Law School and Exams Preparing and Writing to Win

Law School and Exams: Preparing and Writing to Win, Fourth Edition is the fourth edition of a popular book whose first edition Bryan Garner reviewed and judged to be “the best on the market.” It combines:
 

1. Clear and comprehensive explanations of study and exam techniques
2. Numerous illustrative samples that are truly instructive
3. Twenty in-class exercises or take-home assignments on everything from case briefs to essay and multiple-choice exam questions.

 
Comprehensive and self-contained, the Fourth Edition is suitable for use as the textbook for a sophisticated Prelaw course, 1L Orientation, or a 1L Academic Success course. Alternatively, incoming freshmen can work through it independently over the summer to be optimally prepared for law school in the fall.
 
New to the Fourth Edition:

• New material throughout the book from the engaging voice and ASP teaching experience of new co-author, Louis Schulze
• The latest in learning theory, including focus and engagement, spaced repetition with interleaving, active learning through hands-on practice; and the importance of mindset, mindfulness, and well-being
• New material on strategies for preparing for and taking exams
• Discussions of AI in legal practice,
  • and in student work when called for in a course, but
  • underscoring the necessity of otherwise doing one’s own work as a 1L to develop the required knowledge and skills to later harness, review, and revise AI

 
Professors and student will benefit from:

• The way the book facilitates a flipped classroom:
  • The clear and detailed explanations and illustrations will enable students to prepare well for class, permitting the professor to provide a quick summary of key points before turning to active learning through brainstorming, problem-solving, discussion, debate, writing exercises, and formative assessment.
• Clear explanations and illustrations for reading assignments and numerous exercises for in-class active learning
• Sample answers in the Appendix for all in-text exercises, to help students check their understanding
• A major in-text take-home assignment requiring case synthesis, that can be used to further gauge student’s understanding

 

 

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Contents 
Acknowledgments 
Introduction 

PART ONE SUCCESS IN THE STUDY OF LAW 
Chapter 1 Preparing for Law School 
Chapter 2 How to “Do” Law School 
Chapter 3 The Case Method: Focus on Judicial Opinions 
Chapter 4 Reading and Briefing Cases 
Chapter 5 Taking and Reviewing Class Notes 
Chapter 6 Synthesizing Cases 
Chapter 7 Preparing Outlines and Flowcharts 

PART TWO SUCCESS IN TAKING LAW SCHOOL EXAMS 
Chapter 8 Preparing for Exams with Active Study and Practice 
Chapter 9 Getting Primed for the Task 
Chapter 10 Techniques Common to All Essay Questions 
Chapter 11 Fact-Based Essay Questions with Uncertain Conclusions 
Chapter 12 Essay Questions of a Different Kind 
Chapter 13 Objective Questions: True-False and Multiple-Choice 

Appendix A Sample Case Brief for the Exercise at the End of Chapter 4 
Appendix B Sample Syntheses in the Exercises at the End of Chapter 6 
Appendix C Sample Answers to Outlining Exercises in Chapter 7, Section III 
Appendix D Sample Answers to Exercises Relating to Fact-Based Essay
Questions with Uncertain Conclusions in Chapter 11 
Appendix E Sample Answers to Exercises Relating to Essay Questions
of a Different Kind in Chapter 12 
Appendix F Answers and Explanations for Exercises Relating
to Objective Questions at the end of Chapter 13