I just went to a "study tips" panel as part of a journal's introductory meeting. No disrespect intended to the second- and third- years on the panel -- because it was all well-intentioned and there was nothing "wrong" with the advice... it just wasn't very useful. Expanding on that theme, a brief rundown of all of the things I've been told will make the first year of law school a success (and, no, this is not going to be yet another comedy sketch disguised as a weblog entry):
Read the cases once. Read the cases twice. Don't read the cases. Re-read the cases before class. Re-read the cases after class. Re-read the cases during class. Write briefs. Brief in the book. Keep your briefs short. Make your briefs long. Don't rely on your briefs. Your briefs can be useful. Take lots of notes. Don't take too many notes. Don't take any notes at all. Get outlines from upperclassmen. Write your own outlines. Buy commercial outlines. Join a study group. Start a study group. Study groups are great. Study groups are useless. Join your group early and meet every week. Wait until the week before exams. Study in your room. Study in the library. Study in the morning. Study at night. Study in the bathroom. Study with the TV on. Study in silence. Study in the dark. Study in your sleep. Don't study. Grades don't matter. Grades are arbitrary. Grades are meaningless. Grades control your future. Raise your hand in class. Never raise your hand. Cut off your hand. Go to your professor's office hours. Have lunch with your professor. Shine your professor's shoes. Do your professor's laundry. Ignore everything your professor says. Read hornbooks. Read treatises. Read restatements of the law. Read the exam answers off your neighbor's screen. Read quickly. Read slowly. Sleep a lot. Sleep a little. Binge. Purge. Starve. Pay your bills. Join activities. Don't join anything. Have fun. Do work. Make friends. Everyone's your enemy. Be prepared. Stop, drop and roll. Say no, go, and tell someone you trust. Only you can prevent forest fires. A watched pot never boils. One in the hand is worth two in the bush. Save your money. Save your soul. Read the cases. Read the exam carefully. Read your professor's mind. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Set your alarm clock. Don't forget chapter three. The correct answer is (c). Save the whales. Let's make a deal. Leave it to Beaver. Say no to drugs. Play ball!
Read the cases once. Read the cases twice. Don't read the cases. Re-read the cases before class. Re-read the cases after class. Re-read the cases during class. Write briefs. Brief in the book. Keep your briefs short. Make your briefs long. Don't rely on your briefs. Your briefs can be useful. Take lots of notes. Don't take too many notes. Don't take any notes at all. Get outlines from upperclassmen. Write your own outlines. Buy commercial outlines. Join a study group. Start a study group. Study groups are great. Study groups are useless. Join your group early and meet every week. Wait until the week before exams. Study in your room. Study in the library. Study in the morning. Study at night. Study in the bathroom. Study with the TV on. Study in silence. Study in the dark. Study in your sleep. Don't study. Grades don't matter. Grades are arbitrary. Grades are meaningless. Grades control your future. Raise your hand in class. Never raise your hand. Cut off your hand. Go to your professor's office hours. Have lunch with your professor. Shine your professor's shoes. Do your professor's laundry. Ignore everything your professor says. Read hornbooks. Read treatises. Read restatements of the law. Read the exam answers off your neighbor's screen. Read quickly. Read slowly. Sleep a lot. Sleep a little. Binge. Purge. Starve. Pay your bills. Join activities. Don't join anything. Have fun. Do work. Make friends. Everyone's your enemy. Be prepared. Stop, drop and roll. Say no, go, and tell someone you trust. Only you can prevent forest fires. A watched pot never boils. One in the hand is worth two in the bush. Save your money. Save your soul. Read the cases. Read the exam carefully. Read your professor's mind. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Set your alarm clock. Don't forget chapter three. The correct answer is (c). Save the whales. Let's make a deal. Leave it to Beaver. Say no to drugs. Play ball!
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