedule in that meeting.  Bar prep requires both class wide and individual instruction.  The class wide instruction will be your bar prep course.  Most of the companies have programs that adjust to your performance, but your unique circumstances could change what you should do.  The best person to help with that is at your law school.  Hopefully, you worked with your ASP person throughout your tenure at law school and can talk about your circumstances.
3. Start studying before Christmas.  I know many people want to travel or take time off after finals.  I tell summer takers that bar prep starts the Tuesday after graduation (1 day off for our Sunday graduation).  Winter takers should have the same philosophy and start before the holidays.
4. Take time off for Christmas, but limit the time off.  Everyone needs time off during bar prep.  Take a couple days for Christmas, then get back to studying.  Family and friends will complain about not seeing you for many years.  They will also say the holidays are meant for family.  I understand, but you should be selfish with time from now until the end of February.  The exam date is set, and you only have so many hours between now and then.  Use the hours wisely.
5. Take New Year's Eve night and New Year's Day off, but get back to studying the next day.  

February bar prep is difficult because the timing is shorter.  No one should tell you to not take time off.  The critical component to success is getting back to studying.  When striving for something (exercise, weight loss, changing habits, etc.), far too many people have a day off and never get back on track.  Treat each day as a new opportunity to be ready for the bar.

(Steven Foster)

Turning Fear of Failure Into Acts of Success

Basketball player "...Duncan Robinson was open and didn't shoot." So reads an article about the "Most Improbable Player in the NBA."  The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13, 2019, p. A14.  

In response to Duncan's decision, "...[H]is coach immediately called timeout.  'That's selfish.... You're being selfish if you don't shoot.'" Id.

For our February 2020 takers, bar prep begins for many next week.  But, as we approach bar studies, if you're at all like me, I'm much more comfortable being on the sidelines, not taking shots so to speak, watching others talk through hypothetical scenarios and work through practice problems.  

That's because I often don't feel like I'm ready to take shots because I don't feel like I know enough to play the game.  

Instead, I try to learn to "play basketball" by reading about basketball and by watching others play basketball...a sure recipe to fail at basketball.  

Let me put it concretely.  With respect to bar prep, I'm much more comfortable listening and watching professors from the sidelines as I observe them work through bar exam problems and scenarios.  

However, take it from Duncan (who went from high school to a small time college basketball program to a big time basketball program to a minor league professional basketball team to now a multimillion dollar contract with a big time professional basketball team).  Id.  What was the key to Duncan's success?  As Duncan indicates, "I was having a tough time figuring out what was a good shot--and I quickly realized that everything was a good shot...I needed to literally shoot everything. [my emphasis]"  Id.

For those of you beginning to prepare for the winter bar exam, take Duncan's advice.  Take every shot at learning.  Know this:  That every problem that you work through, every time you close your lecture book and then force your mind to recall things that you have learned, every time you take action based on the bar review lectures that you are hearing, you are becoming a better "shooter", getting closer to your goal in passing your bar exam.  

So, be of good courage as you boldly study for your bar exam.  After all, you're not going to be tested about what you saw from the sidelines. Instead, you're tested on your ability to play the game, to score points, to solve bar exam problems.  Consequently, take every shot you can, everyday throughout this winter, as you prepare for success on your bar exam this upcoming February 2020.  Oh, and by the way, Duncan missed lots of shots on the way to success.  But, he kept at it.  You too, keep at it, because as it's in the midst of our missed shots that we learn how to perform better!

(Scott Johns).

Holiday Study Breaks and the Bar Exam

It is that time of year again! If you are taking the bar exam in February, you have either started studying, or you are thinking about a study plan. However, the holidays are also fast approaching, and for most people, that’s a busy time of year. It’s easy to feel pulled in multiple directions, whether it be from end of the year work related items (if you are working while studying), or family obligations, or just the excitement of the season making it hard to focus on mundane things like contract and property law.

First of all, breaks are okay. If you have already started studying, it is okay to take time to see your family, or even celebrate New Year’s Eve! You are not obligated to be in the library 24/7 from now until the end of February. Also, breaks are good for your mental health, and will help you get through the next couple months. While you shouldn’t take multiple days off, or entire weeks, spending time with loved ones is not something you should feel guilty about.

Even without the holidays, taking time to decompress is good for you for multiple reasons.

1. Mental Health: Overall, spending time with loved ones, or participating in self care, is generally good for our mental health. It can help us reduce stress, and provide much needed support. Both of these things ultimately aid in test taking. While good stress can offer adrenaline, which can be important during a long exam like the bar, too much stress can shut us down, and impact our focus. In addition, things like anxiety can lead to poor decision making, either during studying or the actual exam. So, taking time to care for yourself, in whatever form that takes, is necessary for success on the bar exam.
2. Learning and Memorizing: Taking breaks actually helps in the learning process. First, mindfulness, or meditation, on a regular basis improves test scores and helps with memory and retention. While this study was done with the GRE, there is no reason it can’t work with the bar exam. Also, breaks, or resting, can actually help you retain information. Your brain needs time to process what it has just learned.

Finally, if you are feeling overwhelmed, or feeling like you are “behind”, focus on the small tasks you can accomplish. Students often get caught up in thinking they have to set aside huge blocks to study, but that’s not true. You can do an MBE question, and review it, in 5 minutes. You can take a multiple choice question, and turn it into a small essay (take the answer choices off, and write out the answer using IRAC) in 5-10 minutes. You can review elements of a law in 5 minutes. And in fact, doing those things in small chunks will help with things like memorization.

Mostly, don’t feel guilty for taking time to be with family and friends, especially during this holiday season. Getting through law school, or studying for the bar exam, is all about balance.

Happy Holidays, and Happy Semester’s End!

(Melissa Hale)

The End and Not The End

There is something awesome and fitting about the way the first semester ends just before the winter solstice.  Here in Buffalo, where the late December days are a full hour shorter than they were in Southern California, the astronomical landmark is particularly noticeable.  It is not hard to imagine what it must have been like for those early tribes of humans, tens of thousands of years ago, who first figured out the significance of the shortest day of the year.  It meant the start of winter, to be sure, a time when food supplies had to be husbanded and starvation was always a risk.  Simultaneously, though, it was also a time of plenty, when freshly slaughtered livestock and newly fermented beverages meant feasting and jollity.  And there was reason for celebration, as the solstice meant that the days were once again growing longer.

It is an odd balance, one that has been reached in cultures around the world: holding simultaneously the beliefs that something -- the season, the harvest cycle, the year -- is coming to an end, and that this is really a signifier of continuation and refreshment.  We hold out for the holidays like marathoners stretching for the finish line, while at the same time taking comfort in the knowledge that we get another lap around the course.

For those of us working in Academic Support, this knowledge is invaluable.  Every new year -- calendar or academic -- means adding to our repertoires, tweaking our syllabi, reviewing and responding to our results.  We preach active learning and continuous improvement to our students, and every year we can model these habits to our own students.

In fact, for some of our students, this is a key lesson for them to learn.  Whether it was because they were influenced by a school system that always focused on the next test, or because they were raised without role models who could show them the value of a long-term vision, some students approach the end of the semester the way they might approach the end of an acute illness -- with a sense of gratitude for reaching the conclusion of their struggles, and a feeling of relief that they won't have to think about it any more.

There is, of course, a deserved sense of accomplishment at reaching any milestone, like (especially for 1L students) the end of the fall semester.  But one thing we can do for our students is help make sure that they see this accomplishment in context -- that they recognize that they will face similar challenges, again and again, while they remain in law school, but that they will also be able to take something from this past semester that will help them face those challenges more successfully.  We can remind our students that the winter break is not only a great time for diversion, relaxation, and recharging, but also an opportunity for reflection about what worked and what didn't work, what they enjoyed and want to pursue, and what they want to plan ahead to avoid.  We can also welcome them back in January with a reminder that, even though it is a new calendar year, they are still engaged in the same exciting, fruitful pursuit they were following the previous season, and connecting that semester with this one is a good way to get more out of both.

Best wishes for the coming new year!

[Bill MacDonald]

Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education Seeking Nominations

If you are looking for an opportunity to serve in the broader academic community and provide more exposure to the contribution of ASP, please consider nominating yourself, or an eligible colleague to the the AALS Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession. The Section is requesting nominations for officers and Executive Committee members to serve beginning January 5, 2020 (following the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting).  We hope that members will consider nominating themselves or others to serve in these capacities.
 
The Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession promotes communication relating to the empirical study of the full range of questions raised by legal education and the legal profession, encourages professional development and fostering of relevant skills and expertise for those interested in engaging in the empirical study of legal education and the legal profession, and fosters exploration of and exchange of information relating to research developments between distinct communities within legal education. 
 
The Section is committed to building bridges across the many silos found in legal education, and thus has endeavored to encourage candidates for its officers and executive committee drawn from the diverse ranks of podium faculty; clinical and legal writing faculty; academic support professionals; student affairs professionals; admissions professionals, and other interested members of the broader AALS and legal education community. Officers of the Section and members of its executive committee must be current or retired full-time faculty or professional staff of law schools that are members of the AALS.
 
This call for nominations invites nominations for two officer positions (chair-elect and secretary/newsletter editor) and up to five Executive Committee members (each of whom serves for a one-year term). Current members of the Executive Committee (listed below) are eligible for election to officer positions or for re-election to the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee will be chaired by Chair-Elect, Victor Quintanilla. The Section encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds and parts of the academy to nominate themselves or others for positions as officers or membership in the Section’s executive committee. The executive committee also anticipates forming project-based committees this year that may require chairs and additional members.  

 

To nominate yourself or another, send an email to Chair-Elect Victor D. Quintanilla, ([email protected]) with the subject line “AALS Empirical Section Nomination.” Your nomination should, in one to two paragraphs, explain: (a) your background and interests and their relationship to the work of the section, (b) why you are interested in serving in a leadership position as an officer or member of the executive committee, (c) any other information you think might be relevant to your candidacy. Nominations are due by December 13, 2019.

 

I encourage you to lend your talents and unique perspectives to some of the many AALS Sections, and of course, I  hope to see many of you at our Academic Support Section meeting at AALS next month!

 

(Marsha Griggs)

Finals are Over, Now What?

First semester finals are similar to a Saw movie.  No, not in the blood is everywhere or the mental gymnastics needed for the puzzles way.  The movies leave many uneasy because the protagonist usually dies and there is a cliffhanger for what Jigsaw will do in the next movie.  If you watched them when they came out, you had to wait years for the next story, which left just as many questions at the end. 

First semester finals can leave some with the same lacking or cliffhanger feeling.  Grades won't come out for 2-4 weeks depending on the school.  No one usually walks out of finals feeling good about what they wrote.  Finishing finals doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment because they just end with no definitive answer, and the protagonist of the story (student walking out) isn't the obvious hero.

The lacking feeling is normal.  Most students feel the same way.  Once you finish finals, the goal is to not worry about law school for a few days.  Use the break to actually take a break.  The winter break is not as long as the summer, so if you spend too much time on law school related activities, then you won't be mentally fresh starting next semester.  The goal is to reset during the break to be ready for the spring.  If you can't completely ignore law school, then you could casually read a book.  You have many options depending on what area you want to improve in. Books that I like for learning/general improvement are: Make It Stick, How We Learn, and Grit. There are numerous law school specific books for each of the different skills needed for success. I like How to Succeed in Law School, Expert Learning for Law Students, and Reading like a Lawyer. Those are my personal favorites, but there are numerous great options.  You have more context for those books now that you have been through a semester.  That being said, don't try to read all of them.  If you casually read one, great.  If not, even better.  Get mentally fresh for next semester.

Good luck on the rest of finals and get ready for a great break.

(Steven Foster)

Personalized Learning

I read an article last week about personalized learning in K-12.  The article discusses how one school is attempting to use time management software and digital tasks to allow students to work at their own pace to learn material.  The school monitors students to make sure they stay on a reasonable time table, but if they are on track, students begin learning self-regulation at a much earlier age.  This is a skill many of our law students need.

The article's main topic was that personalized learning is hard i the K-12 context though due to time constraints.  Other schools aren't implementing these strategies because they aren't practical.  School days and academic calendars make self-regulation difficult.  State standardized tests mandate certain outcomes by certain dates.  Time constraints prevent more schools from promoting this self-regulation.

I think the bar exam promotes a similar problem.  Students should be able to learn the material for the bar at their own pace.  If they need more time because they are working, then they should be allowed more time to study.  However, the exam is not setup that way.  The exam is only administered twice a year, and if a student is not on the NCBE timetable, then they risk not passing.  The time constraints of the bar dampen student autonomy.  The lack of autonomy causes additional stresses and difficulties for some students trying to learn the material.

You can read the article here.  It focuses on K-12 education, but we could use the information when considering our students.

(Steven Foster)

Comfort - An Enemy of Learning?

There's a line from the movie "The Greatest Showman" that goes like this:  "Comfort is the enemy of progress."  

That got me thinking.

I wonder if comfort might also be an enemy of learning. 

Here's why:  

It seems to me, if I boil down the research on learning, that much of what we think is valuable for learning is, frankly, of little to no value at all.  

Take for example re-reading notes and texts and highlighting information. Although I doubt any social scientist would put it this way, as I follow the research, those activities are essentially worthless as they really aren't activities of cognition at all.  Rather, they are motions that we take in which we convince ourselves - falsely - that we are learning.  (They are mere preparations to become a learner, not learning in itself.).  That's why they feel so intuitively comfortable.  

But true learning takes sweat.  It requires workouts using our minds. It pushes us to build cognitive connections that previously didn't exist.  In short, it's a struggle in growing, thinking, and practicing well beyond our comfort zones. 

So, as you prepare for final exams, take heart.  Be of good courage, knowing that while true learning doesn't feel comfortable, the science is behind you as you push into uncomfortable work.

From a practical viewpoint, as you work through your notes and outlines, talk them out, synthesize them, and generate lots of ideas and practice exam scenarios based on them.   Test yourself frequently about what you think you are learning to see if you are truly learning it by turning your materials over and recalling what you think you know from memory.  In short, prepare for your final exams by using interleaving practices (mixing up different topics and practice formats) and spaced repetition (revising topics and practices through intervals of spaced timing) in addition to forced retrieval exercises (deliberately forcing our minds to recall what we think we can't remember).

If you aren't sure about how to use interleaving practice, spaced repetition review, or forced recall learning, please dive into some of the charts and tables in this very helpful overview of the cognitive psychology for optimal learning: J. Dunlosky, "Strengthening The Student Tool Kit."   Or better yet, check out some of the blog posts from Associate Dean Louis Schulze, an expert in legal education learning: L. Schulze, "Four Posts on Cognitive Psychology."   They're sure to get you thinking, and, more importantly, learning...if you put them to practice.  

Best of luck on your final exams!

(Scott Johns).

Study: Law Students Handwriting Class Notes Outperform Laptop Users

h/t Tax Prof Blog/ Paul Caron:

Colleen P. Murphy, Christopher J. Ryan, Jr. & Yajni Warnapala (Roger Williams), Note-Taking Mode and Academic Performance in Two Law School Courses, 68 J. Legal Educ. 207 (2019).

 

Louis Schulze, FIU Law

Taking Our Own Advice

Most of us are well trained in how to provide advice to our students. However, we don’t just advise them on the best study habits. Most of us act as counselors, providing support and advice on how to deal with anxiety and stress. We are good at it, if we were not, we wouldn’t be in the academic support profession.

But are we good at taking that advice? This is the time of year when so many of us are stretched to capacity, and in danger of suffering burn out. We also suffer from anxiety and stress, but my instincts tell me that most of us are much better at giving the advice than taking it. While we stress to our students that it is important to take care of themselves, especially around exam time, we neglect ourselves. I think this is because we put ourselves last on our to do list, so to speak.

Last week I was in a colleague’s office, discussing ways to help our students with mental health first aid. I was feeling incredibly stressed and anxious, in a way that I was unwilling to acknowledge. The more we discussed helping our students, the more I realized that I needed help.  Thankfully, she was a colleague that is also a friend, and she listened to how stressed I was. She gave me some great advice on taking my own advice. She asked me what I would tell a student, and encouraged me to really listen and implement the advice I give.

I think that sometimes, despite what we tell our students, we think of self care as “selfish”, or something that we don’t have time to do.

However:

“I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival."  — Audre Lorde

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” - Maya Angelou

I think these are wise words from wise ladies, so I’m here to remind all of us to take care of ourselves. Practice what we preach to students. Take time each day for yourself, whatever self care looks like to you. And most importantly, use the resources we give to our students to reach out if we need help. That reaching out can even be to one another, as we all know what each other is going through. One last note, practice what you preach when it comes to physical health as well. We are no good to our students if we are not taking care of ourselves!

(Melissa Hale)

Mentors, Students, and Student Support

I recently attended a meeting of our law school alumni to talk with them about being mentors.  We have a very energetic alumni community, many of whom participate in our school's formal mentoring programs -- one for our 1L students, to help introduce them to law school and the legal profession, and one for our 3L students, to provide guides for their transition into the working world.  Like most mentors, these alumni are eager to provide guidance and support.  Still, those of us who run the mentoring programs know that there are every year a small number of mentors whose experience in the program turns out to be awkward or even unpleasant.  Sometimes their students fail to demonstrate the zeal or professionalism the mentor had expected, and other times the student and the mentor just do not seem to hit it off.  Because our alumni mentors are such a valuable resource to our students, and therefore I don't want to lose any mentors due to a single unpleasant interaction, I offered the following thoughts:

All of our students possess varied interests, strengths and weaknesses, and past experiences, each across a broad spectrum.  Broadly speaking, though, we can divide the students who participate in our mentoring programs -- our "mentees", as we say -- into four groups, based on the extent to which they possess each of two characteristics key to any sort of networking relationship: enthusiasm and know-how.

The first group are the students who possess both.  They understand what goes into developing a professional relationship, and they are genuinely interested in working with their mentors to develop such relationships.  These are the dream mentees -- they ask lots of thoughtful questions, and they listen to your answers; they participate appropriately, whether invited to a one-on-one lunch or to a busy firm event; they know how to make eye contact, what to wear, and when and how it is appropriate to change or cancel planned meetings.  To mentors who are lucky enough to have one of these mentees, I say: Congratulations!  This is a great opportunity for you to help someone make the most of what you have to offer.  Challenge them a bit, and they will likely rise to the occasion.

The second group of mentees are enthusiastic, but they do not quite know what they are doing in a professional relationship.  In the moment, face to face, they may come across as quite interested, perhaps even charismatic.  But they are also capable of making striking faux pas -- wearing torn jeans to a business-casual luncheon, for example, or failing to show up for a scheduled meeting without calling or email to let the mentor know.  These folks are often achievers in an academic context, but have had little experience in practice.  They may want to reap the benefits of a mentoring relationship, but simply not realize that they are missing opportunities, and perhaps even causing offense, along the way.  But . . . that is one of the main reasons we introduce students to mentors -- to help them learn this kind of professional behavior that they may never have encountered before.  And even if they can be somewhat clueless, at least the members of this group do possess that enthusiastic motivation,  That is something that a mentor can leverage, by inviting participation, in the knowledge that such invitations will usually be accepted, and they by pointing out that the behaviors they are failing to demonstrate are some of the very skills they were hoping to develop.  So this group of mentees may sometimes elicit eyerolls, but by playing off of their enthusiasm, mentors can help them to overcome their deficiencies.

The third group of mentees are those in the opposite position.  They have the know-how -- for whatever reason, perhaps a previous job or perhaps just a supportive upbringing, they have a proper sense of professionalism, and in fact may come across as very worldly.  But they act as if they do not see any value in a mentoring relationship.  They do not display any particular enthusiasm, and may even seem to treat the mentoring relationship as a chore.  They may see a mentoring program as a kind of remedial finishing school for emerging professionals -- one they do not need, because they know which fork to use -- and not recognize the rich possibilities for connection and experience that a mentoring relationship holds.  But, as with the second group, at least this group does possess one asset that can be leveraged -- in this case, their ordered sense of professionalism.  A mentor could take advantage of that by inviting their mentee to participate in gatherings and events, by introducing them to colleagues, by prompting them to talk about their interests and plans.  The mentee's own worldliness will prevent them from totally ignoring all of these opportunities, and each meeting and conversation can be a wedge, opening up their minds to the realization that a mentoring relationship can be much more than a series of ritualistic interactions.

But this brings up to the fourth and final group, the most difficult group for mentors to contend with -- students who are neither enthusiastic nor knowledgeable.  These are the students who don't know how to be a mentee, and don't see why they should.  They might not even participate in a mentor program if it is not required.  These are usually students without any role models in the legal community, or perhaps in any professional community.  They can be tough on mentors, because they are the type who might miss a scheduled meeting, without warning or explanation, and then not see any reason to feel bad about that afterwards.  Sometimes mentors, seeing apparent futility in trying to encourage these mentees to participate, simply give up after a few attempts.  And this is a terrible loss to both the student and the mentor, because these are the students who need this mentorship the most, and theirs are the mentors who would justly feel the greatest satisfaction if they were able to teach these students how to be great mentees.  It can be hard to get these relationships to catch, because there is neither enthusiasm nor know-how there to leverage.  But because these mentoring relationships are, in a sense, the most valuable, these are the ones we, in student services, want to do the most to help nurture and preserve.  So I encourage our mentors to turn to us for support -- to ask us to approach these mentees from our side, so that we can nudge them into at least testing the mentorship waters, and so that, by explaining plainly what is expected of them, and what to expect from their mentors, we can lower the barriers of self-consciousness and dubiousness that might be keeping them from committing to the process.

Mentoring is, after all, only one facet of the larger construct of the legal community, and those who support our students in school can also support those who support our students out of school.

[Bill MacDonald]

Following Wisdom

Follow (v): To act according to an instruction or precept; to pay close attention to; to treat as a teacher or guide.

While in law school, I never connected with any of my professors on social media. Let's pretend that's not because social media tools were not yet sufficiently developed to allow me to do so.  Fast forward into the information age where I've seen healthy discussions about whether law professors should encourage students to "follow them" on Twitter and other social mediums. Ultimately every professor has the right to their own individual preferences and likewise, their students have the freedom to decide whether and how to interact with their professors online.

Many professors are kind enough to freely spew out words of wisdom as regards exam preparation, and the beauty of Twitter makes these gems available to all. University of North Carolina School of Law Professor O.J. Salinas tweeted some words of wisdom that I wish I had access to as a first-year (or even second-year) law student. Professor Salinas shared:

"Law students (particularly 1Ls): Finals are here. Remember to support your conclusions w/ analysis. Apply the law to the facts of the hypo for every issue you spot. Conclusory answers (conclusions w/out analysis) don’t get you a lot of points (if any). The facts of the hypo are your friends. The facts are there to help nudge you (sometimes quite directly) to your analysis. If you are stuck on the exam and don't know where to go, first take a couple of deeps breaths. Then re-read the call of the question. Then revisit the facts. As you revisit each line of the facts, ask yourself: Why is this fact here? Have I applied this fact to any laws that we have covered in class? Does this fact or could this fact relate to something that we have covered in class?

Finally, make it easy for your prof. to read your exam. Aim for clear & concise writing. Short sentences. Paragraph breaks. Headings/subheadings. Walk the reader through your prediction by providing effective/complete legal analysis. And don't presume your reader knows anything. You can do this!"

I have a list of professors that I follow. Many of whom I know only through online interactions. I am grateful to be able to follow their wisdom and shared experiences. I benefit regularly from our exchanges. My daily takeaways include teaching tips, common struggles, and concise study and writing advice for my students. Thanks Professor Salinas for your exam writing wisdom. I remain a follower.

(Marsha Griggs)

Final Exam Thoughts

Final exams are right around the corner.  For some first-year students, this is the first experience with law school exams.  If that is you, that is ok.  I put a slightly modified version of the email I send to 1Ls after their first exam below giving them advice for finals' weeks.  Hope it can help you all prior to your finals.

"Finals may not be what you expect, but you should know that most students are extremely nervous for finals.  Be confident you put in the time and effort during the semester to be successful and illustrated that on the exam.  I can tell you from experience both taking exams and grading them, no one picks all the correct answers or writes the perfect essay.  Everyone dwells on the ones they don’t know.  You answered more correct than you think.  Stay confident you did your best and get ready for your next final.  You cannot change what you answered today, so focus on what you can do next time. 

Here are a few tips for the rest of the exam period:

1. Get enough rest.  If you don’t sleep, then you will not be able to spot the issues fast enough.  Sleep deprived brains do not work as fast.
2. Don’t discuss the exam afterwards.  You cannot change what you answered or wrote, so you shouldn’t worry about it.  Just because your classmate answered differently or wrote about something different does not make you wrong.  No one writes a perfect exam or gets all the MC questions correct!  You can miss a few issues and still be successful.  Also, many times students find “phantom” issues and are not receiving points for those ingenious (and wrong) arguments you hear afterwards.
3. Try to relax and decompress before beginning your studies for your next subject.  Law school exams are exhausting.  You are mentally beat up and your adrenaline plummets.  Take some time to regroup so your studying is as efficient as possible.
4. Efficient and effective study will always be better than 'all-nighters'.  I definitely think you need to put in many hours of studying each day for your exams, but you should be efficient and use the tools that work best for you.  Inefficient study for 18 hours will receive worse grades than efficient studying for 10 hours.

You were admitted to law school, so we believe you have the skills to be successful.  I wish all of you the best of luck!"

(Steven Foster)