Law School Exams – What You Need to Know Before You Start
Are you planning to make your career as a lawyer? Law is a challenging subject, and it’s extremely difficult to clear the law school exam with flying colors unless and until you’ve got the right edge. Law schools can make three important years of life extremely daunting and stressful.
Let’s be very clear that making a career as a lawyer is a rewarding prospect, but you should also understand that it will be a major investment of your time, money, and, of course, your future. So, if you are determined enough to pursue it, ensure that you do it right.
In order to become a lawyer, you’ll have to graduate from a law school. Remember that the grades you achieved in your graduation, can actually spill the beans whether you have the thing to appear for the bar exam or not.
How to write a law school exam
Experts from ProHighGrades say that writing law school exams is like walking barefoot in the scorching heat – if you want to crack the code of writing efficiently, it is important to understand the crucial tips outlined below:
Basics of law school exam
Before you start studying or preparing for the exam, understand that law exam has generally four parts, i.e., issue, black letter (rules), application of the rules, and conclusion.
Follow the first thumb rule of spotting the legal issues because if you don’t know the exact issue, how you’ll be able to apply a rule and write the conclusion. If you are unsure about how to spot legal issues, then it’s the right time you start understanding the inexplicable fact patterns, i.e., the hypos you learned while in law school.
It is advisable that you read the fact patterns over and over again as it will help you understand the true facts about the crime. Practice reading the facts pattern as they can be extremely helpful for you to spot the legal issues with ease.
Understanding and memorizing the rules
Once you’ve understood how to spot the legal issue, now you to know about the analysis and application of the rules. Remember that you’ll only have one hour or so to write the essays, so you’ll have to write the right rules without wasting your time.
This is where memorization of the rules can help. You’ll have to understand, study, and memorize the rules throughout the semester and start revising them a few weeks before your exams.
Search for a sample of law school exam test
You have now mastered the art of spotting the issue and applying the right rule, now’s the time to write the legal analysis and an apt conclusion of what you think about the whole case. Writing a conclusion can be easy, but writing analysis can be confusing and complicated. In the legal analysis, you’ll have to answer the questions pertaining to the ‘Whys’ of the case, i.e., why the person is liable for the accident and so on.
One way to master the art of writing efficient legal analysis is to take practice tests. You can search for a law school exam sample online, coming across numerous options. You can also visit the library to search for past exam papers. If you want to ace the law school exams, it is advisable that you take practice tests of the Harvard law school exam as they can prepare you in numerous ways. Practicing the sample tests can help you understand the type of law school exam questions that can be asked during the exam.
The cost of studying in a law school can run into thousands of dollars, and it is not a piece of cake to clear the difficult law exams. In simpler terms, if you don’t have enough monetary backup or resources, then there are ways with which you can appear for the bar exam without actually going to a law school. Is it really possible? Well, as a matter of fact, it is, but there’s a catch which you need to understand.
How to pass the bar exam without law school
One of the most famous examples of such a case is Abraham Lincoln. He didn’t go to any law school and still, he was able to become a successful lawyer in the history of the United States. There are eight states in America, which allows you to bypass the law school and write a bar exam. In such a scenario, the programs offered are wholly governed and managed by the particular state bar association. California, Virginia, Tennessee, Washington, Wyoming, and Vermont are the six states where there is absolutely no requirement for you to go to any law school. In the state like New York, it is imperative for you to have a one year background in law school whereas, in the state of Maine, you’ll need only two years.
The states which allow you to appear for the bar examination without the need to go to a law school require you to complete an apprenticeship program. It is not necessary that you should be the resident of a particular state, but one thing which is common amongst all is the apprenticeship requirement.
The rules for apprenticeship programs of every state are different, but there’s one thing in common, you will have to study for hours and work under a genuine lawyer. For example, let’s consider the state of California where you will have to complete four years of this program, and which requires you to work for a bare minimum of eighteen hours in an actual lawyer’s office. Therefore, it is advisable to determine the rule of the various state before you apply for the apprenticeship program with the state bar association of a particular state.
Note: Once you have completed your four years of the program and are planning to appear for the bar exam, it is advisable that you enroll yourself with a tutor or a private class who can help you revise and prepare you for the examination, which can transform your life and career.
