Read the Call of the Question First!

I recently listened to students reading MBE questions. They started at the top of the fact pattern. “No!” I called out. “Start with the call!”

The interrogatory of the particular question was “What is the most serious crime the defendant may be charged with?” It would have changed the entire way of thinking if the students had known at the outset, before reading the facts, whether the question was Criminal Law or Torts. It would have also saved time and improved accuracy to have kept in mind while reading, “most serious crime.”

As I advise in Bar Exam Success: A Comprehensive Guide, keep up your Daily MBE practice –and start reading with the call of the question! This next bar exam is yours to pass!

#PasstheBarExam, #BarExam, #BarReview, #BarSuccess

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Author: Sara Berman

Sara J. Berman, a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, is a Professor of Lawyering Skills and Director of the Academic Success Program at the USC Gould School of Law. She formerly served as a Director at the Washington DC-based AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence.

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