tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post113690665317232889..comments2023-10-25T00:54:05.329-07:00Comments on Law Career Blog: How to Improve Your Law School Exam GradesGregory W. Bowmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12793221328956712830noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-74612062129315853692009-11-06T11:57:19.298-08:002009-11-06T11:57:19.298-08:00I want to address the "answer the question as...I want to address the "answer the question asked" point.<br /><br />This is not applicable to all professors. And, in general it seems the more reliable thing to do is through your whole outline at every question. <br /><br />Sure there are professors who want you to answer the question how you would in real life. But the reality of the grading in law school is the more issues -however tangential and unimportant- you find, the more points you get. Combine that with the fact that it is a straight bell curve, and most of the professors don't subtract points when you talk about non-issues, and the answer is clear. Throw your outline at it and see what sticks. <br /><br />I've long since graduated and could not bring myself to not answer only the questions -which helped a lot with the bar, passed the first time- but is not what law school profs reward. I reliably got A's on law school exams that were multiple choice. And reliably didn't on those that were not. <br /><br />The reason, I think, is that I answered the question asked and not others.JLBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09344566380020056413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-60682361373662113462008-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:002008-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:00I’m glad I have rebutted the presumption of the wo...I’m glad I have rebutted the presumption of the worthless professor. For the record, you make some points I agree with, and with a colorful blend of anger and panache. The law school experience can be rough, and it’s way too easy to focus on the negative. Which it seems you are doing. That’s not a criticism; it’s an observation. Ask yourself this: what is law school teaching you that is of value--even if it is doing so inadvertently? There might be some interesting answers to that question.<BR/><BR/>As for any prof who won’t meet with you, shame on them. Ask them. Insist on it. An in-person meeting is going to be a lot more productive than an e-mail, for both of you. It is likely going to take a prof a fairly long time to lay out opinions on an exam answer in an e-mail, in detail. It will take a lot less time to explain them to you in person. And you can then ask for further clarification, which you really can’t as effectively with e-mail. <BR/><BR/>As for your comments in the blog posts, a piece of practical advice: don’t overstate your case when making a point. That’s ineffective advocacy. I understand that this is the Internet, and hyperbole is the order of the day, but exaggeration undermines valid points. 99.999999% of law professors? Where does that statistic come from? Everyone in the top 10% got there because their daddy was a lawyer? Same thing. Your answers sound more like lashing out than useful reflection and condemnation. You don’t need those misstatements to drive your point home effectively. In fact, you'd drive them home more effectively with less of that.<BR/><BR/>Finally, with respect to exam answer illustrations, I refer you to two posts a while back by Professor Orin Kerr on the Volokh Conspiracy. One includes examples. It’s a silly fact pattern, but perhaps it’ll be useful for you. I found it useful for thinking about my own exams. They are at:<BR/><BR/>http://volokh.com/posts/1106935119.shtml<BR/><BR/>http://www.volokh.com/posts/1168382003.shtmlGregory W. Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793221328956712830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-36414179675856577032008-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:002008-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:00Want to add...and this comment I wrote before but ...Want to add...and this comment I wrote before but it seems it didn't post.<BR/><BR/>Please don't take my comments personally, because they are more a critique of the system than you. You seem like a good guy, trying to reach out to people who want to learn, to the world as a whole, and are more understanding than most of people whose opinions differ from yours (Someone else in your place would've said: "Fuck you. I have a JD with honors. Who is this turd commenting on my blog?" But you didn't do that, and that I admire. Because we are all human, something that all too many law students and lawyers find it convenient forget.<BR/><BR/>What I also said in that other comment is this:<BR/><BR/>The law school game is rigged from day 1.<BR/><BR/>Everyone in the top 10% / in Law Review (more law school bull) got there because their daddy was a lawyer, or because they worked as a paralegal and someone there told them what they needed to know, or because they kissed a lot of ass to learn the ins and outs of the law school game. Yes, it's a game. A really, really sad and shallow game but a game nonetheless.<BR/><BR/>Fact is, law school is one of the most elitist, egotistical, unfair, and ineffective educational systems in effect today.<BR/><BR/>99.999999% of Professors aim to keep it that way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-83984229830093961292008-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:002008-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00Anonymous @ 11:38 AM is back...Look, I wasn't tryi...Anonymous @ 11:38 AM is back...<BR/><BR/>Look, I wasn't trying to be callous. But I was right.<BR/><BR/>Can you please post a mediocre sample and answer, and then a good one, and say why you thought it was good? (Let me guess, no...because bla bla bla)?<BR/><BR/>Law school is smoke and mirrors. Noone gives you a straight answer about anything, most of all not the Professors.<BR/><BR/>I emailed one of my Professors, and asked him "tell me what I did wrong, IN PRINT." Not in a conference with you, IN PRINT, in BLACK AND WHITE.<BR/><BR/>No response. Surprised?<BR/><BR/>No. What did I do wrong? I still don't know. Nobody cares about other people in law school, least of all the professors.<BR/><BR/>Law profs treat their students like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed lots of shit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-3044368060240822742008-08-03T07:05:00.000-07:002008-08-03T07:05:00.000-07:00Anonymous @ 11:38 a.m.:Wow, you're a positive one....Anonymous @ 11:38 a.m.:<BR/><BR/>Wow, you're a positive one. The point is not that the advice is not obvious; the point is that despite that obviousness, I see these mistakes over and over again.<BR/><BR/>So yes, answering the question asked is important, and yes, I see students every semester ask the question they wished I had asked. It's fairly easy to do under the time constraints of an exam, actually.<BR/><BR/>Organizing answers? Absolutely. How will you spot issues and decide how to best tackle them if you don't? You can write for 3 hours non-stop, but if you have not taken a little time to make sure you have identified all the issues properly and keep your facts straight in your answer, that's no help.<BR/><BR/>As for the rest, well, it seems my advice is of zero value to you, which is fine. Hopefully it has not hurt you, and hopefully it has helped someone else.<BR/><BR/>If you are in law school, good luck with the rest of it, and best of luck in practice.Gregory W. Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793221328956712830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-41583771893753741082008-08-02T11:38:00.000-07:002008-08-02T11:38:00.000-07:00anonymous has it spot on.ANSWER THE QUESTION? Real...anonymous has it spot on.<BR/><BR/>ANSWER THE QUESTION? Really? Are you serious? Oh...I thought I was supposed to answer a different question, or make one up and answer that! Thank you so, so much for clearing that up for me! That's why you get paid the big bucks, no doubt.<BR/><BR/>SPEND 25% OF THE TIME ORGANIZING? Really? What about 75%? 100%? But, if I do that, how will I discuss all the issues? Fact is if I spend 5% of the time organizing, I will barely have enough time to address and discuss all relevant issues.<BR/><BR/>NOT CITING TO CASES: most Professors say they don't care if you cite to cases or not. So someone's lying. Probably them, on this one, actually.<BR/><BR/>ADEQUATELY PREPARING DURING THE SEMESTER: Oh yeah? Unlike my classmates, who seem to have memorized the course before the first day of class, I wait until the morning of the final to crack open my book. Sleeping with my casebooks under my pillows during the semester helps, though.<BR/><BR/>Like most law profs, you are of little help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-36448356855351807362008-05-20T21:09:00.000-07:002008-05-20T21:09:00.000-07:00actually i didn't find it helpful at all. yes, i g...actually i didn't find it helpful at all. yes, i get it, read the question. ok, now i know how to get a B on a law school exam, but how do I get an A? what is the difference between a B and an A on an exam?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-1140016468001321812006-02-15T07:14:00.000-08:002006-02-15T07:14:00.000-08:00very helpful postvery helpful postHazemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05354118096434417517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18502518.post-1136951900300478872006-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:002006-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00Outstanding advice that every law student and pros...Outstanding advice that every law student and prospective law student should read. <BR/><BR/>Just to add to point 1 ("Not Answering the Question"), students should be careful to READ the question. There is nothing more disheartening than reading a well-written, well-reasoned answer that does not pertain to the question, or only indirectly pertains to it. <BR/><BR/>My remarks may sound obvious, but many bright and hardworking law students hurriedly read exam questions and ignore crucial instructions, and thus obtain lower grades.Michael McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13783838996545763131noreply@blogger.com