Exam Prep Resources

Feel unready for exams? The library can help! 

The Gallagher Law Library maintains an archive of exams (and some model answers) from dozens of classes and professors. All you need is this link and your UW login. Happy studying!

Photo by Michelle Tresemer on Unsplash

Exam Tips—and Old Exams for Practice

Students facing their first (or their fourth or seventh) set of law school exams might be wondering what to do.

Check out this great thread by Prof. Rachel Gurvich (UNC), posted Saturday morning.

And here's a thread started by Prof. Justin Murray (NYLS), also posted Saturday.

Again and again, people advise you to practice using past exams. And where can you find past exams? In a Google drive linked from the Law Library's home page (look under "Find It").

Note: If you click on the link and it defaults to your gmail address, click to change accounts and put in your _____@uw.edu address. Then you'll be asked for your UW NetID and password and you'll be in.

If your professors don't have any exams posted, it might be that they just haven't gotten around to sending them to the library. You can politely remind them (but of course respect their decision not to post, if that's why they haven't sent any in).

Lawprofblawg, an anonymous blogger and Twitter star (at least in my community) offers a comic (yet on-point) view of exam prep: Truths About Final Exam Time, Above the Law (Dec. 1, 2015). Lawprofblawg explains how students often go wrong: 9 Mistakes You Probably Made on Your Law School Final Exams, Above the Law (May 10, 2016).

And finally, as lawprofblawg tweeted last spring:

"Writing a final exam answer is like building Ikea furniture. It's vitally important you read the directions more than once."

Making Multiple Choice Easier

Photo by Ben Mullins, available at Unsplash

It might be this quarter. It might be on the MPRE or on the bar exam, but at some point in the near future, you're going to be faced with yet another multiple choice test. Given all the multiple choice tests you've taken in  your academic career up until now, you're probably a pro at process of elimination. Awesome! But what happens when you get down to two equally tempting answer choices? Or worse, when all of those answer choices look good?

Let's take a step back and think about how a multiple choice test works. For a multiple choice question to work, there must be a correct answer, even if that answer is "None of the above." Ambiguities have no place in multiple choice; that's for essays or short answers. What makes a multiple choice question difficult are those pesky three or four "trap" answer choices that seem to be saying all the right things. All of that noise slows you down and can make you second guess yourself. But what if you could side step those traps?

Try to articulate the right answer to the question before you look at the answer choices. You're smart. You studied for this test. Based on the information given to you in call of the question, you should be able to formulate what the correct response is without needing to refer to the answer choices. Once you know what the right answer should be, you will be more likely to spot it among the traps.

This method can take a little bit of practice since many of us are accustomed to diving right into the answer choices when taking a test. Try this strategy out on sample MBE questions or on a CALI lesson (login required) before your next to test to see if it works for you!

For more resources, check out our guides on Law School Exams and the Washington State Bar Exam.

Old Exams—and Really Old Exams

The library hosts an archive of old UW Law exams, which many students use to prepare for the strange genre of law school exams. (By request of the faculty, it is limited to UW users: you'll have to enter your NetID.)

The archive is arranged by faculty name. If you don't find your professor listed, take heart! You can use ctrl-f to search for the name of the course. If you don't find a civil procedure exam from your professor, you can find many exams from other professors. (Even if you do find exams from your professor, you might find it helpful to look at other exams, too.)

If you'd like even more exams to practice on, see this list of exams from other schools.

Pay attention to the dates. If you find a model answer to a Civil Procedure exam from 1994, don't be surprised if it doesn't mention  Bell Atlantic v. Twombly or Ashcroft v. Iqbal: they were decided in 2007 and 2009. You're looking at model answers to see how successful students organize and explain their answers, not for the substantive law.

Harvard Law School’s old exams cover 1871–1995. The more recent decades will have exams very much like the ones that are common today. The old ones have a different format and sometimes cover different concepts.

Christopher Columbus Langdell (1826–1906), a professor at and then the dean of Harvard Law School, is famous for pioneering the case method in law schools, teaching from collections of cases, using Socratic questioning, rather than lecturing. The1872/73 volume of Harvard exams includes some of Professor Langdell's. The Contracts exam (p. 312) could be handled by a current student. E.g.,

Christopher Columbus Langdell, by Otto J. Schneider.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1. What is a unilateral contract, and what is a bilateral contract? Give an example of each. What is the consideration of a bilateral contract not under seal?  

5. A and B being engaged to be married, the uncle of B promised A that if he would marry B, he (the uncle) would pay A an annuity of $500- during the life of B. The marriage having taken place, can the uncle, or not, be compelled to perform his promise, and why? Would it, or not, make any difference if there were mutual promises between A and the uncle, and why? 

But his exam for Civil Procedure at Common Law (p. 314) asked about concepts I'd never heard of:

1. What is profert, and when is it necessary to make it? What is oyer, when is a party entitled to it, and what purpose does it serve? 

3. When should a count begin with the words “For that whereas,” and when should the word “whereas” be omitted, and why? 

5. What is the plea of liberum tenementum, and when may it be pleaded?

6. In an action for slander, imputing theft, is it or not necessary for the plaintiff to aver that he is not a thief, and why? 

7. Upon a special demurrer to a replication, it appeared that the declaration, plea, and replication were all bad in substance. Who was entitled to judgment, and why?

10. What is a repleader, and when does it become necessary?

(There's another Civil Procedure exam, just as arcane, on p. 315.)

What a difference the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure made!

For more on Langdell, see this memorial from the American Law Register (the predecessor to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review) from 1907.

Starting to Dread the Approach of Finals? Try CALI Lessons!

CALI, the Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction, is an excellent resource for law students to use when getting ready for exams. You may know CALI for its Excellence for the Future Awards but the site also contains interactive lessons on a broad number of law school subjects. Personally, I used the site in law school during the final couple of hours before an exam, when I knew that studying my notes wasn't really going to help but still wanted to feel like I was preparing.

CALI membership is comprised of U.S. law schools and its lessons are created by the faculty at its member institutions, including a number prepared by our very own Professor William Andersen! The lessons are free to CALI member schools' students (that's you, UW Law student!).

In addition to lessons, there are crossword puzzles on family law, torts, and civil procedure. There are even a couple of games, one of which, The Supreme Court Justice Game, requires you to match the names of Supreme Court justices with their famous decisions. I bet you all know what you're doing this Saturday night!

Here's a few of the topics from list that's on their CALI Lessons front page:

1L First Year Lesson Topics:

Civil Procedure
Constitutional Law
Contracts
Criminal Law
Legal Concepts and Skills
Legal Research
Legal Writing
Property Law
Torts
Games


2L-3L Upper Level Lesson Topics

Administrative Law

Business Associations
Climate Change
Commercial Transactions
Criminal Procedure
Cyberlaw
Employment Discrimination
Environmental Law
Evidence
Family Law
Intellectual Property
International Law
Labor Law
Negotiable Instruments/Payment Systems
Patent Law
Professional Responsibility
Real Estate Transactions
Remedies
Sales
Securities
Tax Law


If you're interested (and how could you not be?!), come to the Reference Office or use our website to ask us electronically for the registration information. All UW law students are eligible for an account. 

Do finals have you stressed?

If finals have you stressing, be sure to take a break. Get some fresh air, eat some Doritos and catch up on celebrity gossip. If you're still feeling overwhelmed, take a minute (or 3 minutes and 14 seconds) to laugh at this cute YouTube compilation video of dogs too scared to walk past cats: The video is aptly titled, "You Shall Not Pass, Dog." While not all the dogs pass their cats, we have every confidence that you WILL pass your exams! Good luck!

Gallagher's Fun Friday Tip - Celebrate!

Finals are ending!!!

This Friday, don't look to us for guidance on how to have fun! Get out there and treat yourself! You worked hard this past quarter and you deserve to celebrate! And for the weirdos enthusiastic students who plan on preparing for next quarter over break, keep in mind that the Law Library and the Reference Office will be closed:

• Saturday - Monday, March 23 - 25
• Saturday - Sunday, March 30 - 31

The Law Library will be open Tuesday - Friday, March 26 - 29, from 8am - 5pm. The Reference Office will also be open those days, from 9am - 12noon and from 1 - 5 pm.  Have a fantastic break! 

Gallagher's Fun Friday Tip - Be comfy and grab your koozie!

Classes have ended and you're preparing for finals.  We get it - you don't have time to get dolled up and go out to some hot spot this weekend.   Just because you don't have time to change out of your stinky sweats doesn't mean you can't have fun this Friday!  In fact, you should not be ashamed if cozy clothes and drinking are the only two things you have planned this weekend (besides stuDYING).

According to Seattle Times news librarian Gene Balk, Seattle may be the most dressed-down city in America AND Seattleites are the biggest binge drinkers in the Northwest. Be a proud Seattleite this Friday, don your comfy clothes* and dedicate a toast** to the inventors of Exam4.

*Before discarding the contents of your closet in favor of flannel and UGGs, keep in mind that you might need some of your less comfortable clothes for interviews and eventually for your working days. It may be hard to imagine a life after finals but there is one and it likely involves pressed pants, blazers and some form of footwear that is not lined in fleece.

**Before consuming the contents of your liquor cabinet, keep in mind that the CDC has identified major risks associated with binge drinking including but not limited to: unintentional injuries (e.g., car crashes, falls, burns, drowning), intentional injuries (e.g., firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence), alcohol poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy... Has your buzz been sufficiently killed now?

Photo Credit: http://blogs.seattletimes.com

Mid-Quarter Frights

There’s a chill in the air.  Jack-o-lanterns are being placed doorside.  And Bartell Drugs has a scary amount of candy stocked.  It’s official:  Halloween will soon be upon us.  It’s a creepy time of year, but ghouls and goblins may have nothing on first quarter final exams when it comes to eliciting nightmares.  Law school can certainly seem scary, especially when mid-quarter stress begins to creep in, but it doesn’t have to be!  Armed with the right study aids, you will find yourself the ultimate ghostbuster.

Did you know UW law students have access to many exams from current and former University of Washington School of Law professors?  These exams are available on the Gallagher Law Library website here.  Also available are exams from other law schools and books and websites on preparing for and taking exams.  You can check out Gallagher’s full research guide on law school exams here.

Exams are still weeks away.  But if the nightmares start to grab hold, keeping a list of these resources in your back pocket may be your ticket to a good night’s rest.  In the meantime, stock up on some candy, try to save a few pieces for the trick-or-treaters, and have a Happy Halloween!

Podcasts: Your Way to a Better Life

Judd Apatow was on NPR's radio show Fresh Air in 2009 where he explained that to distract himself when falling asleep, he began listening to podcasts, in particular Fresh Air, which is simply the radio show available for download as an mp3 file on iTunes or on the NPR website. Oddly enough, I was listening to this particular episode while trying to fall asleep after a stressful day at the office, and it was reassuring to know I wasn't the only one out there who had discovered the escapism of podcasts. Oftentimes they're better than a book when trying to fall asleep because you can simply turn off the lights, close your eyes, and listen. I found this particularly helpful when studying for the Washington State bar exam, and I wish podcasts had been around when I sat for law school exams!

But podcasts aren't just great for soothing the troubled mind. They're also a fantastic way to distract yourself when you exercise and can help you learn something new.
Training for a marathon or simply trying to squeeze in a 20 minute walk and some distraction? From NPR, try Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, This American Life, The Splendid Table. If you're a comedian-in-training, podcasts can be a goldmine with everyone from Marc Maron to Doug Benson to Riki Lindhome producing free podcasts. (Just a warning, though: comedy podcasts may contain objectionable content.)
Another pair of podcasts produced in part by the Discovery Channel have shorter, often humorous explainers to educate you in a painless way: Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class.

Podcasts can also be a way to learn about a new area of law or keep up-to-date on current legal issues. Handel on the Law covers common legal issues in a newsy way, and a number of universities post law lectures on iTunes.

So the next time you're looking for a distraction, try a podcast. They're usually free and entertaining---two of my favorite qualities in a distraction.

Photo credits. Judd Apatow: www.imdb.com and Runners: Microsoft Office Clip Art

Exam Advice from Students

On Crushing Your First-Year Exams: Advice From Some Who Did, Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Dec. 10, 2009.

Tips are from 2Ls and 3Ls from Berkeley, Brooklyn, Iowa, UVa, and Vanderbilt, and include:

• Take old exams with some classmates and compare what you come up with.
• Review each course again and again, in progressively shorter times.
• Get plenty of sleep.

Miss Coming to School? Try Some CALI Lessons at Home

CALI offers hundreds of lessons, covering a wide range of topics for law school classes. If the UW's snow days have you missing the stimulation you usually get from class, now would be a great time to try some out. (Maybe it would be a good time to try out some CALI lessons even if you're tickled not to have class!)

Earlier today 1L tweeting under the name Amy1LSanders wrote:

On a CALI lesson roll! It's helpful to re-explore concepts from the perspective of another #lawschool prof! @CALIorg

Maybe, like Amy, you'd find some CALI lessons helpful too. Give 'em a try.

Exam Tip from a Professor

Law school exams are unlike exams from other fields. (If you haven't seen any before, take a look at the library's exam archive.) What are you supposed to do with the long hypothetical in an exam? A civil procedure professor writes that professors are trying to get students to:

Know the rules. Give a complete and correct statement of the relevant rules. Use the facts. Don’t just repeat the facts. Argue specific facts in the context of specific rules to persuade the reader. Reach a conclusion.

And she adds: "It’s easy to say, and hard to do." She describes a technique she teaches her students to help them sort out the legal rules and the facts they will use. Elizabeth Pendo, Breaking Down the Blank Page: A Technique for Outlining Essay Questions, The Law Teacher, Fall 2010, at 3. She says her technique helps her students -- maybe it will help you too!


Graphic from Clipart ETC (Source: Good Cheer for 1890: Stories for Young Folks (Boston: D. Lothrop Company, 1889) 88). According to the caption, the woman is writing a letter, not an outline of a law school exam answer, but who's to say? Maybe her letter was analyzing competing claims to Blackacre or remedies for a breach of contract.

Exam Humor

I came across C. Steven Bradford, The Gettysburg Address as Written by Law Students Taking an Exam, 86 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1094 (1992), this afternoon. It's timely, since UW students begin exams tomorrow morning. I'm sure you don't make the classic exam mistakes that Prof. Bradford lists, but you might be amused by his parody as a little study break. You can read the article on HeinOnline, LexisNexis, or Westlaw.

Prof. Bradford, the best securities law professor in Lincoln Nebraska, ends with a few words for his own kind:

Having picked on law students for most of this article, let me turn now to those who write and grade the exams -- the law professors. Law professors are entitled to no great credit for being able to write exams that produce answers of the sort discussed above. . . . We law professors might be more humble (and less willing to write smart-ass, sarcastic articles like this) if we had to reread the exam answers that we wrote as students in law school, particularly those from courses we now teach. We may remember our brilliance as students, but those who graded our exams probably had a substantially different view.⁴⁰

Id. at 1101-02 (most footnotes omitted).

^40. Professor Loss, please do not dig out my old Securities Regulation exam. I will wash your car, cook your meals, do anything that you ask if you spare me the humiliation of having to reread what I wrote on that exam. And please do not let my students see it. They think I know what I'm doing. (O.K., I admit it. Not all of them think that.)

Good Law School Exam Answers

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has a great article just in time for this quarter’s exams: What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer? Law Profs Weigh In. Author Ashby Jones presents comments from seven law professors across the country who were asked to complete the sentence “A good law exam answer is _______.” He does include this small caveat:

Of course, none of these responses will, alone, unlock the key to success. And an A exam to one might be a B plus to someone else. But taken collectively, they just might shed some light on what the Great Professoriate is looking for.

If you have a few minutes extra, check out the comments, reached by clicking the comments tab at the top of the article. Some are cynical, some are disgusted with the exam process, and some question the value of exams at all!

Advice From a Recent Graduate

If I could go back in time and be law student again (not that I’d want to), there is a lot I would do differently. Well, I can’t go back, but I can pass on my advice to a new generation of law students. Here are several suggestions for law students to better utilize the law library and its resources.

1. Don’t be afraid (or too lazy) to use print materials for legal research—sometimes it will save you so much time. Many of you are probably tired of hearing this, but I swear it’s true. I admit, when I went to law school my laptop was my constant companion. Sure, I did print research when it was required of me. But most of the time I went directly to Westlaw for things. I still use Westlaw most of the time, but for certain tasks, print may be more efficient. Here are some examples:

• You are looking for general information on a common area of law.
  Let’s say you are studying for a contracts test and need an overview of the topic. In this case, a print index is likely to have the terms you are looking for and a computer search is likely going to bring up too much information, because your search terms are probably commonly used and are going to create many hits
• You are researching a vague topic.
  If you are looking for a vague topic, it may be easier to flip around in a print index for terms that might get you what you are looking for; often indexes will say something like “see also” to direct you to a different search term that might be applicable
• Your search term is ambiguous
  If you want to look up something ambiguous (its meaning varies based on context), print is probably your best option; an internet search probably isn’t going to be able to do a context-specific search and you are going to get results for all the meanings. For example, a search for the term “consideration” is going to bring back topics related to the contracts terms, but also documents including “for your consideration.”

2. Use treatises and hornbooks when you don’t completely understand a topic—and DON’T BUY THEM! When I was in law school, I had this strange aversion to actually using physical copies of the reference materials, especially the treatises and hornbooks. I found them very useful, but I felt like the reference check out time was too short for me to get anything accomplished or that I was hogging them from other students if I sat in the library and used them every day for hours on end. So instead, I purchased them for all the major subjects! I justified it by telling myself that I would use them to study for the bar and in practice. Want to know how many times I cracked them after law school? That’s right—none! Quite honestly, I didn’t even use them that much in law school. As it turned out, all I could only stand to read them for about an hour at a time. I could have easily sat in the library and read them. And even if I wanted to sit there and read them for 6 hours on end, oh well—library materials are meant to be used! Now that work in a library, I see how completely ridiculous and unfounded my concerns were.

3. Use the library’s stash of past exams—they really are helpful. I didn’t start doing this until I was a 3L, and I sure wish I had started sooner. I found that a particular professors’ exams really didn’t change all that much from year to year, and if I took the time to sit down, issue spot, and write up a messy little answer, I ended up getting a great grade on the exam. Here, the library has a digital collection for you to use, so you can even use and print them from home.

Want more ideas of what the library can do for you? Ask one of the reference librarians—they are here to help you!

-- Rachel Turpin