[XXXNoahXXX]

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Jeff- I'm guessing you think the book is worth paying $25 for. From the previews it looks like its more of a narrative than a how-to-book; would you recommend it for an incoming 1L? Is most of its value purely entertainment? Any practical wisdom?

Noah- I've heard through the grapevine that reading law review articles relating specifically to class content is very useful for exams. Did you do this? From your posts earlier it seems like your whole exam prep strategy was more idea oriented than black letter oriented, true? I'm sure there's a delicate balance between thoroughly analyzing a case and thinking about the structures, why's, etc of a subject. Can you give some general advice on the types of things you think about/emphasize when getting ready for an exam? Does it all come down to seeing the forest for the trees?

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I guess its all a matter of what you want out of law school and how you view your time spent there. I view it as a means to an end. Therefore, any work I do will towards the end of getting good grades.

If the professor tells you that there won't be any policy questions, just issue spotting, then I don't give a [censored] about how they did things in medieval england or what the rule used to before they changed it. that just confuses things. Some professors love to start with "And in the beginning God created heaven and earth" and then crawl through the centuries.

Personally, there was nothing more frustrating to me than reading a 20 page case, then realizing that the rule it was about was obsolete and the next case was the modern rule.


Honestly, most 20 page cases can be boiled down to "oh thats the knife case, sign in window does not equal offer." or something like that.

Knowing the facts of the case is only important because professors often use combinations of cases you read and variations as the test questions, but knowing the names of every cousin vying for a claim to some property isn't going to get you anywhere.


For most classes, especially civil procedure, the best way to study is come up with step by step flow charts. You can have your big voluminous outline, but then break down each issue into step by step.

Taking a civil procedure question.

You spot issue X.

Boom. Flip to page 2, and see:

Issue X:

Step 1, Step 2.

Have diverging paths for different outcomes, etc.


That is the main benefit of typing exams (besides speed) is that you can hit all the major steps, even type your outline write into the exam, then go back in and fill in the details. then if you still got some time, go back and fill in the BS, begging for extra pts. stuff.