Appendix

• Author: Sara J. Berman
• Profession: Concord's Assistant Dean of Bar Support Programs and is also the Assistant Dean of Academic Support and Bar Support at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California
• Pages: 69-119

69

APPENDIX

PART I. TEXT EXERCISES

Bar Success Pledge

Name & contact info:

[name]

[address]

[city/state/zip]

[phone] [email]

I am sitting for and will pass the ___________________________________ bar ex am.

[month/year]

I would like to be assigned an alumni mentor. Yes No

I am/will be enrolled in ______________________ commercial bar review(s).

I plan to take off time from work for my bar studies. Yes No

I have dedicated _______________ hours per week to bar exam study beginning

___________________, 20 ___.

I wi ll inc rease that to _______________ hou rs as of ___________________, 20 ___. And I

will clear my calendar in June/July of everything, professional and personal, that

can be put off until after the bar.

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70 PASS THE BAR EX AM—TEACHER ’S EDITION

My written study schedule includes ample time for

_____ Bar review lectures

_____ Outlines

_____ Completing all bar review assignments

_____ Creating my own summary outlines

_____ Learning/mastering the law in all testable subjects

_____ Memorizing rule statements

_____ Writing practice essays in full under timed conditions and studying

sample answers

_____ Completing practice MBEs under timed conditions and study answer

choices

_____ Writing out PTs in full under timed conditions and study sample answers

_____ I have incorporated some sort of regular exercise into my study routine.

At this point looking forward, my greatest strengths going into bar exam prepa-

ration are:

My main concerns and/or potential distractions are:

I will do everything in my power to pass this bar exam.

___________________________________________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

[signed] [dated]

Note: By including the signature line at the end of this short-form questionnaire,

it effectively becomes a sort of pledge. Bar support faculty should collect these

and keep a le on each student. Call students at the beginning of each year (or

term if you have sufcient staff) to ask about their concerns and see what prog-

ress they have made.

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APPENDIX 71

Law student active-reader quiz

If you are currently in school, consider your habits. Read the statements below

and place a T for True or an F for False in front of each one.

___ I read the Table of Contents before I read my assigned cases to see where

they t into the course as a whole.

___ I read hornbook passages about assigned cases to help put the case law

into context within the subject as a whole.

___ I brief every case myself (rather than relying on “canned briefs”).

___ I write my course outlines on an ongoing basis as I progress through the

material.

___ I write my own course outlines rather than (or in addition to) studying from

commercial outlines.

___ I listen carefully in class.

___ I take notes and combat distractions from others in class.

___ I try to restate case holdings in my own words.

___ I look up words I don’t understand.

___ I am in a study group or have a study buddy, and we explain rules and

concepts to each other.

___ I have found that I study more effectively alone, so that is what I do.

___ I have tried to explain what I’m learning in law school to friends and family

who are laypeople.

___ I read the notes and questions following cases in the casebook.

___ I diagram the scene or relationships of the parties in a case as I am reading

the case.

___ I write notes and thoughts in the margins of my casebook; I don’t just

“highlight.”

___ I note points that I do not understand or agree with when I read.

___ I read the dissenting, as well as the majority, opinions.

___ I write ash cards with the holdings of cases on them, as well as denitions

of terms I look up.

___ I read in a well-lit area and try to do most of my reading when I’m not too

tired.

The more True answers you have, the more engaged you likely are in your reading.

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