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Preface | |
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Acknowledgements | |
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About the Authors | |
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A Note From Steven I. Friedland | |
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A Note From Jeffrey Scott Shapiro | |
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Prologue | |
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Introduction | |
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One Cruel Trick | |
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Bar Prep Blues | |
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What Makes the Bar Exam So Tough? | |
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No Real Professor | |
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No Casebooks | |
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No Loose Requirements of Conciseness and Precision | |
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No Accompanying Law School Course | |
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No Total Focus on Issue-Spotter Essays | |
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No Essays Containing a "Discuss" Call of the Question | |
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Supersized: Not Just One Course at a Time | |
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It's All or Nothing: No Easy Electives to Balance the Schedule | |
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Familiarity With the Bar Exam | |
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The Test on Paper - The Multistate Exam | |
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Some Highly Tested Topics | |
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Scoring | |
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The State Components | |
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Essay Questions | |
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Multiple Choice Questions | |
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Performance Testing | |
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The Basics of Multiple Choice and Essay Questions | |
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Dissecting Multiple Choice Type Questions | |
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Components | |
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Sample Stems | |
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Stem Tasks | |
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Three Primary Multiple Choice Question Types | |
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Dissecting Essay Questions | |
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Common Mistakes Bar Takers Make | |
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Not Studying | |
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"I can always take it again." | |
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"I'm not sure if I am going to practice law." | |
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"I'm just not motivated." | |
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"I am the master of the universe!" | |
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"My family and friends need attention." | |
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Letting Time Slip Away | |
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Wasting Precious Time | |
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Substituting the Main Course for Side Salads | |
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Location, Location, Location: Finding a Place to Go to Work | |
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Working While Studying | |
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Adopting A Passive Studying Approach | |
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Making the Connection Between Reading and Applying | |
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The Wrong Kind of Reading | |
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Digesting and Comprehending | |
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Reading for the Wrong Reasons | |
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Illustration: Training for a Marathon | |
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Skimming the Rules and Principles | |
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A Skimmer's Approach to Reading and Understanding the Rules | |
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Illustration: Tommy the Skimmer | |
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Over-Studying | |
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Illustration: Danni, the Queen of Coverage | |
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Letting Negativity Get the Best of You | |
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Illustration: The Allure of the Unknown | |
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Quick Tip: Unrecognizable Answer Choices Are Almost Always Wrong | |
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Failing to Create Exam Strategies and Tactics | |
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Mistake #1: Not Having a Strategy For Responding to Multiple Choice Questions - Don't Go to Vegas, Go to Hawaii | |
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Mistake #2: Not Having a Strategy For Writing an Effective Essay | |
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Test-Taking Judgment Errors | |
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Personal Maintenance | |
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Other Distractions | |
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Things to Watch Out For - Catching a Last Minute "Redeye" to Vegas | |
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Qualities of Successful Exam Takers | |
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Introducing the Successful Bar Examinee | |
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The Skills You Need Now | |
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Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing | |
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Critical Reading - The Whole Package | |
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Critical Thinking - A Learning Pyramid of Skills | |
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Critical Writing | |
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The Question Asked | |
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What Contract Law Applies? | |
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Was a Contract Formed? | |
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Commitment to Passing the Bar Exam | |
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Get Disciplined! | |
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How Badly Do You Want It ... Really? | |
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Treat the Exam as a "Big Rock" | |
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Illustration: Well-Rounded Ted | |
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Every Day Counts | |
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Here is the Real Question: How Much Does It Cost to Fail? | |
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Illustration: "Time is a Jar of Marbles" | |
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Remove Temptations | |
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Dedicate a Study Place | |
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Go ahead and do it! | |
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Display the "Do Not Disturb" Sign | |
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Treat Bar Prep as Your First Law Job | |
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Exercising Judgment | |
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Managing Time Effectively | |
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A Failure to Prioritize: Thinking All Topics Are Created Equal | |
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Illustration: The Big Rocks | |
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Big Rocks for the Multistate Bar Exam - What You Really Need to Know | |
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Evidence | |
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Torts | |
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Contents | |
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Criminal Law | |
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Property | |
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Constitutional Law | |
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Poise | |
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Goals Are Everything - A Schedule for Bar Exam Success | |
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Goals | |
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Timing | |
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When | |
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What | |
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Where | |
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How | |
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Schedule Output, Not Input | |
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Studying Blocks | |
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McNuggets | |
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Variety | |
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Test Yourself | |
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Feedback | |
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Sample Schedule - Two Months Away | |
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Sample Schedule - Two Weeks Away | |
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Techniques for Success | |
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Frameworks and Protocols: Learn a Dance, Not A Pose | |
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Frameworks and Protocols-Travel Maps for Courses and Legal Rules | |
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Essay Questions | |
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Whole Rule Analysis | |
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Funnel It | |
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The Right Direction | |
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Critical Reading Techniques | |
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Practice Reading Critically: Apply Active Studying Techniques | |
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Step #1: Understanding That Not All Words are Created Equal | |
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Step #2: Spotting Important Words | |
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Technique #1: Practice Translation | |
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Technique #2: Identifying "Real" Issues | |
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Critical Thinking Techniques | |
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Critical Thinking Techniques | |
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Technique #1: Aim for Mastery | |
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Technique #2: Funnel | |
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Technique #3: Practice Thinking Out Loud | |
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Technique #4: Make Flash Cards | |
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Learning the Vocabulary of Bar Prep - The Elements | |
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Technique #5: Make Car Tapes | |
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Technique #6: Repetition-Recapturing Rules and Elements | |
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Technique #7: Magic Opening Phrases | |
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Technique #8: Memory Enhancers | |
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Technique #9: Doctrinal "Triggers" | |
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Critical Writing Techniques | |
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Critical Writing Techniques | |
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Technique #1: Identifying and Emphasizing Real Issues | |
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Technique #2: Mind the "Big Picture" and the Details | |
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Practice, Practice, Practice | |
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Ditch Irac | |
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Box It Up | |
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Use Anchor and Trigger Words | |
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The Approach to Game Day | |
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Three Weeks to Go | |
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Schedule | |
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Nerves | |
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Cool as Ice | |
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Avoid Quicksand | |
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Natural As Granola | |
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Stay the Course | |
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Do You Feel Lucky? | |
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Take a Walk | |
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I Have Studied and I Have Learned | |
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Toxic People | |
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One Week to Go | |
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Keep Staying the Course | |
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Focus | |
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The Day Before the Exam | |
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The Night Before the Exam | |
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The Exam is Now - Strategies and Tactics | |
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Dismantling Pressure | |
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Clothing | |
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Food | |
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Housing | |
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The Exam Itself - Time, Tools, Temperament, Reading, Frameworks | |
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Post-Mortems | |
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After a Question | |
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After a Day | |
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After the Exam | |
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The Workbook Chapter: Applying Your Knowledge | |