1L of a Blog Series: Outlining for Success

Welcome to law school! This is a biweekly series with tips and tricks for success in law school. We’ll cover things like time management, outlining, preparing for exams, and more! Although this series covers skills and tricks that might be new to 1Ls, I hope that every member of the law school community can find something helpful here.

You’re starting to get the hang of this law school thing! You’ve gotten into a good routine, you’re reading and briefing your cases, and you’re acing your cold calls. Not to throw you off, but you need to add something else: outlining! This blog will address some commonly asked questions about outlining so you can create your outlines with confidence.

What is an outline?

An outline is a study guide you make for each class. Outlines help you understand the overall structure of a course, visualize connections between concepts, and memorize legal rules for your exams. Unless your professor has said otherwise, your primary takeaway from class should be the rules of law. So, your outline should be focused on the rules and how to apply them.

Even though the term “outline” probably brings to mind a lot of Roman numerals, letters, and numbers arranged hierarchically, your class outline can be in any form. Your outline should fit your learning style, and it may be a different format for each of your classes. Sure, some students will use a more “traditional” outline with Roman numerals, but others will use flow charts and mind maps to better visualize the material. Every student’s outline is personalized to their learning style and preferences, so don’t be afraid to get creative.

You may also hear 2Ls and 3Ls talking about attack outlines. As exciting as they sound (outline battles, anyone?), an attack outline simply shows how you will attack exam questions. These may capture how you’ll walk through a giant issue-spotter essay, or they may be for distinct sub-topics. They help organize the steps of analysis for you to memorize then apply during an exam so you do not miss any key points.  

How do I get started?

If you haven’t started outlining yet, it’s time to get on it! The easiest way to start outlining for a class is to look at the syllabus. From the syllabus, you can usually get a sense of the big topics within the course, if not a more detailed look as subtopics within each major heading. Your professor organized the course the way they did for a reason, so start your outline by following their lead!

Then, you should look to your case briefs and class notes to fill in the rules for each topic. Generally speaking, you won’t need to memorize the details of each case you read (defer to your professor on this one!), so you should isolate the rules from each case for your outline. That being said, the cases are valuable for understanding how the rule works, so if examples help you understand, you may want a few memory-jogging facts from each case in your outline. You may also want to include a few key hypotheticals your professor posed in class for the same reason.

Often, the hardest part of outlining is getting started because it can feel overwhelming. Keep in mind that you can (and should) adjust your outlines over time, so if you’re not happy with the structure you chose last week, you can just change it. An outline is a living document that tracks your understanding of the material, so it’s always evolving. If you need advice for getting started, or if you suddenly realize you’re not on the right track, you should reach out to your TA, academic success program, and/or professor for additional guidance.

When do I add material?

Regularly! You should add to your outline for each class at least every other week. You can put your subjects on a rotation so you only have to work on a couple subjects each week. But I would also recommend having some flexibility. It’s helpful to add material once you finish a topic. For instance, when your torts class transitions from battery to negligence, it’s time to add battery to your outline and adding it right away will help you identify and resolve any gaps in understanding.

How do I use my outline?

Your outline is primarily a way to organize the material so you can get a better understanding of the key takeaways of each class. However, your outline is not something you make and set aside. Instead, it evolves as you get a better understanding of the material. So, as you add new material to your outline, you’re also reviewing and refining the stuff that’s already in there. You’ll benefit from your outline by creating it, reviewing it, revising it, memorizing it, and using it to answer practice questions. Ultimately, your outline should become your constant companion for each class.

Use Commercial Outlines with Caution!

I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention commercially available outlines. As you hopefully gathered from above, outlining is as much about the process as it is the final product. Additionally, commercial outlines aren’t tailored to the class your professor is teaching. They aren’t going to emphasize the same things or phrase rules the same way. Thus, they won’t be as helpful for the exam. So, the takeaway is: You really have to make your own outline.

However, I still find commercial outlines helpful if used effectively. They’re a great place to look to for an alternate explanation of a particularly sticky topic or for clarification of how topics relate. So, your rule of thumb: the commercial outline is a supplement, not a substitute. You must still create your own outlines if you want to fully understand the material for the exam.

 

That’s the scoop on outlining! Hopefully these explanations and tips will help you get started and keep going throughout the semester. Remember, outlining is a personal, ongoing process, so don’t be nervous if your outline isn’t exactly like your classmate’s, as long as you’re keeping up with the material. The only completely incorrect way to outline is not to outline at all!

(Dayna Smith)