Practice: Put the Pedal to the Metal

There's No Substitute for Practice

Embarrassingly, I earned my licensed to drive after I earned my bar license.  Anxious about getting behind the wheel, I watched endless Youtube videos and re-read the DMV manual.  At some point, though, I couldn't escape the truth: the only way I would really learn was to get behind the wheel.  The first few times behind the wheel were incredibly scary.  I had to accept that I would make mistakes and that it's just part of the learning process.  It was stressful and led to a few heated arguments, BUT I passed the exam on my first try and now enjoy the privilege of driving myself as often as I please.

I mention this story because the truth seems to escape many people when studying for the bar exam.  I'm hoping that the analogy of learning to drive gets the point across.  Obviously there's no way to learn to drive than to practice behind the wheel and there's no substitute for this practice.  Why, then, do many of those studying for the bar overlook the importance of practice?  You have to practice writing out essays and performance tests.  You actually have to write out the answers.  Spotting the issues is only part of the process.  You have to be comfortable with writing out rules, bringing facts into your analysis, and using signals/flags to make life easy for your grader.  You have to practice answering MBE questions. You need to get used to carefully reading questions, looking for clues, and familiarizing yourself with common traps.

Practice Under Testing Conditions

There's another useful lesson that I learned in preparing for my behind-the-wheel test: the importance of controlling conditions to prepare for the Big Day.  My instructor taught me the exact route for the examine and the tasks that the local examiner would expect me to accomplish.  I performed several practice runs and was graded as if they were real.  On the day of the actual examination I felt completely prepared.

Similarly, you must practice for the bar exam under testing conditions.  When starting out it's fine to give yourself a little leeway, but you really need to get used to the testing conditions.  You need to be able to write an essay in 60 minutes, etc.  Some people think, "I need to learn the law!  I don't have time to write out all of my answers or answer so many MBE questions!"  This misses the point.  While the bar exam does test your knowledge of the law, it also tests your ability to manage time and prioritize.  Honing these skills is just as important as knowing the law.