BAR EXAM FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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QUESTIONS ABOUT BARWRITE® BAR PREPARATION
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QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO STUDY FOR THE BAR EXAM |
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the LTS - Law Training Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School. | | |  |
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW YORK BAR EXAM |
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QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO STUDY FOR THE BAR EXAM |
What is on the New York Bar Exam?
The New York bar exam has two parts, the New York part, which is worth sixty (60) per cent of the grade, and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), which counts for forty (40) per cent.
Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) is a standardized exam administered in each of the United States except Washington and Louisiana. It consists of 200 questions, on six areas of law. The MBE is administered on the last Wednesday of February, and also on the last Wednesday of July. For more information on the MBE, visit the web site of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, at http://www.ncbex.org.
New York Part of the New York Bar Exam. The New York part of the New York Bar Exam is administered the day before the MBE, i.e., Tuesday. For more information on the New York Bar Exam, visit the web site of the New York State Board of Law Examiners, at http://www.nybarexam.org.
The New York part of the New York Bar Exam has three components. It contains (a) 50 multiple choice questions on New York law and (b) five essays, of 40 to 45 minutes each, as well as (c) one 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) question, produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
The following description of the New York day of the New York Bar Exam comes from the web site of the New York State Board of Law Examiners:http:
In the morning session, which begins at 9:00 A.M. and ends at 12:15 P.M., applicants must complete three essays and the 50 multiple choice questions in three hours and 15 minutes. Although applicants are free to use their time as they choose, the Board estimates an allocation of 40 minutes per essay and 1.5 minutes per multiple choice question.
In the afternoon session, which begins at 1:30 P.M. and ends at 4:30 P.M., applicants must complete the remaining two essay questions and the MPT in three hours. Again, although applicants are free to use their time as they choose, the National Conference of Bar Examiners developed the MPT with the intention that it be used as a 90-minute test. Therefore, the Board recommends that applicants allocate 90 minutes to the MPT and 45 minutes to each essay.
The New York part of the bar exam examines on both procedure and on substantive law. It may deal with the six subjects covered on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)--Contracts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts (including statutory no-fault insurance provisions). In addition, the questions may deal with Business Relationships, Conflict of Laws, New York Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Family Law, Remedies, New York and Federal Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure, Professional Responsibility, Trusts, Wills and Estates including Estate Taxation, and UCC Articles 2, 3, and 9. More than one subject may be tested in a single essay question. Except for questions involving federal law, the New York essay and multiple choice questions are based on the law of New York.
(a) New York Multiple Choice Questions. The New York multiple choice questions require the applicant to select the correct answer from among four stated alternatives, of which only one is correct.
(b) New York Essay Questions. Each New York essay question is designed to test the applicant's ability to analyze a given set of facts, to identify the issues involved and the applicable principles of law, and to reason therefrom to a sound conclusion. An essay answer should show a recognition of each issue presented by the material facts, discuss the principles of law applicable thereto and set forth the reasoning by which the conclusion has been reached. The Board suggests that the conclusion should be stated at the beginning of the answer, followed by the analysis and reasoning. The answer should be clear and concise, should be confined to the particular issues presented and should not volunteer information that is not material. The value of an answer depends not upon its length or the mere correctness of its conclusions, but upon the foregoing criteria. Appropriate credit is given in the grading of essay answers for well-reasoned analyses of the issues and legal principles involved even though the final conclusion may be incorrect under the law of New York. For further information, visit the web site of the New York State Board of Law Examiners, http://www.nybarexam.org.
A compilation of the essay questions and sample above-average candidate answers from the most recent bar examinations is available on the web site of the New York Law Journal, linked to http://www.nylawyer.com/exam, or upon written request for a fee of $50 in a certified check, cashier's check or money order, payable to "State Board of Law Examiners." See the Law Examiners' web site for details.
(c) Multistate Performance Test. For information on the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) visit the web site of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, at http://www.ncbex.org. We discuss the MPT below. *** Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) Portion. The second day of the examination, the MBE portion, consists of 200 multiple choice questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. It is given on the same day in more than 45 jurisdictions. It is given in two three-hour sessions, from 9 AM to 12 noon and 1:30 to 4:30 PM.
Of the 200 questions, 34 each are in Contracts and Torts, and 33 each in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Evidence and Real Property. Each question consists of a statement of facts followed by four stated alternative answers. The applicant is required to choose the best of the stated alternatives. Except where otherwise noted, all questions must be answered according to the generally accepted view, as distinguished from any contrary local principle that may be followed in New York. The questions on evidence are based primarily on the Federal Rules of Evidence, which are controlling as against any contrary law in New York. The MBE is more fully described in a bulletin of information published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners in conjunction with American College Testing. Copies of that bulletin are provided to New York applicants upon receipt of their applications to take the examination. The National Conference of Bar Examiners has also published questions, which can be ordered from the National Conference at 302 South Bedford Street, Madison, WI 53703-3622, Telephone (608) 280-8550; FAX (608) 280-8552; TDD (608) 661-1275. The web site: http://www.ncbex.org.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
I am a foreign attorney. What do I need to do to be admitted to the Bar of New York?
A. Rules for admission of foreign attorneys appear on the Board of Law Examiners web site following http://www.nybarexam.org/court.htm
At the BarWrite® Schools we have worked successfully with many foreign attorneys.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School. |
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BarWrite® Schools |
What schools do you offer?
A. At the present time we offer the following courses: (i) the BarWrite Ten-Day Essay-Intensive Retaker School for the New York Bar Exam, (ii) the One-Day Multistate Performance Test (MPT) Boot Camp, for all bar exams, and (iii) the Three-Day New York Essay Boot Camp, (iv) the One-Day All-States Essay Boot Camp. We also offer the One-Day Legal Memorandum School, for law students, bar candidates, and practicing lawyers.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
How long have the BarWrite® Schools been in business?
A. We have been in business for twenty years. That is forty (40) New York Bar Exams. We started out with essay tutoring, then we went to teaching a one-day essay class for the New York Bar Exam. The students said that wasn't enough, so we went to a two-day essay class. The students said that wasn't enough, so we went to a three-day essay class. The students said that wasn't enough, so we went to a four-day essay class. Then we added the two days of MBE Study Techniques, because people were raising their essay scores but still failing the exam because of low MBE scores. We added the one-day MPT class because bar candidates needed help finishing the MPT on time and getting all the points they can. Now we offer a ten-day class, four days of essays, one day of writing essays under exam conditions, one day of MBE pre-test and one day of MBE re-test, two days of MBE Study Techniques, one day of MPT. Student receive support in using the Gallagher/BarWrite MBE study system from a telephone tutor who is a member of the New York bar. We know the course is good, the students tell us it worked for them, and our alumni send us their friends. A very large proportion of our students come to us by referral. Click here to see what our graduates say.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
What does the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School cover?
A. The BarWrite® Schools TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE/RETAKER TRAINING SCHOOL. For first-time takers and foreign attorneys enrolled in Pieper or BarBri. For retakers. Taught by Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher, assisted by Teaching Assistants who are graduates of the BarWrite® Schools. The Essay-Intensive/Retaker School includes two days of Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) study techniques, two days of pre-test and re-test, plus four days of essays, one day of writing essays under exam conditions, and one day on the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). The BarWrite® Schools will teach you the Under-Here-ThereforeTM systems for the bar exam essays. You will receive course materials for each day you are in class, plus your own copy of Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher's book Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays. You will learn the GRID-Systems and the True-Time Systems for the MPT. You will learn MBE Study Techniques that can raise your MBE scores by twenty questions or more.
The Ten-Day BarWrite® Schools is an intensive, hands-on class covering the most frequently tested topics on the New York Bar Exam, and the most frequently tested rules on each of those topics. You write ten (10) New York bar exam essays, and they are graded and returned to you the same day you hand them in. It is a supplemental class, not a full bar review course. The methods do not conflict with Pieper or BarBri. The course is highly recommended for foreign attorneys.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
In your experience, what is the main cause of failing the New York Bar Exam?
A. There are a great many different reasons for failing the New York Bar Exam, but the one main cause is not knowing enough black letter law. Too often, students cannot state the rules of law. They rely on a vague and cloudy idea of "issue spotting," without actually knowing the black letter rules that apply to the issues. There is no mystery here. The New York Bar Exam is about black letter law. It is not an "issue-spotter"exam. One of our successful former students says, "I took the New York Bar Exam five times before I found out about the Law Training Schools. The Gallagher systems and memorization exercises made all the difference." You simply must know the basic, most frequently tested, rules.
Naturally, memorization alone is not enough. You must also prepare for the exam in other ways, in addition to memorizing the key New York law. You should also study in an entirely different way, by reading and rereading the other parts of your notes, for a general competence in the less heavily tested areas of law. The most important rules are the ones we focus on in the Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
People say, "I'm not good at essays," and they may be right. We can help them write higher-scoring essays. We can definitely train them to write the Bar Exam essays within the time allowed. That is one of our specialties. But if bar candidates don't know enough black letter law to put into the Bar Exam essays, all the writing skill and timing skill in the world won't be enough to pass the Bar Exam. In order to pass the Bar Exam, you must know a great deal of black letter law. Reading will not teach you the black letter law, by the way, there isn't enough time between now and the exam. Since time is so short, you will simply have to memorize a lot.
Sometimes students say, "I'm not good at taking multiple-choice tests."
What can that possibly mean, not to be good at multiple choice tests? Contrary to these students' apparent assumption, there is nothing peculiar about the questions on a multiple-choice test. The same legal issues could easily be presented in an essay. In fact, studies show that students generally get the same grades on both kinds of tests.
When a bar candidate says "I'm not good at multiple choice tests," and Dr. Gallagher then proceeds to quiz him or her on black letter law, ninety-nine per cent of the time, it turns out that the student just simply does not know the black letter law. That student is not going to be good at any kind of test.
The Bar Exam is not going to change, we have to change. In what direction do we have to change? In the direction of knowing the key black letter law.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
Why should a retaker who did well on the MBE have to take a seven-day class that includes two days of MBE? Why not just take an essay class?
A. Our experience is that the bar candidate who asks this question (i) did not in fact do well on the MBE, and (ii) did not really come close to passing the Bar Exam. First, you cannot aim to just hit 660, the passing grade in New York, and expect to pass the Bar Exam. If you aim to just hit 660, you will invariably hit it from the wrong side. Second, no matter how well you did on any single component of the Bar Exam in the past, it is not enough. You need to have what we call a "cushion" on all of the parts of the exam. During the Bar Exam preparation period, your aim should be to give yourself that comfortable "cushion" on every single part of the exam, not to just take a little tuck here and there in the parts of your score. Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite® Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
Why should a retaker take the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker Course as opposed to Marino's classes?
A. Many reasons. First, the Law Training Schools stress memorization, knowledge of the basic black letter law in the most frequently tested subjects, and highly-focused essay-writing and MPT-writing skills, all of which together will give you an unparalleled sense of security in taking the Bar Exam.
Second, no other bar training program provides you with your own copy of Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays, Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher's highly-acclaimed book on how to raise your score on the bar exam essays. The St. John's law School Forum called Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays "The best [money] you can spend on bar exam preparation."
Third, no other bar training program teaches you the Under-Here-Therefore ™ systems for writing the bar exam essays. Students uniformly praise Dr. Gallagher's systems and say they are a hundred times better than IRAC. Click here to read what students say about the Under-Here-Therefore ™ writing systems.
Fourth, no other bar training program focuses so intensively on the most frequently tested law on the New York Bar Exam. The subjects taught are those that are tested on eight out of ten New York Bar Exams. The rules from within those subjects are the most frequently tested rules. Students say, "I knew the rules on the exam. Thank you."
Finally, BarWrite offers an ironclad guarantee that no other bar exam training program can offer: immediate same-day feedback on your work. Dr. Gallagher staffs her classes with Teaching Assistant-attorneys who have studied Dr. Gallagher's systems themselves, and who have all passed the New York Bar Exam. You get a complete and personalized explanation and discussion of your class writing the same day you write it. You write ten (10) essays, four during class under exam conditions, and six at home. The Law Training Schools guarantee says that you will receive your essays back with comments the same day you hand them in. That attention allows you to make the changes you need in order to proceed in the right direction for the next class the very next day. No other course makes that promise. You do not wait for weeks to hear about your essays in the LTS Schools.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
How does the BarWrite Class compare with Pieper, BarBri and PMBR?
A. The Pieper Class and BarBri are full bar review courses, while the BarWrite 10-Day program is supplemental. Especially if you are a first-time taker, you will take the BarWrite® Schools in addition to Pieper or BarBri. Many retakers, on the other hand, take only the BarWrite® Schools Schools Ten-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School. We recommend this only to bar candidate with previous scores of 640 or above.
The Pieper Bar Review is a full bar review class that is presented in person in New York City by Mr. John Pieper and his son Troy Pieper. It is also available in remote locations on video. Mr. Pieper is an expert on the New York Bar Exam. He schedules his lectures so that he teaches the most important subjects for the New York exam first, allowing the student to review those subjects over a longer period of time. The course includes many valuable mnemonics. Dr. Gallagher took Pieper and passed the July 1989 New York bar exam. At BarWrite® Schools we refer bar candidates to Mr. Pieper for a highly professional full course providing them with the black letter law they will need for the New York Bar Exam. The web site for the Pieper Bar Review is at http://www.PieperBar.com.
The BarBri Classes are full bar review courses that are presented nationally, according to a national schedule. Lecturers, generally on videotape, are well-known law professors.
By contrast with Pieper and BarBri, the Ten-Day BarWrite® School is a supplemental course for the first-time taker of the Bar Exam to take along with a full bar review course or for a retaker to take either along with a full bar review course or by itself. It is designed to teach law graduates the skills they will need to propel themselves into the passing range of 665 or better. The BarWrite® Schools stress memorization, knowledge of the basic law, and sharp essay-writing and MPT skills, all of which give the student a sense of security in taking the New York Bar Exam.
Kaplan/PMBR Classes are supplemental classes devoted to preparing students for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE).
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the BarWrite 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
One of the other Bar Exam preparation courses told us that Pieper and BarBri are just about the New York essays, and what really counts on the Bar Exam is the MBE. What do you think about that?
A. This is all so wrong that one hardly knows where to begin. It is a Myth of Bar Prep. First, neither Pieper nor BarBri is just about the New York essays. Both courses heavily stress MBE preparation, as well. Second, a reasonable grade on the MBE is necessary, yes, but it is not normally sufficient for passing the New York Bar Exam. The bar candidate also needs good grades on the essays. It is true that if you can get a 170 on the MBE you probably don't have to worry about passing the exam, but it would be unwise for most people to plan to get a 170. It is also true that if you get a 90 on the MBE, your essays will not save you. The truth, however, is that the MBE will never be enough for most people by itself. Most people will always need strong essays. Think about it. The MBE is 40 per cent, and the New York part is 60 per cent. You do the math.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the LTS - Law Training Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
One of the other Bar Exam preparation courses told us that we could just guess on the New York Multiple Choice questions, because they aren't very important.
A. See the answer to the previous question. This is another Myth of Bar Prep. People fail the bar exam because they have such low scores on the New York Multiple Choice questions. Our advice is to learn all the CPLR rules that have numbers in them, the statutes of limitations, the expiration dates, because those rules are very testable on a multiple choice test. Learn all the basic New York law. Don't believe the myths.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
I have already taken BarBri or Pieper, or I am currently taking BarBri or Pieper. Why should I take BarWrite in addition?
A. If you are preparing to take the Bar Exam or if you have already taken the Bar Exam and have not passed, you will benefit from the Law Training Schools programs. These classes have been producing successful bar passers for 20 years. These methods really do work. They are not easy, but they work.
Essays. The BarWrite programs teach you the Under-Here-ThereforeTM systems. Essay writing can account for fifty per cent or more of your Bar Exam score, yet even the best bar review courses often don't teach you how to write lawyer-like essays. In the Barwrite programs you will find the step-by-step instruction you need, using daily course materials on the New York essays and Dr. Gallagher's highly-acclaimed book Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays. You will learn the Quick Key Outlining system for hitting the issues, focusing on the law, and scoring high with less writing. You will learn the Model Paragraph system for "writing like a lawyer," even though you do not know your conclusion when you start writing. You will write ten (10) essays, four of them during class under timed conditions. Guarantee: The BarWrite Teaching Assistants return every essay on the same day you hand it in.
MPT. BarWrite teaches you the MPT-Organizer(TM) system. One of our students received a perfect score on the MPT using these systems. The Gallagher corporation has licensed all of the Multistate Performance Tests from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. You will receive your own copy of the extensive course materials called Perform Your Best on the Multistate Performance Test, containing real MPT questions, analyses, and answers. You will write three MPT exercises, two of them in class under timed conditions. Guarantee: The Teaching Assistants return every MPT exercise on the same day you hand it in.
MBE. Barwrite teaches you Dr. Gallagher's exclusive "Multistate Method" for studying for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). Gemma Waananen said, "My score on the February 2000 Multistate had been a 127. Dr. Gallagher's 'Multistate Method' was phenomenal. I did exactly what she told me to do, and my score went from a 127 in February to a 149 in July 2000." This experience is common. The Multistate Method is not easy, but it really works.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the LTS - Law Training Schools 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
Do the BarWrite systems conflict with the systems BarBri or Pieper teach? Do the class meetings conflict with the BarBri or Pieper classes?
A. The Barwrite systems for writing the Bar Exam essays do not conflict in any way with the essay-writing systems that other courses teach.
As for the course schedules, some conflict is inevitable, but all conflict can be resolved. In the event that one of the Barwrite classes conflicts with a Pieper or BarBri class, Dr. Gallagher suggests that you obtain the Pieper or BarBri tapes for that day's class. Or else watch the video. As for Kaplan/PMBR, Dr. Gallagher points out that the PMBR classes are given every week-end in many different locations, so that if you can't take a day in White Plains or Hempstead, you can take it in Manhattan or Newark, instead. You never need to miss a class at BarWrite.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
What if I don't have the money for all these classes?
A. Preparing for the bar exam is expensive. However, it is much cheaper than failing the bar exam. One of law students' problems is that they deny how difficult the bar exam is, and how much preparation is needed, so they think they can get away with methods that are inadequate. If your attitude is "I think I'll take a shot at the Bar Exam this year," then, in our opinion, the outlook is bleak. It may sound self-serving, but we also understand there is evidence that the more classes one takes, the more likely one is to pass the Bar. Please consider making the investment in yourself and taking more classes. You have to make up your mind to pass the Bar Exam and then throw everything you have at that objective.
Alas, we often meet students who come to us having failed the Bar Exam after multiple attempts. Think about how expensive that is.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
I have other things I have to do at the same time I am preparing for the Bar Exam. What is your advice?
A. Focus is key when you are studying for the Bar Exam. If you put something else, anything else, ahead of passing the Bar Exam, you will not pass. Some people think there is work they have to do at the same time they are preparing for the Bar Exam, others that there is a family vacation they are expected to take, so they will take just two weeks out of the exam preparation period, or that there is an out-of-state convention they must attend for a week-end during the preparation period. Others believe that there is a family member they must take care of at the same time they are preparing for the Bar Exam.
We find that people who focus on the Bar Exam are most likely to pass. That usually means finding another way to pay the bills or finding someone else to take care of the dependent family member. When Dr. Gallagher first started in this business, a student said to her, "I told my husband, 'You are going home to your mother for the next two months, because I am going to pass the bar exam.'"
That is what we call focus.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
I am from out-of-state, and I cannot make it to New York City for the class. Do you have offices or classes in other states?
A. At the present time, Manhattan is the only place we present classes for the public. However, universities and law schools elsewhere in the United States do invite Dr. Gallagher to visit their campuses to speak. Call our law school liaison, Ms. Lucile Caruso, to discuss Dr. Gallagher's availability: (516) 379-5185. Or send an email message to Ms. Caruso at: GallagherBarSchools@Hotmail.com.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
What is your refund policy?
We stand behind the BarWrite LTS/Law Training Schools and Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays.
A. If you wish to withdraw before beginning the course, we will cheerfully refund the entire price of the course, less a $50 processing fee. If you attend the first morning of one of the BarWrite schools and you decide not to continue, just turn in your text materials, and we will cheerfully refund the entire price, less $100.
If you buy one of our books and it does not meet your expectations for any reason whatsoever, just return the book to us unused within 7 days, and we will refund everything you paid, less $10 for shipping and handling.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO STUDY FOR THE BAR EXAM |
How can I begin right away to study for the bar exam?
A. Here is the answer Dr. Gallagher wrote in the November 2002 edition of the LTS - Law Training Schools email newsletter "Bar Passers":
(I.) THREE HINTS FOR PREPARING FOR THE BAR EXAM *NOW.*
(1.) GALLAGHER BAR PREPARATION TIP NUMBER ONE. To maximize credit on both the MBE and the New York essays, concentrate on knowing two subjects cold: (a) contract formation and (b) negligence. These are the topics with the largest numbers of questions on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). In addition, Contracts/UCC, usually including formation, appears on 8 out of 10 New York essay exams. The best study aid is the yellow box of Law-in-a-Flash flashcards for contracts. They used to be published by Emanuel, and they are now published by Aspen Law & Business. Click here to order: http://www.aspenpublishers.com/emanuel.asp . The telephone number is (800) 317-3113.
(2.) GALLAGHER BAR PREPARATION TIP NUMBER TWO. Do not use taking the bar exam to find out whether or not you are ready for the bar exam! The most important thing for you to *know* now is how you are doing in your bar preparation, and whether you are really getting ready or not. To tell whether you are making progress studying for the MBE as the bar preparation period goes along, locate two 200-question tests now, from the same source. It is important for these tests to be from the same source so that they are of similar difficulty. Give yourself the first test right now, under exam conditions--watch your time. Then, after you have been studying for the bar for a month, take the second 200 questions. Compare your scores. Then compare your scores on contract formation in the two exams. Don't rely on the percentages of questions you get right if you do twenty or fifty contracts questions at a sitting. That is unreliable. It is smart to know exactly how you are doing at all times in your bar preparation, and it is foolish just to "give the exam a shot."
Another thing you should do now is to take five questions on contract formation, review the answers, analyze the fact patterns. Then in two days do the analysis on those same five questions again. I don't mean remember the answer choices, I mean work through the analysis: This is an offeror, this is an offeree, this is consideration, etc., etc. Pre-testing and re-testing is a technique educational testers use. It tells you whether you are making progress on your study or just--how to put it--spending your time. You should constantly review the key material, over and over, right until the bar exam. Re-test yourself on the key material many times during your weeks of bar preparation, to see whether you are on track to pass the exam.
Word to the Wise. *Reading* alone is almost useless. Law does not stick to the brain. You must study, review, recite, test, review, recite. Keep testing yourself on the same MBE questions, doing the analysis. The "right answer" does not matter. It is the careful, slow analysis that counts: this is an offeror, this is consideration, etc. The book we use in the LTS - Law Training Schools is The Finz Multistate Method. It has excellent tables of contents that allow you to do five questions on contract formation, review the subject, recite, test yourself on another five questions on contract formation and so on. It is published by Aspen. The telephone is (800) 317-3113. Visit: http://www.aspenpublishers.com/search.asp
(3.) GALLAGHER BAR TIP NUMBER THREE. Sign up for the must-take Ten-Day BarWrite Essay-Intensive/Retaker School. It includes two days of MBE study techniques, plus four days of essays and one day of Multistate Performance Test. Gemma Waananen says, "Dr. Gallagher's MBE Method was phenomenal. I did exactly what she told me to do, and my score went from a 127 in February to a 149 in July 2000." For detailed information, and to enroll, visit our web site, at , and enroll on our secure website. Questions? Email Staff@BarWrite.com.
I have old materials from Pieper or BarBri. I can study at home on my own. I don't need to take courses, do I?
Sorry. Experience shows that unless the bar candidate is a genius, or unless the bar candidate is a retaker who came within just a few points of a passing score, not taking bar review courses is self-defeating. It just simply does not work. The particular courses the student takes or does not take are important, but they are less important than just taking courses, period. If you want to pass the bar exam, if you must pass the bar exam, then you must take bar review courses. Take any courses you prefer, whether the BarWrite courses or other courses, but take courses.
Why doesn't it work to study by yourself at home? In the end, the reasons do not matter. Whatever the reasons, the outcome is the same. When people try to study at home by themselves without taking bar review courses, unless they are retakers who came within a few points of passing, they do not pass the Bar Exam. We don't know for sure why that is. Here are some possible reasons. First, there is so much material for the student to learn in the bar review materials that the student must have someone, an instructor, Pieper or BarBri or Dr. Gallagher or whoever, to help sort the important materials from the unimportant materials. Second, preparing for the bar exam is tremendously high-pressured, and the student needs the support of other people who are doing the same thing. Those may or may not be the reasons why studying by yourself doesn't work. All we know is that it doesn't.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
What about the courses on the internet, where you study on your own with your books and do MBE questions on the computer, and then you send in your essays for correction and perhaps talk with a tutor on the telephone?
A. The idea sounds good. The bar candidate must be cautious, however. There can be serious problems. The problems are caused less by the fact that the course involves distance learning than by weaknesses in the particular materials and the particular business arrangements. In one such program, for example, we found that the materials do not treat New York law in enough detail for success on the New York bar exam. In another case the books presented a huge amount of New York law but did not tell the bar candidate the difference between what was essential law for the bar exam and what was non-essential. The materials were almost like hornbooks. We have also found that while the tutors in these programs are well-intentioned, they may also be woefully underpaid, and so may give the bar candidate too little attention.
If you are taking the Bar Exam, you want to pass the Bar Exam. You do not want to take chances. Thus, if you are taking the New York Bar Exam, Dr. Gallagher's advice is to make whatever financial sacrifices are necessary to attend classes in New York, and to sit in a classroom with other bar candidates. That advice holds whether you take the LTS courses or some other courses.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
I am working full-time, and I can't get many days off. Will private tutoring help me? How is preparing for the Bar Exam like learning to speak a foreign language?
A. Naturally, we wish we could say that working full-time is fine, and that tutoring will solve any problems working causes. Unfortunately, first, our experience tells us that you should stop working. Second, if you keep working, tutoring will not help enough. When Dr. Gallagher started out in business, students came to her who had good jobs and who wanted tutoring for the Bar Exam. They thought tutoring would work, and so did she. Unfortunately, these people too often failed the Bar Exam. This was frustrating for everyone, for the student and for Dr. Gallagher. Here were these very nice young people with good jobs, willing to pay a tutor, and they were not passing the Bar Exam. Why not?
The conclusion Dr. Gallagher came to is that learning the law for the bar exam is like learning to speak a foreign language. The key in learning to speak the foreign language is immersion. It is better to go to Paris to learn to speak French than it is to sit at home at the dining room table in New York City with a dictionary, even if a tutor comes in three times a week.
Likewise for the bar exam. The key is immersion. You want to become so immersed in New York law that you wake up in the morning thinking about New York law. People who have jobs, by contrast, wake up thinking about their jobs. They are always waiting for the partner's phone call. Or they are worried about the client's hearing on Monday. Their minds are not left free to absorb New York law. Their minds are not a fertile place for new legal information to take root. Immersion is impossible for them.
If you are working, take two months off if you possibly can. A minimum of one month. Regardless of how much time you take off, make sure to enroll in courses, sit in class with everyone else, do all the assignments, use flash cards, memorize. Use tutoring, if at all, just to polish your writing and answer questions. Do not rely on tutoring to compensate for the fact that you are working, because tutoring cannot do that. Your real job is to pass the Bar Exam. Make whatever financial sacrifices are necessary to pass the Bar Exam. Again, focus.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
You emphasize how important it is to memorize key rules of law. What is the best way to memorize?
A. The best way to memorize almost anything is to use the methods the ancient Greeks devised more than 2,000 years ago.
Picture a building you know very well, one with a number of windows or a number of columns. Or else imagine yourself walking along a street you know very well, one with different-looking buildings or shops on it. Then take the parts of the rule of law that you are memorizing, and place one part on the first column of the building, or in front of the first shop on your imagined street, the next one on the second column or in front of the second shop, and so on. When you want to remember the rule, go back down the building, or the street.
In addition, while you are memorizing, it helps to associate each key part of your rule with images, mental pictures, perhaps of something with a similar sound. Recite the rule from memory, and as you do so, as you walk down the row of columns, or the row of shops, in your imagination, you should also bring to mind the pictures you have chosen that have sounds similar to those of the terms you are memorizing.
Repetition is key to memorization. You must recite the rule you are memorizing from memory every day, or every second day. As Dr. Gallagher says, "Law does not stick to the brain." You must memorize key law, and you must recite it over and over again, so that you hold onto it. One final note. Memorizing and reciting are not "reading" rules, are not "going over" rules, are not "reviewing" rules. Reciting from memory means speaking the words you have memorized out loud, from memory, without looking at your flashcards.
Click here to see the SCHEDULE for the 10-Day Essay-Intensive/Retaker School.
GOOD LUCK ON THE BAR EXAM FROM EVERYONE AT THE GALLAGHER BarWrite LTS - LAW TRAINING SCHOOLS!Back to Top Go to Home Page
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Whittier Law School,
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Rutgers Law School
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Champey
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(Passed July 2006
New York bar exam)
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