Chapter 10: Writing Exam Answers:

[Erin Lain]

I STRONGLY encourage you to re-read this chapter over thanksgiving
break, in preparation for exams.

Comment 1: Timing is essential. Most professors will give you the time
it should take to answer an exam question. FOLLOW IT. That is how much
weight they are giving that question, and it is really bad if you use
an hour answering a half-hour question and then you have to answer a
1.5 hour question in an hour. That’s a sure way to do poorly.

Comment 2: If you are given an hour question you should spend 15
minutes reading it, 15 minutes outlining/organizing, and 30 minutes
writing it. If you have everything organized you should have no
problem writing a great answer in 30 minutes. Don’t be intimidated by
the person in front of you who you swear didn’t even read the question
and just started typing the second the examiner said begin. And then
when you actually start to write your answer, you can see that they’ve
already written a novel. My guess is that that person is just writing
their life story because they certainly didn’t read the question
carefully enough to answer it.
One of the biggest mistakes law students make is that they don’t
answer the question that is being asked. They make up facts, or start
writing on the issue they think the prof is looking for. Reading the
question is EXTREMELY important.

Question: Are you easily distracted? Get to the exam room early and
get a seat in the front of the room. That way you don’t have to look
at 75 computer screens while you are taking your exam.

Comment 3: “Even if the exam question begs for you to slant your
answer one way, don’t. It’s a trap.” (page 130) Remember you are
graded against your peers, so it is a point grab, the more you include
in your answer (that is relevant and on point) the more points you
get.

I’ll see you all next week at orientation. In the meantime, please
feel free to contact me with questions!