Building mbe skills* *Some of the materials on the following slides used with permission from Wanda Temm, UMKC School of Law.

What is the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)? Two 3 hour sessions 200 multiple choice questions

What subjects are covered? Constitutional Law Contracts Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Evidence Federal Civil Procedure Real Property Torts

MBE Structure Questions not grouped by subject matter Random degree of difficulty Concepts may be worded differently Memorization is not enough. You must be able to apply, restate, analyze. No “bluffing” here

50% of total score in Uniform Bar Exam jurisdictions MBE Scoring 50% of total score in Uniform Bar Exam jurisdictions Shooting for a scaled score of 135+ out of 200 (ie. half of required passing score) No additional penalty for wrong answers. NOTE: Base your target scaled score on your jurisdiction’s cut-off score. My jurisdiction is 260 – so a 130 is 50%. Except for the very high performing students, the scale will add at least 10 points to the raw score. To achieve a 130, I tell students to reach an average of 60% as a raw score.

50 practice questions per day by one- third of the way into bar prep Practice test tips 50 practice questions per day by one- third of the way into bar prep Total of 3000 by time you are done with the studying Use real answer sheets In question booklet: Cross-out answer choices you have eliminated in the question booklet Mark answer choices you think might be right Encourage students to do a mixture of hard copy and online practice questions. The risk with online is that they will not take sufficient time to add the missed rules to their library. And, the actual exam is hard copy.

Practice test tips (cont.) While taking practice tests, make note of questions where you are unsure of the answer Afterwards, don’t just score test – read the explanatory answers and chart misses For missed questions and “lucky guesses,” add to flash cards/outline/flowcharts This means you need to be honest with yourself

What Causes You to Get “Tripped Up” on the MBE? Panic Students who have convinced themselves that they cannot perform well on multiple choice exams, and who begin panicking the moment they start reading the first question. Trust yourself. If you know the subject matter well enough to do well on an essay exam, then there is no reason why you cannot do well with multiple choice questions. Do not psyche yourself out!

What Causes You to Get “Tripped Up” on the MBE? Unprepared Insufficient studying is the most common reason why students perform poorly on multiple choice exams. If you have difficulty deducing answers to the hypotheticals then you do not understand the subject well enough to answer the multiple-choice questions. Operating by instinct While you should pay attention to your "gut" reaction to a multiple choice question, most of the questions will require, at least, several moments of thoughtful consideration to deduce an answer. Do not choose an answer simply because your "gut" tells you to. You could just be hungry.

Analyzing MBE questions Read the question very carefully Read call of the question first Yes/Yes or No/No Topic Area Identification Don’t assume facts Choose the simple interpretation

“Trigger” factors in MBE questions Statutes placed in question Seemingly meaningless details about people (These things are NOT usually thrown in just to confuse or distract – they usually matter.)

Helpful Hints: If there are two answers that are polar opposites, the answer is likely one of those two. Watch out for unqualified absolutes Never, always, guarantees, ensures… Hard to defend and very restrictive Less likely to be correct Be aware of jargony options…if it looks too complicated, it probably is too complicated If answer contains a Latin phrase or rule that you have never heard, chances are it is not the correct answer. Be aware of double negatives, they can trick you into the wrong answer. Rephrase so the question is in the positive

Handling the specific inquiry in each question Reword the Inquiry Question: What is the most likely outcome? Reword to: What will the result be – and why? Question: Which claim is most likely to succeed? Reword to: Which is the only claim that can succeed on these facts – and why? Question: What is Defendant’s best defense? Reword to: Why won’t the Defendant be guilty on these facts?

Process of Elimination The basic concept: Read the call of the question and the four responses Decide the topic area, if not the subtopic Call to mind the rule that applies Then read the facts Yes/Yes or No/No Eliminate an incorrect response. Indicate on the hard copy or on your MBE Chart that this was your first elimination. Eliminate other incorrect responses keeping track of the order you eliminate them Left with the correct response.

How answer choices can be wrong The reasoning mischaracterizes the facts A blatant contradiction of the facts as stated

How answer choices can be wrong The answer choice goes beyond the facts The answer choice assumes a fact or legal issue that is in dispute

How answer choices can be wrong The reasoning is legally wrong Reasoning overstates the requirements of crime, tort or admissibility of evidence Reasoning that uses antiquated or inapplicable rules Reasoning applying rules that do not apply to the facts

How answer choices can be wrong Answer choices that make over-inclusive statements of the law Answer choices which overstate or understate the applicable legal standard

How answer choices can be wrong Caveat: Answer choices stating only a snippet of a legal rule, which address a central issue may nevertheless be correct.

An answer choice may be wrong even if it is factually and legally correct, if it is not as precise or effective as another choice An answer choice that is easier to prove is more likely to be correct than one which is difficult to prove A more precise answer is better than a less precise answer

Guessing Intelligently Factors that should influence your guess Look at facts and ask yourself “so what?” Beware of “seducers” Beware of certainties Beware of answers that focus only on results and not the legal standard

Guessing Intelligently (cont.) Factors that should influence your guess Be wary of answer choices from unrelated subjects If two answers are opposites, one of them is probably correct Look for the common issues if asked to argue both ways Think about minority rules only when stumped Choose the longest response

Guessing intelligently (cont.) If two answers seem equally right, they may both be both wrong.   If an answer choice contradicts the facts or assumes a fact that is not in the fact pattern, it is wrong. Words like “always” or “never” are too broad and usually wrong.

Guessing Intelligently (cont.) Most importantly, don’t get bogged down on tough questions. Apply guessing techniques quickly Put down at least a tentative answer Move on

Guessing intelligently (cont.) Don’t select an answer based on instinct. Remember that a correct answer may not be the right answer. Leave the previous question behind. Stick to your time frame. Do not change your answer unless you are absolutely, 100% sure. Do not skip any questions. Do not look for patterns in your answers. Multiple choice examiners love to include two answers that might seem right, but one is a “better” answer than the other. This is particularly true when the question asks you to select the strongest argument or the best defense, etc. In a similar vein, you may see answers that are right for the wrong reason. The key to acing these types of questions is to recognize them when they appear and then make an extra effort to read the facts and responses very carefully. Attention to detail will help you identify the nuance in the question that signals which answer is the “better” answer.

Finally – Taking the MBE Be well rested and on a familiar schedule Stay on schedule at all costs – 17 questions every half hour Answer every question Each question is different. Don’t let the difficulty of one question influence your approach to the next one. Work to maintain concentration throughout the exam

When all else fails: If you have no more knowledge, no more guesses, your idea bank is empty . . . . Choose the same “guess answer” for all your guesses Talk to your friends, have everyone guess the same letter too, more likely to get thrown out.