How to Study for Law School Final Exams

It's very easy to lose steam after a long first semester. The final month is the most crucial though and this is when you have to use every ounce of self-motivation in your body to push through. If you've kept up with your reading and attended class regularly, you should remind yourself that you are in good shape.

A great way to stay motivated in the final month leading up to finals is to make a timeline for your study schedule and stick to it. If you feel in control and use your time efficiently, you will stay on task and reduce a lot of stress.

Outline

Everyone in law school tells you to outline for every course. Your goal should be to have your outlines completed before classes end. If you accomplish this, you will have some time before classes end to attend office hours and clear up any confusing areas. You will also be ready to start studying as soon as "reading period" begins.

Make sure your outlines cover all the topics discussed in class. Take time to word the rules succinctly and clearly. Bold the rules and make them easy to read. At first, your outline for each class will likely be over 20-30 pages. It's ok as a first draft. You want to make sure you understand how all the topics and cases fit together.

Before reading period starts, make sure you go over your outline for each class multiple times until you have learned the big picture in your mind. During reading period, you should be cutting down your outline to its bare bones so it becomes easy to memorize.

Memorization

It's impossible to memorize an outline that's over 30 pages in a way that will help you succeed on the exam. You should spend your time memorizing all the crucial rules from each topic and every case so you can quickly write them down when needed on the exam. During reading period, spend all your time memorizing the rules and structure for each course.

Remember, you shouldn't try to memorize your outline word for word. You should memorize a very succinct version of each rule and then study the rest of the contents so you have a deep understanding of how the rules are applied and work together.

To help you memorize, try writing the rules over and over by hand or typing them repeatedly on the computer, whichever is more effective for you. Maximize your time: if you're driving to the grocery store, repeat rules in your mind and review your rules before you go to bed.

It helps to allocate large chunks of time for each subject so you can focus entirely on one topic.

Checklist

As you make your outline more succinct and memorize the rules, make sure you create a one page checklist for each class. Take time every day to write and re-write the checklist until you memorize it. The checklist should contain all the issues for each course. When you sit down to take the exam, immediately jot down your checklist on scrap paper and when you take the essay, go through the checklist to make sure you've discussed every relevant issue.

Writing down the checklist on scrap paper during the exam will also help you stay calm and trigger all the rules you have already memorized when you get to the essay portion.

Practice

After you memorize your rules and study your outline, the best way to prepare for law school finals is to practice. Many professors make past exams available to students along with model answers. Ask your professor if he does this and take advantage of it! You should sit in test-like conditions and take as many essays as possible for each class. Then compare your answer to the model answers or ask your professor if she would be willing to give you feedback.

If your professor doesn't distribute past exams, check out various supplements. You can find supplements for each class at the library or at your bookstore. Although the supplements shouldn't be used as a substitute for your own outline, they often have practice essays or practice multiple-choice questions. Take the essays in the way you think your professor would want you to answer them.

If you aren't sure how to structure a law school essay, go to office hours immediately and ask your professor about his preferred method.

Sleep

If you follow a carefully planned timeline, you shouldn't feel guilty about getting lots of sleep! It goes without saying that you should be eating well during finals period to stay healthy and boost your brainpower. However, you shouldn't neglect sleep. Try to get at least 7 hours per night in order to make your memorization and studying as effective as possible everyday.