July MBE Help! Forum

[lasha001]

Hey All,

I just completed all the MBE topics for Themis and I am consistently bombing the MBE PQs. I consistently score in the high 40s/low 50s. I plan on taking the July NY Bar and am starting to worry. This is in contrast to my essay scores which are in the passing range. I assume that I am obviously missing the patterns/something isn't clicking and was wondering if anyone had suggestions. [Advertisement redacted]
Thanks!

- Lasha001

[SilvermanBarPrep]

Don't panic. Learn from your mistakes. You're focused on the fact that you are answering the questions incorrectly (which is reasonable because on the test we need to answer a certain number of questions correctly). But is that focus preventing you from learning from each question? If so, then you're not going about studying for this test in the correct way.

Every question is testing/teaching a legal principle and you need to be sure to learn the principle. It'll show up again on a future question (either when practicing or on the actual exam). So your only goal should be to learn it and then apply it correctly to some new fact pattern when it shows up again. Treat your incorrect answers as an opportunity to learn something new that can then score you a point when it actually counts!

Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

[Tiredbuthappyitsover]

Hey All,

I just completed all the MBE topics for Themis and I am consistently bombing the MBE PQs. I consistently score in the high 40s/low 50s. I plan on taking the July NY Bar and am starting to worry. This is in contrast to my essay scores which are in the passing range. I assume that I am obviously missing the patterns/something isn't clicking and was wondering if anyone had suggestions. [Advertisement redacted]

Thanks!

- Lasha001

Lasha001,

Are you using Adaptibar and/or Critical Pass flashcards to prep? I used both and that's what helped me pass the bar exam the second time around (as opposed to the first time). I have discount codes for both programs if you need them-just PM me with your email and I'll send it to you.

Also, the second time I took the bar I used Reed Bar Review. If you're interested, PM me and I'd be happy to talk to you (over the phone or text or email or whatever) about how much he helped me improve my score on the MBE--my score went from a 125 to a 141. He's got a 3-day boot camp you might be interested in. My score increase is especially meaningful when you consider that I went from the 16th percentile of test takers in July 2016 to the 70th-75th percentile of takers in February 2017. In my opinion, it became harder to do well on the MBE in February 2017 when they increased the number of experimental questions from 10 out of 200 to 25 out of 200.

You need to do LOTS of practice MBEs and review your mistakes and go over rules of law that you missed.

[msummer]

I think that at this point you better keep on with your course schedule, but add some rereading of your notes or the mini review book before approching mbe que in each subject. I truly believe that you miss the basis.And don't get stressed!

[jdk]

It's difficult to give advice without knowing how you've been studying. There's no getting around the fact that the MBE requires memorization, which can be accomplished by several ways. What is most effective for me is to take a specific topic, put my notes down, stand up, and pretend like I'm presenting it to a class. Out loud, from memory. This forces me to identify the most important aspects of a topic while simulating an environment where I have to cough up information in a meaningful fashion without my notes.

Take joint tenancy, for example. What topics would I need to cover with first year property students?

Presumptions of a conveyance (common law vs. modern law)
Right of survivorship. What does this mean? Does it trump a will? Walk me through an example.
What are the four unities? How might these come up in a real life scenario?
How is it severed?

If you can present this subject by answering these questions out loud in a manner that makes sense, I'd say you know it for purposes of the MBE.

This is just my approach, and it worked for me.

[lasha001]

It's difficult to give advice without knowing how you've been studying. There's no getting around the fact that the MBE requires memorization, which can be accomplished by several ways. What is most effective for me is to take a specific topic, put my notes down, stand up, and pretend like I'm presenting it to a class. Out loud, from memory. This forces me to identify the most important aspects of a topic while simulating an environment where I have to cough up information in a meaningful fashion without my notes.

Take joint tenancy, for example. What topics would I need to cover with first year property students?

Presumptions of a conveyance (common law vs. modern law)
Right of survivorship. What does this mean? Does it trump a will? Walk me through an example.
What are the four unities? How might these come up in a real life scenario?
How is it severed?

If you can present this subject by answering these questions out loud in a manner that makes sense, I'd say you know it for purposes of the MBE.

This is just my approach, and it worked for me.

I am currently taking Themis and up until this weekend I've just followed the study schedule which includes reviewing their outlines and lectures but that's about it. In law school I learned material by writing it down so this week I took a pause from the study schedule to sit down with the topics and create flash cards for each. It's been pretty helpful in my knowledge of the material but only increased my MBE practice questions by a couple of points. I am testing this strategy out with civ pro, evidence, crim/crime pro, and con law since Themis has a mixed practice MBE on these topics that I want to take in a couple days after a complete review.

[SilvermanBarPrep]

I would say that some essential resources for the MBE are:

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE (6th edition)
Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (4th edition)
The 210 questions that the NCBE has just recently released.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

[ndbigdave]

I would say that some essential resources for the MBE are:

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE (6th edition)
Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (4th edition)
The 210 questions that the NCBE has just recently released.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

I would agree with the above and add getting your hands on the other released previously used MBE questions. The classic example on these boards is through Adaptibar, but this can be done through the NCBE or BarMax (likely other options as well).

I would endorse both BarMax and Adaptibar. There are two major reasons:

1 - Real questions + answer explanations
2 - Analytical tools tracking your success rate so you can find strengths/weaknesses to focus your studying.

From my perspective and experience there is likely no better thing to do than drill questions + reviewing your answers (right or wrong) so that you can learn from mistakes and see how nuanced the questions can be. Yes, knowing the BLL is important but being able to apply it appropriately is where the drilling comes from.

Though it is but one anecdotal example, I have a friend who was just plain BAD at multiple choice and even though she went through the BarBri program and did a lot of questions her score went from a 122 to a 125 to finally a 135 after using Adaptibar. Knowing her the way I do and the work she had put in with the first two attempts all I can think is that Adaptibar is a winner (or more specifically, using real questions and reviewing each question immediately after answering is a huge key).

[Neve]

List of Essential Supplements for the MBE:

1) Emanuel's Strategies and Tactics for the MBE - available on Amazon. Fairly cheap book. Has good tips on approaching the MBE and contains lots of practice questions.

2) Adaptibar (http://www.adaptibar.com) - I didn't use this, but wish I had since it has received raving reviews. The only con to Adaptibar is the price.

3) Barmax MBE Questions (https://getbarmax.com/barmax-mbe-questions/ - supposedly "comparable" to Adaptibar). At only $249, it's a good price, but Adaptibar has tracking tools to individualize your MBE study and show your progress in a method that Barmax can't. But Barmax seems to be more economical than Adaptibar. You also need an iOS device to use it.

4) OPE from the MBE site to practice the most recent test questions: http://store.ncbex.org/all-online-practice-exams/. At $50 per OPE it isn't the cheapest option, but these are real, recent MBE questions and not the souped up Barbri ones. Barbri questions are not representative of the modern MBE. I hear Barmax is only $249 and has all these OPEs included.

5) Critical Pass (http://criticalpass.refr.cc/8GVXRT9 - referral link contains a discount code for 20% off) - Great flashcards for the MBE! You can't apply the law to an MBE question, if you don't know the law. I used Critical Pass for my bar study along with the CMR from Barbri and their simulated questions (although the Barbri questions are very different than actual MBE questions). I also used Emanuel's S&T during my study period, but not as much as I should have since it's a great resource. Note: When I purchased Critical Pass flashcards, I got a free shipping code by liking Critical Pass on Facebook. However, I don't know if this code is still available.

[L_William_W]

I would say that some essential resources for the MBE are:

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE (6th edition)
Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (4th edition)
The 210 questions that the NCBE has just recently released.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

The released questions are misleading- they're easier than the actual exam. Get these books, along with the Kaplan book and you're good to go (don't waste your money on Adaptibar).

https://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-Practice- ... kaplan+mbe

[onlyunholy]

I would say that some essential resources for the MBE are:

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE (6th edition)
Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (4th edition)
The 210 questions that the NCBE has just recently released.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

The released questions are misleading- they're easier than the actual exam. Get these books, along with the Kaplan book and you're good to go (don't waste your money on Adaptibar).

https://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-Practice- ... kaplan+mbe

Definitely do not think Adaptibar is a waste...

[L_William_W]

I might be an outlier, but when I used Adaptibar, my MBE was a 118.6 (vomit). When I used the other books that I mentioned, my MBE increased to a 149.3

[ChiliBowlWonder]

I would say that some essential resources for the MBE are:

Strategies and Tactics for the MBE (6th edition)
Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (4th edition)
The 210 questions that the NCBE has just recently released.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

Is there a clear value in the sixth edition compared to the fifth on the Emmanuel strategy book?