2018 July California Bar Forum

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Cmal123

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Cmal123 » Fri May 25, 2018 5:10 am

CalBar2 wrote:Does anyone know whether or not you can use a discount code with Adaptibar if you can already receive the retaker discount?
If you private message me your email I can send you my Adaptibar referral code for $30 off!

carcollector

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by carcollector » Fri May 25, 2018 10:39 am

Anyone have the SmartBarPrep guides?

Nightcrawler

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Nightcrawler » Fri May 25, 2018 11:07 am

justanotheruser wrote:Holy shit.
No, seriously. You can no longer sign up for the [Productive Mindset Intervention Program] that, according to the Executive Director of the State Bar of California on May 18th, had just been “recently launched” for the July 2018 exam. I found this out by calling the Los Angeles Office of Admissions and asking for information on how to enroll in the program. I was told that the deadline for enrollment was May 14th, 2018. Some might find that an odd date to choose, as it is four days before the Bar Exam results were released. Meaning that anyone who had failed the February administration and would be registering for the July exam had missed the enrollment deadline for a program designed to improve their performance in July.

I pressed him further, asking if it was a program designed only for first-time test takers or 3Ls. I was told that it was for “anyone who enrolled by May 14th.” I asked, “But, how could anyone who had taken the February exam enroll by May 14th?” The answer is, of course, that they couldn’t — but because he was unwilling to say that, the representative simply breathed in silence on the other line as the tension grew. Much angrier now, I demanded to have the names of the persons in charge of running the “Productive Mindset Intervention Program,” and for their contact information. If you’re reading this and you’re wearing a hat, I would advise holding onto it before proceeding on and reading the response I received. The words that stumbled out of the man on the other line’s mouth were “no one has been appointed for that yet.”
Source: https://medium.com/@ungiorno/go-f-ck-yo ... 1c6836a416 (well worth a read... the writer takes the state bar to task and sums up many of my own feelings)
Wow. People need to share this.

JohnnieSockran

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by JohnnieSockran » Fri May 25, 2018 12:57 pm

psg190 wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
The materials are nothing earth shattering. Between a premium baressays.com account and Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar you'll have them all. I took his course and did not find it beneficial.
Did you pass?

psg190

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by psg190 » Fri May 25, 2018 1:43 pm

JohnnieSockran wrote:
psg190 wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
The materials are nothing earth shattering. Between a premium baressays.com account and Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar you'll have them all. I took his course and did not find it beneficial.
Did you pass?
Sure didn't and it wasn't close. Did everything in his program to a T - I was rocking 75s and 80s on all essays and my cumulative success on AdaptiBar was at 75%+ by the end.

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carcollector

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by carcollector » Fri May 25, 2018 1:58 pm

Are any of you studying with groups? I feel the hardest part about this exam is just staying accountable. The exam material itself isn't anything extraordinary.

Bar-Examinee

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Bar-Examinee » Fri May 25, 2018 4:11 pm

carcollector wrote:Anyone have the SmartBarPrep guides?
I got it for the July 2017 bar. It's a collection of rule statements used in the bar-selected modern answers, so it's updated for each exam as new model answers to new essays become available. However, some rule statements are really long, and you're left wondering if the model answer listed it as it appears in the guide or if it was broken down and analyzed per element. Sometimes, it might be more manageable to do the latter, but then the guide isn't very helpful in indicating the most logical order to use the rule statements. For example, when you're looking at certain areas of the guide, especially subjects with more rules, you'll see a long rule statement, look at the next rule, and think that it would be a more logical fit somewhere in between the lengthy rule statement because it fits under an earlier element of the previous rule statement. In that sense, I found the guide to be more confusing. The way to go about structuring CA Evidence and CA Civ Pro essays is also not clearly set up. I found the guide most useful for the more direct, fewer rules subjects, like CP and Wills.

carcollector

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by carcollector » Fri May 25, 2018 4:27 pm

Bar-Examinee wrote:
carcollector wrote:Anyone have the SmartBarPrep guides?
I got it for the July 2017 bar. It's a collection of rule statements used in the bar-selected modern answers, so it's updated for each exam as new model answers to new essays become available. However, some rule statements are really long, and you're left wondering if the model answer listed it as it appears in the guide or if it was broken down and analyzed per element. Sometimes, it might be more manageable to do the latter, but then the guide isn't very helpful in indicating the most logical order to use the rule statements. For example, when you're looking at certain areas of the guide, especially subjects with more rules, you'll see a long rule statement, look at the next rule, and think that it would be a more logical fit somewhere in between the lengthy rule statement because it fits under an earlier element of the previous rule statement. In that sense, I found the guide to be more confusing. The way to go about structuring CA Evidence and CA Civ Pro essays is also not clearly set up. I found the guide most useful for the more direct, fewer rules subjects, like CP and Wills.
Your response helps a lot. Thanks. Did you pass back in 2017? How do you recommend people prepare for the exam this July.

Angel66

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Angel66 » Fri May 25, 2018 4:39 pm

JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
No, I don't think that would be fair to him, and honestly I have a lot of respect for the guy because he really did seem to care about the success of his students.

If he was some big company like Kaplan, then yeah, I'd give all of the materials away for free.

Also, I already had a little celebratory "burn all of my bar materials" party when I found out I passed, so the point is moot.
Thank you! I agree that the materials shouldn't be shared. Can you please let me know what's the ballpark amount of his services? Are we talking about a few hundred or a few thousand dollars here?

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Angel66

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Angel66 » Fri May 25, 2018 4:48 pm

psg190 wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
psg190 wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
The materials are nothing earth shattering. Between a premium baressays.com account and Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar you'll have them all. I took his course and did not find it beneficial.
Did you pass?
Sure didn't and it wasn't close. Did everything in his program to a T - I was rocking 75s and 80s on all essays and my cumulative success on AdaptiBar was at 75%+ by the end.
I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?

Bar-Examinee

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Bar-Examinee » Fri May 25, 2018 5:01 pm

carcollector wrote:
Bar-Examinee wrote:
carcollector wrote:Anyone have the SmartBarPrep guides?
I got it for the July 2017 bar. It's a collection of rule statements used in the bar-selected modern answers, so it's updated for each exam as new model answers to new essays become available. However, some rule statements are really long, and you're left wondering if the model answer listed it as it appears in the guide or if it was broken down and analyzed per element. Sometimes, it might be more manageable to do the latter, but then the guide isn't very helpful in indicating the most logical order to use the rule statements. For example, when you're looking at certain areas of the guide, especially subjects with more rules, you'll see a long rule statement, look at the next rule, and think that it would be a more logical fit somewhere in between the lengthy rule statement because it fits under an earlier element of the previous rule statement. In that sense, I found the guide to be more confusing. The way to go about structuring CA Evidence and CA Civ Pro essays is also not clearly set up. I found the guide most useful for the more direct, fewer rules subjects, like CP and Wills.
Your response helps a lot. Thanks. Did you pass back in 2017? How do you recommend people prepare for the exam this July.
Unfortunately, no, I have not passed the CA bar. I retook it this past February, and my MBE scores dropped, so I'm still looking into MBE prep alternatives.

psg190

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by psg190 » Fri May 25, 2018 5:59 pm

Angel66 wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
No, I don't think that would be fair to him, and honestly I have a lot of respect for the guy because he really did seem to care about the success of his students.

If he was some big company like Kaplan, then yeah, I'd give all of the materials away for free.

Also, I already had a little celebratory "burn all of my bar materials" party when I found out I passed, so the point is moot.
Thank you! I agree that the materials shouldn't be shared. Can you please let me know what's the ballpark amount of his services? Are we talking about a few hundred or a few thousand dollars here?
Think 2x Barbri costs.
Last edited by psg190 on Fri May 25, 2018 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

psg190

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by psg190 » Fri May 25, 2018 6:02 pm

Angel66 wrote: I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?
Correct. I did not get any 75s or 80s on the real exam and my total weighted essay score was below passing (as was my MBE score). This tutor does not have any silver bullets for the California bar. If you feel you know the law, but have a tough time applying it in a logical manner, his methods may be helpful.

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carcollector

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by carcollector » Sat May 26, 2018 12:24 am

psg190 wrote:
Angel66 wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:
carcollector wrote:
JohnnieSockran wrote:I failed July 17 by ~130 points total (1311 I believe was my score). I did Kaplan, and also got a tutor through Kaplan to help with essays.

I passed in February 18 (no idea by how much). For that test, I used a former bar grader as my tutor for essays, and did Adaptibar for MBE. 100% of my studying was through materials provided by my tutor or Adaptibar.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful through Kaplan, BarBri, etc. I'm just providing this data point, because when I was still struggling halfway through my Kaplan course (my practice scores weren't up to par no matter how much time I put in, so failing the exam was not that shocking) I wish I had known that other/better tutoring options were out there.

The tutor I used is very expensive, he's located in the bay area, but all of the work I did with him was via Skype, so location isn't an issue. He does only take a small group of students because he gives very detailed feedback, so his "roster" usually fills up pretty quick, especially for July.

This is not a solicitation, and I don't get any referral bonus or anything. I get nothing if you use his services, I'm just providing this info because it worked for me, and hopefully someone else out there benefits. His name is Jagdish (Jay) Bijlani and his website is callawtutor.com
What was the program like? I am curious about how you were able to memorize all of the rules. Thanks!
He gave me a very detailed outline that covered all of the rules and sub-rules. I studied my outline A LOT. I did a lot of practice essays and MBE questions. He also has attack sheets for each subject that are intended to be memorized, so that you are able to issue-spot every single issue on exam day.
If possible would you be willing to share the materials? Thanks.
No, I don't think that would be fair to him, and honestly I have a lot of respect for the guy because he really did seem to care about the success of his students.

If he was some big company like Kaplan, then yeah, I'd give all of the materials away for free.

Also, I already had a little celebratory "burn all of my bar materials" party when I found out I passed, so the point is moot.
Thank you! I agree that the materials shouldn't be shared. Can you please let me know what's the ballpark amount of his services? Are we talking about a few hundred or a few thousand dollars here?
Think 2x Barbri costs.
I don't see what the big deal is about sharing the price, at least. I emailed him and he said it starts at $6,000. You can also read his reviews on Yelp btw. I guess people gripe about his lack of customization given the price.

mattinfll

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by mattinfll » Mon May 28, 2018 7:47 pm

I've been practicing for 9 years in Florida, which I passed the first time relying on Kaplan Online. My practice is plaintiff's and transactional (very focused on torts of all kinds and contracts/remedies). I am the researcher and writer of my firm so I'm always writing complaints and briefs.

I am taking the CA attorney exam and since I have to pay for this myself, I really don't want to spend $2700 on Barbri if I don't have to.

Are there any other experienced attorneys out there who don't have to take the MBE and are just focusing on the essay and PT courses and materials that are out there? SmartBarPrep, baressays, Mary Basick, etc. ? Instead of Barbri or Themis?

Thanks

Sapatlawyer

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Sapatlawyer » Mon May 28, 2018 11:12 pm

I'm in the same position and I'm just focusing on Baressays and Mary Basick's book (nice outlines of the relevant law). I have the BarBri essay materials for J17/F18 and will use it as supplemental essay practice material.
mattinfll wrote:I've been practicing for 9 years in Florida, which I passed the first time relying on Kaplan Online. My practice is plaintiff's and transactional (very focused on torts of all kinds and contracts/remedies). I am the researcher and writer of my firm so I'm always writing complaints and briefs.

I am taking the CA attorney exam and since I have to pay for this myself, I really don't want to spend $2700 on Barbri if I don't have to.

Are there any other experienced attorneys out there who don't have to take the MBE and are just focusing on the essay and PT courses and materials that are out there? SmartBarPrep, baressays, Mary Basick, etc. ? Instead of Barbri or Themis?

Thanks

Nightcrawler

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Nightcrawler » Mon May 28, 2018 11:12 pm

mattinfll wrote:I've been practicing for 9 years in Florida, which I passed the first time relying on Kaplan Online. My practice is plaintiff's and transactional (very focused on torts of all kinds and contracts/remedies). I am the researcher and writer of my firm so I'm always writing complaints and briefs.

I am taking the CA attorney exam and since I have to pay for this myself, I really don't want to spend $2700 on Barbri if I don't have to.

Are there any other experienced attorneys out there who don't have to take the MBE and are just focusing on the essay and PT courses and materials that are out there? SmartBarPrep, baressays, Mary Basick, etc. ? Instead of Barbri or Themis?

Thanks
I'm not an attorney, nor I passed the CA bar. I failed it numerous times but I got a 1440 last time on the written portion relying almost solely on SmartBarPrep outlines. I integrated it with Critical Pass to fill the few gaps they have. In my opinion, SmartBarPrep's outlines are largely underrated. If I had time to study all the subjects on their outlines, I would've gotten an even higher score for sure.

What's overrated is Barbri. Used it the first time and it was definitely my least favorite (and also the most expensive by a large margin).

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LockBox

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by LockBox » Tue May 29, 2018 2:35 pm

psg190 wrote:
Angel66 wrote: I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?
Correct. I did not get any 75s or 80s on the real exam and my total weighted essay score was below passing (as was my MBE score). This tutor does not have any silver bullets for the California bar. If you feel you know the law, but have a tough time applying it in a logical manner, his methods may be helpful.
So i'm not reviewing your essays so I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that if you were getting 75-80's consistently on your tutor-graded exams, then either that is very irresponsible grading or you choked big time on the real thing. When I studied with my tutor during the period leading up to the CBX that I passed, I received a few 75/80's (maybe 2) but over 20 graded essays were in the 55-60 range. My point being that if you're consistently scoring above-passing answers/model quality answers, then its likely that you would either pass or those high scores were not accurate.

I understand the mental struggle is significant with passing, but padding a student's scores is not helpful, especially if the end result is a fail, imo...

barprepforca

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by barprepforca » Tue May 29, 2018 3:35 pm

So im using baressays as a supplement for my BarBri course, but im curious as to how to go about doing essays on subjects that i've yet to review. Some of the subjects, ive never done before, so if anyone had advice how to approach these subjects, it would be helpful. Thanks!

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by a male human » Tue May 29, 2018 3:38 pm

barprepforca wrote:So im using baressays as a supplement for my BarBri course, but im curious as to how to go about doing essays on subjects that i've yet to review. Some of the subjects, ive never done before, so if anyone had advice how to approach these subjects, it would be helpful. Thanks!
I'd first do some background review (using outlines, etc.) of any subjects you're not familiar with.

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by justanotheruser » Tue May 29, 2018 4:30 pm

barprepforca wrote:So im using baressays as a supplement for my BarBri course, but im curious as to how to go about doing essays on subjects that i've yet to review. Some of the subjects, ive never done before, so if anyone had advice how to approach these subjects, it would be helpful. Thanks!
For me, on the first 2-3 essays on a subject, I wrote out full responses (2-hour limit) -- completely open book. Would sort of compare that to riding a bike with training wheels.

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by LockBox » Tue May 29, 2018 5:01 pm

Bar-Examinee wrote:Has anyone else taken the bar without using Adaptibar, taken it again after using Adaptibar, and received a much lower score on the MBEs?

I used Strategies & Tactics to prepare for July 2017. At the time, I kept thinking that the actual MBE is a paper-and-pencil test, so the best way to practice is by using paper and pencil. I copied and printed a bunch of answer sheets and used them (actually bubbled in my answers) whenever I would answer questions from the S&T book. I did not, however, get through all of the questions in the S&T book. On the actual MBE day, though, I left feeling as though I really didn't do well, which was confirmed by my score once I received it.

I enrolled in Adaptibar for February 2018 because of the amount of praise that came from Adaptibar users. Plus, unlike just going through questions as they're listed or grouped in a book, the software's adaptive technology would give me questions based on the areas where I need more improvement. I don't remember exactly how many questions I went through, but it had to have been over 1,600 of 1,700 (though many of them were repeats). I did not write down rules three times each like others did, but I did review correct and incorrect answers for all of the questions that I answered and saw my percentages on Adaptibar increase over time. During the actual MBE, I felt much more confident and was happy to have recognized several very similar questions/question-types as ones I saw on Adaptibar.

I was shocked when I saw my February score report, stared at if for a while, and just kept wondering if that was my actual MBE score. Although my "Percent Below" was higher for five of the seven subjects, it was much lower for the other two, so my scaled MBE score dropped significantly.

The five "Percent Below" increases were by +0.7, +1.6, +2.0, +16.4, and +24.9.
The two "Percent Below" decreases were by -25.8 and -41.7
My scaled MBE score dropped by 116 points.

Did anyone else have a similar experience, and, if so, what did you use/do you plan to use for MBE prep moving forward?
First off, i'm sorry this happened to you. I used Adaptibar when I failed and when I passed, though very differently. When I failed I sort of followed the regimen that you followed - took a whole bunch of questions, generally did well and then didn't pass (though I did pass the MBE each time for what it is worth).

My issue with your approach is that you weren't doing problems with an intent to learn the law. I know people do questions to feel comfortable, but this isn't college where you do so many questions that you just walk in and recognize the questions/answers before even finishing reading the problem.

To me, there are two likely issues here: not knowing the law and reading comprehension. First, you should be doing 2,000 questions with an eye toward achieving north of 70%. It doesn't matter if the questions were repeats. Second, the rule statements that I prepared for the essays I took from some adaptibar questions/answers.

Without going too much further, if the MBE is a weak spot I advocate for Adaptibar. However, any source of questions would be good. Just be diligent about doing them, get them correct and don't rely on doing a bunch to go slam the MBE - the bar asks more of you than regurgitation. Good luck.

psg190

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by psg190 » Tue May 29, 2018 5:23 pm

LockBox wrote:
psg190 wrote:
Angel66 wrote: I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?
Correct. I did not get any 75s or 80s on the real exam and my total weighted essay score was below passing (as was my MBE score). This tutor does not have any silver bullets for the California bar. If you feel you know the law, but have a tough time applying it in a logical manner, his methods may be helpful.
So i'm not reviewing your essays so I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that if you were getting 75-80's consistently on your tutor-graded exams, then either that is very irresponsible grading or you choked big time on the real thing. When I studied with my tutor during the period leading up to the CBX that I passed, I received a few 75/80's (maybe 2) but over 20 graded essays were in the 55-60 range. My point being that if you're consistently scoring above-passing answers/model quality answers, then its likely that you would either pass or those high scores were not accurate.

I understand the mental struggle is significant with passing, but padding a student's scores is not helpful, especially if the end result is a fail, imo...
I'll take answer choice C: the tutor's method was to learn through repetition and everything was open book/open note. My expression of doubt with respect to this methodology was constantly rebuffed and I was encouraged to stay the course. At the end of the day, I didn't know the law.

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by a male human » Tue May 29, 2018 5:32 pm

psg190 wrote:
LockBox wrote:
psg190 wrote:
Angel66 wrote: I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?
Correct. I did not get any 75s or 80s on the real exam and my total weighted essay score was below passing (as was my MBE score). This tutor does not have any silver bullets for the California bar. If you feel you know the law, but have a tough time applying it in a logical manner, his methods may be helpful.
So i'm not reviewing your essays so I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that if you were getting 75-80's consistently on your tutor-graded exams, then either that is very irresponsible grading or you choked big time on the real thing. When I studied with my tutor during the period leading up to the CBX that I passed, I received a few 75/80's (maybe 2) but over 20 graded essays were in the 55-60 range. My point being that if you're consistently scoring above-passing answers/model quality answers, then its likely that you would either pass or those high scores were not accurate.

I understand the mental struggle is significant with passing, but padding a student's scores is not helpful, especially if the end result is a fail, imo...
I'll take answer choice C: the tutor's method was to learn through repetition and everything was open book/open note. My expression of doubt with respect to this methodology was constantly rebuffed and I was encouraged to stay the course. At the end of the day, I didn't know the law.
Out of curiosity, how much did you pay your tutor?

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by LockBox » Tue May 29, 2018 6:09 pm

psg190 wrote:
LockBox wrote:
psg190 wrote:
Angel66 wrote: I'm very sorry to hear that... Did you mean that this tutor would always grade your essays at 75 or 80 but you failed on the real exam's essays?
Correct. I did not get any 75s or 80s on the real exam and my total weighted essay score was below passing (as was my MBE score). This tutor does not have any silver bullets for the California bar. If you feel you know the law, but have a tough time applying it in a logical manner, his methods may be helpful.
So i'm not reviewing your essays so I can't say for sure, but my guess would be that if you were getting 75-80's consistently on your tutor-graded exams, then either that is very irresponsible grading or you choked big time on the real thing. When I studied with my tutor during the period leading up to the CBX that I passed, I received a few 75/80's (maybe 2) but over 20 graded essays were in the 55-60 range. My point being that if you're consistently scoring above-passing answers/model quality answers, then its likely that you would either pass or those high scores were not accurate.

I understand the mental struggle is significant with passing, but padding a student's scores is not helpful, especially if the end result is a fail, imo...
I'll take answer choice C: the tutor's method was to learn through repetition and everything was open book/open note. My expression of doubt with respect to this methodology was constantly rebuffed and I was encouraged to stay the course. At the end of the day, I didn't know the law.
This is something I took issue when I interacted with my own tutor. However i did exactly ZERO open book essays. ZERO. And I failed a lot and had to argue with my idiot tutor because they insisted that I was going about it the wrong way. However, I passed.

The takeaway is you don't learn the law by reading it in a book and writing it down. The bar is testing what is in your head. For me, every time I wrote an essay my approach was "let's see what's in my head and how I can reason my way through this." I consistently scored 55's but you know what - with each of those I learned what I didn't know and then figured out what the law was. This repetition burned the law into my mind.

My advice is that your goal is to fail over and over during bar prep so that you can pass the real thing.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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