Planning Out Your Semester
Many students find the flow of 1L year to be quite different from what they experienced in their undergraduate or graduate programs. Except for legal writing, 1L classes typically only have one assessment - the final exam. The only consistent assignment is doing the reading for class. Between the first and last day of class, it is up to the student to determine how to structure any long-term study plans. Here we will offer some guidance on common questions that 1Ls have about planning out their semesters.
When should I start outlining?
Short answer: earlier than you think.
We often advise students to start outlining a month or so into class, but that may depend on how quickly your professor moves at the beginning of the semester. Different subjects will also break down somewhat differently, so you may find that you reach the end of a unit of study quickly in one class while another lingers on the same topic for weeks at a time. Regardless of when exactly you start, you should return to your outline consistently, reviewing old material and adding new material. This will allow you to review throughout the semester and add new concepts and cases while they are still fresh in your mind. Try to avoid the classic 1L mistake of doing all of your outlining at the last minute. This will result in cramming rather than thoughtful organization of the material, and it may prevent you from doing other critical tasks like taking practice exams.
When should I start doing practice essay questions, and how often should I do them?
It's a good idea to do practice essay questions regularly throughout the semester. When you do practice questions you will be reviewing the law, practicing issue spotting, and working on your exam writing skills. Early in the semester you may need to focus on doing short answer questions on relatively narrow topics. Your professor may provide these, or you can find short hypos in supplemental materials like the Examples and Explanations series. Later in the semester you should move to longer, more complex questions that will more closely approximate an exam question. If you ever want someone to review your writing, especially for help with IRAC structure, feel free to set an appointment with someone from ARC.
What about multiple choice questions?
Multiple choice questions are increasingly included on law school exams because they comprise half of the Uniform Bar Exam. Last spring, every 1L section had at least one final exam with a multiple choice component. Law school multiple choice questions are somewhat different than multiple choice questions that you may have encountered before, and it is worth practicing them regularly to improve your confidence and performance. Especially toward the second half of the semester you should incorporate multiple choice practice on a regular basis. You can get practice questions from the Kaplan QBank, the Q&A series, or your professor.
How should I approach Thanksgiving break/spring break?
Students sometimes treat Thanksgiving and spring break like magic cure-alls that will allow them to get fully caught up on reading, complete all class outlines, and start doing practice exams. In reality, students often accomplish a lot less than they plan to during these breaks. Whether or not you're traveling or visiting with people during school breaks, you may find that you want to get some extra sleep or catch up on non-law school related things. Keep your expectations realistic about what you'll be able to accomplish during these blocks of time as you think about your study plan.
How is summer term different than fall or spring?
Timing is different for summer. While your fall and spring semesters will last about 14-15 weeks, summer term is only 6-7 weeks long. Because summer term is so much shorter than fall or spring, you will need to time things differently depending on the length of the semester. For instance, if you wait a month to start outlining during summer (as suggested above), you'll be almost 2/3 of the way through your class before you begin consolidating material. Conversely, summer can give you a false sense of confidence about how well you'll remember material over the course of a full-length semester. Halfway through a summer term you may find that you remember material from the beginning of the semester pretty clearly and you can start outlining it at that point. Keep in mind, however, that halfway through summer is only about 3 weeks, whereas during fall it's about 7 weeks. Furthermore, during summer you will only have one class to focus on. When you're juggling 2 to 3 doctrinal classes plus legal writing, it will be more difficult to remember older material from all of your classes if you wait too long to start outlining and reviewing your notes.
What other long-term planning should I think about?
- Job/externship application deadlines: Deadlines for summer opportunities - such as fellowships, internships, and externships - can sneak up on you without warning. Start looking at resources from CPD and the externship program in the middle of the semester and make a note of when you need to start working on applications for programs that interest you.
- Legal Writing deadlines: Legal writing is the only 1L class that will involve regular assignment deadlines. Typically you will have a large assignment due toward the end of the semester. This may coincide with Thanksgiving break or it may be due very close to finals. Keep an eye on when your final legal writing assignments are due so that you can account for the additional workload while preparing your finals study plans.
What if something unexpected happens?
Even the best laid plans can be disrupted by unexpected circumstances: illness, an injury, a death in the family, and so on. If something occurs that seriously disrupts your ability to participate normally in law school, we encourage you to let someone from the law school know. The school can work with you to determine whether you need accommodations to get through the semester, and faculty and staff can be a good source of support. Get in touch with Association Dean for Student Affairs Kristin DiBiase, someone from the ARC team, or another staff member you trust.