Dear 1L: Spring Semester Outlines
Dear 1L,
Five steps for efficient Outlining this spring.
Make your end-product a series of essay outlines. One for every Topic on which you might be tested.
Start with my template for Standing (I’ll put the link to that post in the Comments).
The goal for each Topic outline is to include all items you might put in an essay on the Topic (Rules, Elements, Explanations, Cases and Policies). Each item should be organized by how you will structure an exam essay.
* * *
STEP 1:
Complete the blanks (in my Standing outline) for “Explanations.”
STEP 2:
On a separate scratch pad, make two columns for cases.
a) In the first, list all cases you’ve read that held that P had standing. In the second, list all the cases that held P lacked standing.
b) Next to each case name, write the Element(s) on which the holding hinged, as well as a couple key facts that will remind you what the case was about.
c) Finally, plug in the cases to the appropriate spots in your Outline (under the relevant Element, either “For P” or “For D.”)
STEP 3:
At the end of the Standing outline, list every single policy discussed in class or in the cases on the Topic.
(As policies could cut for either P or D, depending on the fact hypo, you likely cannot plug these into the larger outline, but keep them listed at the bottom so you can plug in to the appropriate section, as dictated by the specific fact hypo.)
STEP 4:
Now, condense the three pages into one. This is your essay cheat sheet.
STEP 5:
Create a cheat sheet for every other course Topic.
* * *
To be sure, not all topics in a course can be set up this way. You will have stray content, such as a list of all Amendments, or, in Property, the various patterns for conveyances. But you should be able to cover the majority of Topics in mini-outlines set up for exam purposes.
I welcome all thoughts, questions and concerns.
Have any law students, past or present, organized Outline topics this way?
What other Outline approaches have worked for you?
Fondly,
Amanda
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