Professors weigh in on how to write a great law school exam
With the fall exam period quickly approaching, anxiety is palpable in the Jackman Law Building. For this year’s 1L cohort, this will be their first set of law school exams. UV reached out to some faculty members for their advice on how to prepare and write great law school exams.
Professor Kent Roach
“My seven rules are:
- Stay as rested as possible and be kind to yourself;
- Use your own summary—shorter ones may be more useful;
- Read the question carefully and actively underline and answer it;
- Plan and watch your time;
- Use short paragraphs and sentences;
- Don’t try to fudge an issue—have confidence that you have the correct answer; and
- Do not discuss an exam after it is done-—no good will come from that!”
Associate Dean Christopher Essert
“The best way to approach exams is to take the law school pitch seriously: we say that we are teaching you to think like a lawyer. So try it: don’t just read the material and write summaries of it—although, of course, do those things too, and make sure you make your own summary rather than use someone else’s—think about it, and talk it over with your friends (that is: think together about it). And when it comes to the exam itself, do the same thing: think about the problem, think about how the law you’ve learned applies to it, and think about why you’re being asked what you’re being asked and why you want to say what you want to say. Do that before you start. Once the thinking is done, the writing will be easy. Good luck!”
Exam Tips from Other Faculty Members
Before the exam:
- Look at past exams to get an idea of what the professor is looking for.
- A good summary has more than details. It should orient you so that when you see an issue you know what principle to apply, and what facts might be relevant to subissues.
- Start creating your summaries as early as possible so that you are systematically reviewing various elements of the course as you go through them.
- Discuss the course content with your peers. Speaking about difficult concepts allows you to sort them out in your mind.
- Ask questions in class that confirm and challenge your understanding of the material.
During the exam:
- Read through the whole exam twice: different questions probably won’t drill you on the same content. Ask yourself “why is this question being asked and what parts of the course are being covered?”
- Take a holistic view of the question: what issues are raised and what order will you deal with them? Spend some time on an outline to set yourself up for success.
- Try not to begin with your conclusion, you might change your mind halfway through!
- Because you’re under pressure, there’s a tendency to roll with the easiest issue: that’s okay, but the danger is spending too much time on the one that you feel comfortable with (and not leaving yourself enough time for the rest).
- If you’re running out of time, at least make a brief point that shows your professor that you thought about the issues and arguments that you couldn’t fully explore.
- The issues that are complex and have varying interpretations should be discussed in depth. The degree to which this has been done will often be determinative of your grade.
- Acknowledge counterarguments to your point as a means of addressing the weaknesses in your argument.
- If you decide to not address a potential issue and it’s not obvious why, then explain—think on paper, not just in your head.
- The easier to read and the more clear your exam answer is, the better chance your professor will think it’s good. No need for overly fancy organization.
- Essay questions are not an invitation to write an opinion piece. Like fact patterns, you must channel legal reasoning in your answer.
And with that, good luck to all those writing exams this December!
