In our second installment of the 1L club session, DeAndré talks all about practice essays and guiding viewers through the essential steps to excel in law school exams. This session emphasizes the importance of practice essays in achieving success and demystifies the process of when, how, and why to practice. With practical tips on reading, thinking, outlining, and writing essays, learn how to approach practice exams as opportunities for learning and improvement rather than performance indicators. Strategies include annotating fact patterns, prioritizing issues, and comparing answers to sample solutions for effective feedback.

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Episode Highlights

• Shift in mindset: Practice essays are for learning and improving, not just testing oneself

• Analogy of practice exams to preparation for a game: Final exam is the actual game, practice exams are preparation

• Goal setting: Aim for a minimum of five practice essays per class, ideal to cover every topic taught

• Step-by-step guide for practice essays:

  • Step 1: Reading the question effectively, annotating the fact pattern

  • Step 2: Stop and think about why parties are upset and what they want

  • Step 3: Outlining the exam skeleton, organizing issues

  • Step 4: Timing the process appropriately (15-20 minutes for reading, thinking, and outlining)

  • Step 5: Cross-referencing outline with sample answers for issue spotting and organization

  • Step 6: Writing the answer while referring to sample answers, comparing and learning from them

  • Step 7: Reflection and note-taking on mistakes, trends, patterns, and updates for future practice

• Strategies for professors giving varied amounts of practice essays

• Advice for handling lack of practice essays from professors

• Importance of taking notes and updating outlines after each practice essay

• Final reminder for the exam: Similar steps, but without the ability to cross-reference or pull rules from an outline

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