A? B? C? D?  Tough Call. 10 Tips for MBE Success

I have tutored bar exam applicants on a one-on one basis for over a decade in preparation for the California Bar Examination.  Although most students are able to grasp the written aspects of the exam, they tend to find the MBE more consistently problematic. Too often students tell me that even after they practice 5000 questions (yes, really 5000) they are barely able to score above a 65%.  The MBE is tricky; however it should be somewhat comforting to know that because it is an objective exam, there is only one right answer.  This is very important to note because if an answer choice is partly correct, or is subject to ambiguity or debate, it is by default the wrong choice.

Mastering the MBE is all about how one approaches the studying. As with most things, quality over quantity is key.  Learning how to take a multiple-choice exam is just as important as memorizing the law necessary to achieve a successful result.  Over the years I have developed proven techniques for success on the MBE. My first piece of advice is to not attempt it alone. Bar exam preparation courses are there to assist you with everything from subject matter outlines to work with, sample questions to practice with, and scheduling advice on how to best allocate your time.

This past year I had the opportunity to work as a bar exam tutor and lecturer for the Emanuel Bar Review program.  What I found most attractive about this new program was the wealth of information that they provide exam candidates. The outlines (created by Steven Emanuel himself) are organized in such a way that students are able to easily follow the subject and focus on exactly what they need to know about a point of law through the use of hypotheticals.  The course lectures are taught by leading experts in the field. What separates the course from other lecture-based programs is its integration of tutoring sessions.  After the conclusion of each lecture, Emanuel students are able to participate in a tutoring session where they are able to ask questions and actually practice questions with an expert. I found the experience of working with these candidates extremely rewarding---especially when the most popular comment I received was “oh, now I get it”!

So how does one “get it”?  As a private bar exam tutor and partner in a leading bar exam preparation course for over a decade, I have found that students have a very limited amount of time available to them to allocate to bar exam study and preparation.  Students are busy: families to support, hectic work schedules, etc. In direct response I founded and serve as executive director of the Executive Bar Review Program, a bar preparation course designed exclusively for full-time working professionals.  I mention this because I was able to develop an effective methodology for the written section of the exam as well as the MBE that takes into account this busy life schedule.  Specific to the MBE, I recommend that all candidates start with a basic overview of the substantive law. Much too often candidates spend way too much time memorizing outlines and too little time practicing technique.  Mastering the law is important, but your ability to summarily dismiss certain answer choices that are clearly not correct is also key.

Here are some basic strategies on how to approach the MBE:

Study tip 1:   Review one MBE subject at a time. For example, read a Tort outline and then focus on Tort MBE questions. Your first run through of an outline should be somewhat cursory; no more than 8 hours total. Remember that you already completed your coursework in Torts in law school, so although you think you do not remember the subject, it will start to come back to you.

Study tip 2:   Know your definitions.  Much of the MBE tests your knowledge of the black letter—memorize all your intentional torts by definition, followed by the elements of Negligence, followed by the elements of Defamation, etc.

Study tip 3:   Verbalize your knowledge. The quickest way to memorize the law is to talk it out. Enlist the services of a friend, or simply talk to a mirror. If you can essentially “talk out” a subject, you will retain it.  I also suggest that my students record their own outlines, and then listen to their own voices for easier retention.

Study tip 4:   When approaching an MBE question, read the call of the question first. It is the quickest way to get a handle on what the subject matter of the question is.  DO NOT read the answer choices yet. The key is to figure out the correct answer to the question before you even look at the answers.

Study tip 5:    Read the fact pattern quickly and try to determine the central issue.  For example, the central issue in a crimes fact pattern may surround a larceny.  The MBE tends to supply you with too many facts - many of which have little or no relevance.  In determining whether a larceny did or did not occur, you need to quickly look up from your paper, and say the definition of larceny to yourself.  If larceny is defined as the tresspassory taking and carrying of another’s property with the intent to permanently deprive, then you must quickly go to the answer choice which correctly identifies this point of law.

Study tip 6:  Who wins? Based on the above, before going to the answer choice, determine who wins.  If the call of the question reads “Is A guilty of larceny” determine, based on your definition, if he is in fact guilty. If the answer is yes, then cross out the answer choices that state that he is not.  This method should narrow your choices down to two.

Study tip 7:    Law always wins.  If you are able to narrow your choices down to two, the problem is often that both remaining answers look good.  Another comment I often hear from students is “I can narrow it down to two choices, but I always pick the wrong one”. The general rule is that if an answer choice contains an accurate statement of the law, then it is the right choice.  If it is only a partial statement of the law, it is an incorrect choice. If one of the remaining answer choices contains an accurate statement of the law, and the other choice contains a correct factual statement, law wins.  Pick it and go to the next question.

Study tip 8:    Implement “fact matching”.  If the two remaining answer choices contain only factual information, meaning information from the fact pattern, try to match them up.  If the words in the answer choice appear in the fact pattern, this is most likely the correct response.

Study tip 9:    Take a break.  If you find yourself missing question after question, you are doing too much. You should practice no more than 50 MBE questions per sitting before taking at least a 30-minute break.  In addition, complete the 50 questions, and then look at the answers. You are not getting an accurate assessment of your score by bouncing back and forth between question and answer.

Study tip 10:    Focus on the questions you miss. After completing a series of questions, take each question missed and write out a note card on the central issue. Figure out whether you missed the question based on the rule of law, or whether you missed it due to reading comprehension.  Isolate your area of weakness and then select additional questions within that area for practice. 
These study tips are simply a guideline to help increase your score.  With patience, and proper technique you can and will pass the MBE.  Good luck on the exam.

Back to Archives

The E.F. Hutton of Bar Review: When Paul Pfau Speaks, You Should Listen

Archived Article November 2008......

(LAW STUDENT JOURNAL) LSJ:  Why are so many law students frustrated with the law school process?  Many students, Paul, flat out believe their law school professors have virtually no interest in teaching them anything at all.  Especially, when it comes to the California Bar Exam.
                               
PFAU: In part, that is probably a relative judgment.  I know many law school professors that are just wonderful and completely dedicated to their law students, and many of their law students to them.  To generalize, it is important to understand the nature of the law school process, perhaps in relation to its impact in preparing for the bar exam.  Sometimes, these are two different issues.  There are some law schools that don’t feel that it is incumbent to teach their students how to pass the bar exam.  Other law schools are more practically oriented in that regard.  But, rather than generalizing, each student needs to go into the law school experience open-minded and always be aware of what his or her needs are in learning how to learn, especially since it is a vastly different situation than college. At any rate, being frustrated with the learning process, whether it be law school or college or other another milieu, is something that can be very common, but there is always an answer in learning how to resolve the frustration.  Perhaps finding that professor that one feels most in common with, perhaps going outside their law school to develop their prospective about what they can do to improve their learning skills.  There is always an answer to such a dilemma.

LSJ: Do you think the Socratic Method is truly a useful teaching tool?

PFAU: The Socratic Method has been around for many years and it has certainly proved valuable as a teaching tool working to improve one’s thinking capabilities, but it is not the only answer in learning how to develop the practical skills that sometimes besets one as they go through the law school experience.  Let alone in preparing for a situation such as the bar exam.  For example, many of the difficulties that sometimes occur in law school have a lot to do with, at a very basic level, time-management skills.  How to use your time to plough through the incredible amount of material that usually goes hand in hand with the different courses that one has to take in law school.  Learning how to use casebooks, learning how to take notes in class, learning how to organize and to write an essay under law school and bar exam conditions.  These are things that are things that I think are eminently more practically-oriented, where the Socratic Method, per se, is not sufficient in helping a student, but the Socratic Method in combination with these more practical tools, which can be learned, can certainly add to someone’s law school experience. 

LSJ: When a repeat candidate is having difficulty with the California Bar Exam, what in your opinion is the main reason for their difficulty?  Obviously, there are many, but please focus of the one you feel is the largest and most prevalent difficulty?

PFAU: In the 26 years that I have been working at this,  the main difficulty can be broken down into two parts.  The first part is that most people do not give themselves enough time to prepare for the bar exam. The second part of the answer is that in addition to giving themselves more time, candidates need to understand the kind of test that the California Bar Examination is, and, in categorizing it, it is precisely a problem-solving speed exam, and the reason why I mention this is because there are a host of ingredients beyond substantive review that should come to the mix in terms of how someone spends their time.

Back to Archives