This Week's 1L Life Hack!

It’s Almost That Time Again: Exam Study Strategies

The exam schedule for Spring Semester is published, you can access it here. Start planning your reading week and exam study schedule now so that you can stick to it when the time arrives (it’s a short 4 weeks away). Start making a plan to ensure that you have ample time to study for each exam without cramming everything in at the last minute. Also, don’t wait until reading week to start outlining for your courses.

As I said last semester, my strategy was to work on my last exam first during reading week.  I finished my outline for each class in the reverse order of exams.  For example, my exam schedule was Contracts II, Torts II, Property II, and Rules, so I finished outlines in the reverse order Rules, Property II, Torts II, and Contracts II. This way when my Contracts II exam was over I could just pick up my study materials for Torts II and not have to worry about finishing other outlines during those two days between exams.

            During the Spring Semester the reading week is a bit more complete, there are four full days without classes. But, there are still only four days, so make sure you don’t leave all of your studying until the last minute (especially outlining for Rules). From the published exam schedule referenced above, it looks like Rules is the first exam, so make sure you start your outline early because it is a lot of detailed material to cover in one week (or four days). Making a study schedule and keeping on top of your outlines early will help you to not look like a zombie the day of your exam.

            Spring Semester finals seemed to me to be less intimidating because I had already taken exams the first semester and I knew a little bit of what to expect. Make sure you don’t rely on this aspect too much, because the exams may not look anything like Fall Semester’s, even if the professor is the same person. Also, don’t neglect your final LRW paper, make sure you spend a good amount of time and brainpower making your it great.  It will help you to get a job (by using it as a writing sample), be a better attorney (by learning an invaluable skill), and may land you a spot on law review for next year (by being one of the top two students in the writing class).