How to Ace Your Law School Finals

Law school is extremely stressful. In addition to reading hundreds of pages of material and briefing cases on a daily basis for each class, law students must prepare from the very first day of the semester for their dreaded final exams.

In law school, finals are everything. Although students are given midterms during their first year, the midterms count for very little--usually no more than 10 or 20 percent of the final grade for the class. Midterms are given by law professors to help first year students gauge their progress, almost like a practice exam. Some professors don't grade midterms, so they really are just for practice.

This all means one thing--you need to ace your final exam. Although the faculty will tell you at orientation that most students make C's in law school, and that is certainly true with the bell curve grading system, it is the students who are above average and make A's that will be offered the jobs coming out of school.

I received A's on all of my finals during my first semester, so I will explain what I did to prepare. First, work on your outlines throughout the semester. In law school, outlines are essential because, unlike undergrad, you will probably have about 100 pages of notes for one class at the end of the semester. Periodically-- about every 2 or 3 weeks--go through your notes and incorporate them into an outline that is a condensed version of your notes. My outlines at the end of the semester were about 30 pages long. You can use your outline as a study guide and every time that you add to it, you will be refreshing yourself with the concepts you have learned. Also, look at other students' outlines to see if there is anything you might have missed.

Although many students enjoy studying with others, I didn't do that very often because I noticed that the majority of the time that we were supposed to be studying, we ended up talking about other things and wasting time. I found that studying alone was more beneficial to me. I got more accomplished that way. However, if you are more productive with others, then by all means study in a group.

Study aids are a good idea when you're studying too. Most case books have supplements that are specifically designed for that particular book and they are extremely helpful. The books contain practice questions and essay, and they explain the material in the book so that you can really understand it. I would not have performed as well on my finals without the supplements.

Now to the actual final--first year law school finals usually consist of multiple choice questions and an essay question or two. The multiple choice questions are extremely difficult, as there is usually more than one answer that could be correct, so you must pay strict attention to what the question is asking. If you really concentrate on the call of the question, then the right answer should jump out. If it doesn't, eliminate the answers that are definitely not right--there are always 1 or 2, and then keep narrowing it down. If you absolutely don't know, then guess. Another tip for multiple choice questions, make sure that you read the questions carefully. I mixed up two of the party's names in a question and answered incorrectly.

The essays are difficult, but they can be conquered if you read the essay question very carefully and spot all of the issues in the question. Remember, if there is a fact in the essay, it is probably there for a reason. Most professors prefer that students answer essay questions in IRAC form. IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. With each issue that you spot in the essay, state the Issue you are going to discuss, the Rule for the issue, how the issue is Applied to the rule based on the facts presented, and then end with a firm Conclusion as to which way you think this would go. Many professors say that there is no right answer, you just need to back up your assertions.

A few of my professors also mentioned that even if you don't completely understand the issue, as a long as you spot it and write about it in your essay, you will get points rather than just ignoring the issue. Every point helps, so don't bypass anything.

Of course, you must do what you feel is best for you when studying for law school finals, but these tactics worked for me. Every professor is different too, so make absolutely certain that you understand what they expect on their finals. They are always willing to explain how they like their essays formatted. Also, pay close attention to your midterm and use your professor's comments as a guide for you final. Otherwise, get plenty of sleep, set realistic studying hours, and take a few minutes here and there to relax.