how to pass bar exam essays

Make This Your Last Time

Bar Exam Preparation

Dominating the Essays: Organize Issues and Prioritize Rules to Know on the Bar Exam

Ever wonder how you’re supposed to juggle everything in your head? How do you prioritize the rules to know for the bar exam?

How are you supposed to learn all this when time is tight? How do you tackle the massive body of rules to know?

How do you know you’ve completed the essay in full? Did you even talk about the correct issues? Are the graders going to give you the points? Are they even going to read your prose?!

You’d love to start practicing essays but feel like you just haven’t learned enough law yet. It’s overwhelming to even begin.

At least the answer is right there in MBE questions… If you’re a bar taker struggling with coming up with what to write, essays are the bane of your existence. Your rambling paragraphs start to blur.

Let’s breathe. We can simplify the essays and make them less scary…

Key takeaways:

• Issues: Learn not just the rules but also how to present and organize the issues (with examples below)
• Rules: Highest-priority issues and rules are those that have appeared in the past (there are two other priorities)
• There are efficient and effective ways to hit both of the above at once

Know not just the rules but also the issues

Put yourself in the essay grader’s shoes for a moment…, so now, as the applicant, what can you do to get the most points on the essays, 1) don’t write like a lawyer. write like a bar taker., 2) organize the issues., prioritize memorizing the rules and issues in this order…, 1) issues and rules that have appeared in past exams, including main issues, sub-issues, defenses, 2) issues and rules deemed important, 3) other fringe issues and rules that might come up (rule against perpetuities, anyone), take your practicing and memorizing to the next level.

Before getting into how to prioritize the rules for the bar exam, I need to emphasize something else first.

After working with readers and coaching clients over the years, there are two things that have become apparent:

• Writing essays on the bar exam is NOT about writing like a lawyer
• Issues are king (I talk about this more in this video )

That’s why gaining experience and intuition through writing bar essays is so helpful. You won’t be too surprised or lost on what to write about during the exam.

Meanwhile, some bar takers think they have to write a beautiful treatise so that bar graders can put on a monocle, do a deep literary analysis of the romance between P and D, and press it against their chest while looking out the window because your prose tugged at their heart.

The graders couldn’t care less about that LOL

If it helps, think about the time you watched someone slowly lose interest in you while being unable to do anything about it. And how futile texting them your thoughtful walls of text was.

You sigh at the pile of essay answers that waits for you every day.

You have thousands of the same shitty ass essays to sift through. You have to try to be consistent and fair across all those essays. You try your best at your thankless job, and all they do is complain about your “subjectivity.”

You also want to get through these essays as quickly as possible since you’re already getting underpaid. You’re already reading these answers while at the red light or sitting on the toilet. Your life is blurring together.

Perhaps it’s time to cut corners. Maybe just look for the headings and scan for keywords in the analysis…

This becomes a fairly mechanical process once you get through several similar issue patterns. Like fact patterns , there are corresponding issue patterns .

Prior law experience or creative writing will detract from answering the way graders want you to.

Practicing attorneys tend to not do as well on bar essays because this is a SEPARATE skill from real practice.

How do you write the way the graders want to see? Write like a bar taker instead:

Make the issues loud and clear. Punch the grader in the eyes by creating clear headings. Break out the sub-issues and elements into their own “street signs” for the grader.

Here’s an example of a major issue ( Contract Formation ) and an element (Offer) clearly called out, and their corresponding principles (rule statements):

In fact, being able to identify (or “spot”) and organize the issues is at least as important as knowing the rules. ( Here’s how to make issue identification a systematic process. )

It’s not about long-winded analyses or writing beautiful rule statements (neither got me to pass the first time).

Issues are where everything starts. An IRAC can’t sprout (and you get no points) from a seed that’s never planted.

Identifying the relevant issues is a signal to the grader that you understand what’s being tested. Rules and applications will naturally cascade down from the issues like a waterfall. Yes, you still want the meat of your answer written well.

Think of it as submitting a resume (or texting a girl). Hit the main points that the reader will care about. You’re but one out of a pile. Just a number. A hassle to go through. Better make the most out of the 10-15 seconds of the recruiter’s attention.

There is a certain logic and order to how you approach each issue.

Example of how to organize a call of the question in an Evidence essay:

You can even start to notice common issues that clump together (that you should discuss to get as many points as possible):

Here’s one for a Civil Procedure essay. Just plug and play the rules:

This is like 75% of the essay, so don’t freak out if it looks like a lot. But it’s a lot more structured than trying to start by typing a mess of words, right?

The best part: These issues clumps repeat! There are issue patterns like I said above. So if you see another SMJ or PJ question, just plug and play the same thing as here.

Outlining the issues and filling in the blanks should become a routine process because you will have seen the patterns so many times. Success is boring, not sexy.

If you have issues outlined like this, you’re pretty much home free. Do this for every essay, and you’ll know how to solve similar essays that appear on the bar exam.

OK, so that was about issues. Now about prioritizing rules…

Of course, you still need to know the law corresponding to the issues you identify. But if you need to prioritize, narrow the field of issues and rules in this order:

Issues and rules that have been tested a lot tend to be tested again. The more they’ve been tested, the more important they are.

Learn the important issues and rules by solving problems from the past and studying the answers.

• Find a collection of past essays and PTs here (for the California and Uniform Bar Exams).
• Find real MBE questions from sources such as Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE or AdaptiBar .
• Here are the biggest (highly tested) areas on the MBE.

You don’t need to have “learned enough law yet” before you dive into the pool! Trying to ensure that is exactly how I failed the California Bar Exam my first time.

Knowledge removed from the facts is nothing. It’s all artificial if you don’t know how to use it.

Seeing real problems will be productive because it will reveal what you know and don’t know. It’s like getting on the scale to measure yourself. THEN you can review and fill in the gaps.

The essay and MBE questions you go through now will become familiar fact patterns you might see again on the exam. Practicing and self-critiquing your work help you accomplish everything you seek:

• Getting better at identifying issues
• Memorizing and remembering rules through active recall
• Knowing how to apply the rules you memorized
• Picking the right answer on the MBE more often
• Gaining confidence

In other words, practicing will help solidify everything, including understanding and retaining the important concepts likely to be tested. Exciting!

You may not get through all the past essays, but you may have a feeling that there are issues and rules that would be good to know.

Maybe you’ve seen them around somewhere, maybe in law school or mentioned in a bar prep lecture. Typically, they’re listed in outlines .

You’ll still need to rote memorize these things, unfortunately. MBE questions especially may test you on specific obscure rules.

Note that I continue to mention issues and not just rules. That’s because memorization isn’t just about memorizing rules .

Better to at least get familiar in case they ask you about it.

When I retook the bar exam, there were essay questions I wasn’t sure how to answer because I didn’t know about zoning (issues I didn’t know about) and criminal prosecutor ethical duties (rules I didn’t know).

Even though my life flashed before my eyes thanks to these gaps in knowledge, I still passed the exam by focusing more on the first two priorities during bar prep than absolutely everything at once .

Now you know where to focus if you’re short on time. If you feel tempted to skip over subjects based on predictions , try this approach instead.

It’s still a lot to learn, though.

If you want to make the material more manageable and less overwhelming, check out Magicsheets and Approsheets.

Magicsheets condensed outlines contain all three of the above categories of priority—covering 95% of the testable issues and rules in 5% of the space of your bar prep course content.

Approsheets issue checklists and flowcharts help you hit all the relevant issues on an essay so you can stop having that “blank screen syndrome.”

It’s a no-brainer if you want to invest in your dreams:

• Why Are Pass Rates Lower in February than in July? (Yours Doesn’t Have to Be)

One Reply to “Dominating the Essays: Organize Issues and Prioritize Rules to Know on the Bar Exam”

I paid for my materials and I have not received them.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

How to Tackle Essay Writing on the Bar Exam

One skill that is expected to be cultivated and refined during law school is the ability to write well. This makes sense, since good writing will be essential for many legal careers. You will likely need to write memos, client letters, motions, petitions, briefs and other legal documents— so good writing is important! Consequently, the bar exam takes note of this and makes writing an essential component of it. 

Whether you’re taking the Multistate Essay Exam or a state-specific bar exam , you will be writing lots of essays during the bar exam and in your preparation for it. So here’s what you need to know about essay writing on the bar exam and strategies you can implement to improve your score.

Check out the most important bar exam essay writing tips below!

See the Top BAR Review Courses

• 1. BarMax Review Course ◄◄ Best Overall BAR Review Course + No Discounts
• 2. Quimbee BAR Prep Course ◄◄ Best Price
• 3. Kaplan BAR Review Courses ◄◄ Expert Instructors

Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) Jurisdictions

Most states use the Multistate Essay Exam. If you’ll be testing in one of these states, here are the basics you need to know:

There are 6 essay questions in total . This part of the test is 3 hours, so you have 30 minutes per question. Also, the subjects for this portion of the test cover:

• Partnerships
• Corporations and limited liability companies
• Civil procedure
• Conflict of laws
• Constitutional law
• Criminal law and procedure
• Real property
• Secured transactions
• Trusts and future interests
• Wills and estates

While any of these topics are fair game, these particular topics make up the majority of the MEE:

• Corporations and LLCs
• Family law and trusts
• Future interests

Consequently, you may want to spend extra time preparing for these areas of the law while also studying for the other subjects. 

The good news is that there are guides you can use to determine the most highly tested essay rules. These bar exam study resources will identify these rules and teach you additional rules of law. 

Here’s another important tip: focus your time on these major rules instead of wasting too much energy on nuanced rules that are less likely to be tested. 

Keep reading for more important study tips to help you pass the MEE:

Bar Essays Studying Tips 

The first part of learning how to tackle the essay writing portion of the bar exam is to develop a solid study plan . Your plan should incorporate the following: 

Learn More About the IRAC Method and Format

You may have used a variety of writing styles in law school, such as IRAC, CRAC or CREAC. However, the IRAC structure is the most commonly used one on the bar exam, and is what bar examiners will expect. Hence, you need to be familiar with this writing system:

• I – Issue
• R – Rule
• A – Analysis
• C – Conclusion

This system ensures that you write concisely and only include the necessary information. It’s not flowery and won’t contain a lot of excess content— which is a good thing, since you’re on such a constrained time limit!

As you practice, read through your answers and label each sentence with an I,R,A, or C . if a sentence cannot be labeled under one of these letters, it probably does not belong.

Practice Essay Writing Each Week

When you spend so much time studying for the bar exam , it may feel tempting to skip practicing the lengthy essay portion of the test. However, this is one of the biggest mistakes made by most test takers. 

Bar essays are an essential component of the test; they can often help leverage a higher score if you don’t do as well on some of the other test portions. Furthermore, while reviewing the rules of law is important, writing about them can show you understand them and know how they apply. 

Basically, don’t leave practicing these essays until the end of your preparation. Instead, make practicing essays part of your weekly study plan!

Practice Under Timed Conditions

When you first begin practicing the essay portion of the bar exam, you may not want to time yourself so that you can be sure you are spotting all the issues and honing your writing style . However, toward the middle of your study time, you will want to start practicing under timed conditions. 

It is not enough to know how to write a good essay. You need to know how to write a good essay quickly . You need to be able to quickly discuss the most important issues and know when not to elaborate on others.

The best way to study for these questions is to find previous MEE questions and practice them under timed conditions. Then, review the analysis to determine how you did.

Review Rules the Last Two Weeks of Your Study

Focus on memorizing as many rules of law as possible during your last two weeks of studying. You’ll need to be able to recall these basic rules as part of your essay writing without hesitation, so be sure that you can recite rules of law without even thinking about them.

Learn More About The BAR Exam

• Take These Steps To Pass The Bar Exam!
• How To Crush The Essay Portion Of The Bar Exam
• How To Study For The BAR While Working Full Time!
• How To Pass The BAR After Failing The First Time
• How To Become A Lawyer

Tips for the Day of the Bar Exam 

Okay, so now it’s the day of the bar exam— you need to know how to truly tackle these questions in the moment of truth. Here’s what you need to do:

Plan The Time You Have for Writing Essays 

Before beginning this portion of the test, you should have a plan on how you will manage your time, such as:

• First 10 minutes: Read the essay prompt. Maybe read it multiple times. Don’t rush this part; your ability to recall this information will be essential to answering the question. Also, outline your answer as you read through the prompt.
• Next 15 – 17 minutes: Write your answer.
• Last 3 to 5 minutes: Review your answer to check for competition and to make necessary edits.

Stick to this timeline for every question. If you start going over 5 minutes on every question, you won’t have enough time to tackle the last question. Ultimately, it’s far better to get out an analysis of all the questions than to answer one question perfectly and not even address another.

Make an Outline

Making an outline can help you organize your thoughts and create a plan on what you will be writing about. Mark up the prompt as you go— you may want to highlight or underline certain information to help your recall later. 

Try to make this outline clear, such as making a bullet list of items related to the prompt. If you run low on time, you can always copy and paste this information to provide a semi-answer to the prompt. Write your rule statement and list the relevant facts that will support your analysis. Also, consider how much time you will need to discuss each subpart of the answer. 

Apply the IRAC Structure

Now it’s time for you to apply what you’ve learned. Use IRAC to fully answer the question. 

Briefly state the issue in a bolded heading. Issues are usually clearly stated on bar exam essay questions rather than hidden in a fact pattern, so this should be an easy way to pick up points. Restate the issue and move onto the next part of your answer. 

State the rules that apply to the case. This is where rote memorization comes into play, since you need to be able to state the proper rule that applies to the question. Bold key terms to show that you know what rules and terms apply. This will get you the points you need on this section.

The summary of rules should be clear and concise and should demonstrate that you understand what is involved. Only address those rules that actually apply to this case and address the specific question. 

Show how the rule applies, given the particular fact pattern. This will be the longest portion of your answer. However, your analysis should still be shorter than your analysis in your legal writing class. You can pick up (or lose) a lot of points in this portion of the answer! You need to demonstrate that you know how to apply the law to the facts. Generally speaking, the more facts you’re able to explain, the higher your score will be.

Most of the facts in the fact pattern will be there for a reason— and you need to explain why these facts matter in your analysis. Provide a step-by-step analysis of how the facts support your conclusion. You may be able to score extra points by identifying counter-arguments or a majority and minority view. 

Conclusion 

End with a brief conclusion. One sentence is fine here. Perhaps unlike law school exams, there is usually a “right” conclusion. Some writing structures will use a conclusion first and then end with a conclusion, but this is not recommended on the bar exam. If you start with the wrong conclusion, the grader will look for ways to prove why you are wrong while grading your answer; therefore, save your conclusion for the end!

Organize Your Content 

Make your essay simple to read by taking advantage of all the tools at your disposal. Use paragraph breaks to organize your content, creating a clear I, R, A , and C section. Additionally, bold and underline key words and principles of law. Many essay graders will be scanning your work, so make it easy to identify that you understood the legal issues involved by drawing their attention to these key terms.

Also, use transitional words to qualify certain statements and to explain where you are going with your answer. This makes it easier for the grader to follow your analysis, as well as helps you to stay on track.

Answer the Question

Seems obvious, right? Listen:

While it seems simple to just answer the question you are asked, many bar exam essay questions include numerous fact patterns, potential rules of law that apply, and even some red herrings. Be sure that you only answer the question that is asked; don’t go off on a tangent that will not score you any extra points! 

Read over the instructions to the question and follow these instructions, even if that means ignoring something or assuming certain facts are true. Any time you devote to issues that are not relevant to the instructions takes away from time that can score you more points.

Manage Your Time 

Now that you’re in the middle of your answers, keep a close eye on time. It can be tempting to take just a few more minutes to feel you completed a question, but this can come back to haunt you by taking away necessary time from another question. Set alarms if you need to — and are permitted to — so that you know when time is up for each section. Also, you may want to set a reminder a few minutes before your allotted time so that you can quickly wrap up the question before moving on to the next one. 

With that being said, avoid writing a partial essay and then moving onto another one. It can take several minutes to regain your bearings and remember what the essay was about when you switch back and forth. Instead, finish each question in the allotted time and then move onto the next.

Get Discounts On BAR Review Courses!

Enjoy Up to $1,500 Off on BarMax Course

Save $750 on Kaplan BAR Review Course

Enjoy $700 Savings on Quimbee Bar Review+

Crushendo Coupon: 10% Off Bar Prep Products

Quick tips for essay writing.

Here’s a quick round-up of tips to keep you on track when preparing your bar exam essays:

• Read the facts more than once. Don’t rush this part!
• Don’t write a lengthy, historical background of the law. Instead, make it concise.
• Don’t write a long analysis regarding policy if the question does not ask for it.
• Present counter-arguments but spend less time on them than arguments
• Provide a clear and decisive conclusion.
• Pace yourself. The two-day bar exam is a marathon, not a sprint. Approach each question with patience and don’t try to rush it.
• Don’t talk to anyone about your answers. This will undoubtedly make you doubt yourself; you don’t need a hit to your self-confidence at this time!
• Have a fun plan for what to do after the bar exam to have something to look forward to.

So, there you have it— a plan to help you tackle the essay portion of the bar exam. Use these strategies to help boost your score and you will soon be a licensed attorney!

Thanks for reading and good luck on your exam!

Frequently Asked Questions About Bar Essays

How do you write an essay for the bar exam.

There’s a specific structure that bar examiners expect when you write answers to essay questions. This structure is called IRAC, which is short for “Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion.” When writing a bar essay, try and structure all of your sentences around these four subjects in a way that makes sense.

How many essays are on the bar exam?

The essay portion of the bar exam is called the Multistate Essay Exam, or MEE for short. It is made up of six different essay questions that you must write answers to over the course of three hours. The subjects can vary depending on what test you take, but all are related to the legal field and will require excellent logical reasoning and critical thinking to earn a high score.

How long should bar exam essays be?

Although there may not be a set word limit for your bar exam essay, a good rule of thumb is to write at least 1,000 words for each answer. However, you should avoid padding out your article’s word count with excessively detailed descriptions of legal concepts; stick to the IRAC format and ensure each word in each sentence has a purpose.

Is it better to write or type the bar exam?

There’s no universal answer to this question, since some students will prefer to write by hand and others will prefer typing. However, there are significant benefits to typing your bar exam essay questions over using a pen and paper, such as easy erasing and the ability to copy and paste. However, power issues on rare occasions have forced essay writers to resort to pen and paper, and it makes it impossible to lose progress due to a software error.

COMPARE THE BEST BAR PREP COURSES

Valerie Keene is an experienced lawyer and legal writer. Valerie’s litigation successes have included wins for cases involving contract disputes, real property disputes, and consumer issues. She has also assisted countless families with estate planning, guardianship issues, divorce and other family law matters. She provides clients with solid legal advice and representation.

Related Posts

Additional Links

Bar Discounts Bar Exam Tips Bar Exam Requirements Policies and Disclosure Terms of Service Contact Us

• Bar Exam Info
• Bar Exam Study Materials
• Legal Services

13 Best Practices for Grading Essays and Performance Tests

This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition, Winter 2019-2020 (Vol. 88, No. 4), pp 8–14. By Sonja Olson

When grading essays and performance tests for the bar examination, fairness, consistency, and focus are the cornerstones of good grading. In this article, NCBE’s MEE/MPT Program Director shares best practices for grading these written components to ensure that they serve as reliable and valid indicators of competence to practice law.

Opinions may vary about what should be tested on the bar exam, but if there is one point of agreement, it is that lawyers need to be skilled at communicating in writing. And communicating in writing means much more than using proper syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. Lawyers must be able to adjust their writing to a variety of audiences, such as clients, courts, opposing counsel, and legislators. Essay questions and performance tests are therefore integral to evaluating whether an individual should receive a license to practice law.

The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) would not perform as reliable testing components without the dedication and care exercised by the graders in every jurisdiction that uses those exam components. In this article I share some insights and best practices that I’ve learned over the years from our Grading Workshop facilitators, from our MEE and MPT Drafting Committees, and without a doubt, from the graders (veterans and newcomers) who participate in NCBE’s Grading Workshop after every February and July bar exam administration. 1 Following these grading best practices ensures that the MEE and MPT serve as valid and reliable measures of basic competence to practice law.

1. Know the question (and the answer).

Every MEE question comes to the graders with the Drafting Committee’s analysis of the issues raised by the question and a discussion of the applicable law. In addition, we provide grading guidelines at the Grading Workshop. These guidelines, generally one to two pages, distill the issues discussed in the MEE analyses but also offer suggestions for distinguishing answers and may identify common areas where examinees struggle. This information is based on the workshop facilitator’s review of at least 30 actual MEE answers, which are sent to NCBE by jurisdictions after the bar exam. For the MPT, the drafters’ point sheet identifies the issues raised in the MPT and the intended analysis.

Familiarity with the grading materials not only allows a grader to give credit where it is due but also ensures that a grader can readily identify answers containing extraneous discussion that may be accurate (such as memorized portions of bar review outlines) but is not pertinent to a discussion of the issues raised by the problem.

Particularly with performance tests, which provide the relevant law, examinees may reiterate sentences or more from the statutes, regulations, or cases in the test booklet. MPTs also present a more expansive collection of facts for examinees to master, and thus there is the temptation to recite extended portions of the facts in an answer. Familiarity with the text of these questions, from the beginning of grading, will make it much easier to identify examinees who are merely regurgitating material as opposed to synthesizing the relevant facts and law and producing a cogent analysis.

2. Know the applicable law.

Graders of the MPT have the luxury of having all examinees working from the same legal authorities, as the MPT is a closed-universe exam—that is, all the relevant law is provided as part of the MPT. So an MPT grader should have no worries that an examinee is referencing an alternative, but valid, legal doctrine—if it’s not in the Library portion of the test booklet, it’s probably not analysis that should receive credit.

New MEE graders, however, often ask whether it is expected that answers to MEE questions will contain the same level of analysis and legal citations as provided in the Drafting Committee’s analyses. The short answer is no—the MEE analyses are very detailed because the MEE Drafting Committee recognizes that graders may be assigned to grade questions in subject areas that are not frequently encountered in their law practices. The MEE analyses contain the legal authorities relevant to the problem and often some background material to help orient the grader. Graders of MEE questions may want to review the authorities cited in the analyses or other treatises and casebooks if grading a subject outside of their regular practice area.

3. Know the grading scale that your jurisdiction uses.

At the Grading Workshop, NCBE uses a six-point scale when discussing the grading of essays and MPTs. Some jurisdictions use another scale, such as 1 through 7 or 1 through 10. What matters is that the score scale is manageable enough that graders can make consistent and meaningful distinctions among answers without getting frustrated by trying to determine where an answer fits on an overly granular scale. 2 All graders in a jurisdiction should be using the same scale and be in agreement on when an answer is so deficient as to warrant a zero ( see best practice #13 ).

Graders should also know whether their jurisdiction requires that the grades conform to a particular distribution, such as a curve or equal percentages in each grading category. Note that one method isn’t preferred over another—the point is that all graders should be on the same page. 3

4. Focus on rank-ordering.

No grader should bear the weight and added stress of believing that the grade they assign to an essay or performance test is what will tip the scale for that examinee and determine whether he or she passes the bar exam. The emphasis should be on rank-­ordering the papers, not on whether an individual paper receives a passing or a failing grade. The score given to an essay by a grader is essentially a “raw” score because those essay grades will be scaled to the jurisdiction’s Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) scores. 4 Only then will the “real” grade for that specific essay be determined, which will then be added to that examinee’s MBE score, other essay grades, and grades on any other bar exam components to produce the final score.

That being said, a grader should be able to articulate why a paper ends up at a different point on the grading scale vis-à-vis those papers receiving a higher or lower grade. At times, most papers may drop easily into particular “piles” on the grading scale based on simple criteria—for instance, that they cover the first two issues well but then do not reach a correct conclusion on the third issue.

Graders should turn off their inner editor and focus on how well the paper has answered the call and demonstrates the examinee’s ability to reason and analyze compared to the other papers in the pile.

5. Achieve calibration to ensure consistency in rank-ordering.

Fairness to all examinees means that it shouldn’t matter when their papers are graded or by whom. Calibration is the means by which graders develop coherent grading judgments so that rank-ordering is consistent by a single grader as well as across multiple graders. The recommended practice is that a grader review at least 30 papers before grading “for real” to see what the range of answers is. Note that for both multiple graders and single graders, answers for each point on the grading scale should be identified before the “real” grading begins. This could require reviewing more than 30 papers.

For multiple graders: Reviewing at least 30 papers works well when there are two or more graders for a question. As graders read the same papers in the calibration packet, they should pause after every five or so answers and discuss what grades they have assigned. If they have graded the same papers differently, they should discuss those papers and come to an agreement for each paper. This process of grading, discussing, and resolving differences should continue through the whole calibration packet or until graders are confident that they are using the same criteria to differentiate papers.

For a single grader: For a single grader, it is just as important to review a calibration packet of 30 or more papers. The papers can be sorted into piles for each point on the grading scale. After reviewing the first 10 or 15 papers, the grader should revisit the grades given to the first papers to see if the initial grade still holds or if the paper in fact belongs in a different pile. Each pile should then be reviewed to verify that the papers in it are of a consistent quality. One approach that some graders have found helpful is to first separate answers into three piles (poor, medium/average, and good) and then review the papers in each pile, separating them into the 1s and 2s, the 3s and 4s, and the 5s and 6s.

6. Combat “grader drift.”

Graders can “drift,” or begin grading papers inconsistently, for a variety of reasons. Fatigue is a common reason, as is hitting a string of very poor (or very good) papers so that the next one seems very good (or very bad) when it is merely average. To ward against “grader drift,” all graders should have some answers from the calibration packet embedded into the papers they grade, with the score from the calibration session hidden. After grading the embedded paper (which may be on colored paper or otherwise marked as a part of the calibration set), the grader can compare the just-­assigned grade with that from the calibration session and determine whether drift is occurring. For multiple graders, embedding the same answer from the calibration packet at the same point in each grader’s pile provides an opportunity to check that the graders are internally consistent and still applying the same standards.

7. Spread out grades over the entire score scale.

Rank-order grading only works as an effective assessment tool if graders take care to use the entire score scale. This does not mean that the final grades fit a particular curve. Rather, even a grader in a smaller jurisdiction who has fewer than 100 papers to grade should have no problem finding papers that slot into each point on the scale. There will be fewer 1s and 6s (in the case of a 6-point scale) and likely more 3s and 4s, with the number of 2s and 5s probably falling somewhere in between—but there will be papers that a grader, with confidence and justification, may reasonably place at each given point on the scale. While there are times when a question may be easier and most examinees appear to do well, a grader will still be able to find valid points of distinction among answers that will allow the grader to spread out the scores. 5 Some graders may find it helpful to initially use pluses and minuses when grading and then to review those 4- and 4+ answers, for example, to see if they really belong in the 3 or 5 piles.

The table below illustrates the importance of spreading out grades. If there are two graders, each grading answers for different questions, and Grader A decides to use the whole score scale of 1 through 6 but Grader B thinks that all examinees performed about the same and gives out only 3s and 4s, the resulting combination of the scores from Grader A and Grader B demonstrates that it is really Grader A who, by taking care to use the entire range of possible scores, is determining how well, or how poorly, each examinee does overall.

Lack of calibration between graders of the same question is unfair to examinees because their scores will be affected not by the quality of their answers but by whether they got the “easy” or the “hard” grader. On a similar note, if graders of different questions fail to spread out their grades, the questions whose grades are “bunched up” will ultimately have less impact on examinees’ overall scores.

8. Approach each paper as an “empty bucket”—that is, look for reasons to give credit.

Just as we encourage graders at the Grading Workshop to avoid thinking that the pass/fail line is whether a paper receives a 3 as opposed to a 4 on a 6-point scale, we encourage graders to approach each paper as an “empty bucket” and to view their task as searching for points to add to the bucket. It is much more likely that a grader can be consistent across papers in what he or she will give credit for, instead of attempting to be fair and consistent in all the ways a paper could be penalized.

9. Grade in a compressed time period.

Some jurisdictions, where the number of examinees means that grading cannot be completed over the course of a long weekend, may set targets for the number of papers that a grader can reasonably grade in a day. Certainly, grading is not something that should be rushed. But it is much easier to maintain calibration if the grader doesn’t have to get reacquainted with the details of the legal analysis and the quality of the answers because of a start-and-stop grading process spread out over several weeks. To the extent possible, grading should be done over a shorter time period.

10. Know the additional factors to consider when assigning grades.

Know what factors are legitimate grounds for assigning different grades to papers. Obviously, the content and substance of the answer is the first indication—what parts of the question did the examinee answer correctly? But other qualities are valid reasons for distinguishing papers.

Response to the call of the question

For both MEEs and MPTs, the answer should respond to the call of the question asked—and not the question that the examinee may have preferred to answer. For example, the examinee may launch into a discussion of whether a contract was validly entered into when the call of the question specifically asks for an assessment of the amount of damages the plaintiff is likely to recover. If that examinee then goes on to provide discussion that does respond to the specific call, the examinee will receive credit for the good content and at that point, the grader can generally ignore the extraneous material. Examinees who inflate their answers with a lot of extraneous material effectively penalize themselves: including the irrelevant material leaves the examinee less time to devote to the legal issues that are raised by the call. If two papers have approximately equal good content, but one is cluttered by unnecessary material, the one that adheres to the relevant issues is the better answer, although depending on the overall group of answers, those two papers could end up in the same pile.

Additional factors to consider, especially with MPTs, are the answer’s format, structure, and tone, and whether the examinee followed directions (e.g., if the task is to draft a letter to opposing counsel, which should be a persuasive piece, and instead the examinee writes an objective memorandum, this should be taken into account in determining the examinee’s grade). Finally, the analysis should state the applicable legal standard, marshal the relevant facts, and apply the law to those facts in the problem.

Accuracy in stating facts

In a similar vein, examinees may get a fact or two wrong when writing their answers. Even with MEE questions, which are generally just one page long, in the rush to produce an answer in 30 minutes, it is not unusual for an examinee to misread or misstate facts. The mistake may be very minor (e.g., getting a character’s name wrong). If it is clear from the context whom the examinee is discussing, such an error can probably be ignored. But if an examinee misstates a fact and then hinges part of the analysis on that incorrect statement, that should likely be considered when grading. After all, an important lawyering skill is paying attention to the facts that matter and getting them right when presenting a legal argument or analysis.

Written communication skills

For jurisdictions that have adopted the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), the UBE Conditions of Use mandate that graders take into account written communication skills when grading, although no discrete weight is provided for that component. Each jurisdiction may have specific guidelines for how its graders should handle papers that are riddled with typos, exhibit poor grammar, or contain irrelevant information (legal or factual), among other things. Obviously, there will be a point where a paper’s typos and poor grammar will make it impossible to discern whether the examinee does comprehend the relevant legal principles, and in such cases, a lower grade is warranted. But typos and occasional poor grammar, in themselves, should generally not factor into the grading decisions for most papers. NCBE suggests ignoring typos for the most part because it is unreasonable to expect perfection in typing skills given the time pressure of the exam.

When assessing the quality of the writing, the focus should generally be on characteristics such as logical and effective organization, appropriate word choice and level of detail, and the presence or absence of a clear conclusion. The quality of the writing does matter, and while it remains important in MEE answers (and its absence is more obvious, if only because MEE answers are fairly brief), it comes to the forefront when grading MPTs. For one thing, while essay prompts ask the examinee to provide solid, reasoned legal analysis, the MPT instructs the examinee to consider both the audience of the work product and what tone is called for, objective or persuasive, to properly complete the task.

11. Know when to assign partial credit.

Essay exams are more forgiving than multiple-choice questions. If an examinee taking the MBE knows the relevant legal rule and is able to narrow the answer down to two options, one of which is the correct answer, but still selects the wrong answer, the examinee receives no credit for that question. The Scantron machine doesn’t care how close the examinee came to the right answer. But essay questions give examinees a chance to earn partial credit—they have an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify relevant facts and employ legal reasoning to reach a conclusion. Even if the ultimate conclusion is incorrect, an examinee who has stated the correct legal rule and then produced a cogent analysis of how the law would apply should get substantial credit. Graders should spend enough time on each paper to see where the examinee has shown some knowledge of the law and how it would apply to the given situation, even if the examinee does not reach the “correct” conclusion.

Similarly, just because an examinee hasn’t remembered the correct name of a legal doctrine, that doesn’t exclude that paper from receiving at least some credit. Depending on the range of quality of answers, an examinee should receive some amount of credit, even substantial credit, for describing the applicable rule or doctrine. The grader should ask whether the examinee’s discussion indicates that he or she is applying the same criteria covered by the relevant doctrine.

12. Acknowledge when a paper is incomplete.

With incomplete papers, those where the examinee clearly ran out of time (sometimes as obvious as a final sentence that cuts off, or a missing final issue, or analysis that starts strong but gets more superficial and conclusory toward the end), the grader can’t provide the answer that the examinee didn’t get to, no matter how promising the first paragraphs are. Fairness to all examinees requires that a grader award credit only for what is on the page, as other examinees were able to complete the essay or performance test in the time allowed by appropriately managing their time.

13. Know when to assign a zero.

All graders in a jurisdiction should be in agreement about when a paper should receive no credit, that is, a zero. A score of zero should be reserved for a blank page or an answer that is completely nonresponsive to the call of the question. This is important because essay answers that receive a zero are excluded from the reference group that is used to determine the formula for scaling essay scores to the MBE. Earning a 1 instead of a 0 should require that the examinee has made an honest attempt to answer the question.

Fairness, consistency, and focus are the cornerstones of good grading. Following these practices in grading bar exam essays and performance tests will not lessen the workload, but it will help ensure that bar exam essays and performance tests serve as reliable and valid indicators of an examinee’s competence to practice law, that scores are fair to examinees and are the result of meaningful differences in the quality of the answers, and that the quality of the writing—an important skill for all lawyers, regardless of practice area—is considered as a grading criterion.

• NCBE’s MEE/MPT Grading Workshop is held in Madison, Wisconsin, the Saturday after each administration of the bar exam. The purpose of the workshop is to identify trends that graders will likely see when grading the MEE and the MPT in their jurisdictions as well as to discuss any questions graders have about the applicable law or the grading materials. While the workshop gives graders an orientation for grading, it is not intended to be a calibration session; that is best accomplished using a calibration packet comprising papers solely from the grader’s jurisdiction. (Calibration is the means by which graders develop coherent grading judgments so that rank-ordering is consistent by a single grader as well as across multiple graders.) (Go back)
• See Mark A. Albanese, PhD, “ The Testing Column: Essay and MPT Grading: Does Spread Really Matter? ” 85(4) The Bar Examiner (December 2016) 29–35, at 30: “For the purposes of illustrating how spread in grades affects the [standard deviation—that is, the average deviation of scores from the mean—] a six-point scale works fairly well. There are enough different grade points that spread can be easily seen, yet not so many that one gets lost in the details of computation.” See also Susan Case, PhD, “ The Testing Column: Bar Examining and Reliability ,” 72(1) The Bar Examiner (February 2003) 23–26, at 24: “All else being equal, more score gradations work better than fewer score gradations. The key is to make sure that the scale reflects the level of judgments the grader can make…. A six-point grading scale tends to work better than a four-point grading scale. Something much broader, like a 20-point grading scale, would work better than a six-point scale, but only if the grader could make reasonable, consistent, meaningful decisions along that scale.” (Go back)
• See Mark A. Albanese, PhD, supra note 2, at 32: “From a practical standpoint, we want to spread scores out as much as possible, but it is not necessary for the number of essays to be evenly distributed in each grade category; there are a range of distributions that achieve reasonably spread-out grades, but they tend to involve having some percentage of examinees in each grade category and not “bunching up” examinees too much into a small number of grade categories. In other words, uniform and bell-shaped distributions of grades are reasonable ways of “bucketing” examinees to ensure good spread in grades.” (Go back)
• Scaling is a procedure that statistically adjusts raw scores for the written components of the bar exam (the MEE and the MPT) so that collectively they have the same mean and standard deviation (average distance of scores from the mean) as the jurisdiction’s scaled MBE scores. See Susan Case, PhD, “ The Testing Column: Frequently Asked Questions about Scaling Written Test Scores to the MBE ,” 75(4) The Bar Examiner (November 2006) 42–44 at 42: “In the bar examination setting, scaling is a statistical procedure that puts essay or performance test scores on the same score scale as the Multistate Bar Examination. Despite the change in scale, the rank ordering of individuals remains the same as it was on the original scale.” (Go back)
• Scaling ( see supra note 4) takes advantage of the equated MBE scores and therefore accounts for variance in difficulty of the essay questions from one administration to the next. See Mark A. Albanese, PhD, “ The Testing Column: Scaling: It’s Not Just for Fish or Mountains ,” 83(4) The Bar Examiner (December 2014) 50–56, at 55: “Scaling essay scores to the MBE will … stabilize passing rates even though the intrinsic difficulty of essay questions may vary.” (Go back)

Sonja Olson is the MEE/MPT Program Director for the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Contact us to request a pdf file of the original article as it appeared in the print edition.

In This Issue

Spring 2024 (Vol. 93, No. 1)

• Letter from the Chair
• President’s Page
• Facts & Figures

2023 Statistics

• How Generative Artificial Intelligence Made “Hallucinate” Cambridge Dictionary’s 2023 Word of the Year
• From My Perspective: Coding Justice: Charting the Path with AI
• The Next Generation of the Bar Exam: Adopting the NextGen Bar Examination: Two Jurisdictions’ Perspective
• Grading the NextGen Field Test: Two Graders’ Thoughts on the NextGen Bar Examination
• Quarterly Update: NextGen Development Forges Ahead with Prototype Exam on the Horizon 
• The Testing Column: Grading the MEE, MPT, and the NextGen Bar Exam: Ensuring Fairness to Candidates
• FAQs About Bar Admissions: I passed the bar exam! When can I call myself a lawyer?
• News & Events
• In Memoriam: Diane F. Bosse
• In the Courts

Bar Exam Fundamentals

Addressing questions from conversations NCBE has had with legal educators about the bar exam.

Online Bar Admission Guide

Comprehensive information on bar admission requirements in all US jurisdictions.

NextGen Bar Exam of the Future

Visit the NextGen Bar Exam website for the latest news about the bar exam of the future.

BarNow Study Aids

NCBE offers high-quality, affordable study aids in a mobile-friendly eLearning platform.

2023 Year in Review

NCBE’s annual publication highlights the work of volunteers and staff in fulfilling its mission.

Bar examination and admission statistics by jurisdiction, and national data for the MBE and MPRE.

• Bar Exam Mental Edge
• Other Resources
• About this Site
• Podcast Episodes

The 7 Step Method to Pass Bar Exam Essays

by Dustin on

I have spoken many times about the importance of doing practice essays here, here, and here.  In fact, the #1 reasons students fail is because they don’t do practice essays!

I understand the mindset.  “Don’t I have to know the rules BEFORE I take a practice essay?”

No, you don’t.

You have to understand the rules before you take an essay during your bar exam , but NOT when you are just practicing for your bar exam.

In fact, in my opinion, below is the best way to learn the rules, take practice tests, and develop that ‘make-up-the-rule’ skill that so many people overlook.

Here is a proven 7-step method for mastering practice essays without first knowing the rules :

0) I open the book for the first essay

Let’s say it’s a torts essay.

1) No matter what, I spend 15 minutes writing up an outline

If this is my first time looking at it, I probably have absolutely zero clue of what’s going on.  No joke, probably zero.   But I outline anyway  and spend a full 15 minutes doing so.

By forcing myself to sit there for 15 minutes and not look at the answer, it forces me to think.

I must now think, ok, I don’t know what’s going on, but what the heck are these group of facts doing here? That’s pointing to something.  Oh, maybe it’s False Imprisonment? I’m not sure, but let’s pretend it is.  I’ll write out the rule elements.  Oh crud, I can’t remember what all the rule elements are… Ummm, well I remember 3 of the elements, so I’ll start there, and maybe make up a couple more that I think are there, but I’m not sure.

Ok, now let me see whats facts belong with each element.  Ok, I don’t think that’s right but it’s a start.

Then I do this for the next set up facts, so on and so on.

Guess what.  When it’s done, I want to cry.  I feel like I have failed it miserably, which I probably have – but that’s ok it’s practice, and I just practiced developing a huge skill – writing in the face of the unknown.

2) Review the Answer

Then, after 15 minutes is up, I go look at the answer.  Lo and behold, it was False Imprisonment! And I got the elements wrong, but the rules I used were kinda right.

Well, let me see what the sample answer says about the rules.  Ok, this how they worded it.  This is how they used the elements and intertwined the facts.  Oh ok.

Wow, that’s interesting.  Now, I know how to use false imprisonment.

And now I know how to use all the other causes of action that were in this essay.

What do I do now?

3) Do the Same Bar Exam Essay Over Again

Say what? Why would I do that?

Because you are going to get this thing down so cold, even Ice Man will be like wtf?!

So, you start the timer and do the 15 minute outline again.  Then you’ll know how much you remember by testing to see whether you can outline False Imprisonment over again.  It’s a test for yourself.  Write out the elements, apply the rules.

Go to the other causes of action and do those as well.

4) Write out that Essay

Yes, spend the next 45 minutes (or remaining part of the hour), writing out the remaining part of the essay.  It will force you to think and be in the game.  You might think, ‘oh well, I just read it.  I know it and can move on.’

No, you don’t know it.   You learn through self-application, not through reading . You can’t get around it.  You’ll have to spend that full hour writing, and you’re going to coming out a better bar exam taker, with more experience after having done so.

After you’re done with that?

5) Review the sample answer again

Yes, review the full answer again.  See what you missed.  How did you word the rules? What facts did you leave out?  How was your organization?

By this time, you’ll probably have False Imprisonment down cold.  You’ll probably have the other causes of action down cold as well.  Now, NO ONE can mess with you when it comes to False Imprisonment or other cause of action in this essay!

And that only took about 2 hours.

6) Do the same with the 2nd essay

Go on to the  2nd essay and do the same thing, repeating steps 1 through 5.  Do an outline, review the outline and sample answer.  Write out the full essay.

7) Do the same with the 3rd essay, except just go straight into the essay

Now do it with the 3rd essay, but spend the full hour the first time around.

By the time you hit this 3rd essay or maybe the 4th, you are going to be  SHOCKED  by how much you know.  I can almost guarantee by the time you do that 4th essay, you will be spotting almost every single issue, know how to apply every single rule, and how to apply all the facts.  You’ll have this topic doooooowwnnnn like a mofo!!

Not only that, you will have practiced the ‘make-up-the-rule’ skill, which is a crucial skill to develop, especially in a jurisdiction like California.

If you try this method and whether it works or not, leave a comment below, facebook , tweet , or email me [email protected] .  I want to hear about it!

Related Articles:

• Bar Exam Week has Arrived: Don’t make this Mistake on your Essays
• Bar Exam Week Tip #2: Type my essay outline or write it on scratch paper
• Should I Handwrite or Type My Bar Exam Essay and Performance Test Answers
• Should I Make a Long Outline for Each Bar Exam Topic
• Should I Repeat Bar Exam Questions I Already Practiced

Yes, I want My Free Guide!

Article by Dustin Saiidi

Dustin has written 134 awesome articles.

Dustin Saiidi, author of The 7 Steps to Bar Exam Success, graduated in the bottom half of his class, but passed the bar exam on his 1st attempt. He shares how he overcame those challenges and gives tips, advice, and strategies so you can pass your bar exam, stress-free.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Dustin, Love your website and podcast. Your 7 Step approach to practicing essays is just the information that I needed in order to increase the number of practice essays that I will tackle. Thanks for all of your valuable tips!

You got it! Glad it helps!

Leave a Comment

Previous post: Top 5 Bar Exam Essay Tips with Bar Essays Founder Gil Peles Podcast (Episode 012)

Next post: The Barbri Girl

IPASSEDMYBAREXAM.COM © 2012-2014

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to footer

Bar Exam Toolbox®

Get the tools you need for bar exam success

Bar Exam 101

For a full list of available topics, please visit the Bar Exam Toolbox Resource Hub . Enjoy!

We also offer a variety of courses and tutoring options, including:

• Writing of the Week (WOW) Workshops to improve your bar exam essays and performance test answers
• The Brainy Bar Bank to streamline your bar exam preparation
• The Bar Exam Self-Study Program , which provides motivated self-studiers with the tools they need to pass at an affordable price
• Private bar exam tutoring in a variety of jurisdictions

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us !

Selecting a Bar Review Provider

• Comparing Tools for Bar Exam Essay Success Several internet tools have been created to help law students prepare for the essay portion of the bar exam. We compare your options.
• Choosing Bar Prep Providers Securing your bar prep course is probably one of the best ways to prepare for the bar. So what are these courses and how do you choose from all of the choices? Here is a guide to help you decide on your bar prep provider.
• Why the End of Your 3L Year May Be Too Late (and 1L Year May Be Too Early) To Start Thinking of Bar Prep At the start of law school, there is a lot of pressure to commit to one of the various commercial bar-prep programs.. However, making a commitment too early has drawbacks, and once you sign that contract, you’re stuck. Is it likely you can know what you need in a bar prep course in your 1L year?
• Things to Consider When Choosing Your Bar Prep Course While choosing a course can be daunting, there is truly no one “right” course while all the others are wrong. It’s simply a question of which course will work best for you. With that in mind, here are some things to consider.
• Can I Take a Bar Course Without Breaking the Bank? There’s no secret that there are now a variety of bar prep courses that offer deals that serve to benefit the diverse pockets of bar exam takers, but the idea of paying any additional cost to actually become a certified attorney is enough to agitate any law school graduate. If you’re frustrated, you’ve come to the right place. We've put together a list of money saving ideas for choosing a bar study provider.
• Click here to read more about selecting a bar review provider

Selecting a Bar Exam Tutor

• Why I Hired a Bar Exam Tutor In this post we welcome an attorney who shares his story about failing the California bar exam and his decision to hire a bar exam tutor for his second studying attempt. He offers some great advice about the benefits of working with a tutor and how it can help you pass the exam.   
• Winning the Bar Exam Game: Should You Consider Getting a Tutor? For many law school graduates who are studying for the bar exam, navigating the study process throughout law school and beyond can feel like you’re playing a game for which you haven’t read the rules. It’s no wonder you start to feel overwhelmed! Can a bar tutor help you with this?
• Winning the Bar Exam Game: 5 More Reasons You Need a Tutor A bar exam tutor can be the difference between success and failure for may students. If you'r not sure whether to hire a tutor, here are five more reasons that may convince you to get some help with the bar exam.
• How Do You Pick a Bar Exam Tutor? As students around the country have been getting bad news about the bar exam, we have been getting more and more emails and phone calls wanting advice on how to pick a bar exam tutor. Here's our advice for making this important decision!
• How to Get the Most out of Your Bar Exam Tutor Bar exam tutors can be a great resource to help you study for the bar exam because they structure your program to your needs and give you individualized feedback. Nevertheless, just hiring a tutor is not enough to pass the bar exam. In this post, we discuss how to get the most out of your bar exam tutor.

Self-Studying for the Bar Exam

• Self-Study - How to Survive People decide to “go it alone” for bar prep f or a number of reasons or circumstances. Whatever reason you have, consider the following suggestions to help you enhance your experience and increase your chance for success.
• Do I Need to Make My Own Study Materials for the Bar Exam? Law school was all about making your own outlines and study guides, but students typically pay for outlines from a bar course when preparing for the bar exam. Read our thoughts on whether or not you should be making your own study materials for the bar exam.
• Self-Studying for the California Bar With "Be a Goat"! (Part I) Yes, you read that right: being a goat actually has something to do with self-studying for the California bar exam. We talk to Jessica Klein, attorney and author of "The Goat’s Guide: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide To Preparing for the California Bar Exam On Your Own," for some expert advice.
• Self-Studying for the California Bar Exam With "Be a Goat" (Part II) As a follow up to our first post on the Goat's guide to self-studying for the California bar exam, we continue our conversation with attorney and author, Jessica Klein. Read more of her expert advice!

Reviews of Bar Prep Options

• Using AdaptiBar to Prepare for the MBE on the Bar Exam AdaptiBar is an online application that can help you prepare for the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination (or “MBE”) portion of the bar exam. In addition, rather than static sets of practice, MBE questions from a workbook, AdaptiBar uses a proprietary, adaptive algorithm to tailor sets of online practice questions to each user’s particular strengths and weaknesses.
• Tools for Bar Exam Success: Smart Bar Prep The number of different bar prep programs, commercial outlines, and study aids available to test takers has grown considerably in recent years. If you’re weighing your bar prep options, here’s another resource to consider. Smart Bar Prep is an essay-focused set of study guides available in both UBE/MEE and California formats.
• How to Use the Brainy Bar Bank to Raise Your Essay Scores We're hearing from one two time bar exam taker who used the Brainy Bar Bank to significantly raise her essay scores (and pass) the second time around.
• Tools for Bar Exam Success: Smarter Review Smarter Review claims to help you study for the bar in less time and for less money than a regular review course. Does it work? Read our review here!
• Using Anki Flashcards to Study for the Bar Anki flashcards are a tool usually used for medical students to study for their exams, but we're looking at how you can use them, effectively, for bar study.
• Click here to read more reviews of bar prep options

Should You Study Early?

• It's Never Too Early to Think About Bar Prep It doesn’t matter whether you are a 1L, or in your final year of law school. Thinking about the bar exam should start as soon as possible so that a good foundation can be laid before actual bar prep begins.
• When Should You Take Bar Exam Electives in Law School? The bar exam is an inevitable box you must check off before earning the right to be called Esquire.  Recognizing this, many students often wonder whether they need take course covering subjects that may appear on the bar and, if so, when. Fortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the “When” and “Why” questions of taking Bar-elective courses.
• How Early is Too Early to Begin Bar Prep We think the important question is, how exactly do you go about early bar preparation?
• Bar Exam: Starting Early vs Starting Late - The Tale Of Two Law Students This is the tale of the two law students and what the difference is in preparing for the exam.
• Rome Wasn't Built in a Day and Neither is a Passing Bar Exam Score Preparing early for the bar exam gives you the confidence that you will excel. Confidence which is key to maintaining focus and ultimately passing. So take the practical step and begin preparing early.
• Click here to read more about when and how it makes sense to study early for the bar exam

Study Tips for Different Learning Styles

• Studying For the Bar as a Visual Learner While there are no real tricks or shortcuts to preparing for the bar, you can and should study in a manner that will best help you obtain that passing score. One way of doing this is modifying your study habits to best align with your preferred learning style. If you wished bar materials were presented in a way geared towards visual learners, then this article is for you!
• Reading on Screens - Where Will You Encounter It? Reading online poses difficulties, but we are also encountering it more and more, including on the bar exam. Are you prepared to push through them to be an effective digital reader?
• Want To Set Yourself Up For Bar Exam Success? Take Control of Your Own Learning! No bar prep program can guarantee success, regardless of how many of the assignments you complete, if you are not actively engaged in the learning process. Consistently completing assignments is crucial, but it’s not always sufficient. To set yourself up for bar exam success, you not only have to put in a lot of study hours, you also have to take control of your own learning.
• "Am I Actually Learning?" We're looking at how to make sure you are getting the most learning out of your bar prep.
• What Can Your Academic History Tell You About Studying for the Bar Exam? At this point in your career you're experienced at studying the law — and at taking law school exams. But thinking about your past academic history should still be part of getting ready for the bar.

How to Memorize for the Bar Exam

• The What, How, and When of What to Memorize for the Bar Exam Bar exam memorization does not begin and end with the black-letter law itself. While the law is what you will be writing about, and therefore is rightfully the highest priority when it comes to memorization, you also want to have an understanding of how to write about the law you’re memorizing as well as when to write about it.
• The Best Memorization Methods For the Bar Exam Passing the bar exam requires an intimidating amount of memorization. Here are a few methods that work for memory champions and that worked for me when I studied for (and passed!) the bar.
• The Bar Exam is Coming! How to Memorize It All Memorizing all the materials you need to for the bar exam can be overwhelming. We're looking at some tips to make it easier.
• Memorization Techniques to Help You in the Final Weeks The bar exam tests many different skills: the ability to analyze complex factual scenarios, to spot legal issues, to perform under pressure, to draft cohesive arguments, and so on. But it will be difficult to sufficiently and accurately perform these skills without first mastering the skill of memorization.
• Unconventional Memorization Tips for Bar Study You’ve probably not memorized certain material even while actively trying to memorize it because you haven’t gotten it in front of your brain enough. Here’s some methods you may not have considered for memorization.

Ways to Practice Effectively

• Practice a Full Bar Exam Session - Go For the Gold Practice is key to successful bar exam study. There are different ways to practice though, and we're looking at the best options.
• When You Should Start Doing Partial or Full Practice Exams The key to passing the bar exam is timed practice, but it can be hard to know exactly when to start doing partial or full practice exams. If you’re working on developing a schedule for completing partial or full practice exams, here a few strategies to consider.
• Why Practicing For the Bar Exam is so Important One of the things that bar-takers might consider cutting back on are practice exams, including multiple choice tests, taken under timed circumstances. But we discuss why practice should be key to your bar study.
• Changing Course: How to Adjust When Practice Exams Aren't Going Well When struggling through bar prep, there is nothing more painful than getting a low score on one of the several practice tests you’ll take. We're looking at some ideas for how to take this and course correct to see some improvement!
• Taking the Bar Exam? Start Practicing Now! In order to do well on the bar exam, you must devote significant time to practicing the material and skills tested on the exam. We go into the reasons this is and how you can have practice work for you.
• Click here for more strategies to ensure you’re practicing effectively

Study Materials

• Take It From the Examiners: Make the Most of the NCBEX.org Along with your jurisdiction’s bar, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is a key primary source of information.
• Memorize Efficiently - and Pass the Bar - With Critical Pass Flashcards There are many components to success on the bar exam, but the most fundamental is memorization. If you don’t know the rules, you can’t choose the right answer on the MBE or write an adequate rule statement on the MEE. So, as you prepare for the bar, it’s crucial to develop a plan for memorizing the law. For many students, this plan includes flashcards.
• How to Use MPT Points Sheets and Sample Answers to Prepare for the Bar Exam Practice exams are a crucial component of successful bar prep. While a bar review course may provide feedback on a limited number of practice essays and performance tests, you should do more and assess your own work. We’ve previously discussed how to do this using MEE Analyses. Here, we’ll explore how to use MPT Point Sheets and sample answers. The key is to distinguish form from substance. A Point Sheet will not be in the form required for your answer, but it will contain the required substance. A sample answer should be in the required form, but it may not be complete in terms of substance. Let’s take a closer look.
• Flashcards v No Flashcards for Bar Prep Are flashcards worthwhile during bar prep? The reality is that there is no objective answer to the flashcard debate. What really matters is whether making (or buying) flashcards will help you pass the bar exam. This post covers some of the pros and cons of bar exam flashcards and how you might choose to incorporate them into your bar prep.
• Memorize This! Five Memorization Techniques that Will Help you Succeed on the Bar Exam So I want you to think back to law school for a second. Do you remember spending countless hours reviewing a case brief, only to find yourself unable to recall anything the very next day during a cold call? Or perhaps you may remember that networking event you attended your 1L summer, where you met several attorneys who you desperately hoped would provide a lead to your 2L job. The bar exam will require memorization, so follow these 5 techniques to master this!

Strategies for Bar Exam Essays

• Bar Exam Essay Questions: How to Grab as Many Points as Possible It’s never too early to refine your approach to essay writing to crush it on the bar. These tips will help you gear up to write some practice essays during bar prep, and maximize the points you grab from the board of bar examiners during the big show.
• How to Get Past the Initial Panic on a Bar Essay This post is about how you can get past your panic on a bar essay by planning ahead exactly how you’re going to start any essay that comes your way.
• 5 Easy Tips to Bolster Your Analysis on the Bar Here are five easy to follow tips to make your analysis section strong on the bar exam.
• How to Be a Bar Exam Essay Writing Machine Bar exam essays require you to draft an articulate answers to seemingly unpredictable fact patterns that test a wide range of legal subjects. A successful bar exam essay simply requires you to methodically spot the issues and analyze the key facts. A systematic approach to the essays, while perhaps a bit dry and repetitive, will help you tackle any fact pattern and produce an organized answer that consistently racks up points. In short, success on this portion of the bar exam requires you to be an essay writing machine.
• Click here for more tips on mastering the bar exam essays

Strategies for the Bar Exam Performance Test

• Five Common Issues on the Performance Test and How to Fix Them Bar candidates are often intimidated by the performance test because the materials that present the question are so long they consume an entire packet!  However, success on the performance test does not depend on how fast you can read, but how well you can read and if you have mastered  an approach for each section of the performance test .
• Managing the Clock on a 90-Minute Performance Test Most bar exams require applicants to complete one or two 90-minute performance tests as a component of the exams. A performance test asks you to complete a sample work assignment typically performed by a law firm associate. We discuss how to handle the clock on this part of the exam.
• Strategies for Common Performance Test Issues The performance test (PT) section of the bar exam is somewhat of an enigma. It is unique to study for in several ways. The tricky thing about the PT is that there is no material to study. So, what do you need to study? How can anything go wrong?
• The Key to the Performance Test: Find Your Approach What's the key to success on the bar exam performance test? Having your approach dialed in beforehand, so you can work efficiently and effectively.
• Three Things to Do to Raise Your Performance Test Scores The performance test is the favorite part of the bar exam for many, given that you don’t need to have any law memorized. But some people still hate and fear the performance test. If you're one of these people, here are three things you can do to raise those scores!
• Click here for more tips on mastering the performance test

Strategies for the MBE

• An Approach to Answering MBE Questions We describe one approach to answering MBE questions.
• How to Approach Constitutional Law MBE Questions Constitutional Law questions can be tricky for bar exam takers because of the deep analysis involved in reaching the correct answer. We're looking at the best way to study for these questions on the MBE.
• Fighting Through MBE Prep Struggles: 5 Questions to Ask When Nothing is Working When it comes to the MBE,  most anyone will tell you that practice is the key. But what do you do when your scores plateau or even start getting worse during your bar prep? It is fair for the alarm bells to ring when your MBE practice begins going poorly all of the sudden. Here are five questions to ask when you feel like nothing is working.
• How Do I Survive the Bar Exam With MBE Scores at a Historic Low? With MBE scores at all time lows, we're talking about how to not end up on the wrong side of the MBE scoring.
• 3 Simple Ways To Improve Your MBE Score If you’re enrolled in a bar review course or if you’re studying on your own, by this point you may have already completed a simulated or mock MBE exam. You may have already received the score for this exam and depending on what that score is, you’re probably freaking out and already plotting a career change. Well, if you’re currently experiencing this fear, we're here to tell you, STOP WORRYING!
• Click here for more tips on mastering the MBE
• What is the Uniform Bar Exam? The Uniform Bar Exam – or UBE – has been in the news quite a bit recently with respect to bar exam requirements and whether it will replace existing state exams. Wondering about the UBE? In this post we discuss all things UBE and what the UBE means for you.
• Three Reasons You Should Support the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) The Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) has been sweeping across the country in recent years, and with the addition of New York, it now seems poised to become the dominant exam. This is a good thing for law students. Read three reasons why in this post.
• Everything You Need to Know About the UBE In this post, we’ll explain what the UBE is and how portable it is.
• Deciding Whether to Take the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) or the California Bar Exam If you’re deciding whether to take the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) or the California Bar Exam, then you’ve come to the right place. Read our advice on what you should be considering!
• Click here for more strategies for UBE success

California Bar Exam Basics

• What is the California Bar Exam, Anyway? Not sure exactly what's covered on the California bar exam or how to approach the test? We've got you covered. Here are all the basics you need to know.
• Tips if You Just Found Out You Failed the California Bar Exam California bar results are being released, and the pass rates mean there will be thousands of disappointed bar takers out there. If you're one of those people wondering what to do next, here are some steps for dealing with a bar exam failure.
• Failed the Bar Exam? How to Be the Ultimate Sore Loser (to Pass the Bar Exam Next Time) Methodical and deliberate - these are the keywords for any person retaking the bar exam. In this post we welcome Brian Hahn, founder of Make This Your Last Time and a second-time passer of the California bar exam, who gives his advice on how to pass the bar exam the next time around.
• Should You Apply for Bar Exam Testing Accommodations? We are pleased to welcome back to the blog Dr. Jared Maloff, a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping students who need testing accommodations navigate the California bar exam. In this post he talks about when and why law students should consider applying for testing accommodations.
• Are You Kidding Me? The California Bar Exam Is Going to be Two Days in 2017 The California State Bar Board of Trustees recently voted to scale back the state’s three-day exam to just two days. In this post we discuss all the changes to the exam and what they mean for you!
• Click here for more strategies for passing the California bar exam

Studying Smart

• Why Exercise Should Be Mandatory During Bar Prep Studying for the bar exam is one of the most taxing experiences law students will have to endure. But simple movement throughout the day can ease the symptoms of bar prep burnout and boredom, and the ailments associated with long periods of sitting (i.e. increased blood pressure, increased blood sugar, poor blood circulation, and anxiety and depression).
• Ego Depletion While Studying For the Bar Exam Ego depletion is a theory that we each have a limited reserve of self-control, and that using that self-control or discipline for one task (say, for example, dieting) will impact our ability to remain disciplined on some other task. Studying for the bar requires a whole lot of patience, dedication, and willpower. Be realistic about the demands you are about to put on yourself and about your own limits.
• Bar Schedules: How Can I Catch Up If I Fall Behind? Even the best bar study schedule is useless if the student doesn’t follow it. Obviously, this happens to everyone, but sometimes when people fall behind on their study schedules, they get too overwhelmed to realize that they can make things work.
• What You Should Do In Your Last Month Before the Bar Below we’ll outline what we think you should do in your last month before the bar to give the bar your all.
• The 3 Most Important Study Tools For Any Bar Exam Self-Studier If you're considering for or currently doing self-study for the bar exam, we have some important advice.
• Click here to ensure you’re studying smart for the bar exam

How to Make a Useful Study Schedule

• Making a Bar Exam Study Schedule - One Size Doesn't Fit All Studying for the bar exam is probably nothing like what you’ve ever done before. It may be hard for you to figure out at first how to approach it. For me, the start of my bar exam prep course felt like a great unknown. All I knew was that I had a little over two months to cram everything into my brain that would allow me to be “minimally competent” to practice law in my jurisdictions. I had no idea how I would achieve it in such a short time, but what I knew is that many have done it before me and were successful.
• Stop Worrying About Passing the Bar Exam in 10 Days and Get to Work! Should you have waited until 10 days before the bar to start studying? No! Of course not. But, if you did, here are some tips that might help you pass.
• Getting Ready for Bar Prep? Do These 5 Tasks First To help simplify your life in the final days before the bar exam, and to ensure that you’re able to get the most out of the bar prep period, make sure you’ve completed the following five tasks before bar prep starts.
• 3 Simple Ways to Stay Motivated During Bar Prep So how is it possible to stay motivated during this period of high stress? Here are three strategies that we use to increase motivation, especially in times when a bar studier feels burned out.
• How to Pass the Bar Exam in 10 Days Believe it or not, we know several people who have passed the bar after studying for less than two weeks. While we would never recommend studying for 10 days, people have done this and gone onto pass. So, this post isn’t so much advice about why we think you should wait until the last minute to study, it’s more of an “if you only have 10 days left, this is what you should do.”
• Click here for more strategies for making a useful bar exam study schedule

Working and Studying

• Five Tips for Studying for the Bar Exam While Working Although it's best to study for the bar exam full time, this just isn't a possibility for many bar takers. If you're considering studying while working, here are five things you should take into consideration, especially if you're re-taking the bar exam after disappointing results.
• Working While Studying? "Play" Bar Prep Like You're Playing Risk Working full time while studying for the bar: recommended? No. Possible? Yes. Sarah Eli Mattern, founder of “The Student Appeal” online law journal, gives her expert advice on this important topic.    
• Warning: Working and Studying Can Cause Sleep Deprivation! It's no secret that working while studying for the bar exam can be a challenge. Depriving yourself of sleep and studying while exhausted can lead to disastrous results. In this post, learn about the consequences of sleep deprivation and the importance of rest!
• How to Study for the Bar Exam While Working So you’ve found yourself having to study for the bar exam while holding down a full-time 9 to 5 job? With our tips on how to organize your time and what material to focus on, you should be able to successfully study for the bar and keep your boss happy.
• Adulting and Studying for the Bar Exam If you want and need to maintain your job, family, and yes, your sanity intact during bar study, follow these few tips.
• Click here for more advice on studying for the bar exam while working

Exam Logistics

• What to Bring to the California Bar Exam You’ve spent months memorizing rules, practicing essays, and taking multiple-choice MBE questions. Now that it’s finally time to sit for the California bar exam, you need to pack your “go bag” full of items that are permitted in the exam room.
• What Should I Do Between Bar Exam Days? As the bar exam draws nearer and you’re creating your action plan, don’t forget to think about what you’ll do after you’ve finished the first day of the exam. There are a few things you should (and should not) do in order to ensure you’re mentally and physically prepared to tackle the next day of testing.
• Planning to Handwrite the Bar Exam - Ask These Questions First What if you are one of the few who really wants to handwrite the bar exam? Everyone is telling you to reconsider, but should you? It depends. If this is something you want to do, first ask yourself some very serious questions:
• It's Almost the Week of the Bar Exam! But You Can Stay Sane! You have finally made it. It’s the week of the bar exam. There may not be a discrete set of things each of you can do to maintain sanity in those final days and hours before the bar, but what I can offer are some common-sense tips to keep you healthy and feeling…okay before the big day.
• Click here for more targeted advice on bar exam logistics

Exam Pep Talks

• Some Perspective on a Disappointing First Day of the Bar Exam Few things in your life will have the same sort of buildup and anticipation as the bar exam. The tension is only increased by the high stakes: you may have a job offer contingent on bar passage, you definitely have years of work and weeks of preparation invested, and you likely have everyone you know  waiting to hear  if you passed or failed. We have some tips on how to handle a disappointing first day.
• How to Cope If You Forget a Rule on the Bar If you're afraid of sitting down for the bar exam and blanking, we have advice! We're talking about the top three steps to take if you forget a rule when taking the bar exam.
• I Don't Know the Answer: Encountering Your Worst Subject as an Essay Topic So here’s the scenario, you didn’t take a certain subject in law school or maybe you went to a law school outside of California and it wasn’t an option. You reviewed that subject briefly as part of your bar exam prep, but it’s not your strongest subject. You are banking on that subject not showing up on your exam but then you open your exam to find your weak subject staring you in the face and your mind goes blank; you have no idea how to answer the question. What happens next?
• Bar Exam Tips and Tricks - What to Do When You Blank on Test Day Here are some tips and tricks to get you through your mind blanking on exam day.

Bar Exam Advice for Law Students

• Easy Steps To Take During Law School to Improve Your Bar Prep Readiness We describe a few easy steps you can take during law school to improve your readiness going into bar prep and help you feel confident about taking the exam.
• Twas the Summer Before 3L - What to do to Prepare for the Bar Exam The summer before your 3L year is an interesting time in a law student’s life. Many rising 3Ls are busy in their summer positions, typically full-time at a law firm or with a judge. However, it is also the last summer before going out into the real world to be practicing attorneys or studying to for the bar exam in July. So, many law students want to enjoy their 3L summer rather than worrying about school and the dreaded bar exam once the semester begins.
• Selecting Law School Courses for Bar Success Selecting courses with the bar exam in mind will ensure that you’re in the best position possible when it comes time start your bar exam studies , and that could make all the difference. These suggestions can help you create a class schedule that will satisfy your graduation requirements while also ensuring that you are as prepared as possible for the bar exam.
• Your Frequently Asked Questions Answered - Bar Prep As you finish up law school, the next step is preparing for the bar exam. We're answering some of the most common questions from law students about bar prep.
• Click here for more advice for law students about the bar exam

Getting Accommodations on the Bar Exam

• Preparing for the Bar Exam with ADHD In this post we welcome back Dr. Jared Maloff to talk about studying for the bar exam with ADHD. Dr. Maloff is an expert on this topic given his work as a clinical psychologist helping students who need testing accommodations navigate the California bar exam.
• How to Proactively Develop Good Mental Health Habits During Bar Prep We will discuss in this section how mental health awareness can help you to maintain your sanity during the bar.
• Mental Health and the Bar: Tips To Maintain Good Mental Health Post Bar Exam and Beyond If you've just finished the bar exam, unfortunately, these factors can certainly bring up some mental health issues, regardless of a predisposition or an overall stable state of mind. Therefore, developing and maintaining good mental health practices is crucial, especially during this starting point of your career.
• Three Tips to Include More Self-Care Into Your Bar Prep During the bar exam in particular, it is very important to incorporate self-care into your daily routine. Below, I’ll outline a few ways to reduce your stress, combat exhaustion, and help boost your mood.
• Why Being on Top of Mental Health is So Important When Studying for the Bar We explore why mental health is crucial for bar exam preparation, especially for repeat takers, and discuss practical strategies to care for your mental health during this difficult period.

Which Exam and When?

• Five Tips For Repeat Bar Takers If you're taking the bar after a previous failure you need to adjust some things from how you did them last time. We're looking at some advice for changes you can make if you're taking the bar exam again.
• The Five Steps of Mourning a Disappointing Bar Exam Result There are few events in life that seem to carry as much pressure as the bar exam. In other words, the bar exam is a really, really big deal – both personally and professionally – to most students. We cover the five steps of mourning this difficult time.
• Top Five Reasons Why People Really Fail the Bar Exam It’s probably every law student’s worst fear: failing the bar exam. We break down the top five reasons why it really happens.
• How to Handle a Bar Exam Failure The unbelievable happened – you failed the bar exam. Now what? While you are entitled to a little “pity me” time, how you move on from this set back will determine whether you can hope for a different result the next time around.
• Mentally Preparing to Study for the Bar Exam After a Failure (or Two) We're looking at what you can do to prepare for re-taking the bar exam.
• Click here to read more about which exam to take

Bar Exam Prep + Life

• Bar Exam Postponement Due to COVID-19 Things are up in the air as far as  the bar exam goes right now with the global pandemic going on. Many exams are being postponed, and others are waiting. We're looking at how you can deal with this time of uncertainty or postponement.
• How the Bar Exam is Portrayed on the Screen Versus Reality Movies and series that portray exam takers may or may not get some things right. The person that would best be able to assess how the exam is portrayed on the screen and how it compares to real life is you! We're looking at some well known portrayals of law school students and the bar exam process on screen.
• First Generation Perspective - Bar Exam Advice We're talking about the unique challenges of taking the bar exam as a first generation law student.
• Bar Exam Perspective - How to Have "The Talk" With Your Loved Ones About Studying for the Bar If you're going into bar study, you will want to explain to them (lovingly) what they can expect during each phase of the bar exam and set some ground rules.
• How to Study For the Bar Exam, With a Side of Holiday Cheer We're looking at how you can balance holiday plans with bar study.
• Click here for more on handling “life stuff” while studying for the bar exam

Stories About Failing the Bar Exam (and Surviving)

• Five Famous People Who Failed the Bar We hope that by reading this post, seeing the names of famous attorneys who failed the bar, will help you to comfort that uncomfortability that comes with failing the bar.
• How and When to Tell People You Failed the Bar Exam You can decide whether or not to tell others you failed the bar exam, but looking at why it can actually help you to be open about it.
• So You've Failed the Bar Exam? Here are Four Lesser Known People Who Failed But Survived We're looking at some stories of lesser known examples of high profile people who failed the bar exam.
• Why You Won't Die If You Fail the Bar Exam Failing the bar exam can be an overwhelming experience. We have some advice on handling it from someone who went through the experience herself.
• Bar Exam Perspective - What to do if Your Friend Doesn't Pass the Bar Exam If you have a friend who recently got some bad news about the bar exam, we have some advice to help you navigate through this very difficult but sensitive time in your friend’s life.
• Click here for more about rebounding from a bar exam failure

Dealing with Bar Exam Stress

• Still Thinking About the Bar Exam? 5 Tips to Help You Decompress For better or worse, the bar exam is finally over! It’s normal to have a little anxiety about how it all went, but after spending so much time and focus preparing for the test, you may find it difficult to get your mind off of the bar exam. Now that  the test is over  and there’s nothing you can do to change your answers, it’s important to live in the present so that you aren’t constantly worrying about what you could have done differently or whether your name will be on the pass list. Use the following strategies to help you decompress and control your anxiety about the results.
• How to Handle Burnout for the Bar Exam Studying for the bar exam may only last a few weeks, but it can sure send you on a roller coaster of emotions. Bar prep will likely subject you to a slew of emotions that will feel particularly intense given the pressure, workload, and shortened time frame. To avoid getting derailed during your study sessions, use these strategies to help you handle the various feelings, moods, and mindsets you might encounter as you prepare to take the bar exam.
• 8 Ways to De-Stress During Bar Prep We lay out eight things you can do to eliminate your bar prep stress.
• Make Stress Your Friend During Bar Study Studying hard and building an attack plan is a great strategy, but be ready to let go of concrete plans. Your perfect bar plan may no longer be a perfect fit. But you just need to trust yourself.  
• Surviving Bar Exam Prep: Keeping it Together When You Want to Freak Out We all know the feeling—you start to look at your calendar, or at your to-do list, and you realize how difficult it is going to be to fit everything in and get everything done. Maybe the panic builds in your chest a bit. Maybe your breathing becomes more rapid as you try to figure out how you’re going to fit it all in. You start to think about the nights of little sleep ahead, followed by days with a foggy brain and extra caffeine (which isn’t what you need right now!).
• Click here for more bar exam stress management strategies

Help for the Bar Exam Significant Other

• Bar Study During Coronavirus with a Cohabiting Partner We’ve recently heard from several bar students and their partners about how stressful the current situation is. We're looking at how you can handle this from both the bar studier point of view, as well as the partner point of view.
• So Your Friend Failed the Bar Exam You planned the celebration. You had trepidations, but you knew the results would be good news. Then the time came, and the name was not on the pass list. You felt confused, saddened, and a little scared, but it wasn’t your name in contention, it was your friend’s.
• Dealing with the Bar Studier in Your Life You may think you’re prepared for a little stress after supporting a person all the way through law school, but the bar exam will likely push your bar studier to a new level of anxiety. So how do you deal with the bar studier in your life?
• Supporting the Bar Exam Studier in Your Life Your child, spouse, significant other, or best friend is studying for the bar exam. Maybe it’s their first time studying, or maybe they’re a repeat test taker. No matter the situation, studying for the bar exam can be incredibly stressful and you don’t want to add to that stress. Here are a few ideas for ways you can make your bar exam studier’s life a little easier.
• Supporting Your SO While They Study for the Bar Being a good significant other for a bar studier is often a bit different than being a good significant other for someone who chose a less difficult, non-stressful, low-academic path, so here are some considerations if you’re on the hunt for how to help yours.
• Click here for additional advice if your significant other (or child) is studying for the bar exam

Helping Your Child Pass the Bar Exam

• How Can Parents Help a Child Who Failed the Bar Exam? After someone fails the bar, they need all the support they can get, especially from their parents. In this post we answer an email from a concerned parent wondering how she can help her son after he failed the bar exam.
• Dos and Don'ts for Parents of Bar Preppers After three years of law school, there is still one very big hurdle for your child to jump before she becomes a lawyer:  the bar exam.   They will usually take all the help they can get, so if your child will be preparing for the bar exam over the next several weeks, here are some dos and don’ts to help you  support their efforts .
• Parents of Bar Studiers: How to Best Support Your Child During the High-Anxiety Weeks of Bar Preparation Your adult child has officially graduated from law school. However, as you probably noticed, the excitement and celebrations abruptly came to a close as he or she almost immediately shifted to preparing for the biggest exam of his or her life – the bar exam. Make no mistake about it – even though your child persevered through semester after semester of really tough exams in law school, the bar exam really is the toughest exam your child will ever face.
• How to Survive Studying for the Bar Exam at Your Parents' House If you’re facing graduation and don’t have a job lined up after law school, you might be stretched thin for money. If you can’t afford monthly rent payments near your law school, you might be looking at a move back home to your parents’ house for bar season. Here’s how to survive studying for the bar exam while rooming with your parents.
• Being a Parent During Bar Prep: The Ultimate Test in Multitasking Bar prep is a lot of work, and it can be particularly challenging if you're a parent. We're offering some advice for those bar takers who are parents about how to juggle it all.

Got questions about the bar exam? Please don’t hesitate to contact us !

We look forward to hearing from you.

Need to Pass the Bar Exam?

Sign up for our free weekly email with useful tips!

• Terms & Conditions

Copyright 2024 Bar Exam Toolbox®™

How to take a practice bar exam—23 key tips

Practicing for the MBE is essential, but there are ways to do it more effectively. Follow these tips to get the most out of your practice MBE.

You’re almost there.

You finished law school, you’ve made a bar exam study plan, found effective study materials such as Brainscape’s MBE review flashcards , and are learning your state’s bar exam subjects.

Now it's time to do your first practice exam.

Taking practice bar exams is an extremely important part of efficiently studying. Not only does it identify your strengths and weaknesses , but it also helps you practice your test-taking strategies and improve your mental stamina . Working practice exams into your study schedule is critical to bar exam success.

In this article, we'll give you 23 key tips on how to take a practice bar exam so that you squeeze the most possible benefit out of the time you spend. We’ll cover:

• General bar exam practice test tips
• How to practice for the MBE questions

How to practice for the MEE and bar exam essays

Let’s dive in.

General practice bar exam tips

1. don’t wait to take practice exams.

You might be thinking that you should wait to take practice exams until after you’re comfortable with the material. This is a really common— and critical —mistake.

Don’t wait until you think you’re ready.

Why? You’ll never feel ready . You probably won’t even feel ready on the day of the bar exam.

Successful bar students take practice exams early and often. Contrary to popular belief, taking a practice exam isn’t just about testing what you know. Research has shown that practice exams are one of the most effective ways to study. One study from the University of Chicago showed that students who took practice exams did better on the final exam than students who didn't , even if they took it before knowing any of the matierial. This is because they were able to learn from their mistakes, get a preview of what to expect, and build their confidence.

Key Tip: Take practice exams early and often. Use them to learn the law and what you need to improve on. Don’t wait until you feel ready—you never will!

2. Start well-rested and refreshed

Just like the real exam, you want to go into your practice exams feeling good. That means eating good brain foods , exercising , and sleeping well during bar prep season.

Ideally, you should be starting a self-care routine to stay healthy and focused during bar prep. This will make sure you’re at your peak for the big day and that you have the stamina to go through hours and hours of difficult testing.

3. Break up the bar exam questions and take breaks

The MBE is 6 hours, and depending on your state, the essays and other portions can be 1-2 additional days. It’s a mind-bending, exhausting affair. Even though practice exams have much lower stakes, they can still feel incredibly draining.

Remember that the whole process is like a marathon. In the same way that it’s okay to take a break in a marathon and walk for a bit, it’s okay—and encouraged—to take little breaks in the practice test.

While this might be harder on the essay portions, one strategy that can work for the MBE is to break up the questions into chunks. Instead of focusing on how you have 100 questions to complete, break them into 15 or 20 question chunks. Once you’ve completed your chunk, give yourself 15-30 seconds as a break. Let yourself space out or doodle on the page for a bit, stand up, have a stretch, go to the bathroom, or whatever you need to do before going back to it.

Key Tip: Pace yourself on the MBE bar exam questions by doing 15-20 questions at a time and then taking a little mental break.

4. Understand and attack your weaknesses

We get better by identifying and attacking our weaknesses. The benefit of doing practice questions and exams isn’t just to practice taking the exam. It’s also to figure out where your weaknesses are and where you need to improve. If you’re like most students, you will repeat errors over and over again if you skip this step. This could mean the difference between passing and failing.

After each practice exam or question, understand precisely why you got the question wrong or why you missed points on an essay. Did you get it wrong because you didn’t know the law? Did you misread the question? Did you run out of time? Pay attention to patterns and correct them.

For the MBE, one technique that helps students is making an error spreadsheet. Create columns such as “ran out of time,” “misread the question,” “didn’t know the law,” or other categories you’re noticing. After you grade your bar exam questions, track your errors in the columns. This way, you can tell what proportion of errors are from not reading closely enough, what proportion are from going too fast or too slow, and how quickly you’re improving.

Once you’ve identified why you’re missing questions, you can problem-solve. If you’re missing questions because you simply didn’t know the law, that’s where Brainscape comes in! In fact, Brainscape was designed with this exact purpose in mind—creating individualized learning plans tailored to your weaknesses. Every time you miss a question because you didn’t know the law, create a flashcard with the rule , which will then be included in your ongoing daily adaptive study sessions. Improving on even 10-15 MBE questions can make a difference in your score.

Key Tip: Keep track of why you’re missing questions or points on an essay. Create flashcards with the rules for questions you’ve missed. Study this deck everyday.

5. Don’t beat yourself up

We know—taking and scoring a practice exam can be demoralizing. But, don’t think of a practice exam necessarily as a test of your abilities, but an opportunity to learn—learn how the law is applied, what you know, what’s working for you, and what isn’t.

It often takes hundreds and hundreds of practice questions for students to see improvement. In fact, some students don’t see their MBE scores improve until right before the exam. If this is you, don’t panic. Just make sure that you are focusing on your areas of weakness and understanding why an answer is right or wrong.

Additionally, research has shown that taking practice exams can actually protect against stress during the actual exam . So don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get the score you want, that’s why you’re studying. There’s a reason they’re called practice exams. Take them early and consistently.

Now that we’ve gone over some general practice exam concepts, let’s dive into some specifics about the MBE and essay questions.

How to practice for the MBE

The MBE is a component of every state’s bar exam with the exception of Louisiana. It’s a 6 hour exam composed of 200 multiple choice questions—100 questions in the morning and 100 in the afternoon. Only 175 of the questions are actually scored—25 of them are unscored pretest questions. The MBE has 25 questions for each of the 7 tested subjects: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.

Here’s our best advice on how to best practice for the MBE bar exam questions.

6. Look for real MBE practice questions and exams

The NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners) writes and licenses all of the real MBE questions. Ideally, you’d use the real NCBE questions for your practice exams, but they can be somewhat hard (and expensive) to find. Most bar prep companies (with the exception of a few) write their own MBE questions. Sometimes they’re harder than actual MBE questions and sometimes they’re easier.

If you decide to use non-NCBE questions, just make sure that you’re using a reputable bar prep company with realistic MBE questions. Some students supplement their bar prep courses with programs like AdaptiBar , which uses real NCBE questions.

Key Tip: It’s a good idea to practice with study bar exam questions from reputable sources. Research programs beforehand.

Key Tip: Ensure that when you take a practice bar exam, you’re using one published by a reputable bar prep company, or even better, by the NCBE.

7. Use questions with explanations

You need to know why a question is right or wrong. If your practice questions don’t have explanations with them, they’re not useful to you. Don’t waste your time on study bar exam questions that don’t have explanations with the answers.

Key Tip: Find practice MBE questions that include answers with explanations.

8. Practice like it’s an actual exam

One of your goals here is to see how you would do on a real exam. So, make sure you do the exam in the same conditions as the real one.

Do it in a quiet place with no distractions. Use paper, a pencil, and the printed test. Practice filling in the bubbles. Make it an authentic testing experience.

At the beginning, you may only do the morning portion or 100 questions. Slowly build your stamina over time. After you’ve done a few 3-hour sessions, complete a full 6-hour mock exam no later than 4-5 weeks before the actual MBE.

Key Tip: Create the conditions of the real test.

9. Pace yourself

One of the things that makes the bar exam so hard is the time crunch. Part of studying for the exam is learning to pace yourself.

To do the 100 questions in 3 hours, you need to be doing each question in an average of 1.8 minutes, or 1:48. You’ll be slower at first, and that’s fine. But part of doing your practice study questions is practicing your speed. Build up to getting through them quickly.

Key Tip: Build up to doing each question in under 1:48.

10. Skip challenging questions

One way to pace yourself is to know when to skip a question and come back to it. Try to answer the question first but don't get stuck on it—if it takes longer than a minute, skip it and move on.

The reason for this is that it ensures that you have time to answer all of the questions that are easy for you. Then, if you aren’t able to get through everything, at least you’ll know that you didn’t miss any of the questions you had the best shot at.

Key Tip: If you don’t know a question or it looks like it will take you a long time, circle it, skip it, and come back to it later.

11. Categorize the questions

This strategy may not be for everyone, but it’s been incredibly helpful for some of our students. The idea is that you first read all of the bar exam questions and categorize them into their law subjects. Maybe you write a “C” beside the contracts questions, “CL” for the criminal law questions, and so on.

Then, go through and answer all of the Contracts questions first. Once you’re done with those, do all the Criminal Law questions. And so on.

While you lose a bit of time going through and categorizing all the questions, you might be able to make it up in the time you save from not having to switch back and forth in your head between subjects. Research shows that it takes significant amounts of time to switch between tasks and orient yourself to new material—some estimate as much as 40% of someone’s productive time. That means you might be able to save time by doing all the questions in one category , and then all the questions in another, and so on.

This strategy might not be for everyone, but consider using a practice bar exam to try it. Part of the reason for doing practice exams is precisely to try strategies like these and see if they work well for you.

Key Tip: Try categorizing the questions into their law subject first, and then answering questions one subject at a time.

12. Read the question before the fact pattern

Some tutors suggest reading the call of the question first, and then the answer choices before reading the fact pattern. This may help you to put the fact pattern into context.

Again, what works for other people might not be the best for you, but you should use the practice exam to try a few different methods and see what you like best.

Key Tip: Experiment with reading the question before the fact pattern.

13. Study your mistakes

This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make: They practice what they already know. Why? Because it feels good. Studying for a practice bar exam is a stressful and uncomfortable process. Studying what you know gives a false sense of security.

But it doesn’t help you in the long run. Don’t be like everyone else; focus your studying on what you don’t know.

Brainscape makes this easy. Our comprehensive MBE flashcards were written by our panel of law professors and MBE tutors to give you a fast, painless, systematized tool to ingrain the huge amount of content you need to remember to answer the more complex questions posed by the bar exam. Our adaptive digital flashcards use active recall and spaced repetition , they are one of the most effective ways to study for the bar exam.

Not only that, Brainscape’s flashcard platform allows you to create your own flashcards and mix them into your own customized study deck. That allows you to create cards based on your errors and easily make these the focus of your practice.

Use this to your advantage. Create a study mix of all the questions you answered incorrectly and practice these across all your subjects. That’s what you’ll get on the exam (and in the real world): a random mix of topics. You never know what will be thrown at you next.

Key Tip: Use flashcards to practice your weak subjects, and put them in a separate deck to make a mix of your most difficult questions.

14. Look at the responses for all questions

Focusing on your errors is a great start, but don’t forget to also check the answers to questions you got right . Sometimes we take a guess on multiple choice questions. You might have gotten some answers right even though you weren’t sure about the answers. Or, maybe you didn’t know the answer at all and just got lucky.

You want to make sure you don’t let the fact that you got a question right lead you into a false sense of mastery of the subject.

Here’s what we suggest. For the questions you get right, go through the answers and give yourself a rating out of 5 for how well you actually knew the answer. And be honest.

This will involve metacognition : thinking about your own thinking process. This is an important skill; using metacognition to assess how well you know something has been shown to improve students’ studying and result in better performance on exams. Brainscape builds this into our algorithm, and this is one of the ways that our platform optimizes study.

Once you’ve rated how well you actually knew the answers you got right, go through each of the alternatives and make sure you understand why each of those was an incorrect answer. For any bar exam questions that you were unsure about or that you know you are weak at, create a flashcard the same way you would if you had gotten it wrong.

This will help you more efficiently study the weaknesses you had that were obscured by the fact you got the question right.

Key Tip: For all the questions you got right, assess how well you knew the answer. If you were not certain, make flashcards for them as if you got them wrong.

15. Actively review the answers

When we say “review” the answers, we don’t just mean read them. We mean engage with them actively . It’s really easy when we’re reading to drift off and stop paying attention. Reading isn’t enough.

How do you actively engage with the answers? One way is by reflecting on how well you knew the answer using metacognition, mentioned earlier. When we think about how well we know an answer, we’re staying actively engaged. You can’t answer that question without paying attention and focusing.

Other ways you can also stay engaged in reviewing the answers include:

• Summarizing the answer using different words. For example, “B was the correct choice because in this case there is enough evidence to give the self-defense instruction.”
• Summarizing the mistake in your thinking that led you to get the question wrong. For example, “I made a mistake and chose C because I missed the part of the question that explained that there was evidence for self-defense being warranted.”
• Think about the different choice options and why they’re not correct. For example, “A doesn’t make sense because the judge wouldn’t instruct the jury on the defense’s theory of the case.”
• Making flashcards that are relevant to the question and answers. For example, “What are the three elements of IIED? (1) extreme and outrageous conduct with the intent to cause, or with reckless disregard of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff suffered severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) the defendant's conduct is the legal cause of the plaintiff's emotional distress.”

Key Tip: Don’t just read the answers when you’re reviewing them; engage in the answers and actively review them.

Most states have essays as part of their bar exam. Some use the MEE (Multistate Essay Examination), which is a part of the UBE . Others use their own essays. Chances are, you'll be writing essays of some kind on your bar exam.

Bar exam essays are essentially simplified law school essays. You need to study for these in ways that optimize your study time.

Here are some tips for how to practice bar exam essay questions.

16. Focus on the most highly tested areas of law and rules

Some areas of law and legal rules are more highly tested than others. To do well on the essays, learn what these rules are and focus your study on them.

For example, the following areas of law are fair game on the MEE that many states use:

• Partnerships
• Corporations and limited liability companies
• Civil procedure
• Conflict of laws
• Constitutional law
• Criminal law and procedure
• Real property
• Secured transactions
• Trusts and future interests
• Wills and estates

However, these topics usually make up the majority of the MEE:

• Corporations and LLCs
• Family law and trusts
• Future interests

Knowing that, focus on these topics more than the others . Make sure that you can crush them .

(By the way, Brainscape has a series of bar exam prep videos and podcasts that you can listen to anywhere, anytime . We read you key questions and answers that test you on the most criticial, high yield content you need to know to answer the more complex questions posed by the bar exam. And you can watch or listen while cooking, exercising, or doing laundry! Check out our video on Evidence below...)

That goes for particular rules , too—some are more highly tested than others. Here’s a short list of the most highly tested rules on the MEE:

• Agency and Partnership: Types of Authority (Actual and Apparent)
• Civil Procedure: Jurisdiction
• Civil Procedure: Venue
• Contracts and Sales: Contract Formation
• Corporations and LLCs: Fiduciary Duties
• Corporations and LLCs: Lawsuits by and Against Shareholders
• Evidence: Hearsay
• Evidence: Impeachment
• Secured Transactions: How to Form a Perfected Security Interest
• Torts: Negligence

So study these with particular intensity if the MEE is part of your state’s bar exam.

Focusing on some topics may mean neglecting to study others. That’s okay. Your goal isn’t necessarily to be perfect , it’s to pass . Studying smart means making sure you know the stuff that will almost certainly be on the bar exam.

Key Tip: Find out what the most commonly tested topics and rules are for your bar exam and prioritize your study on those.

17. Write practice essays early and often

Just like with the MBE, don’t wait until you feel comfortable with the material before writing practice essays. Most students don’t start actually memorizing the essay portions until the end of June or July. This is a mistake.

As soon as you finish a topic or lecture, try writing a practice essay on that topic. Often, synthesizing your thoughts on paper is one of the key ways students learn the law and consolidate it.

We know this can seem intimidating, especially if you don’t feel comfortable with the law yet. But here’s a technique our students swear by that should ease you into the process:

• For the first 4 weeks, treat each essay as an open book exam . Use whatever materials you need to write the answer—simply knowing what law is being tested and where to look is a key skill.
• Once you’ve done the open book method, transition to closed book practice essays and focus on active recall.

Key Tip: Write practice essays as soon as you learn the topic or subject. Don’t wait until you feel ready. Use the open-book method for 4 weeks and then transition to writing your essays with the closed-book method.

18. Write out bullet points for the main arguments

This is essential. For every essay, you want to write out the bullet points of the main arguments you would make to respond to the fact pattern. This is essentially a detailed outline, clearly identifying the logic in your answer and the important pieces of relevant law.

As in your law school essays, you want to make sure your essays have a clear, logical structure. In our experience, the IRAC structure is the one that leads to the best grades. It may seem like it’s too simple, but the IRAC system is the best way to make sure you do well on your essays. IRAC stands for:

• I - Issue . State the issue. Usually, these are clearly stated rather than hidden in the fact pattern.
• R - Rule . State the rule. State it as clearly as possible. Bold or underline keywords so that your marker can easily recognize them.
• A - Analysis. Apply the rule to the facts. This will not be as long as law school essays. Usually, just apply the rule to the facts and conclude. (Although, depending on your test, you may get points for recognizing a majority and minority view here.)
• C - Conclude. Conclude your argument. This is very important. Don’t be vague or on the fence; write a clear conclusion. On most essays in the bar exam, there is a “correct” conclusion. Don’t argue both sides as much as you might in law school.

Basically, you want to make it easy for the marker to give you points. Laying your essay out in a standard format that is consistent with what they are expecting will make it easy for them to give you the points. The easier you make it for the marker, the better you’ll do.

Key Tip: Study for essays by writing out a bullet outline of the main arguments that you would make. Practice using IRAC to structure your essays.

19. Don’t fully write out all your practice essays

While you want to practice writing out the essays in full, you’ll waste time if you do this for every one. Instead, we suggest that for the majority of the prompts, you simply lay out the bulleted structure that you would use to write the essay (as above).

Then, for every second or third one, you can write out the full essay. This strategy will give you the practice for writing out the full essay under the time constraints that you’re given, but also allow you to practice a good number of prompts.

Of course, when you’re giving yourself a full, timed practice bar exam, you’ll want to write out the full essay.

Key Tip: Write out every second or third essay in full. For the others, simply make a bulleted outline.

20. Write for the reader

Make things easy for your grader: keep it organized. This means structuring and formatting your essay in a clear way. You can do this by:

• Using paragraph breaks to break up your work , especially between the issue, rule, analysis, and application. You could even use headings to make these clear.
• Write what they’re expecting. For example, when you’re talking about the insanity defense, don’t just describe the test, actually use the words “M’Naghten test”. Using appropriate keywords will help your grader to give you marks you deserve.
• Emphasize keywords . Graders get tired too, and often they end up scanning essays instead of fully reading them. Write for scanners by underlining or bolding keywords (if your exam software allows).

Key Tip: Use formatting and language that makes it easier for the marker to give you marks. Put in paragraph breaks, use language they’re expecting, and underline or bold these keywords.

21. Make flashcards for consistent mistakes

Use the model essays to check your answer. Like the MBE questions, you should take note of your mistake patterns on your essays. Then, make sure you’re practicing your weaknesses.

Making flashcards (e.g. in Brainscape) can help with this, since they are an effective way to learn content over the long term. You can make flashcards on the law that you don’t know well enough. For example, for joint tortfeasor questions, you can make flashcards that include each of “joint and several liability”, “joint liability” and “several liability” and the differences between them.

Key Tip: Use flashcards to practice law that you consistently make errors in.

22. Make flashcards for how to approach certain types of essays

Another strategy is to make flashcards for how to approach certain types of essays. For example, Your flashcard for getting an essay prompt on a Wills and Trusts essay on intestacy could be:

• Look at the intestate statute;

Key Tip: Use flashcards to practice your strategy for approaching particular types of essays.

23. Write essays under timed conditions

As with the MBE, make sure you take your essay test under timed conditions that match the test you will be taking. The MEE has 6 essays to write in 3 hours, giving you 30 minutes for each of them. In California, there are 5 essays and you get an hour to write each of them.

Ensure you understand what your state’s bar exam essays will be like and match your timing to that.

Key Tip: Practice writing the essays the same way that you will have to in the real exam.

Nail your practice bar exam, nail the real thing

The bar exam is hard . But practice makes progress.

You have to make at least one practice exam part of your bar prep so that you can figure out what you need to practice and test out your strategies for taking the bar exam.

We strongly recommend incorporating Brainscape’s MBE review flashcards as part of your study. Flashcards that incorporate metacognition and spaced repetition are by far the most effective and efficient way to remember the mountain of information you need to pass the bar exam. Our platform is designed based on the most recent cognitive science to have you learn what you need to in the shortest time possible. They can help you remember what you need for both the MBE and for your essays.

If you’re not using flashcards, you’re at a huge disadvantage for writing the bar exam.

Most importantly, remember that you can do it.

If you engage in a comprehensive and efficient study program, you use these tips on how to take the practice bar exam, and you revise based on your errors, you’ll pass the bar exam. Don’t freak out. Just make yourself a study schedule, build in practice, and do the work.

You’ve got this.

Additional (free) resources for law grads studying for the bar exam

Brainscape’s “Hands-free” bar exam prep podcast : You can listen to this valuable series of bar prep episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts (wherever you listen to podcasts), or listen/watch as a series of videos on our Law YouTube Channel .

Brainscape’s Law YouTube channel: A library of video content and interviews with bar prep and legal experts on how to excel in law school, at the bar exam, and in your law career.

Brainscape’s Law Academy : A library of written law school and bar prep study guides that’ll equip you with the tools, advice, and study hacks you need to learn as efficiently as humanly possible, without burning out.

Flashcards for serious learners .

• Skip to content
• COVID-19 Information
• Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures)
• Military Benefits
• Other Required Disclosures
• 714.459.1101

Breaking Down the Bar Exam: Tips to Prepare and Pass the Test

Jul 18, 2023

The bar exam is a critical element of the law school journey, but preparing for it can be daunting. Simply from the sheer volume of information and the desire to pass on the first attempt, it can leave students overwhelmed. However, with the right preparation and resources, students can increase their chances of success.

We have tapped three of our experts at Western State for insights on this pressing topic:

• Tania Shah , director of the academic success program and associate professor of law
• Kathleen Bolus , associate director of the academic success program and assistant professor of lawyering skills

Read on to hear some of their tips and information about resources that can help you prepare for and pass the bar exam.

Western State’s Commitment to Student Success

• Basic Bar Studies (BBS) class : This six-unit, robust course helps students learn the fundamentals of bar exam subjects. Students take this class during their last semester and have access to resources through the bar exam. The class incorporates multiple-choice questions to improve students’ test-taking skills, as well as essay practice and feedback. Each semester the course is individualized based on data that shows where the class and students can benefit from more focus – whether a subject or format.
• Curriculum throughout the law school journey: From the beginning of law school, curriculum that incorporates bar exam essays and performance tests are part of classes. While we are focused on helping develop successful lawyers, not bar takers, we introduce bar exam formats early on, helping our students develop both critical thinking and the necessary skills to pass the exam.

• First-timer bar exam program: Since 2020, Western State has offered a specific program for first-time test takers, and this program has seen a lot of success and growth over the years. While voluntary, 88% of the previous class elected to participate as it has helped increase the pass rate among the students. This program helps hold students accountable during the study period as well as provides them with continued support for questions and reviews. In addition, Western State offers students who participate and pass the first time a full refund on the bar review program.

Overcoming Common Bar Exam Concerns

Even with the best resources available, it isn’t uncommon to have concerns about the bar exam. We have insights from our faculty outlining some of the common concerns they hear and how to overcome them.

• How can I possibly memorize this much information? Western State emphasizes the importance of early preparation. We focus on research-proven active memorization strategies and activities and implement them early in the law school journey by watching videos and continually reviewing legal concepts. By solidifying these skills and memorizing key principles during law school, students can feel more confident heading into bar prep.

• I want to take the bar exam in a different state, how do I need to prepare differently? If a student plans to take the bar exam in a different state, the first thing to do is to look at the state’s bar exam website to understand the requirements to sit for the exam and become a licensed lawyer in that state. Many of the states have the same multiple-choice, however, the essay portion may vary. For example, the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) consists of the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), which requires 30-minute essay responses. In contrast, California has its own essay format, with one-hour essay responses. Students should familiarize themselves with the specific requirements of the state they intend to practice in and tailor their preparation accordingly. Outside of knowing the differences for the exam, the students can still leverage the bar prep course at Western State to help them prepare.
• What if I get behind in my study schedule? Getting behind can create a domino effect, but if you do, it is important to reach out for support right away. There are methodologies to restructure the schedule and tips for where to focus to optimize the time you have remaining.

Taking the Bar Exam

After you have spent hours preparing, it is important to ensure you are set up for success on the day of the exam. The night before and the day of the bar exam should be approached strategically.  Here are some tips:

• Simulate exam-like conditions during the last month of preparation. This includes timing yourself and practicing under time constraints.
• Establish a consistent sleep schedule, maintain a balanced diet and take care of your physical and mental well-being leading up to the exam.
• Study during the time of the exam so you are used to that schedule.
• If staying at a hotel, ensure your accommodation is made well in advance and you have a place to stay within walking distance of the exam venue.
• The break is not long, so packing lunch can help reduce stress on the day of the test.
• Check your computer to ensure it works and you have the right charger with you and everything you bring is permissible.
• Have strategies to help calm your nerves and stay focused during the exam.
• Don’t put the exam on a pedestal – trust your preparation!

Taking the Bar Exam a Second Time

While the goal is to pass the bar exam the first time, if you don’t, don’t worry! Western State is still here for you!

Western State offers a repeater program for students who were not successful on their first attempt. This program provides tailored guidance and plans based on an analysis of the student’s previous performance. It is crucial for students to seek feedback and guidance from experienced professionals to identify areas for improvement and tailor their study approach accordingly.

Understanding the Upcoming Changes

As these changes roll out, it is important that law schools adapt their curricula to align with these updates. At Western State, our faculty are monitoring for any announcements and are well positioned to support the next group of test takers.

Preparing for the bar exam requires dedication, strategy and effective utilization of available resources. At Western State, we are proud to offer exceptional support to our students, emphasizing early preparation, active learning and access to valuable study materials. Good luck to our July test takers!

• Academic Resources
• Faculty & Staff
• Student Organizations

Recent Posts

• Western State Kicks Off Fall Semester with Community Service for the Vulnerable
• Professor Stephen Hendricks Featured in Authority Magazine
• Western State College of Law Welcomes Five Distinguished Faculty and Staff Members
• Western State Alumnus Finds Success After Starting Firm
• Spring 2024 Clinic Students Represent Clients Before Courts and Immigration Agencies

REQUEST INFORMATION

Please fill out this form and submit it to request more information

PAUL ARSHAGOUNI

Associate dean for academic affairs, associate professor of law.

714.459.1168 [email protected]

B.A., University of California Los Angeles, magna cum laude M.D., University of California Irvine College of Medicine M.P.H., University of California Los Angeles J.D., UCLA School of Law

Contracts I and II

Professor Arshagouni began his career in legal academics in 2002 as an assistant research professor at the University of Houston Law Center’s Health Law & Policy Institute. He then spent several years teaching at Michigan State University College of Law where he taught a number of health law related courses as well as first year Contracts and Property. Professor Arshagouni has also taught at California Western School of Law and Whittier School of Law. Prior to legal academics, he practiced law as an associate in the health care practice groups at Sidley Austin in Los Angeles and at Foley & Lardner, also in Los Angeles.

Before entering the legal profession, Professor Arshagouni had a career in medicine. He worked for several years as a pediatrician and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. While at UCI, he acted as director of pediatrics at a community clinic in north Orange County, CA.

PUBLICATIONS

• Be Fruitful and Multiply, Be Other Means, If Necessary: The Time Has Come To Recognize And Enforce Gestational Surrogacy Agreements, 61 DePaul L. Rev. 799 (Spring 2012).
• “But I’m an adult now . . .sort of” Adolescent Consent in Health Care Decision-Making and the Adolescent Brain, 9 Journal of Health Care Law & Policy 315 (2006).
• Jerry-Building The Road To The Future: An Evaluation Of The White Commission Report On Structural Alternatives For Federal Courts Of Appeals, 36 San Diego L.Rev. 355 (1999) [co-authored with Joseph Akrotirianakis and Zareh Jaltorossian]

Privacy Overview

• Legal Education

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

How to Write Bar Exam Essays: Strategies and Tactics to Help You Pass the Bar Exam

• technical requirements;
• issue spotting;
• outlining and formatting; and
• ISBN-10 0692336842
• ISBN-13 978-0692336847
• Publication date November 22, 2014
• Language English
• Dimensions 5 x 0.29 x 8 inches
• Print length 116 pages
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake George Press (November 22, 2014)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 116 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0692336842
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0692336847
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.29 x 8 inches
• #140 in Bar Examination Test Preparation
• #353 in Legal Education Writing
• #3,208 in Test Prep & Study Guides

About the author

Matt racine.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 54% 22% 9% 4% 11% 54%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 54% 22% 9% 4% 11% 22%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 54% 22% 9% 4% 11% 9%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 54% 22% 9% 4% 11% 4%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 54% 22% 9% 4% 11% 11%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book's depth of content concise, insightful, and helpful for preparing for and writing bar exam essays. They also appreciate the practical, straightforward approach and say it's a short read that's worth the time and money.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book's content concise, easy to read, and insightful. They also say it's a great resource for bar essay preparation and good to read.

"...This book explains in a very straight forward manner how to determine how you should handle your questions and how you should practice your..." Read more

"...The book is very small but everything that's in it will help you towards better essay writing ...." Read more

"I’m now only moderately freaking out. Love the mindset discussion . I know I can do this! Thanks for the reminder. The tips were great...." Read more

"...This book is not it. It has a couple of helpful hints but it doesn't go into depth on how to write for the exam." Read more

Customers find the book provides a practical, straightforward approach to preparing for and writing bar exam essays. They also say it's a quick, easy read that provides straightforward advice for bar.

"...It gives an easy step by step to follow in preparing for the bar exam. I highly suggest it if you are a first timer or a repeater." Read more

"...This book is easy to use as a play by play or week by week tool for bar prep." Read more

"...It's a quick read and worth the time in preparations ." Read more

"...in this book is common sense, however this book was a quick way to organize and refresh those common sense thoughts fluttering in your head." Read more

Customers find the book super helpful and say it helps them focus.

"This book is extremely informative considering the limited number of pages and paragraphs per page...." Read more

" Good suggestions and a network with which to base your essays. It's a quick read and worth the time in preparations." Read more

"...I know I can do this! Thanks for the reminder. The tips were great . I feel like I have a plan now which is half the battle." Read more

Customers find the book a short read that's worth the time and money.

"Matt Racine's book is short and to the point . He gets right to the strategy and does away with all the fluff...." Read more

"Good suggestions and a network with which to base your essays. It's a quick read and worth the time in preparations." Read more

"Good book. I read it pretty fast . Didn’t get to a solid strategy until the end tho. Still a good to read." Read more

"...The book is very short and notes the proper procedures for writing proper essays." Read more

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

U.S. bar exam study tips

How should you study for the bar exam some bar exam learning strategies from barbri, the bar prep experts.

1. Study broad, not deep 2. Measure what matters 3. Approach the MBE systematically 4. Develop your writing skills 5. Use the MPT to pick up points 6. Tackle hard MBE questions head on

As you approach how to study  for the bar exam ,   you’ ll   likely  come across all kinds of “time-saving” advice, that may sound something like  this:  “to pass  the bar exam , all you really need to do is  ( fill-in-the-blank here ) .”  Now that y ou are a trained critical thinker, hopefully any bar  exam  study advice   that  begin s  with, “all you have to do  is   …”  immediately  triggers suspicion.   As the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.  

For any significant achievement like passing the bar exam, there  is  no simple ,  one-size-fits-all shortcut.   Passing t he bar exam is hard  and it requires  considerable  effort, but t here are some general  study tips  and  learning  strategies  that  will  increase your likelihood of passing the bar .  

Study broad for the bar exam, not deep

In law school, students who know the most about a subject are typically those who achieve the highest grades on final exams. This is not so when it comes to studying for the bar exam. In fact, using this same approach to study for your bar exam can actually be detrimental.

Effective bar exam study strategies are built on knowledge that is wide and shallow rather than narrow and deep. To pass the bar, you don’t have to reach a level of authority on any of the subjects tested. You simply need to know just enough, about enough areas of the law, to land on the passing side of the bar exam grading curve .

Also, just because something CAN be tested on the bar exam doesn’t mean it’s likely to be tested. To ensure you’re spending your bar exam study time where it matters most, you’ll want to select a bar prep partner that knows what is most likely to be tested, and primarily focuses your time and energy in those areas.

Measure what matters as you study for the bar

So how do you know if you’re doing well enough in enough areas during your bar exam studies to ultimately pass ?   

Although the bar exam is “pass/fail” based on the cut score established by each U.S. state and jurisdiction, few bar takers truly consider the implications that “pass/fail” will have on their bar exam preparation. Striving to achieve an “A” in any one area will not help you land on the right side of the bar exam curve and pass. Studying to get an “A” in specific subjects may actually distract you and undermine your bar prep strategy.

The better strategy is to track the number of practice questions you’re getting correct, in each subject, in comparison to everyone else also preparing to take the bar exam . This is your percentile rank.

Your goal is to be at the 40th percentile or above in each subject. That’s the best way to ensure that you are doing well enough, in enough areas, to ultimately pass your bar exam. Remember, the key is broad, not deep.

Approach the MBE systematically

BARBRI has helped students pass the MBE since it was first administered in 1972. Despite it s early reputation as being tricky, we know that achieving   a strong score on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) is not about avoiding tricks and traps . It’s about taking a methodical, straightforward approach to answering bar exam questions .

During the MBE, you’ll answer 200 multiple-choice questions administered in two separate 3-hour sessions: 100 questions in the morning, 100 questions in the afternoon. That’s an average of 1.8 minutes spent per MBE question, which requires a repeatable, systematic methodology.

At BARBRI, we have found it best to treat MBE bar exam questions like essay questions – albeit short ones with the answers already provided — with this approach:

• Cover the answer choices to avoid distraction and first read the call of the question, so you can determine the subject being tested and the issue you are answering.
• If the call of the question isn’t specific enough, read the sentence just above for more guidance.
• Now, read the entire question in light of the issue being tested. Use the facts, and the law associated with them, to mentally formulate your own answer to the question. (Note: You’re still not looking at the answer choices.)
• Then predict the correct answer and look for the answer choice that best matches your predicted answer.

This systematic problem-solving method ensures that you focus on the actual problem to solve and reduces the risk of being distracted by details that may ultimately be irrelevant to the call of the question. Additionally, coming to your own conclusion first and then matching the best answer provided will increase your confidence in what you’ve selected.

Develop your bar exam writing skills up front

We often hear that students hold back on bar exam practice essays during bar review because they feel they need to know all the rules of the law before they submit a practice essay. There are reasons why we don’t recommend this study strategy .

The written portion of the bar exam is important to your overall score in every state. In some, greater scoring weight is placed on the essays as compared to the MBE. Download the BARBRI Bar Exam Digest for bar exam scoring information for your state/jurisdiction.

Essay writing for the bar exam is different than the final exams you experienced in law school. It’s an acquired skill that must be strengthen. For example, on most bar exam essays, there’s actually a “right” answer. Also, to maximize your point potential on bar exam essays, you’ll need to provide an answer to the call of the question in the format the bar examiners want and expect to see. Therefore, it's important to acquire and strengthen your bar exam essay skills during bar prep, while you’re still learning and reinforcing your black letter law knowledge.

With that said , we’ve seen that submitting practice essay after essay before receiving and digesting feedback reinforces bad habits and wastes time. An unguided and purely “unlimited” essay grading system can serve to stunt your progress . Submitting practice essays and incorporating previous feedback into the next assigned essay over time is a better way to continually improve your essay writing skills .  

Use the MPT to pick up valuable points

If you are like most bar exam takers, you’ll probably spend a majority of your time working practice MBE questions and writing practice essays. Just don’t want lose sight of the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).

Many who unfortunately don’t pass the bar exam typically end up barely below the cut score — just a few points short. This is where the MPT can help. It’s an important opportunity to pick up valuable points or, conversely, lose out on points if you’re not prepared.

What is the MPT exactly? It’s a real-world readiness measurement that allows bar examiners to assess your fundamental lawyering skills rather than test substantive legal knowledge. The MPT   is part of most bar exams , and it challenges you to think critically and resourcefully on tasks that a beginning lawyer might encounter .

For example, you may be asked to create a persuasive brief, legal memo, client letter, discovery plan, settlement offer, will or closing argument. Whatever the given assignment, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to evaluate the facts of the case file, analyze the problem and perform the task within the 90 minutes allotted for each item. The best way to familiarize yourself with possible MPT tasks is to work practice MPTs during your bar preparation.

Download the BARBRI Bar Exam Digest for information about the MPT and the bar exam scaled scoring formula for your state/ jurisdiction .  

Tackle hard MBE questions head on

During your bar exam, it might seem like a good idea to skip difficult MBE questions and come back to them later. Our advice: tackle them as they come.

The bar exam is mentally draining. At the end of each 3-hour MBE session, you’re going to be tired and your critical thinking skills won’t be as sharp. Use our systematic problem solving methodology, make your best educated guess and then mark the question in your test booklet if you have some time left after answering all the questions, you can give the harder ones another quick look.

When you come across an MBE question that's taking too much time to figure out (remember, 1.8 minutes on average per question), use it to make up time on the bar exam. Spend one minute to go through the question, make your best guess and move on. Don’t overthink it. Typically, the correct answer will be an option that is familiar to you. More often than not, completely unfamiliar or obscure answer choices are incorrect.

Ready to start studying? Find the BARBRI bar prep course that’s built for you

Traditional bar review.

Full-time course | 8-10 week

Candidates with a J.D. from a U.S. law school looking for the quickest, most efficient & effective course to pass any U.S. state bar exam

Extended Bar Prep

Part-time  c ourse | 6- or 10-month  

Best for candidates without a J.D. from a U.S. law school looking for the most comprehensive bar prep or students who want more study time & flexibility

An Essential California Bar Exam Supplement

• SELL YOUR EXAMS
• TESTIMONIALS
• Berkeley Law
• Boston University
• Cal Western
• Chapman Law
• Concord Law
• La Verne College of Law
• Monterey College of Law
• Pepperdine Law School
• San Diego Law
• Santa Clara Law
• Southwestern
• Trinity Law
• UC Hastings
• Univ. of West LA
• Western State
• Whittier Law
• Bar Exam 101
• Bar Exam Doctor
• Bar Exam Toolbox
• Bar Secrets
• Be Prepared
• Jurax Bar Prep
• Make This Your Last Time

BarEssays FAQ

• Why an essay received a particular score.
• How the essay could have improved.
• Portions of the reviewed essay that received points.
• Portions of the reviewed essays that are unnecessary for points.
• Detailed critiques of essay structures and IRAC format.

37 Facts About Novosibirsk

Written by Adelice Lindemann

Modified & Updated: 25 Jun 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

Novosibirsk, often referred to as the “Capital of Siberia,” is a vibrant and dynamic city located in southwestern Russia. With a population exceeding 1.5 million residents, it is the third most populous city in Russia and serves as the administrative center of the Novosibirsk Oblast.

Nestled along the banks of the Ob River, Novosibirsk is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, scientific advancements, and picturesque landscapes. As the largest city in Siberia, it offers a perfect blend of modern and traditional attractions, making it a fascinating destination for both locals and tourists.

In this article, we will delve into 37 interesting facts about Novosibirsk, shedding light on its history, architecture, natural wonders, and cultural significance. Whether you are planning a visit or simply curious about this intriguing city, these facts will give you a deeper understanding of what Novosibirsk has to offer.

Key Takeaways:

• Novosibirsk, the “Capital of Siberia,” is a vibrant city with a rich cultural scene, stunning natural landscapes, and a strong sense of community, offering a high quality of life for its residents.
• From being a major industrial and transportation hub to hosting world-class cultural institutions and scientific research centers, Novosibirsk is a dynamic city with a diverse culinary scene and a thriving IT and tech industry.

Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia.

Situated in southwestern Siberia, Novosibirsk has a population of over 1.6 million people, making it one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the country.

The city was founded in 1893.

Novosibirsk was established as a railway junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway, playing a significant role in the development of Siberia.

It is known as the “Capital of Siberia”.

Due to its economic and cultural significance, Novosibirsk is often referred to as the capital of Siberia.

Novosibirsk is a major industrial center.

The city is home to a wide range of industries, including machinery manufacturing, chemical production, energy, and metallurgy .

It is famous for its scientific and research institutions.

Novosibirsk hosts several renowned scientific and research institutions, contributing to advancements in various fields including nuclear physics, chemistry, and biotechnology.

The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre is one of the largest in Russia.

This iconic cultural institution showcases world-class ballet and opera performances and is a must-visit for art enthusiasts visiting the city .

The city has a vibrant theater scene.

Novosibirsk boasts numerous theaters, showcasing a wide variety of performances from traditional plays to experimental productions.

Novosibirsk is a major transportation hub.

Thanks to its strategic location on the Trans-Siberian Railway, the city serves as a crucial transportation hub connecting Siberia with other regions of Russia .

The Ob River flows through Novosibirsk.

The majestic Ob River adds to the city’s natural beauty and provides opportunities for recreational activities such as boating and fishing.

Novosibirsk is known for its harsh winter climate.

With temperatures dropping well below freezing in winter, the city experiences a true Siberian winter with snowy landscapes.

The Novosibirsk Zoo is one of the largest and oldest in Russia.

Home to a wide variety of animal species, including rare and endangered ones, the Novosibirsk Zoo attracts visitors from near and far.

Novosibirsk is a center for academic excellence.

The city is home to Novosibirsk State University, one of the top universities in Russia, renowned for its research and education programs.

The Novosibirsk Metro is the newest metro system in Russia.

Opened in 1985, the Novosibirsk Metro provides efficient transportation for residents and visitors alike.

Novosibirsk is surrounded by picturesque nature.

Surrounded by stunning landscapes, including the Altai Mountains and the Novosibirsk Reservoir, the city offers numerous opportunities for outdoor activities.

The Novosibirsk State Circus is famous for its performances.

Showcasing talented acrobats , clowns, and animal acts, the Novosibirsk State Circus offers entertaining shows for all ages.

Novosibirsk is home to a thriving art scene.

The city is dotted with art galleries, showcasing the works of local and international artists .

Novosibirsk has a diverse culinary scene.

From traditional Russian cuisine to international flavors, the city offers a wide range of dining options to satisfy all taste buds.

The Novosibirsk State Museum of Local History is a treasure trove of historical artifacts.

Exploring the museum gives visitors an insight into the rich history and culture of the region.

Novosibirsk is known for its vibrant nightlife.

The city is home to numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues, ensuring a lively atmosphere after dark.

Novosibirsk has a strong ice hockey tradition.

Ice hockey is a popular sport in the city, with local teams competing in national and international tournaments.

The Novosibirsk State Philharmonic Hall hosts world-class musical performances.

Music lovers can enjoy classical concerts and symphony orchestra performances in this renowned venue.

Novosibirsk is home to the Akademgorodok, a scientific research town.

Akademgorodok is a unique scientific community located near Novosibirsk, housing numerous research institutes and academic organizations.

Novosibirsk has a unique blend of architectural styles.

The city features a mix of Soviet-era buildings, modern skyscrapers, and historic structures, creating an eclectic cityscape.

Novosibirsk is an important center for ballet training and education.

The city’s ballet schools and academies attract aspiring dancers from across Russia and abroad.

Novosibirsk is a gateway to the stunning Altai Mountains.

Located nearby, the Altai Mountains offer breathtaking landscapes, hiking trails, and opportunities for outdoor adventures.

Novosibirsk hosts various cultural festivals throughout the year.

From music and theater festivals to art exhibitions, the city’s cultural calendar is always packed with exciting events.

Novosibirsk is a green city with numerous parks and gardens.

Residents and visitors can enjoy the beauty of nature in the city’s well-maintained parks and botanical gardens.

Novosibirsk is a center for technology and innovation.

The city is home to several technology parks and innovation centers, fostering the development of cutting-edge technologies.

Novosibirsk has a strong sense of community.

The residents of Novosibirsk are known for their hospitality and friendly nature, making visitors feel welcome.

Novosibirsk is a paradise for shopping enthusiasts.

The city is dotted with shopping malls, boutiques, and markets, offering a wide range of shopping options.

Novosibirsk has a rich literary heritage.

The city has been home to many famous Russian writers and poets, and their works are celebrated in literary circles.

Novosibirsk is a popular destination for medical tourism.

The city is known for its advanced medical facilities and expertise, attracting patients from around the world.

Novosibirsk has a well-developed public transportation system.

With buses, trams, trolleybuses, and the metro, getting around the city is convenient and efficient.

Novosibirsk is a city of sport.

The city has a strong sports culture, with numerous sports facilities and opportunities for athletic activities .

Novosibirsk has a thriving IT and tech industry.

The city is home to numerous IT companies and startups, contributing to the development of the digital economy.

Novosibirsk celebrates its anniversary every year on July 12th.

The city comes alive with festivities, including concerts, fireworks, and cultural events, to commemorate its foundation.

Novosibirsk offers a high quality of life.

With its excellent educational and healthcare systems, cultural amenities, and vibrant community, Novosibirsk provides a great living environment for its residents.

Novosibirsk is a fascinating city filled with rich history, stunning architecture, and a vibrant cultural scene. From its origins as a small village to becoming the third-largest city in Russia, Novosibirsk has emerged as a major economic and cultural hub in Siberia . With its world-class universities, theaters, museums, and natural attractions, Novosibirsk offers a myriad of experiences for visitors.

Whether you’re exploring the impressive Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater, strolling along the picturesque banks of the Ob River, or immersing yourself in the city’s scientific and technological achievements at the Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk has something for everyone.

From its iconic landmarks such as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral to its vibrant festivals like the International Jazz Festival , Novosibirsk has a unique charm that will captivate any traveler. So, make sure to include Novosibirsk in your travel itinerary and discover the hidden gems of this remarkable city.

Q: What is the population of Novosibirsk?

A: As of 2021, the estimated population of Novosibirsk is around 1.6 million people.

Q: Is Novosibirsk a safe city to visit?

A: Novosibirsk is generally considered a safe city for tourists. However, it is always recommended to take standard precautions such as avoiding unfamiliar areas at night and keeping your belongings secure.

Q: What is the best time to visit Novosibirsk?

A: The best time to visit Novosibirsk is during the summer months of June to September when the weather is pleasant and suitable for outdoor activities. However, if you enjoy the winter chill and snow, visiting during the winter season can also be a unique experience.

Q: Are there any interesting cultural events in Novosibirsk?

A: Yes, Novosibirsk is known for its vibrant cultural scene. The city hosts various festivals throughout the year, including the International Jazz Festival, Novosibirsk International Film Festival, and the Siberian Ice March Festival.

Q: Can I visit Novosibirsk without knowing Russian?

A: While knowing some basic Russian phrases can be helpful, many establishments in Novosibirsk, especially tourist areas, have English signage and staff who can communicate in English. However, learning a few essential Russian phrases can enhance your travel experience.

Novosibirsk's captivating history and vibrant culture make it a must-visit destination for any traveler. From its humble beginnings as a small settlement to its current status as Russia's third-largest city, Novosibirsk has a story worth exploring. If you're a sports enthusiast, don't miss the opportunity to learn more about the city's beloved football club , FC Sibir Novosibirsk. With its rich heritage and passionate fan base, the club has become an integral part of Novosibirsk's identity.

Was this page helpful?

Our commitment to delivering trustworthy and engaging content is at the heart of what we do. Each fact on our site is contributed by real users like you, bringing a wealth of diverse insights and information. To ensure the highest standards of accuracy and reliability, our dedicated editors meticulously review each submission. This process guarantees that the facts we share are not only fascinating but also credible. Trust in our commitment to quality and authenticity as you explore and learn with us.

Share this Fact:

• Best Time to Visit Novosibirsk
• How To Reach Novosibirsk
• Events & Festivals in Novosibirsk
• Restaurants in Novosibirsk
• Novosibirsk Map
• Things To Do in Novosibirsk
• Novosibirsk Itineraries
• Novosibirsk Hotels

Weather and Seasons in Novosibirsk

• Novosibirsk Oblast
• Novosibirsk

Best Time To Visit Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk has a typical continental climate with snowy, dry winters and warm, temperate summers.

• Winter: November to early March. Extremely cold with temperature dropping down to -20 degree Celsius.
• Spring: March and April. No precipitation and a pleasant climate. Temperatures during the day reach up to 20 degree Celsius.
• Summer: May, June and July: Typically, a wet season with heavy rainfall. The temperatures remain within the range of 25 to 30 degree Celsius. July is the wettest month of the year.
• Fall: September and October: High humidity, unpredictable temperatures with ground frosts.

The best time to visit Novosibirsk is between May to September.

• 20℉ 0℉

Highest temperature in Novosibirsk is recorded as 89.6℉ in June.

Lowest temperature in Novosibirsk is recorded as -34.6℉ in December.

Most humid month in Novosibirsk is November.

Least humid month in Novosibirsk is May.

• Everyday : 09:00 AM to 03:00 PM

• Everyday : 03:00 PM to 06:00 PM

• Everyday : 10:00 AM to 04:00 PM

• Everyday : 10:00 AM to 03:00 PM

• 0 Shopping Cart $ 0.00 -->

Want to learn more about law school tutoring with JD Advising? Attend our free tutoring information session on September 5th at 12:00 pm ET to get all your questions answered!

Learn the best strategies to succeed in law school in this free downloadable guide , written by our founder who graduated #1 in her class!

Overwhelmed in law school? We can help! Check out our law school tutoring and law school outlines – our top law school resources that are sure to get you back on track!

Bar Exam Essay Template – How to Structure your Bar Exam Essays

Bar exam essay template:.

It can be helpful to have a bar exam essay template when you begin to write bar exam essays. A good bar exam essay template can help you ensure: (a) that you connect every dot and do not miss a step (that is, you will state the rule, apply it, and conclude); and (b) it can help you approach the bar exam with confidence knowing that you know how to design your essays to get the maximum amount of points. The general format is that for each issue, you want to use a “RAC” format. That is, state the rule , analysis , and conclusion.  You can think of this as an “IRAC” format similar to what you may have used in law school. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using the IRAC format because it differs from the format that law school essays follow.

A few things to note about this bar exam essay template:

• Issue: Generally, on the bar exam, the issues are clearly stated. Thus, they tend not to be hidden in a fact pattern as they are in a law school essay.
• Rule: State the rule as clearly as possible on your bar exam essay answer. If you know the key legal vocabulary then bold or underline those words to draw attention to them.
• Analysis: The analysis section won’t be as lengthy as it would be in a law school essay answer.  Oftentimes, the examiners will expect you to simply apply the law then conclude. However, sometimes (for example on MEE essays), you will gain points if you recognize the majority view and minority view in your analysis section.
• Conclusion: On bar exams, the overall conclusion is important. Bar examiners’ will be looking for you to conclude. Further, generally, there is a “right” conclusion.

One key thing to note is that in bar exam essay answers:

• you should not write a lengthy background of the law. Instead, answer the questions directly and concisely!
• you should not write a lengthy policy analysis for each issue you analyze
• you should not arrive at a wishy-washy conclusion in your answers. Arrive at a clear conclusion.
• you should not argue both sides nearly as extensively as you would on a law school essay answer

Using this bar exam essay template as you approach essays can be a big help. If you have any questions about this, please contact us at your convenience.

Looking to Pass the Bar Exam?

Free Resources:

• 🌟 Bar Exam Free Resource Center : Access our most popular free guides, webinars, and resources to set you on the path to success.
• Free Bar Exam Guides : Expert advice on the MBE, the MEE, passing strategies, and overcoming failure.
• Free Webinars : Get insight from top bar exam experts to ace your preparation.

Paid Resources:

• 🏆 One-Sheets : Our most popular product! Master the Bar Exam with these five-star rated essentials.
• Bar Exam Outlines : Our comprehensive and condensed bar exam outlines present key information in an organized, easy-to-digest layout.
• Exclusive Mastery Classes : Dive deep into highly tested areas of the MBE, MEE, MPT, and CA bar exams in these live, one-time events.
• Specialized Private Tutoring : With years of experience under our belt, our experts provide personalized guidance to ensure you excel.
• Bar Exam Courses : On Demand and Premium options tailored to your needs.
• Bar Exam Crash Course + Mini Outlines : A great review of the topics you need to know!

🔥 NEW! Check out our Repeat Taker Bar Exam Course and our new premier Guarantee Pass Program !

Related posts

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Public Interest

By using this site, you allow the use of cookies, and you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service .

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

• Visit Our Blog about Russia to know more about Russian sights, history
• Check out our Russian cities and regions guides
• Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to better understand Russia
• Info about getting Russian visa , the main airports , how to rent an apartment
• Our Expert answers your questions about Russia, some tips about sending flowers

Russian regions

• Altay republic
• Irkutsk oblast
• Kemerovo oblast
• Khakassia republic
• Krasnoyarsk krai
• Novosibirsk oblast
• Omsk oblast
• Tomsk oblast
• Tuva republic
• Map of Russia
• All cities and regions
• Blog about Russia
• News from Russia
• How to get a visa
• Flights to Russia
• Russian hotels
• Renting apartments
• Russian currency
• FIFA World Cup 2018
• Submit an article
• Flowers to Russia
• Ask our Expert

Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia

The capital city of Novosibirsk oblast: Novosibirsk .

Novosibirsk Oblast - Overview

Novosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, part of the Siberian Federal District. Novosibirsk is the capital city of the region.

The population of Novosibirsk Oblast is about 2,780,000 (2022), the area - 177,756 sq. km.

Novosibirsk oblast flag

Novosibirsk oblast coat of arms.

Novosibirsk oblast map, Russia

Novosibirsk oblast latest news and posts from our blog:.

29 November, 2020 / Novosibirsk Akademgorodok - the scientific center of Siberia .

25 December, 2018 / Chuya Highway - the Most Picturesque Road in Russia .

18 September, 2018 / Novosibirsk - the view from above .

10 December, 2014 / The night views of Novosibirsk .

17 July, 2014 / Novosibirsk hit by a heavy hailstorm .

More posts..

History of Novosibirsk Oblast

Over thousands of years, the territory of the Novosibirsk region, due to its location on the border of natural zones and cultural regions (the Siberian taiga and the Eurasian steppe), played the role of a buffer zone or border zone of different peoples.

In the 13th-15th centuries, this land was the eastern outskirts of the Golden Horde. Later, until the end of the 16th century, it was part of the Siberian Khanate. In the 18th century, the territory of the present Novosibirsk region became part of the Russian Empire.

Despite the relatively favorable climate, the Russians began to settle here relatively late. The Barabin Tatars were the indigenous people. Today, their total population is about 10,000 people living mainly in the western parts of the region.

The Barabin Tatars were subjected to constant attacks of the Kalmyks (the Oyrates and Teleuts). Russian villages were also under the threat. That’s why people preferred to settle in the north, near Tomsk. Only at the end of the 17th century, Novosibirsk province became attractive to settlers.

More Historical Facts…

The first settlement was founded by the boyar son Alexey Kruglik in 1695. Later, this settlement became the village of Kruglikovo. Today, it is located in Bolotninsky district. In the early 18th century, Berdsky stockaded town was built. Over time, the threat from the nomads decreased and the number of settlers increased.

In 1722, the Siberian line of fortresses along the Irtysh River was constructed. The locals were mainly engaged in soil tilling, fishing and hunting. In the early 19th century, the famous Ural manufacturer Akinfiy Demidov constructed two copper melting plants here - Kolyvansky and Barnaulsky.

In 1893, due to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the railway bridge across the Ob River, Alexandrovsky settlement was built (from 1895 - Novonikolayevsky). Thanks to its convenient geographical location (the Trans-Siberian Railway crossing the Ob River, transportation ways connecting Siberia with the European part of the Russian Empire), its trade importance grew rapidly. In 1909, Novonikolayevsk became a town. In 1925, it was renamed in Novosibirsk.

Before 1921, the territory of Novosibirsk oblast was part of Tomsk gubernia, from 1921 to 1925 - of Novonikolayevsk gubernia, from 1925 to 1930 - of Siberian krai, from 1930 to 1937 - of West Siberian krai. September 28, 1937, West Siberian krai was divided into Novosibirsk oblast and Altay krai. This date is considered the official date of the region formation.

Novosibirsk Oblast - Features

Novosibirsk Oblast is located in the south east of the East-Siberian Plain, in the steppe, forest-steppe and taiga zones, between the Ob and the Irtysh rivers. The length of the region from west to east - 642 km, from north to south - 444 km.

The southern part of Vasyugan swamp, the largest swamp in the world, occupies the territory in the north and north-west of the province. In the southwest, it borders with Pavlodar oblast of Kazakhstan.

There are about 3,000 lakes on the territory of the Novosibirsk region. The largest lakes are Chany, Ubinskoye, Sartlan. Novosibirsk Reservoir also known as “the Ob Sea” (1,082 sq. km.) was created for Novosibirsk Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The climate is continental. The average temperature in January ranges from minus 16 degrees Celsius in the south and minus 20 degrees Celsius in the north. The average temperature in July - plus 18-20 degrees Celsius.

The largest cities and towns are Novosibirsk (1,621,000), Berdsk (103,500), Iskitim (54,700), Kuybishev (43,000). Novosibirsk is one the largest industrial, transport, scientific, and cultural center of Russia, the third most populous city in the country after Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is also the capital of the Siberian Federal District.

In the historical part of Novosibirsk you can find a lot of preserved monuments of the Russian Empire times. The Soviet era is presented by numerous scientific and cultural attractions, as well as beautiful parks.

There are more than 500 deposits of various mineral resources in Novosibirsk Oblast (coal, refractory clay, peat, anthracite). Natural gas and oil fields are located in the north-western part of the region. There are significant reserves of underground thermal and mineral waters. Forests cover about 4 million hectares, more than 20% of the territory.

Novosibirsk Oblast is one of the most industrially developed regions in Siberia (metal processing and machine building, food, power engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy industries). Heavy industries are concentrated in Novosibirsk, Iskitim and Berdsk.

The regional agriculture specializes in the cultivation of grain, potatoes and vegetables. Dairy cattle breeding, poultry farming and beekeeping are developed. The production of flax plays an important role too. Agricultural development of the territory is not high (about 48%). In general, it has about 25% of all agricultural land in Western Siberia.

Novosibirsk oblast of Russia photos

Nature of novosibirsk oblast.

Novosibirsk Oblast nature

Author: Klemeshev

Novosibirsk Oblast scenery

Author: Mikhantiev Zhenya

Sunflower field in Novosibirsk Oblast

Author: Sergey Savchak

Pictures of the Novosibirsk region

Steppe landscape in Novosibirsk Oblast

Author: Alex Strekhletov

Orthodox church in the Novosibirsk region

Author: Sergey Bulanov

• Currently 3.07/5

Rating: 3.1 /5 (174 votes cast)