Practice Questions
In the Beginning: 30% Answered Correctly
In the beginning, I was getting about 30% of my questions correct. I would advise you to be very honest with yourself when self grading. Just because you guess correctly, does not mean you should count the question as correct and never review it again. I only counted the questions that I both answered correctly and could explain why. If I got a question wrong, or was only correct because of dumb luck, I made a mark next to the question and returned to it at a later time.
After a Month of Practice: Up to 50-55%
After 20 - 30 days of bar review, my percentages jumped up to around 50-55% of questions answered correctly. I was also starting to discover which subjects were causing the most problems. The magic number I have always heard to put you in the safe zone is 70%. When you are at the point of getting 70% of all practice questions correct, you can feel pretty confident about passing the bar exam.
Stalling at 55-60%
My greatest frustration was that I had a very difficult time in reaching that goal. I found myself panicking after July 4th, because I was still only getting between 55 and 60% correct. It really wasn't until about 2 weeks (maybe even a week and a half) before the actual bar exam that I started consistently hitting my 70% target goal. That is when things started to really come together and I have the secret of why. I found one technique (very late in the game) that worked VERY well in raising my percentages...
Reaching the Goal of 70%: A Technique that Worked
Make sure you find a bar prep course that provides a topic/sub-topic index for each of their practice questions.
Keep in mind that doing them in numerical order (usually mixed) is also important because the questions on the bar will certainly not be neatly organized for you. But when tackling a particular sub-topic that is difficult, spend some time mastering that sub-topic alone.
The index, provided by your general bar review course, should not simply tell you what general subject the question happens to pertain (i.e. Contracts, Property, Torts, Con Law, Crim Pro, etc.) but should also give you the specific sub-topic within the general topic (e.g. Contracts: Parol Evidence Rule; Property: Easements Appurtenant; Torts: Private Nuisance Doctrine; Con Law: Equal Protection; Crim Pro: Automobile Exception; etc.)
For too long of a time, I could not grasp questions pertaining to easements and covenants. That particular sub topic gave me great trouble and was the source of much anxiety. One day, after being fed up with getting most of these questions wrong, I just went to the index and circled all of the property questions that related to easements and covenants and did all of them in a row (maybe 50 or so), making sure I understood the answers to all of the questions and also understanding why the other answer choices were wrong.
By the end I mastered those subjects and greatly increased my scores along the way. I wish I had thought to do this earlier in my studies. Its so simple! It would have saved a lot of frustration. PMBR does have such an index for some of their practice questions. Bar Bri does not (or at least not that I saw in their 2007 books). I do know that other bar review courses will track your progress online and specifically tell you which types of questions you need to dedicate more time towards. In my opinion, this type of learning is hands-down more effective. Again, I would strongly recommend doing your research on some of these other bar review courses.
Jason's study diary
In the beginning, I was getting about 30% of my questions correct. I would advise you to be very honest with yourself when self grading. Just because you guess correctly, does not mean you should count the question as correct and never review it again. I only counted the questions that I both answered correctly and could explain why. If I got a question wrong, or was only correct because of dumb luck, I made a mark next to the question and returned to it at a later time.
After a Month of Practice: Up to 50-55%
After 20 - 30 days of bar review, my percentages jumped up to around 50-55% of questions answered correctly. I was also starting to discover which subjects were causing the most problems. The magic number I have always heard to put you in the safe zone is 70%. When you are at the point of getting 70% of all practice questions correct, you can feel pretty confident about passing the bar exam.
Stalling at 55-60%
My greatest frustration was that I had a very difficult time in reaching that goal. I found myself panicking after July 4th, because I was still only getting between 55 and 60% correct. It really wasn't until about 2 weeks (maybe even a week and a half) before the actual bar exam that I started consistently hitting my 70% target goal. That is when things started to really come together and I have the secret of why. I found one technique (very late in the game) that worked VERY well in raising my percentages...
Reaching the Goal of 70%: A Technique that Worked
Make sure you find a bar prep course that provides a topic/sub-topic index for each of their practice questions.
Keep in mind that doing them in numerical order (usually mixed) is also important because the questions on the bar will certainly not be neatly organized for you. But when tackling a particular sub-topic that is difficult, spend some time mastering that sub-topic alone.
The index, provided by your general bar review course, should not simply tell you what general subject the question happens to pertain (i.e. Contracts, Property, Torts, Con Law, Crim Pro, etc.) but should also give you the specific sub-topic within the general topic (e.g. Contracts: Parol Evidence Rule; Property: Easements Appurtenant; Torts: Private Nuisance Doctrine; Con Law: Equal Protection; Crim Pro: Automobile Exception; etc.)
For too long of a time, I could not grasp questions pertaining to easements and covenants. That particular sub topic gave me great trouble and was the source of much anxiety. One day, after being fed up with getting most of these questions wrong, I just went to the index and circled all of the property questions that related to easements and covenants and did all of them in a row (maybe 50 or so), making sure I understood the answers to all of the questions and also understanding why the other answer choices were wrong.
By the end I mastered those subjects and greatly increased my scores along the way. I wish I had thought to do this earlier in my studies. Its so simple! It would have saved a lot of frustration. PMBR does have such an index for some of their practice questions. Bar Bri does not (or at least not that I saw in their 2007 books). I do know that other bar review courses will track your progress online and specifically tell you which types of questions you need to dedicate more time towards. In my opinion, this type of learning is hands-down more effective. Again, I would strongly recommend doing your research on some of these other bar review courses.
Jason's study diary