Lawsagna

Strategies and tools to plan your exam preparation

When you have about a week left before your exams start, how can you ensure that you have enough time to cover everything you need?  (As if you ever have enough time for anything in law school…)  I found the answer in Granularity for students by Lifehack.org.  It describes the application of the notion of “granularity” to studying.  The “granularity” method presupposes breaking down a daunting task into smaller manageable parts.  You can then prioritize and schedule those smaller projects accordingly. 

Inspired by the idea, I put together a few tables in Excel with my husband’s help to assist students in breaking down and scheduling their study time. Download exam_schedule_tables.xls [Excel, 32.5KB]  Here’s how you approach it:

• First, you determine how much time you have to study each day.   You fill in the time in minutes.
• Second, you decide what percentage of that time you allocate to each subject based on your exam schedule and your preparedness.  For example, you may decide to spend 100% of day 1 on Torts and split day 2 50%-50% between Property and Con. Law.
• Third, you break down each subject into smaller activities, such as outlining, practice, review, etc.  Then you decide what percentage of time you want to spend on each activity for that subject.  I filled out the tables with random numbers to give you an example.  You can substitute your own activities, subjects and percentages.
• Now you are done!  The summary table automatically calculates how many minutes you will spend on each activity of each subject for every day of study.  That’s the second sheet in my Excel file, titled Weekly Summary Sheet.

It is pretty granular, but I found that sticking to a schedule helped especially when I had to study multiple subjects for the bar -- for two states, in fact, Illinois and later New York (yes, I was crazy enough to repreat the experience when we moved to New York a few years later).  Let me know if you find this approach useful.

Try focusing instead of multitasking

As the exams are just around the corner, students often feel the pressure  to multitask more and more. Before you do, however, consider that many experts believe multitasking to be a myth.  Our brains cannot do parallel processing if it requires conscious awareness. Multitasking is really a rapid task switching. I’ve recently read an article in the series Multitasking (Part 2 of 3):  The Mechanics of Multitasking by H. Les Brown, in which the author discusses the factors affecting our ability to switch tasks effectively. I often multitask more around the holidays, so now that Thanksgiving is over, I’ve decided to do some post-action review of my multitasking.  Here are my lessons form the kitchen.

Those of you who have ever tried to bring milk to the boiling temperature, should be able to relate to the notion that true multitasking may not be possible. You can stare into the pot for the longest time waiting for those little bubbles to appear and nothing happens, but the moment you look away, your milk boils all over the stove.  I guess, some activities are just not meant for multitasking.

If the “operational complexity” of the tasks (one of the factors in H. Les Brown’s model) is not high, it is easier to switch between them. If my teapot whistles while I am stirring something on the stove, I can put that teapot aside without much trouble.  I can even gradually add flour while mixing the dough because the “operative rules” for those activities are pretty simple.  However, I find it difficult to baste the turkey while trying to keep the dogs away from the hot oven.  I guess, the “operative rules” are more complex here, and I don’t get much cooperation from the dogs either.

Another factor that enables us to determine when to shift tasks is “task dominance.” I can ignore the timer for a bit in order to finish peeling the potatoes, but I will drop those potatoes immediately if the smoke detector goes off.

“Task familiarity” allows for a quick switching because we can usually perform the habitual actions without much thought.  There is a downside to it though:  I sometimes put the ice-cream into the refrigerator instead of the freezer and the cheese into the bread bin without much thought.  If we don’t pay attention to those rote activities, we can get inappropriate results.

When I have various dishes cooking simultaneously, I am forced to switch tasks more often with an increased chance of an error.  This relates to the “response stimulus interval”, which is the time between one activity and the next “perceptual cue” that invites us to shift tasks.  “Haste makes waste,” as the saying goes.

So, what should we do to perform tasks effectively and efficiently?

• Plan and prioritize.  List things that need to be done, determine which ones are more urgent, and focus on those tasks.  Sometimes, it is beneficial to switch tasks.  I like to attack a problem in multiple sessions, for example.  I think about it for a while and then I let it go and do something else.  Occasionally, the solution comes when I least expect it.  You need to decide in advance when such strategy is appropriate. 
• Eliminate the distractions.  Remember those perceptual cues that invite us to switch the tasks?  Limit them if you can.  Turn off your new email notification unless you really need it.  Let your voice mail to pick up the call if you are busy with something important. And don’t turn on that TV, it’s not just the background noise.
• It’s not true that you can never do several things simultaneously.  You can combine conscious tasks with activities that do not require you to focus.   I like to think and conceptualize while walking my dogs.  You’ve probably heard that taking a hot shower can stimulate production of good ideas, probably because people are more relaxed. Listening to Baroque music like Mozart while studying can improve recall.  Find the combinations that work for you.
• Be mindful of what you are doing if you want to accomplish more.  Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users addresses the benefits of mindfulness in her post Your brain on multitasking.  Also, check out her follow-up post Multitasking makes us stupid?  on the dangers of media multitasking.  Aren’t we all guilty of it?

How to use metaphors and associations to aid your memory

An effective way to aid your memory is to connect the new information to something you already know that has some similarities with the subject matter you study.  The familiar concept does not have to be related to law at all.  This process is called metaphorical thinking.  Metaphor is an excellent technique to use when you want to synthesize the material.  Here is an example from the landlord and tenant law.  I will introduce it with a hypothetical:

Rabbit rents a Rabbit Hole from Fox for a year at $80/month.  At the end of the lease term, Rabbit is so afraid to leave the Rabbit Hole that it remains in possession and tenders Fox the next month’s rent of $80, which Fox accepts.  What kind of tenancy was created when Rabbit refused to surrender the Rabbit Hole?  What kind of tenancy was created after Fox accepted the rent?

Answer:

When a tenant wrongfully remains in possession (holds over) at the end of the lease, a tenancy at sufferance is created.  The tenancy at sufferance lasts only until the landlord either evicts the tenant at sufferance or binds the tenant to a new periodic tenancy by accepting the rent.  Therefore, when Rabbit refused to surrender the Rabbit Hole, he became a tenant at sufferance.  When Fox accepted the rent, the tenancy at sufferance changed into a periodic tenancy. 

Is there an easy way to remember this rule?

You can associate the Tenancy At Sufferance with a “TEASE” because it is not a real tenancy but rather a wrongful possession of the land.

The Periodic Tenancy can be remembered by the acronym “PT” [pity]. 

The Landlord can “PT” the “TEASE” – pity the tenant at sufferance and change the tenancy at sufferance into a periodic tenancy.

Brainstorm some metaphors for the concepts that you find most challenging and see for youself how it works. 

How to read effectively

Reading is a big component in the study of law.  Developing a skill of effective reading will improve your learning and comprehension.  Here are a few ideas you can start implementing right now to become a better reader. 

• Do multiple short-session readings instead of a single word-by-word reading of the material.  You can start with identifying the pattern of the text.  Read the title, table of contents, introduction, headings and subheadings, conclusion, note the visuals.  After this rapid read, you should be able to tell what the text is about and how it is structured.  On your second read, focus on the main ideas and arguments and skip the minor details.  During your subsequent reading sessions, go deeper into the text to extract the necessary level of detail till you have a good grasp of the material and are ready to integrate and implement it.
• Always formulate the purpose of your reading.  What do you want to take away from the reading?  Write down questions and problems that you think can be answered and solved once you read the text.  Your purpose and questions may change as you progress in your reading sessions. Just thinks about it, in most real life situations, you will start off with a problem that you will need to solve through your research.
• Practice active reading.  Make notes as you read, highlight the key points and trigger words, use color codes to categorize the information, tab the important pages.  Incorporate the main ideas into outlines, mindmaps, flow charts, etc.
• Probe your understanding.  Think critically, ask questions, note the logic behind the arguments, classify the information, connect the details to the big picture, compare it to what you already know.   Test it with your own examples.  Think of the ways to make the information more relevant to you personally.
• Take action.  Use the knowledge you have acquired from the reading.  Test it with flashcards, apply it to new situations, include it into your own analysis, experiment with it.  Own it.
• When you read for review, skim the text for the key words to see if they trigger recall of the main ideas.  Keep the big picture in your mind.  Test yourself continuously with questions.   

I hope you find these tips useful.  For more suggestions, read How to Read and Digest a Book! by George Ambler.

What is your motivation direction?

Here’s a test for you.   Picture yourself standing between two doors. The sign on door # 1 reads:  

Peace of mind:

• Studying is no longer stressful and you don’t feel swamped with all the reading, briefing, outlining, moot court, and other law school activities.
• You look forward to the Socratic method questioning in class.
• You never leave the classroom confused and discouraged.
• You don’t have to spend more money on yet another study aid only to discover that there is no time to read it.
• You receive regular supportive feedback on your progress.
• You feel calm and confident before an exam.

The sign on door #2 reads:

Excitement:

• Learning is fun.
• You are in control of your studies and even have time to relax and catch up with your friends.
• You finally know what it means to think like a lawyer.
• You are able to spot the issues and recall relevant information easily under the pressure.
• You can learn better and ignite your creativity by collaborating and playing games with your classmates.
• You are motivated to do your best and succeed every day.

Where do you go?  Do you find that one sign resonates more with you than the other? Are you drawn towards “peace of mind” or “excitement”? 

According to the authors of NLP: The New Technology of Achievement, we can be motivated either “toward” what we want or “away from” what we don’t want. People use both motivation directions but they can prefer one over the other.  Some people are more motivated by images of accomplishments, success, pleasure, while others are more motivated by avoidance of loss, pain, fear, failure.  Both types of motivation can be effective.  The “toward” motivation tends to be more goal-oriented while the “away” motivation is more about identifying and solving problems.  It is useful to know your motivation direction if you want to motivate yourself deliberately, and you may have more success motivation others if you can figure out how their motivation works.  Since lawyers are good at identifying problems, I wonder if a larger percentage of them prefers the “away from” motivation.  Understandably, the language people use can sometimes tell us about their preferred motivation direction.  Next time you talk to somebody about why they want to do something, listen in.   

Studying is your business

Have you just returned from the Thanksgiving break?  Are you struggling to get back into the work mood?  One way to adjust your mindset is to remind yourself that studying is your business and your investment.  Here are a few suggestions on how to make it grow:

• Treat studying as your work and show up.  Set the hours when you need to study, eliminate the distractions and focus on the subject matter at hand.
• Every business should have a business plan.  What’s yours?  Identify your short-term and long-term goals.  Adjust your curriculum accordingly.  Choose extracurriculum activities that help to develop the skills needed for your mission.  Set up a system to account for your progress:  grades are one way to measure your success but you can develop more intrinsic assessments as well.  Make revisions of your plan as necessary.  Make your plan the driving force of your learning experience.
• Try the inbox / outbox system when you study.  The inbox contains all the information you need to go through:  your reading materials, research, class notes, etc.  Your outbox is the knowledge product that you create based on the information from your inbox.  This includes outlines, case briefs, papers, memos, etc.  The trick is to establish a healthy flow between your inbox and outbox.  If you read a case, brief it.  When you cover a topic in your textbook, outline it.  If you do research, make notes, create mindmap, summaries – something tangible that you can refer to in the future.  You can use a two-column table to track the flow:  one column is for the inbox, the other – for the outbox. Your homework assignments fill the inbox, and you take it from there.
• Treat your school deadlines the same way you would treat your work deadlines.  Your studying habits will eventually transfer into your work habits.
• Collaborate with others.  At work, we consult our boss, colleagues, mentors, experts if we have a question or want to get feedback on our ideas. Schools have great resources available to students:  professors, librarians, support programs, career services are all there to help.  Establish good working relationships with these people, grow your “know-who” and gain access to the wealth of experience and wisdom they possess.  These contacts are also useful when you need reference letters or just simple advice.  And don’t forget your classmates.  Students come from various backgrounds and walks of life. You can learn a lot from each other if you care to ask.    

Can you find any other parallels between studying and business?  Share your insight, leave a comment.         

Gratitude

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward

Gratitude is powerful.  Research has suggested that feelings of gratitude may be beneficial to emotional well-being.  I want to get into the habit of jotting down the things I am grateful for on a regular basis.  Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate day to start a gratitude journal.  Share your thankfulness and happiness to bring more energy and determination into your life.    
   

The power of words can be captured in “Five Minute Motivators” developed by John Richardson of Success Begins Today.  Here are my motivational verbs for the holidays:

What are yours?

We come in contact with lots of people during the holidays, and sometimes you may not feel so grateful.  Remember to use good tone in any situation.  There are a lot of benefits to good tone according to Brain Based Business. Bad tone, on the other hand, is harmful to learning capabilities. 

Here’s what I’d like to see during the holidays in the streets, at the airports and malls.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating!  Thank you for reading.

P.S. For last-minute tips on everything Thanksgiving, check out Thanksgiving How To Guides from lifehack.org.   

6 reasons why lawyers should have a personal knowledge management system

You have probably heard of knowledge management at the organizational level when business companies and law firms implement the best practices for capturing and sharing knowledge.  Lawyers are knowledge workers, they process information all the time.  They are also life-long learners whose expertise depends on keeping up to date with the increasing body of law and business practices.  Is it possible to apply the knowledge management principles to the work of an individual?  Is there a benefit to doing so?  Many experts believe that the answer is “yes.”  Let’s look at the three main areas of personal knowledge management:  “know-what,” “know-who,” and “know-how,” and see how lawyers can benefit from this concept.

Know-what.  This is about the content of knowledge.  What do you need to know in order to achieve your goals?  What are the sources of your knowledge? What’s the context for the knowledge application?

Know-who.  This category is about who you know.  What are your networks?  Who are the experts you go to for knowledge?  Who is in need of your knowledge?

Know-how.  This is about how to perform the knowledge-related tasks so as to increase productivity.  What are the best ways to harvest knowledge in the right context just-in-time, make sense of it, create new knowledge, share it, and use it? What’s the role of technology in this process?

Lawyers have routinely done all the above activities without any system, so why do they need personal knowledge management now? Here are a few reasons to consider.

• First, there has been a dramatic increase in information available to us on a  daily basis.  Things change faster than they used to.  As Kineo’s company website says:  “Don’t wake up dumber than you went to bed.” A well-devised personal knowledge management system can help to conquer the information overflow and gain control over your learning experience.  I like to use the information funnel analogy.  Ordinarily, we pour in lots of information through the wide opening of the funnel to bottle up only a few drops of knowledge.  What if we turned the funnel over and introduce a system of filters that would allow only relevant information to come in when we need it to produce a much larger knowledge output.  Isn’t it worthwhile to invest some time and effort in developing such a system?

• Second, the personal knowledge management system can help you to align your everyday activities with your values and goals.  For example, I get easily  sidetracked by some interesting information that I stumble upon on the internet and can spend hours just reading about it.  The system helps me to stay focused and disciplined about my projects, or at least, that’s the hope. 
• Third, lawyers are in the service profession, and service is about relationships.  How much time do you spend on consciously developing and nurturing your important relationships?  Do you know who the experts are in your field?  Who can you turn to for help?  The personal knowledge management system will force you to take responsibility for this important aspect of your life.
• Fourth, technology helps us to stay productive, but technology is developing very rapidly these days.  It takes a purposeful effort to keep up.  The personal knowledge management system can help you to make choices about what technology is important for your business and get updates when something new comes to the market. 
• Fifth, the personal knowledge management system can help you to organize, classify and retrieve the necessary knowledge efficiently.  Do you have a system to index and file your documents and email messages?  Do you use news aggregators?  What search tools are available to you? There is a lot you can do to save time and effort.   
• Finally, the process of developing your knowledge management system can reveal some new insights about you as a learner and build self-awareness.  Your system should be about you and how you learn.  It should capitalize on your strengths and drive you to achieve the best results you can.

Do you already have a personal knowledge management system?  Do you want to develop one?  Please share your experiences.

Forget the words?

People often believe that larger numbers are more authoritative and persuasive.  Yesterday, I came across an example where the opposite was true:  smaller numbers made the story more compelling.  It was a short webmovie form the Miniature Earth project that presented the world’s statistics by reducing the global population to a community of only 100 people. The information was delivered in a brain-friendly way.  We understand what a “million” is, but few of us have actually experienced a “million,” whereas most of us have been around a hundred people at some time.  We comprehend things better when we can connect them to something that we have experienced.  So, next time, you make a presentation to your client or prepare a closing statement for the jury, ask yourself: “How can I appeal to the experiences of my audience?”

Speaking of effective communication, do you know the feeling when you want to express an idea but the right word just escapes you?  Welcome to the OneLook dictionary search and its reverse dictionary feature.  It allows you to describe a concept in a few words, a sentence, or a question and get back a list of related terms.  For example, you type in “being tried twice for the same crime,” and the dictionary search engine creates a list with the first item being “double jeopardy.”  The first terms on the list are supposed to be the best matches.  Using this feature, you can generate a list of related concepts and even solve crossword puzzles by typing in some letters and wildcards.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank the Legal Writing Prof Blog for featuring Lawsagna in its yesterday’s post.  We’ll keep our quills sharpened, keyboards dusted and stay tuned to the latest news in the legal writing field. 

Balancing studying with the turkey dinner

As many law students are heading home for their Thanksgiving Break, the Law School Academic Support Blog is Talking Turkey about the Thanksgiving Break.  According to their advice, you need to do some planning to use this time effectively and balance your travel, family expectations, studying priorities and good times. 

Speaking of the Thanksgiving dinner, did you know that an attorney invented cranberry sauce? I sure didn't till I read Thanksgiving Special:  the Lawyer Who Invented Cranberry Sauce by JD Bliss.  I personally like cranberry jelly made from fresh cranberries and dried apricots with a little bit of orange zest.  Also, here is a link to my all-time favorite cranberry pumpkin bread, it's very easy to make.   

5 studying myths dispelled

This week I’ve been writing about exam-taking strategies, and I’d like to conclude my mini-series by addressing some of the studying myths that float around the university hallways. 

Myth #1:  Cramming will improve my chances.

We’ve all done it.  You have only a few hours left before the exam, and there is still so much to learn and review.  The problem with cramming is that you can’t stuff your brain like cabbage leaves.  It won’t retain the information.  However, it can make you too tired to take the test, which may cause you to forget what you knew pretty well before.  It’s not worth it. 

Myth #2:  I’ll study every awaking hour to outperform the competition.

While it’s tempting to keep going and going, it is actually more efficient if you study for about 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute brake.  There is some magic about 50 minutes. Your brain will like that pattern.

Myth #3:  Burning the midnight oil is what all students do before the exams.

It’s only natural to sacrifice some sleep for the good of knowledge, isn’t it?  Wrong.  Studies that registered brain activation patterns of sleep-deprived participants showed that they performed worse on complex cognitive tasks when compared to rested participants.  Make sure you get enough sleep before the tests.

Myth #4:  You need complete silence to study well.

It may be true for some people who are very sensitive to sound distractions.  However, listening to Baroque music like Mozart can improve your learning.

Myth #5:  Everybody learns in the same way.

In reality, we all learn differently and need different studying techniques to capitalize on our strengths.  See my previous post on multiple intelligences.  Some students need pictures and flowcharts to improve understanding.  Others may benefit from discussing the material with their classmates. Identify your learning style and adjust your studying strategy accordingly.

Finally, here is some truth to consider:  positive attitude improves your performance.  Give the Universe a holler that you are ready for that test.

Lessons learned

“Some of the best lessons we ever learn we learn from our mistakes and failures. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.” Tyron Edwards (1809-1894).

Everybody experiences setbacks in law school.  What makes a difference is how you handle them.  Successful people know how to turn their failures and mistakes into learning opportunities.  In fact, the word ‘failure’ is not even in their vocabulary. The trick is to own up to your mistake, determine what you need to do differently, overcome the negative emotions and change the detrimental behavior. Admission of a mistake may be a hard thing to do for a lawyer as we are in business of assigning blame, but accepting responsibility is the first step to understanding and learning. If you are not satisfied with your grade, create an opportunity to improve and do better next time.  Here are a few questions and suggestions for your post action review:

• Do you have the necessary information to evaluate your exam experience?  Sometimes, it is hard to be objective when emotions are involved.  Focus on turning the situation into a positive plan of action.  Talk to your professor to get additional feedback. 
• Were you satisfied with how you prepared for the exam?  Was the grade a surprise? 
• What were your goals for the exam? Which of those goals were not achieved?  Don’t set your goals in terms of getting a particular grade or passing the exam.  Think about the skills that are required of you to do well on the test and set your goals around the activities that help you to develop those skills.  You want precise and measurable goals.  If studying with flashcards helps you to learn the law, put it as your goal to have 100% of the answers correct for each topic you study.
• What was your weakest spot?  Did you miss most of the points because you did not know the law, or you could not apply the law to the facts in a logical fashion, or because you ran out of time?  Adjust your goals to address the weak spots.
• Are you going to make any changes in the way you study for the next exam?  The time is scarce in law school.  You need to know which study methods work for you and which don’t.  Spend your time on what works. 
• How was your physical and mental composure during the test? Is it time to learn some stress management techniques?  Would you benefit from a better support network?
• Were you able to capitalize on your learning style during the preparation stage and the test itself?  Why not?  How can you change that?
• Make a list of the resources you need to do better.  Should you join a study group or is your time better spent on practicing with CALI?
• More importantly, if you feel down, focus on a bigger picture:  how would it make you feel to accomplish what you started and be able to do what you love?  Here is a visualization exercise:  Imagine yourself 5 years from now, being successful in what you do.  You are a mentor to a young L1 who is eager to know how you got to that point in your life.  Looking back on your path, what would you tell him?  Create your own story of success.

Is there anything you can add to this “turning point” list?  As always, I’d love to hear from you.

Put on your detective hat: we are going issue-spotting

Issue-spotting is one of the most important skills you need to succeed in law school and to pass the bar exam.  How do you go about developing this skill?  Here are a few ideas:

• When you learn a new legal concept, pay attention to the context in which it applies.  What are the facts that trigger this rule of law? Stories are your friends when it comes to issue-spotting. What cases do you remember best?  Probably, the ones with the most bizarre and memorable story lines.  Make the stories vivid in your mind because images help your memory.  I still remember the “hairy hand” case from the Contracts course.   
• When you prepare your outline, include a case brief or a hypothetical to introduce the legal rule.  See my previous post on mind-mapping for an example.  Just knowing the law is not enough if you can’t recognize when to apply it. 
• They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it.  If you were a professor, what fact pattern or hypothetical would you use to illustrate the legal rule?  Play with the facts, change them, see how it affects the legal outcome.  This exercise helps to train your brain to look for the relevant information.
• Create a map of tags, or buzzwords, for a particular legal rule or  an element.   Let’s say, I know my five criteria to acquire title by adverse possession, but I want to know what facts would trigger the application of the “actual” element.  Here is the sub-map I created for this specific element, click on it to enlarge. A word of caution:  this sub-map shows which facts may trigger the application  of the element “actual”, it does not tell us whether the presence of those circumstances will satisfy the test.  They may or they may not.  In fact, courts may reach different conclusions.  What’s important for you is to spot the issue and analyze it even if you are unsure how the courts will come out on this.
• Practice, practice, practice! Flashcards are very useful for issue-spotting, and so are practice tests.  You can even read a newspaper and spot issues if you want to.
• When you are taking the test, scrutinize the facts.  Why is this seemingly trivial detail mentioned here?  What is its legal significance? Ask: “So what?”  However, don’t invent issues, it’s a waste of time.

As to the different types of testable issues, read Professor Vernellia Randall’s explanations and the Flowchart for Issue-spotting.

Get your pens ready: it's time to scribble

My wrist starts hurting when I just think about it.  In fact, I remember how after one of my first essay exams in law school, I went to a fast food establishment, ordered my food and dropped the entire tray on my way to the table.  Quite embarrassing... but not as embarrassing as failing your essay test, so let’s get to business.  Here is what professors and other stakeholders have to say on the subject of taking an essay exam.

Reading Stage

• Start off by looking through the entire exam packet to determine how many questions you have and how much time you should allot to each question.  Also, make sure no pages are missing.
• Start reading the problem at the end.  Yes, that’s right, go directly to the call of the question, which usually appears at the end of the fact pattern.  Your brain would like to know first what the context is for all that mumbo jumbo.  Otherwise, if you read the facts first, you brain will start firing in all directions that may have nothing to do with the question.  Harness that brain power by focusing it.
• Once you know the question, do the first cursory reading of the facts.  Aim at general understanding but take note of the issues that jump out at you.  High-light or circle the key phrases. Make notations of the legal concepts at issue on the margins. 
• Read the fact pattern again, slowly.  Look for more words that trigger issues or application of legal elements or test prongs.
• Scrutinize the facts:  Why are they mentioned? What is their legal significance?  You may score some extra points by spotting less obvious issues.

Planning Stage

Now you are ready to plan your answer. 

• List your issues in the order of importance.  Don’t discuss issues that are not supported by the facts.  You need the right key to open a lock, so don’t waste time  on trying the keys that don’t fit. 
• Determine if you want to organize your answer by parties or causes of action. 
• Make sure you address all the prima facie elements, counterarguments and defenses that apply.
• Make a brief outline using the IRAC or CRAC paradigms.  Mnemonics can be very helpful here to save time.

Writing Stage

• Make sure your answer is responsive to the question asked, that’s why the planning stage is so important. 
• Use subheadings.
• State your issues.
• Use the right legal terminology when you state the applicable rule of law, its elements or prongs of a test.  
• Discuss the elements in the logical order.
• Make sure you analyze how the law applies to the facts, not just write the conclusions. Professor Vernellia Randall has some good examples of how to distinguish analytical sentences from conclusions. 
• Provide conclusions for the reader.
• Don’t repeat the facts, use them when you discuss how the law applies to the facts.
• Be objective.  Address and evaluate all counterarguments and defenses.
• Be precise and concise.
• If the professor allows it, write on every other line and every other page.  That will leave you more room to fit in any extra thoughts you may have later. 

A few notes on time management

• Time budgeting is crucial.
• Do NOT borrow time from another question to finish your argument.  Say to yourself that you will come back to it if you have time at the end and move on.
• If there are 5 minutes left and you know you won’t finish writing your essay, outline the issues with whatever bits and pieces you have time to mention.  It may give you some partial credit.
• Once it’s over, it’s over.  Forget about it.

If you would like to listen to more advice and the discussion of common errors that students make, CALI Radio has Top Ten Tips for Successfully Writing a Law School Essay.

To choose or not to choose: multiple choice tests

Last weekend, as I was enjoying my first cup of eggnog latte this season, a sudden realization pierced my happy holiday bubble, so artfully created by the retail industry.  It was time to address the main hurdle that separated law students from their winter holidays.  I am talking about the law school exams, of course, and I’ve decided to dedicate this whole week to the subject.  I’ll be doing lots of slicing and dicing in my virtual kitchen to perfect the recipes for successful test-taking.

Today’s special on my menu is the multiple choice test. I urge you to work through the article How To Answer Multiple Choice Questions based on Evaluation and Grading In Law School by Michael Josephson and updates by Vernellia Randall and Rogelio Lasso.  It’s full of detail and insights.  Here is my rendition of DON'Ts, Alerts and DOs from the article. 
 

DON'Ts:

• Don't complete definitions and arguments in your mind.
• Don't assume facts.
• Don't make the facts more complex than they really are.
• Don't ignore the stated facts even if they seem odd to you.
• Don't panic.
• Don't guess until you've eliminated the definitely wrong options.
• Don't rely on instinct.

Watch out for:

• Distractors and foils that convey superficial plausibility.
• Incomplete definitions and arguments.
• Doctrines or rules that you never heard of (probably indicate an incorrect option).
• Meaningless phrases.
• Errors in reasoning.
• Inconsistencies in facts, arguments and conclusions.
• Seemingly meaningless details about people.
• Modifiers: because, since, as, as long as, unless, etc.
• Misstatements of law.
• Rules from inapplicable body of law.
• Rules that don't apply to the facts.
• Words of certainty: always, never, must, cannot, etc.
• Answers that are opposites (one is probably true).

DOs:

• Read carefully.
• Identify the central issue in the facts and responses.
• Determine which legal concepts apply before reading the options.
• Know which role you are asked to play in a question, i.e. Judge, Advocate, Scholar.
• Apply legal principles to facts in a rational manner.
• Read the statutes carefully and apply mechanically.
• Re-word the inquiry.
• Determine how much time you have per question and stick to the schedule.
• Maintain concentration.

The Avatar Goes To Class

While law schools debate the use and misuse of computers in the classrooms (see Computers in Class from the Law Career Blog for the arguments on both sides and links to more commentary and discussions), some law students send their avatars to class and let them IM / text chat all they want.  This educational milestone became possible due to the CyberOne:  Law in the Court of Public Opinion course, offered by Harvard Law School and partially taught in a 3D virtual environment called Second Life.   The course materials are freely available to the public at the CyberOne website.  (Try to solve The Riddle of Three Hats, which was one of their assignments, you don’t need to be in Second Life for that.) I’ve been reading about the developments at the video vidi visum: virtual blog, and it’s been quiet fascinating.  For those interested in the use of Second Life in education, E-Content has some additional links to the resources on the topic.   All this makes me wonder what law schools will be like ten years from now.  What do you think?  

Are you a shark or a dolphin?

Energy seems to be a big word these days everywhere from global offices to local kitchens. I’ve recently read the article Learning to Manage Your Energy at Entrepreneur.com that tackles the problem of time, or lack thereof, from the personal energy perspective.  The article offers a test to identify your energy profile:  you can be a shark, a dolphin, a whale, or a jellyfish. It also asks some important questions:

• Are you surviving or thriving?
• How to get from the surviving to thriving mode?

It appears that one way to increase you energy level is to eliminate the activities in your daily routine that drain you without giving you much in return.  If you don’t like the outcomes, you have to change what you are doing.  Legal Andrew has some tips for you in Increase Productivity by Doing Something Different.  Are you a fan of to-do lists? Learn to love not-to-do lists as they help to conserve your energy for bigger and more important things in your life.  Productivity Goal offers some suggestions on the issue in What Have You Committed Not To Do?  Here is advice from Kelly Forrister of the David Allen Company.    

My little dirty energy secret?  I have to have a good cup of coffee in the morning, so I am off to check out 12 Best Cups of Coffee of 2006 by Fast Company. I already feel energized. 

Baby steps

This morning, I watched my 10-month-old daughter do her “I-am-training-to-walk” routine.  Holding on to the side of her pack-and-play, she would lower to the mat and then pull herself up into the standing position.  Occasionally, she would let go of one hand trying to grab a toy and keep her balance at the same time.  She tumbled and cried for help a few times, but she kept doing the routine over and over again.  She practiced.

 

Practice is what we do in law school.  It’s practice before the actual practice of law.  We need the persistence of a baby to master the profession despite setbacks, disappointing grades, stressful schedules, strained relationships. George Leonard in his book Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment writes that people who are masters in their fields love to practice:  “Mastery is staying on the path.”  So, hang in there! Persistence is all you need to practice.  And rest assured that you have it in you – you were a baby once.

Branch out: mind-mapping

Mind-mapping is a creative technique to organize information, highlight the key elements and link related concepts in a treelike fashion.  It is more visual and less restrictive than the traditional outlining format.  The graphic representation of a mind map activates both sides of the brain and helps to remember more effectively.  (For more information on mind-mapping, read The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan and Barry Buzan). 

Mind-mapping can be easily used to supplement outlines or to create additional study aids. Below you can see how I mind-mapped the concept of adverse possession.  The mind map includes a hypothetical to introduce the relevant fact pattern to the right of the main node, the mnemonic for the elements that need to be satisfied, as well as the pictures to anchor these elements.

To create this example, I used a free mind-mapping software written in Java, appropriately called FreeMind.  If you don’t want to download any software, you can go to the Mayomi website that allows you to create a mind map on the site after registering. It can be useful if you work in a computer lab, for example.

To learn about various Web 2.0 sites that can help law students in their learning pursuits, read the Top Law Student blog.

Memorize this

It’s that time of the year when students start paying more attention to outlining.  Are there any tips for creating a more effective outline?  One tip is to use mnemonics to synthesize the material.  Mnemonics help the long-term memory by linking and organizing the information in a compact and efficient way.  They work even better if they are fun or bizarre.  To boost the effect, create a vivid image to go with the word.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, well, maybe not a thousand, but 1.5 words at least, according to Cognitive Daily. 

Here is an example from Property, Rights of Founders Against the Owners of Land.  Let's say you need to remember the following rule.   

The claim of the owner of the land on which the property was found can generally prevail over the claim of a finder of the lost property:

• if the property is classified as "mislaid";
• if the finder was a trespasser on the land when finding the property;
• if the finder was an invitee and the land was not generally open to the public;
• if the finder is an employee and an agent of the landowner.

To remember this, use 
THE LAW OF MISLAID TIE
LA = Landowner
W = Wins
Mislaid   = Mislaid property
T = Trespasser
I = Invitee (and the land is generally not open to the public)
E = Employee

Here is a hypo: 
Bob is taking a walk in the Botanical Gardens when he finds a box of lollipops.  Under common law, can Bob’s claim to the lollipops prevail against the claim of the owner of the Botanical Gardens?
Answer: Yes.  The finder’s claim to the found property can prevail against the owner of the land where the property was found if the land was open to the public.

To remember this, use
LOLLIPOP
LO = Landowner
L = Loses
I = If
POP = Place Open to the Public

Check back for more mnemonics from Lawsagna!

Here is a good reason to look forward to a big holiday meal.  It turns out that eating mashed potatoes can boost your memory.  However, don’t go crazy on the diet drinks: “the artificial sweetener aspartame may actually go to your head,” according to Psychology Today.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast programs on memory last summer, to listen to them or read tips and articles go to their Memory Home page.

How do you know what you don’t know?

As you may have heard, Harvard Law School is revamping its first year core curriculum to include courses focused on regulation and legislation, international law and legal theories.  As I was reading the reactions to this development at Law Career Blog and the Volokh Conspiracy, I began wondering what framework I should use to think about this issue. As I often do, I resorted to my wisdom form the kitchen.  I am usually pretty good at making decisions in the kitchen.  It’s simple, really.  Before I know if I need, let’s say, onions for dinner, I have to decide what I want to eat for dinner.  After I choose a dish, I know what kinds of ingredients I need.  On some days, I look into the refrigerator to take my inventory and then decide what I can have for dinner. The second approach is much less appealing to me because my options are limited.  I also understand that there may be some trade-offs involved:  if I want a three-course gourmet dinner, it will cost me more money and I will have to work longer and harder for it but the outcome may be worth it.

How is it related to the law school curriculum debate?  Before I can form an opinion on what is good and what is not good for the first year law students, I need to know what law students want.  After all, they are the ones who pay the tuition.  Law students, as informed consumers, what do you want for your money?  Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What kinds of skills do you want to develop in law school?
• What kind of person do you want to be after law school?  I believe that professional programs have the potential to change the way people approach life situations.  My pre-MBA husband was a bit different from my post-MBA husband.  I am sure, he agrees that the law school changed me as well. 
• Would you rather learn what the law is or what the law can be?  Stated differently, do you want more emphasis on the black letter law or on the analysis of the options and possibilities?
• Do you think that the litigation and transactional areas should be equally represented in the core curriculum?
• Should we talk more about ethics in law school, in light of the recent corporate scandals?
• Should law schools foster cooperation or competition?
• Should we have more writing in law schools?
• Should there be more technology-based courses?
• Do you want to know anything about legal systems of other countries?
• Should law schools allow graduation credits for electives outside the law program?
• Should law schools offer more practice management courses?

I’d like to hear your voice.

Sensational – motivational

As the holiday season is approaching, so are the exams.  No matter what you do, you can’t win.   If you celebrate the holidays with your family and friends, you will feel guilty that you are not studying.  If you forgo the family fun and turkey dinner, you will drown in self-pity and anxiety.  The bottom line is that law students need some motivation this time of the year. Experts believe that the learning is greatly improved when it involves somatic, auditory, visual and intellectual modes simultaneously (more on that in The Accelerated Learning Handbook: A Creative Guide to Designing and Delivering Faster, More Effective Training Programs by Dave Meier ). Therefore, I decided to snoop around and see if I could find something motivational that stimulates different senses. Here are the results of my search for motivation:

• Intellectual.  The Law School Academic Support Blog posted Motivational CPR with advice on how to combat a lack of motivation.
• Auditory.  Check out Pandora created by the Music Genome Project.  You tell them your favorite artists or songs and they serve up music that you are likely to enjoy based on your preferences.  They say, “It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.” They perform an extraordinary analysis of musical attributes or “genes” to create this product. If their unique project is not an inspiration in itself, listening to your favorite music should do it.
• Visual.  If you want to learn a little more about your brain, try these fun drawing exercises from the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain website of Dr. Betty Edwards and find your budding artist inside.  If you’d rather be cynical, try the Parody Motivator Generator.  Are you familiar with the motivational posters?  Perhaps, you have one or two in your room.  Now you can create a satirical version of a motivational poster by uploading an image or photo you want to use and creating the accompanying text.  Like the one to the right.  Have fun with it!
• Somatic.  These Brain Gym exercises based on the work of Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D., and Gail E. Dennison are designed to calm your mind and improve concentration.  Start moving!
• I am adding a bonus.  Olfactory motivation.  Citrus smells are believed to promote mental awareness.  Smell a lemon for clarity and concentration.  Orange will energize you and lavender will calm your nerves.  Peppermint is refreshing and stimulating.  Coriander is motivating (next time you cook pork chops, make a rub with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander, simple but flavorful).  Sniff success!

5 ways to procrastinate with purpose

Procrastination has a bad rep.  Once people realize or, even worse, are told that they are procrastinators, many tend to dive into a wave of negativity and self-doubt only to emerge with a desire to prove to the world that they can procrastinate even longer.  Is there a way to make this potentially debilitating habit productive?  Here are 5 ways to procrastinate with purpose:

1. Use procrastination to organize your thoughts and assess the situation objectively.  Mentally run down the list of burning questions you must address.  Here are a few favorites to get you started:

• What needs to be done?
• Why would it be desirable to do those things?
• What have you already accomplished?
• What kinds of resources and help will you need when you decide to start working on the project?
  
  For more useful questions to assess your situation, look here. 
  
  Write out your thoughts. Writing has the great effect of bringing clarity, calmness and objectivity to the mind. 

2. Use procrastination to create a time-management system for your future actions.  John Richardson of Success Begins Today wrote a series of very insightful posts on focused work time.  The Focused 50 has some great resources for allocating time to various activities throughout the day. 

3. Use procrastination to motivate yourself for success.  Take a walk in the park, meditate, put on your favorite CD – do whatever works for you to create a positive vision of accomplishment.  How will you feel once the project is completed?  Imagine the actual result:  your student note published in a law journal or an effective presentation of your moot court argument.  What will you do for fun to reward yourself for your great work?  Think of little rewards you can give yourself when you complete each part of a longer project.  Talk to people who can motivate you for action.  Write down two or three positive attributes of the final product as you see it and repeat those attributes whenever you sense a negative self-talk.

4. “Turn procrastination into rehearsal”, writes Roy Peter Clark of Poynter Institute.  Use this time to create a mind map of your project. Maybe, you’ll be able to come up with some catchy headings for your paper or construct an argument for a brief.  Keep your mind on the target and take notice of any useful ideas that come to you.  You can do this along with any activity that does not require a lot of mental work.  I get all sorts of decent ideas while cooking.   My husband likes to lie down to do “conceptual work.”
   
5. Finally, if you don’t have much time left to procrastinate, read How to make something amazing right now by Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users.  Time constraints may be a good thing as they can drive creative.  Those of you with a perfectionist streak may find it therapeutic to use your procrastination time to produce something fast without worrying too much about quality.  You’ll have more time later to improve your product.

Procrastinate with purpose!