phife2

I failed the NV bar again for the third time. The sad thing is that i took the virginia bar in 1999 and passed after my second try. I stepped away from law after six years of practice and relocated to nevada. Since then i have spent the last two years trying to pass the NV bar. In fact, my score dropped two points from the previous time. I spent 3 months studying this last time, where previously i studied for about 2 months. i now realize the prblem is with my essay writing. I have read several posts on this board on essay writing techniques and need help formalizing a study schedule.

Can someone give me some suggestions on improving my essay writing?
Category: NV - Nevada Bar Exam

alabamalaw

Well, without reading your essay, it is hard to tell you what you have missed. What I can tell you is that many times attorneys forget to put down the basic general rules before they go into too many nuances of law.

For example, Bar Outlines teaches us that whenever you see a Contract formation issue, put down:

and to memorize this before we even see the questions. That means, I don't care if there is a consideration issue or a statute of fraud of issue, when I see Contract formation, I put this whole general rule down. That means I know the answer before I see the question.

then of course I apply the facts and give the conclusion.

If you are spotting the right issues and putting down the right rules, then maybe you are just bad at application? I know that practice real questions will help with that respect.

Oh about the schedule, Barbri's pace program worked for some people where I used baroutlines'
They both work well, the key is to follow through and don't skip your plan!

Memorize your general rules, practice, and put it down on the day of your exam!!

Sorry my answers are so general. Let me know if I am completely off.

I personally would not go to PMBR or use Celebration Review just b/c I heard bad things about them

Nadrah

I retook the New York bar this Feb and passed. One advice I utilized the second time was using an outline for each essay. Throughout law school I never did this because I thought it was a waste of time. The second time I decided to force myself. So in practicing, I always outlined and then answered the question. During the exam, I frequently got the urge to ignore outlining, cos I was getting worried that I was losing time, but I stuck to it, and though I might have rushed through the last one or two essays, I made sure I went with the outline, at least getting to the issue and analysis paragraphs first. So, I would suggest outlining. I also found that keeping my cool both inside and out was very helpful. I didn't tell my friends or family that I was taking the bar because I didn't need the added pressure, that helped me focus on studying rather than on their numerous questions. One last tip is scheduling scheduling. Anyone can set a schedule, the hard part is keeping to it. No matter what...lol. If you set the schedule, stick to it, regardless of if you finished one part or not. So, I always put more on my plate so that even if I don't finish dong the 5 essays as planned, I did 3 at least and then vow to do the 5 the next day. I broke down my schedule into MBE days and New York days. So, MOn/Wed/Fri, I did NY essays and multiple choice; other days I did MBE subjects. For subjects found in both sections, I read them on MBE days, and didn't read the NY versions. I don't know NV format, but I hope this is helpful. Goodluck and don't give up.