Dear 1L: 7-point Final Exam Recap
Dear Law Students, Here’s a 7-point Final-Exam Recap for All —
1: WORK THE PROBLEM.
Don’t rush to try to figure out the conclusion to an essay question. You need to “work the problem” first.
When you’re brainstorming and outlining before you start writing, go through each claim element (or legal-test factor) one-by-one; consider all hypo facts that favor each side BEFORE reaching any conclusions about anything.
—Use this approach even if your professor wants CREAC. Simply insert your conclusion at the start of the essay at the end, AFTER you’ve worked the problem.
2: SHOW YOUR WORK.
This means that after you go through the messy pre-writing process, you can’t just leave all that hard work on the cutting room floor.
Make it sound “pretty” and put this work into your final product—EVEN WHEN you know you’re presenting arguments that favor the losing side.
3: RELY HEAVILY ON THE WORD “BECAUSE.”
When making any legal conclusion, always add a “because” clause, or some other cause-and-effect wording. You need to explain the WHY behind all of your conclusions.
—And don’t worry about being too repetitive using the word “because” in your essays. “Because” is a special word in legal writing that does not tire easily, even when used repeatedly.
If you want style variation, try: “A court would likely reach its conclusion in favor of P/D for # reasons. First, . . . Second, . . . , etc.”
4: REMEMBER YOUR PROFESSOR!
You are not just taking Torts, Contracts, Evidence, Con Law, or whatever your courses may be called. Instead, you are taking each respective course WITH a very certain Prof. __.
That means that an “A” essay in YOUR course will not include all the same ingredients as an “A” essay in someone else’s course that happens to be called the same thing.
Use the examples, cases, and Rule wording that YOUR professor used in class, not those of some hornbook writer.
5: ASK YOURSELF IF THERE’S A POLICY TO USE.
Many law students get good at using the facts and case law in their essays, but they leave points on the table by forgetting to consider public policy.
So when brainstorming arguments that favor each side, remember to ask yourself if any policy could help one side or the other.
6: ASK YOURSELF IF THERE’S A MINORITY VIEW.
As much as students forget to discuss public policies, they forget to mention when the courts in a minority of states would rule “the other way.”
Minority views come up most often in Torts, if memory serves, but you should make an advance list of all sub-issues that involve minority viewpoints, so if you get a question on that sub-issue, you’ll remember to mention.
7: BE CONFIDENT.
You’ve got this!!!
Fondly,
💌 Amanda