Ten Tips on How to Take a Law School Exam

1. Very quickly read the entire exam so you get a sense of the nature of the questions and what you're required to do to answer them and then return to the first question and read it carefully. During this careful read you can underline key facts and make brief marginal notations.
 
2. Follow the instructions as to exactly what you need to do to answer each question.
 
3. Spot as many issues as you can.

4. List all the issues you identify on some scrap paper since they'll form a basic outline of your answer. If you find it helpful, you can add some brief specifics about particular issues.
 
5. Try and identify the issues that are most important (the most complex legal analysis or the most facts related to them) and begin with those rather than minor issues since under the pressure of time you are likely to spend the most time on the first few issues you discuss.

6. Accurately describe the relevant legal rules that apply to analyze each issue.
 
7. Discuss the issues in sufficient depth by identifying the applicable legal rules and applying them to the relevant facts of the question. Don’t just state conclusions. Be sure to provide reasons for your conclusions.

8. Check off items on your outline as you complete them so you don't forget any or discuss any twice.

9. Allocate your time properly (as described on the exam - or calculated based on % value of the question).

10. Don’t include unnecessary content that won’t improve your grade such as a long introduction or a detailed description of the facts of the question before you begin to specifically answer the question by discussing a particular issue. Also don’t include unnecessarily detailed descriptions of cases you've read. Instead use brief references that focus on the relevance of the case to the issue you are discussing.