Top Law Schools

Which approach is better, or is this a personal fit question?

I have been working on reading ahead so I can have the last two weeks to work on practice exams. As of right now it has been going well, but I am afraid of only having a surface level understanding of the material (I have no idea if this is actually the case. It's hard to tell, as I am able to follow along in class and generally understand the concepts, but I am a long way from seeing how things fit together). Would it be a better use of my time to reread assignments instead of plowing ahead?

If you're not having trouble following along in class, then there probably isn't any issue with reading ahead. If you end up having trouble, then slow down.

No one can tell you what's going to work best for you in this scenario.

.

cavalier1138 wrote:If you're not having trouble following along in class, then there probably isn't any issue with reading ahead. If you end up having trouble, then slow down.

No one can tell you what's going to work best for you in this scenario.

I'm still feeling good (obviously have some difficulty immediately recalling details), so I'm going to forge ahead. Thanks!

NoDayButToday wrote:To the extent that I could bullshit my way through coldcalls, I tended to read after class / be a day behind. That way when I was going through the reading, I could be efficient--closely reading what was covered in class while skimming the rest. Usually would just skim before.

I have been tempted to try out this approach. I might experiment with one class and see how it compares with the others

carsondalywashere wrote:

NoDayButToday wrote:To the extent that I could bullshit my way through coldcalls, I tended to read after class / be a day behind. That way when I was going through the reading, I could be efficient--closely reading what was covered in class while skimming the rest. Usually would just skim before.

I have been tempted to try out this approach. I might experiment with one class and see how it compares with the others

This maybe works if you go to a school where your professors can't smell bullshit from a mile away. I also think the temptation with this method is to slowly stop reading altogether.

On some level, reading is absolutely a personal fit thing. I usually read a week or so ahead and then review my notes in the margins to refresh my memory just before class starts. The benefit of this is that I've never feared being called on or worried about having to BS my way to an answer. Also, it buys me extra time if something comes up that throws off my normal schedule because I've built in a few days to catch up.

What works for me: Read ahead of time, take notes and/or brief well if you are reading cases. I color-code for quick reference during class rather than type up an actual brief. For example, relevant facts are highlighted in purple, holdings are green, et cetera. This has saved me so many times during cold calls if my memory falters.

Don't do things just because others are doing them. If it works for you, do it. If it doesn't, find something new. There were some people who typed up full briefs for every case for every class. I stopped doing that about 3 days in to 1L because the pay-off for me just wasn't equal to the work I was putting in. It was intimidating at first to break from the pack and I know there were people who thought I was slacking for not spending hours each weak typing up case summaries. But ultimately I was more comfortable having developed my own style and that helped me avoid burnout and actually enjoy class.

c28 wrote:

carsondalywashere wrote:

NoDayButToday wrote:To the extent that I could bullshit my way through coldcalls, I tended to read after class / be a day behind. That way when I was going through the reading, I could be efficient--closely reading what was covered in class while skimming the rest. Usually would just skim before.

I have been tempted to try out this approach. I might experiment with one class and see how it compares with the others

This maybe works if you go to a school where your professors can't smell bullshit from a mile away. I also think the temptation with this method is to slowly stop reading altogether.

On some level, reading is absolutely a personal fit thing. I usually read a week or so ahead and then review my notes in the margins to refresh my memory just before class starts. The benefit of this is that I've never feared being called on or worried about having to BS my way to an answer. Also, it buys me extra time if something comes up that throws off my normal schedule because I've built in a few days to catch up.

What works for me: Read ahead of time, take notes and/or brief well if you are reading cases. I color-code for quick reference during class rather than type up an actual brief. For example, relevant facts are highlighted in purple, holdings are green, et cetera. This has saved me so many times during cold calls if my memory falters.

Don't do things just because others are doing them. If it works for you, do it. If it doesn't, find something new. There were some people who typed up full briefs for every case for every class. I stopped doing that about 3 days in to 1L because the pay-off for me just wasn't equal to the work I was putting in. It was intimidating at first to break from the pack and I know there were people who thought I was slacking for not spending hours each weak typing up case summaries. But ultimately I was more comfortable having developed my own style and that helped me avoid burnout and actually enjoy class.

Awesome advice, thank you!!

Hahaha; there's always a 1L like that who when trial ad class or interview time comes cannot nut up

c28 had some good advice. I would always try to do all of the reading for the upcoming week on the weekend, so I could use the week to try focus on what I was less comfortable with. Towards the end of the semester, I would try to read ahead, which would free up more time to focus on practice exams, studying, etc.

I read ahead and reread (skimming) before class.

I've been reading ahead. Sucks for cold calls, but it makes the week less stressful. Might start rereading my CivPro readings after class, as that subject confuse the fuck out of me.

carsondalywashere wrote:I've been reading ahead. Sucks for cold calls, but it makes the week less stressful. Might start rereading my CivPro readings after class, as that subject confuse the fuck out of me.

Reread (skim) before class (not after). You'll nail the cold calls and make the week less stressful. That's what I did

it's about 6 weeks into school and not *too* early to start outlining, or at least looking over other ppl's outlines. i think that would be a better use of your time than double-reading cases.

or you can go back and make a list of cases with mini-irac.

i don't think double-reading cases helps (if you gave it a good faith effort in the first read-through)

This "worrying about cold calls" thing is stupid. It's all about exams. Unless you want to clerk, fuck what the professors think of you.

xAngelTearsx wrote:

carsondalywashere wrote:I've been reading ahead. Sucks for cold calls, but it makes the week less stressful. Might start rereading my CivPro readings after class, as that subject confuse the fuck out of me.

Reread (skim) before class (not after). You'll nail the cold calls and make the week less stressful. That's what I did

That's fair. Need to stop playing grab ass before class and just dive into it haha

pancakes3 wrote:it's about 6 weeks into school and not *too* early to start outlining, or at least looking over other ppl's outlines. i think that would be a better use of your time than double-reading cases.

or you can go back and make a list of cases with mini-irac.

i don't think double-reading cases helps (if you gave it a good faith effort in the first read-through)

Actually about to start doing that today!

AnMzungu wrote:This "worrying about cold calls" thing is stupid. It's all about exams. Unless you want to clerk, fuck what the professors think of you.

I'm not worried about cold calls, but there are some classes (really just CivPro) where I get lost during the lecture and never find my way back