Thread: top 5 bar exam books that actually help

hi, for those who have taken the bar, please recommend 5 books that actually help you with the bar exam, either you are taking barbri or not. thanks.
Category: Bar Exam - General

I personally reccomend to my students that they use PMBR books for MBE questions, or Strategies and Tactics. I think those two have the best questions, and explanations, for preparing for the MBE.

As for Essays, I'm not sure about other states, but for MA essay writing, my company has a great book on essay writing, What Not to Write (which showcases actual past bar exam answers, and how they were scored). It's helpful because it has sample answers that are written in actual time constraints, as well as explanations of why they recieved the score they did.

Ultimately though, I think your study strategy is more important than the books you choose. Sure, it helps to have good questions to practice on, but success really boils down to how effectively you study. Be sure to study actively, rather than passively (don't just review notes or outlines, but practice questions, rewrite outlines, etc) and really make sure you understand nuances of the law.

Good Luck!

in no particular order:

• Bar Breaker by Jeff Adachi
• Strategies & Tactics for the MBE
• Strategies & Tactics for the finz Multistate Method by Steven R. Finz
• How 2 Study Law by David Springfield
• Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays by Mary, Campbell Gallagher
  

I second (with great enthusiasm) Gonow's vote for Adachi's Bar Breakers. Otherwise I would add the PMBR Red Book of practice MBE's. Those two books were all I used for the CA Feb 2007 Bar-- which I passed on my first attempt. I had taken Bar/Bri for MA 6 months earlier, so some of that stuck, but I thought the books were overbrudensome and cruel :)


And I am with MGill on the rest of it-- it is not about materials and reading and re-writing, it is about practice. that is why both the books i mentioned above are essentially work-books... passive learning is not going to get you a passing score, simple as that.

agree with mgill about "strategy is more important than just questions to practice" that's why Adachi rocks!!!

How to study law is another really good strategy book.

PMBR has the best MBE practice questions