Increase Your Practice, Increase Your Performance

We are getting to that point during bar study where your practice should be increasing. Right now, we are in week 5 of bar prep, and are approaching the mid-way point. It’s time to get your practice and stamina up. Here’s what you should be incorporating into your study schedules beginning immediately or next week at the latest.

1. Practice one essay each morning. Students resist this – but I can’t stress enough how you shouldn’t resist this practice. Do not make the common excuses: (1) “I don’t know enough law” or (2) “I don’t have time” or (3) “I’ll do it later.” First, you need to practice memory recall, and you need to find out what you don’t know, so doing an essay a day will help you with this. Second, make the time. When something is important, you make it work – this is one of those things. Starting it in the morning, before your study day would normally begins, gets you up and at ’em earlier and allows you to get this additional practice in. Finally, stop making excuses (if you find yourself doing so). The only way to do it is to just do it. You can each do it.
2. Practice 2 MPTs per week. You should constantly be working on your MPT skills, and you do so with practice. Schedule one at the beginning at the week and the end of the week. Remember that the MPT is tricky, but with enough practice, it is one of the easiest areas of the bar exam to score points. Do not jeopardize this opportunity for yourself.
3. Increase your MBE practice. Now, you have a lot of MBE subjects under your belt. It’s time to kick up the MBE practice. You should be doing 33-50 questions per day. Half of the battle of the bar exam is knowing the law, but there’s an entire other half that deals with your ability to apply it. You have to begin increasing your practice so you can start applying the law you’re learning, and so you can continue learning from these questions.

How do you incorporate this practice. PLAN YOUR SCHEDULES. Do not start a day not knowing what you are going to do. Plan it in advance. Plan your lectures. Plan your review. Plan your practice. Plan your memorization. This eases anxiety and makes you feel accomplished when you can cross something off of a list. Give yourself the opportunity for less stress and a clear mind and some satisfaction. Increasing the practice will only help increase your performance.