July 2018 Texas Bar Exam Forum

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Itwasascam

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Itwasascam » Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:57 pm

OMLS48 wrote:Did what I would consider a solid effort throughout my lectures in learning the essay subjects and reviewed the materials pretty thoroughly, but now having gone through years of essays, there are mountains of rules we definitely didn't cover. Pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning them now. :|
Aren’t the answers BLE provides perfect or model answers though? I assume as long as you have a goods understanding of the material covered by the bar course you should pass

OMLS48

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by OMLS48 » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:04 pm

Itwasascam wrote:
OMLS48 wrote:Did what I would consider a solid effort throughout my lectures in learning the essay subjects and reviewed the materials pretty thoroughly, but now having gone through years of essays, there are mountains of rules we definitely didn't cover. Pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning them now. :|
Aren’t the answers BLE provides perfect or model answers though? I assume as long as you have a goods understanding of the material covered by the bar course you should pass
I mean, I would like to think so, but there are questions (not too many) that were absolutely not covered in my Kaplan materials. I'm not sweating it too much knowing I can learn it or at least memorize something resembling a rule in the next two weeks. Also, aspiring to get as close as possible to the model answer.

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BigCityDreams

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by BigCityDreams » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:06 pm

Itwasascam wrote:
OMLS48 wrote:Did what I would consider a solid effort throughout my lectures in learning the essay subjects and reviewed the materials pretty thoroughly, but now having gone through years of essays, there are mountains of rules we definitely didn't cover. Pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning them now. :|
Aren’t the answers BLE provides perfect or model answers though? I assume as long as you have a goods understanding of the material covered by the bar course you should pass
Technically some of the answers on the BLE website are wrong or simply misstate the law. I was advised to only look at those if feeling really discouraged because they are not model answers. Those were just simply the answers the examiners liked best or were the least wrong.

Is anyone focusing mostly on Guardianship instead of Trusts? Barbri seems quite sure it will be a guardianship essay this time but they were also very sure for February and they turned out to be wrong!

OMLS48

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by OMLS48 » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:19 pm

BigCityDreams wrote:
Itwasascam wrote:
OMLS48 wrote:Did what I would consider a solid effort throughout my lectures in learning the essay subjects and reviewed the materials pretty thoroughly, but now having gone through years of essays, there are mountains of rules we definitely didn't cover. Pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning them now. :|
Aren’t the answers BLE provides perfect or model answers though? I assume as long as you have a goods understanding of the material covered by the bar course you should pass
Technically some of the answers on the BLE website are wrong or simply misstate the law. I was advised to only look at those if feeling really discouraged because they are not model answers. Those were just simply the answers the examiners liked best or were the least wrong.

Is anyone focusing mostly on Guardianship instead of Trusts? Barbri seems quite sure it will be a guardianship essay this time but they were also very sure for February and they turned out to be wrong!
You gotta be kidding. I know next to nothing about Guardianship. Kinda knew it was a real possibility, but I've been willfully ignorant to that possibility :(

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BigCityDreams

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by BigCityDreams » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:59 pm

OMLS48 wrote:
BigCityDreams wrote:
Itwasascam wrote:
OMLS48 wrote:Did what I would consider a solid effort throughout my lectures in learning the essay subjects and reviewed the materials pretty thoroughly, but now having gone through years of essays, there are mountains of rules we definitely didn't cover. Pretty frustrating, but at least I'm learning them now. :|
Aren’t the answers BLE provides perfect or model answers though? I assume as long as you have a goods understanding of the material covered by the bar course you should pass
Technically some of the answers on the BLE website are wrong or simply misstate the law. I was advised to only look at those if feeling really discouraged because they are not model answers. Those were just simply the answers the examiners liked best or were the least wrong.

Is anyone focusing mostly on Guardianship instead of Trusts? Barbri seems quite sure it will be a guardianship essay this time but they were also very sure for February and they turned out to be wrong!
You gotta be kidding. I know next to nothing about Guardianship. Kinda knew it was a real possibility, but I've been willfully ignorant to that possibility :(
Im not for sure that it will be one or the other but there has been 3 Trusts essays in a row and if we get one that will be a fourth. Im just trying to divide my time between both...

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SloppyHandwriting

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by SloppyHandwriting » Wed Jul 11, 2018 10:12 pm

MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.

kau11

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by kau11 » Fri Jul 13, 2018 3:04 pm

Does anyone have any idea when Texas will be adopting the UBE?

NonbindingPrecedent

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by NonbindingPrecedent » Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:04 pm

kau11 wrote:Does anyone have any idea when Texas will be adopting the UBE?
The idea is being actively considered and the fact that other large jurisdictions (i.e. NY and IL) have adopted it is likely to carry persuasive weight. If you look over the minutes from the BLE meetings (https://ble.texas.gov/board-meeting-minutes) (especially the most recent one) you see they have formed a Uniform Bar Exam Committee and are expected to report back soon. With the momentum moving toward UBE and Illinois recent announcement, I would not be surprised if we get an announcement by the end of the year that the July 2019 exam will be UBE (or at least by July 2020 at the latest).

barprep2018

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by barprep2018 » Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:00 pm

SloppyHandwriting wrote:
MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.
How are you using the book? To memorize? It's like lean sheets? Or contain more information?

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NonbindingPrecedent

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by NonbindingPrecedent » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:10 pm

barprep2018 wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.
How are you using the book? To memorize? It's like lean sheets? Or contain more information?
The most beneficial portion of the book (the Texas Black Letter Law outlines) I would describe as a cross between a Lean Sheets and the "Study Strategies" section of Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics. It does not go over every area of all essay topics, so it is not as "broad" as Lean Sheets, however, provides a bit more in terms of tips or strategies that are helpful that normally trip up examinees. As you can see from the TOC, each black letter outline is only about 5-10 pages long (https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781611638547.pdf).

The beginning section discusses general essay writing/structure skills. For me this was a bit redundant from my bar prep Essay writing workshop, but some may appreciate the content. The book also contains several pages of reprints of essay prompts, which is nothing too special considering these are free online and I also have them sorted by topic from Barbri.

SloppyHandwriting

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by SloppyHandwriting » Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:13 pm

NonbindingPrecedent wrote:
barprep2018 wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.
How are you using the book? To memorize? It's like lean sheets? Or contain more information?
The most beneficial portion of the book (the Texas Black Letter Law outlines) I would describe as a cross between a Lean Sheets and the "Study Strategies" section of Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics. It does not go over every area of all essay topics, so it is not as "broad" as Lean Sheets, however, provides a bit more in terms of tips or strategies that are helpful that normally trip up examinees. As you can see from the TOC, each black letter outline is only about 5-10 pages long (https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781611638547.pdf).

The beginning section discusses general essay writing/structure skills. For me this was a bit redundant from my bar prep Essay writing workshop, but some may appreciate the content. The book also contains several pages of reprints of essay prompts, which is nothing too special considering these are free online and I also have them sorted by topic from Barbri.
Agree. It was a good supplement to prior work/lectures/outlines on the subjects. A good finisher, if you will.

What I am now truly struggling with (in addition to consumer rights, which, fuck that) is the Texas Civil/Criminal Procedure & Evidence Portion.. I know it is only 10% of the exam, but still. Lots of random shit! Anyone have any tips on these?

qqqqqqq

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by qqqqqqq » Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:59 pm

Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.

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whosinthehousejc

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by whosinthehousejc » Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:32 pm

qqqqqqq wrote:Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.
I read somewhere that there are storage areas provided outside of the Secure Area, at least in Austin. I'd appreciate confirmation of this if anyone else knows.

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Big Red

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Big Red » Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:42 pm

whosinthehousejc wrote:
qqqqqqq wrote:Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.
I read somewhere that there are storage areas provided outside of the Secure Area, at least in Austin. I'd appreciate confirmation of this if anyone else knows.
I couldn't find anything, but the first day is just a morning session so I'm sure we can figure it out then.

Also, does anyone know the dresscode? I'm apt to show up in shorts and a t shirt if they don't have one

Guccifer91

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 5:14 pm

Big Red wrote:
whosinthehousejc wrote:
qqqqqqq wrote:Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.
I read somewhere that there are storage areas provided outside of the Secure Area, at least in Austin. I'd appreciate confirmation of this if anyone else knows.
I couldn't find anything, but the first day is just a morning session so I'm sure we can figure it out then.

Also, does anyone know the dresscode? I'm apt to show up in shorts and a t shirt if they don't have one
No, no we cannot just figure it out then. How are we supposed to get back to our hotels without a phone if we flew in and aren’t renting a car? Someone please confirm there is a place to leave ones phone in order to call a cab after the test is over each day. Guccifer thanks you

SloppyHandwriting

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by SloppyHandwriting » Fri Jul 20, 2018 5:49 pm

Guccifer91 wrote:
Big Red wrote:
whosinthehousejc wrote:
qqqqqqq wrote:Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.
I read somewhere that there are storage areas provided outside of the Secure Area, at least in Austin. I'd appreciate confirmation of this if anyone else knows.
I couldn't find anything, but the first day is just a morning session so I'm sure we can figure it out then.

Also, does anyone know the dresscode? I'm apt to show up in shorts and a t shirt if they don't have one
No, no we cannot just figure it out then. How are we supposed to get back to our hotels without a phone if we flew in and aren’t renting a car? Someone please confirm there is a place to leave ones phone in order to call a cab after the test is over each day. Guccifer thanks you
Re Dress Code: I'm gonna wear exactly what I wore while bar prepping: shorts/sweats and t-shirts. No need to overdo it.

Re Stuff: When I took the WA bar (3 years ago), they had a secure area for belongings. Others just brought backpacks and left them out in the "waiting" area since they had staff out there and it was somewhat secure. I imagine it will be the same.

Guccifer91

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:20 pm

SloppyHandwriting wrote:
NonbindingPrecedent wrote:
barprep2018 wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.
How are you using the book? To memorize? It's like lean sheets? Or contain more information?
The most beneficial portion of the book (the Texas Black Letter Law outlines) I would describe as a cross between a Lean Sheets and the "Study Strategies" section of Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics. It does not go over every area of all essay topics, so it is not as "broad" as Lean Sheets, however, provides a bit more in terms of tips or strategies that are helpful that normally trip up examinees. As you can see from the TOC, each black letter outline is only about 5-10 pages long (https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781611638547.pdf).

The beginning section discusses general essay writing/structure skills. For me this was a bit redundant from my bar prep Essay writing workshop, but some may appreciate the content. The book also contains several pages of reprints of essay prompts, which is nothing too special considering these are free online and I also have them sorted by topic from Barbri.
Agree. It was a good supplement to prior work/lectures/outlines on the subjects. A good finisher, if you will.

What I am now truly struggling with (in addition to consumer rights, which, fuck that) is the Texas Civil/Criminal Procedure & Evidence Portion.. I know it is only 10% of the exam, but still. Lots of random shit! Anyone have any tips on these?

I give this book a 2/10. Do not buy.

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Guccifer91

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:22 pm

SloppyHandwriting wrote:
Guccifer91 wrote:
Big Red wrote:
whosinthehousejc wrote:
qqqqqqq wrote:Does anyone know what we do with all our stuff we're not allowed to bring into the "Secure Area"? I.e. lunch, etc.
I read somewhere that there are storage areas provided outside of the Secure Area, at least in Austin. I'd appreciate confirmation of this if anyone else knows.
I couldn't find anything, but the first day is just a morning session so I'm sure we can figure it out then.

Also, does anyone know the dresscode? I'm apt to show up in shorts and a t shirt if they don't have one
No, no we cannot just figure it out then. How are we supposed to get back to our hotels without a phone if we flew in and aren’t renting a car? Someone please confirm there is a place to leave ones phone in order to call a cab after the test is over each day. Guccifer thanks you
Re Dress Code: I'm gonna wear exactly what I wore while bar prepping: shorts/sweats and t-shirts. No need to overdo it.

Re Stuff: When I took the WA bar (3 years ago), they had a secure area for belongings. Others just brought backpacks and left them out in the "waiting" area since they had staff out there and it was somewhat secure. I imagine it will be the same.
WHEN I WAS A BOY, CANDY USED TO BE 5 CENTS A PIECE. This issue is still live people. First one to bet their life on phones being allowed into "secure" areas wins a cookie

yasujiro

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by yasujiro » Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:38 pm

Hi - I took the Feb 18 test in Houston. Phones are definitely not allowed in the testing room. Just outside the doors to the testing room, they had an area roped off where you could put your belongings on the floor and there were a few BLE staff posted there the entire time. However, it wasn't very secure -- anybody, really, could walk up and grab a backpack and walk off with it. Different locations may have different options (if the site they're using happens to have lockers, for example)? But, Houston did not have anything like that. I think most of the sites are connected to a hotel. So, your best bet is to see if the hotel bellhops would hold it for you for a nice tip. Best of luck!

ETA: Definitely no dress code - t-shirts and shorts perfectly acceptable.

Guccifer91

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:05 pm

yasujiro wrote:Hi - I took the Feb 18 test in Houston. Phones are definitely not allowed in the testing room. Just outside the doors to the testing room, they had an area roped off where you could put your belongings on the floor and there were a few BLE staff posted there the entire time. However, it wasn't very secure -- anybody, really, could walk up and grab a backpack and walk off with it. Different locations may have different options (if the site they're using happens to have lockers, for example)? But, Houston did not have anything like that. I think most of the sites are connected to a hotel. So, your best bet is to see if the hotel bellhops would hold it for you for a nice tip. Best of luck!

ETA: Definitely no dress code - t-shirts and shorts perfectly acceptable.
I just realized the hotel i am staying at is .3 miles away, so no phone should not be fatal here.

Not feeling great about how studying is going and that could prove to be

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BigCityDreams

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by BigCityDreams » Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:41 am

Guccifer91 wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
NonbindingPrecedent wrote:
barprep2018 wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
MBernard wrote:
SloppyHandwriting wrote:
I just bought the book. At this point, I'm desperate for anything that might help me actually learn wtf is in these TX essays.

Also, do I really need to spend time and review Federal Corp Taxation, Federal Estate and Gift Tax, and Fed Income Tax? What are the chances these will be on the bar? I'd rather spend my time on other shit.
Skip those. Those topics are ancillary and as such are way less likely to appear. When I studied for the TBX I went over every exam year that was posted, cross-over topics rarely appear. If they do appear, likely it’ll be bankruptcy w/family law and Business Associations w/Tax. Again, this rarely happens.

It’s way more important that you home in on the core topics (Property, UCC stuff, Wills, Family + CP, etc). Good luck!
Following up on the book I purchased (see above). I have found, so far, the book to be helpful as an accessory. I finished all substantive lectures, outlines, etc. The book first talks through a good method of organizing heading, rule, and application/analysis. While I was aware of all these things, the method outlined in the book helped streamline things for me. Next, the book walks though each TX MEE subject in brief. The major stuff. Big rules, etc. I found that when writing essays, I had my rule statements down (partly because of the book) and my prior random tidbits of knowledge helped with random ass rules. The book also has a ton essay prompts from the BLE website. The answers (i.e., the "best essays") are online.

If you are feeling unsure about your essays and grasp on the subjects (I'm in new to the JX and had never dealt with a few subjects, e.g., Oil & Gas, commercial paper (which wasn't on my last bar)), this book will help put you at ease.

Cheers and good luck, all.
How are you using the book? To memorize? It's like lean sheets? Or contain more information?
The most beneficial portion of the book (the Texas Black Letter Law outlines) I would describe as a cross between a Lean Sheets and the "Study Strategies" section of Emanuel's Strategies & Tactics. It does not go over every area of all essay topics, so it is not as "broad" as Lean Sheets, however, provides a bit more in terms of tips or strategies that are helpful that normally trip up examinees. As you can see from the TOC, each black letter outline is only about 5-10 pages long (https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781611638547.pdf).

The beginning section discusses general essay writing/structure skills. For me this was a bit redundant from my bar prep Essay writing workshop, but some may appreciate the content. The book also contains several pages of reprints of essay prompts, which is nothing too special considering these are free online and I also have them sorted by topic from Barbri.
Agree. It was a good supplement to prior work/lectures/outlines on the subjects. A good finisher, if you will.

What I am now truly struggling with (in addition to consumer rights, which, fuck that) is the Texas Civil/Criminal Procedure & Evidence Portion.. I know it is only 10% of the exam, but still. Lots of random shit! Anyone have any tips on these?

I give this book a 2/10. Do not buy.
I agree! It was a total waste of money!

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Superbeast

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Superbeast » Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:28 pm

can someone explain what it means for the MPT, P&E, Essays to be scaled to the MBE?
I know everyone usually says there's a 10-15 point bump to your raw MBE score...does this mean we also get bumps on our MPT/P&E/Essay?

found an answer:
BVest wrote:Ignoring for a moment equating (which seeks to adjust for difficulty from exam to exam) and the general downward trend in MBE scores, each section will have a raw score which is then converted to the MBE scale. Therefore each section's raw scores will be distributed along a scale where the mean is approximately 138 or 139 and the standard deviation is approximately 16.

Each different section has a different possible raw score, so how each is affected by the scale varies, but in any case it won't be linear (i.e. not as simple as "add 10").

MBE: 0-190 possible raw score (1 raw point per question, minus the 10 experimental questions)
Essays: 0-300 possible raw score (25 possible raw points per question)
P/E: 0-100 possible raw score (it's actually 5 possible raw points per question X 40 questions, but then they divide by 2 for no good reason)
MPT: 0-6 possible raw score (I shit you not; and as far as I can tell, it's in whole numbers only)

Here's how the other sections get scaled to the MBE scale:
Scaling involves assigning the highest total essay raw score the same value as the highest MBE scale score in Texas, the second highest total essay raw score the same value as the second highest MBE scale score, and so on until the lowest total essay raw score is the assigned the same value as the lowest MBE scale score. The converted scores are called essay “scale” scores. This same procedure is used to convert MPT and P&E raw scores to scale scores.
So, for essays, assuming an average score of about 170-180, scaling will take about 30-40 points off your raw score; P/E will add points; and MPT will add a shitload of points.

After that the math is not done yet. To get the final score (where passing is 675), they double the Essay and MBE and half the P/E and MPT scores. Such that a 145 MBE, 130 Essay, 120 MPT and 140 P/E would equal 290 + 260 + 60 + 70 = 680.


e: And in terms of what's autopass, if you pull a 165 MBE, you only need to get an average of 115 on the other three sections, which is somewhere in the lowest 10%, if not lowest 5%. 160 would require average of 118, which is still lowest 10%.

Guccifer91

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:09 pm

Superbeast wrote:can someone explain what it means for the MPT, P&E, Essays to be scaled to the MBE?
I know everyone usually says there's a 10-15 point bump to your raw MBE score...does this mean we also get bumps on our MPT/P&E/Essay?

found an answer:
BVest wrote:Ignoring for a moment equating (which seeks to adjust for difficulty from exam to exam) and the general downward trend in MBE scores, each section will have a raw score which is then converted to the MBE scale. Therefore each section's raw scores will be distributed along a scale where the mean is approximately 138 or 139 and the standard deviation is approximately 16.

Each different section has a different possible raw score, so how each is affected by the scale varies, but in any case it won't be linear (i.e. not as simple as "add 10").

MBE: 0-190 possible raw score (1 raw point per question, minus the 10 experimental questions)
Essays: 0-300 possible raw score (25 possible raw points per question)
P/E: 0-100 possible raw score (it's actually 5 possible raw points per question X 40 questions, but then they divide by 2 for no good reason)
MPT: 0-6 possible raw score (I shit you not; and as far as I can tell, it's in whole numbers only)

Here's how the other sections get scaled to the MBE scale:
Scaling involves assigning the highest total essay raw score the same value as the highest MBE scale score in Texas, the second highest total essay raw score the same value as the second highest MBE scale score, and so on until the lowest total essay raw score is the assigned the same value as the lowest MBE scale score. The converted scores are called essay “scale” scores. This same procedure is used to convert MPT and P&E raw scores to scale scores.
So, for essays, assuming an average score of about 170-180, scaling will take about 30-40 points off your raw score; P/E will add points; and MPT will add a shitload of points.

After that the math is not done yet. To get the final score (where passing is 675), they double the Essay and MBE and half the P/E and MPT scores. Such that a 145 MBE, 130 Essay, 120 MPT and 140 P/E would equal 290 + 260 + 60 + 70 = 680.


e: And in terms of what's autopass, if you pull a 165 MBE, you only need to get an average of 115 on the other three sections, which is somewhere in the lowest 10%, if not lowest 5%. 160 would require average of 118, which is still lowest 10%.
The bogus aforementioned book did have a helpful graph showing how the distributions of scores per section would resemble the distribution of scores for the MBE. So whatever examinees scored out of 200 on the mbe would be how they score out of 25 each essay. Like if the MBE distribution resembled a bell curve, the scores for the other portions would be made to resemble that same bell curve. Makes enough sense to me

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Guccifer91 » Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:11 pm

Anyone thinking about February already? We are supposed to be peaking right now but the only thing peaking right now is my doubt :(

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Superbeast

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Re: July 2018 Texas Bar Exam

Post by Superbeast » Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:40 pm

Guccifer91 wrote:Anyone thinking about February already? We are supposed to be peaking right now but the only thing peaking right now is my doubt :(
my last 6-7 MBE PQs have all been mid 70s +/- 2 pts, so thats kinda on auto pilot and im not gonna do much more there...ive been hitting P&E notecards every day for the last week for an hour, so that stuff is burned into my brain already. however, im starting to shit myself re: my weaker essay subjects ...real property kickin my ass

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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