The Strategy 1) What you need to do to Succeed a) The test is a typical open-book, three- or four-hour exam worth 100%

of their grade. 2) Focus on Final Exam from the Beginning a) It is essential that you always budget enough time in your schedule for exam preparation. You should not be spending time doing things that do not contribute to an increase in your exam score until you have completed all of those things that do increase your exam score. 3) Think outside of the Box a) It is a bad strategy to do exactly what everyone else is doing in terms of study and preparation. 4) Introduction to System a) The most fundamental error a law school student can make is to believe that by doing the assigned readings and preparing for class as expected will result in strong grades. b) The actual writing of quality law school exams is a completely different skill set than reading casebooks and learning in class by the Socratic Method (the assigned readings, casebooks, and the Socratic Method as a suggestion by the professor as to a possible, traditional route to exam preparation) c) It might take ten hours of study by this method to equal one hour of directed study toward the exam. It also does not teach any of the skills related to applying your knowledge to a fact pattern, which is what the final exam requires. i) Studying Strategy (1) study Case Summary book keyed to my class. (2) Read the corresponding sections of the Examples and Explanations book for the class that explains and then applies the material. (3) read the sections of the hornbook, which is a treatise on that subject, relevant to the material. (4) read the assigned reading very quickly. But carefully read the heart of the courts analysis, where you should easily be able to spot because the case summary book, hornbook, and Examples and Explanations book. (5) Doing the above mentioned approach allows you to spend your time thinking about how this case will be tested on an exam and how it will fit into a dense outline. I see where the case fits in the scheme of things because my system is big-picture focused. ii) How should Outline be formatted? (1) Outline should be functional, around sixteen-pages; which includes flow charts, dense rules and applicable case summaries. Nothing should be explanatory or in the form of a narrative. (2) Everything on the page is an applicable tool aimed at gaining points when the professor grades my test from a point-awarding checklist. (3) I have associated key ideas with a set of visually distinguishable slides, and when I close my eyes, I know exactly what page and spatially where the material is on the outline. I have printed my outline on both sides of the paper and carefully chosen flow charts that are on opposing sides of an outline that resembles a small pamphlet because it is stapled at the spine and opens like a book. each major topic is set out on a carefully grouped set of pages that is designed for minimal page flipping. I type continuously because by practice and with my outline design, I am able to do this. I do not miss any issues because I have practiced countless exams and have honed my issue spotting skills by practice. I know what a good argument looks like and how to write one because I have done it so many times. When the professor tests issues at the margins of the class, I make difficult leaps that impress the professor. The professor does not know that I have mastered the hornbook and therefore have a comprehensive survey of the entire branch of law. I know what the students who have not read the hornbook dont: that in reality, a certain question is a well-debated and discussed point in academia. For me the leap was easy, even though it was on the fringe of the class. My exam is twenty-two pages and is loaded with case and rule citations that make my arguments convincing. My essay does not ramble; it cites equally as many, or more, issues with analysis per page as my peers. The efficiency came from practice, familiarizing myself with the big picture, and a usable outline for test day.