Writing an Essay Exam: Outline on Paper, Not on the Computer
Most law school exams are given in essay format. It is critical that you outline your answers prior to writing them.
Most students accept this as something that must be done. However, it has become very popular to outline on your computer screen prior to writing.
Is this a good idea? No.
You should be making the outline on scratch paper, not on your computer. Why? Well, there are many reasons. First, if you outline on your computer, as you start working on the essay, your outline will disappear from the screen. This is problematic because I see outlines as a “road map” to your entire essay. Therefore you need to have it as an easy reference point as you work. Second, computers are not without fault. Yes, computers fail during exams. And what happens if your computer fails? You are typically given a bluebook so you can continue writing by hand. What if your outline was on that computer too? Then you would be left with nothing. You think it doesn’t happen, but it happened to me three times in law school. And it even happens on the bar exam. You can still pass and do well on tests if this happens, but you want to protect yourself if it does.
For more information on how to best outline an essay exam, please contact Amicus Tutoring.
About Lee Burgess
Lee Burgess, Esq. is the founder of Amicus Tutoring, LLC, a company she started to help students find success in law school and on the California bar exam. Lee is also an adjunct member of the faculty at the University of San Francisco School of Law and Golden Gate University School of Law, where she teaches classes on study skills, exam preparation, exam writing, and preparing for the bar exam. You can find Lee on Twitter at @amicustutoring. Also check out her new project the Law School Toolbox (www.lawschooltoolbox.com).2 Comments for this entry
Lee Burgess
Andrea: Thank you for the comment. Typically exam software used by law schools looks a lot like a document from Microsoft Word. You should be able to download the software well before (around now) finals. They should also give you the opportunity to take “practice tests” on the software. Although you won’t be able to save your answers, it is a great idea to practice using the software to get a feel for the program and also make sure it runs smoothly on your machine.
Andrea
thanks for the info. i am a 1L and would not have thought of the screen going off while I write my essay. I am not yet quite familiar with the exam software my school uses.