Life After the First Semester
The first semester is over, assuming you have received your grades you're either rejoicing, or taking a new interest in tall buildings. Lets hope it's the former. However, if you didn't do as well as you expected during your first semester, don't fret, you still have time to salvage the situation.
There is the story of a man who got his car stuck in the sand. Every time he pressed down the gas pedal in an attempt to break free, his car sunk deeper into the sand. No matter how hard he pressed, he just kept sinking and sinking. If we analogize this to studying for law school, a similar pattern may emerge.
If all semester, you carefully briefed your cases, and faithfully read your assignments, but you still didn't fair well, then using the same strategy for the second semester will put you into the same situation as the man stuck in the sand. No matter how hard you try, you'll never get out of the sand, or achieve the grades you want.
Well now, it seems as though the situation is helpless. However, to find the answer, we need look no farther than to the man stuck in the sand. To finely free himself, he got out of the car, placed a small block of wood under each wheel, and then easily drove out of the sand. You see, as long as he maintained his original method or strategy, and no matter how hard he tried, he never would have broken free from the sand. Similarly, if you use the same method of studying for the second semester as you did for the first, you'll receive the same results.
In order to succeed during the second semester you must first carefully assess your methods of study for the last semester, and then develop a new strategy for the second semester. Bruce Lee used many methods of training, and borrowed techniques from many different styles of martial arts. Bruce Lee's philosophy was to "accept what is useful and reject what is not."
Using the same philosophy, you must accept the study techniques that are useful to you and reject the ones that aren't. For example, to endlessly read cases after you've discovered that you are not able to understand the legal concepts by case method alone is like spinning your wheels in the sand. No matter how hard you try, you just sink deeper into the sand or into your own personal confusion.
Now is the time to formulate a study plan that is substantially different than the one that was used during the first semester. For those of you who didn't have a study plan at all, improving should be quite simple. For those who had a study plan, its time to reformulate, and reorganize your existing plan. Here are a few guidelines for any good study plan.
After buying your books for the semester, go to the library and make copies of all the old exams for every class that you have. Study the old exams and practice writing out answers to the questions. Some teachers will even look over the answers that you have prepared. The importance of old exams cannot be overstressed. Old exams provide a blueprint for the semester, and give you an indication of to expect on the final. Some students rely only on old exams, and do very well.
The next step is to begin your outline. Early preparation will allow you the necessary time at the end of the semester to study instead of working on an outline. Another word about outlines, don't recreate the wheel. I recommend buying a good commercial outline for each class, then tailoring the outline to your course notes and the material contained within the past exams. This should yield a highly useful, accurate, and compact outline. If your outline is more than ten pages, you've made it too big. Remember, keep it simple and to the point.
Another question that most students have is whether or not to join a study group. If the group is small (3-5), and can stay focused during group study, then it may prove beneficial. The benefit of a study group is that you are given the opportunity to reflect legal concepts off one another. Applying group effort to the course material is a good way to better understand the legal concepts and rules. However, if the study group is too big, or you find that one or two people dominate, or you find that the study sessions end up being social sessions discussing who's dating who, then your time is not being well spent.
Once you've chosen the study methods that work best for you, you need to discipline yourself within the area of time management. Treat law school as if it is a nine to five job. Set aside specific blocks of time during each day for certain tasks, and discipline yourself to stick to your schedule. It is often overlooked, but scheduling an hour or so everyday just to relax and refocus will aid you tremendously. If law school were a race, it would be a marathon, not a hundred-meter sprint. Setting aside time for relaxation and leisure will ensure that you remain fresh throughout the semester.
Finally, be certain to focus. There is a Japanese saying that a person who chases more than one rabbit never catches any rabbit. Law school is a time to chase only one rabbit. For three years you should be on the tail of the law school rabbit. With enough discipline and focus, you'll come to the conclusion that rabbits really aren't that hard to catch.
Don Wolfe
Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express written permission of LawInfo.com and the copyright owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademarks legend or copyright notice shall be made. Subscriber acknowledges that it does not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material.
New Students
Outlines
Other Resources
- Law Schools
- Legal Resource Center
- Practice Area Definitions
- Discussion Boards
- Legal Careers
- Legal Dictionary