5 Practical Tips For Improving Your Performance At The Bar Exam

The bar exam is two weeks away -- so we'll keep this short and sweet, because you should be studying.

The bar exam is two weeks away. While we have the rest of the year to ponder the exam’s relevance in real-life practice, for now it still exists, and you have to pass it before you can officially call yourself a lawyer.

Looking back, I think the biggest problem I had with the bar exam was dealing with the anxiety. Since I am feeling nostalgic and in an unusually good mood, I would like to share some of the things I did that helped me pass the bar exam. I’ll keep this short and sweet because you should be studying.

Focus more on practicing rather than learning. Now that it’s crunch time, there is very little that will be stored in your long-term memory. And your short-term memory is already overloaded. So spend less time reading outlines or watching videos. Instead, spend more time doing practice exams so you can improve your issue-spotting and writing skills. You will learn through the mistakes you make.

Simulate exam conditions. Set aside a block of time during the day where you will take a full practice exam with no distractions. Ideally, you should set aside a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon.

The location should replicate exam conditions as closely as possible. The location should be reliably quiet, so ditch the coffee shop. It should also be free of distractions, so don’t study at home or other familiar areas.

Good places include private study rooms, offices, and conference rooms. Do not bring books or other contraband, and turn off your smartphone. And avoid the temptation to peek at the answers.

The purpose of this is to help you feel normal on exam day.

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Extra credit: Simulate an ExamSoft malfunction and write the remainder of the exam by hand.

Get enough sleep. I’m sure you heard this a million times before in a variety of situations, but the importance of sleep can’t be emphasized enough.

If you study until 4 a.m. and wake up at 7 a.m., your brain will be fried and you will be unproductive the next day. Not only that, your appetite will change and you’ll be too tired to either exercise or do any kind of physical activity. This means you are likely to overeat and sleep immediately afterwards, a bad combination.

A lot of times, it’s exam anxiety that keeps people up at night. I’ve had these experiences before. I would study until 11:30 p.m., which is when I start to feel tired. I wanted to sleep, but my brain would tell me, “You can’t sleep until you know all of the nuances of UCC 2-207.” And the mental fear kept me from sleeping.

At this point, it’s not worth it to stay up late to learn minor details. You just have to use the mirror-image rule of contracts and hope you get partial credit from a sympathetic grader.

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Develop good eating habits (at least temporarily). Your body can behave strangely in high-pressure situations like the bar exam mainly due to (and exacerbated by) the anxiety. But if you eat the wrong foods, it can negatively affect your exam performance.

Your body can experience minor annoyances such as an upset stomach, going to the bathroom frequently, or feeling bloated. Or it can be serious such as nausea, panic attacks, or even passing out. Worst of all, you might develop a silent but deadly gas problem, which will also anger your neighboring test takers.

While I’m not going to give specific dietary advice, I recommend developing good eating habits that will help you stay focused during the exam. Most health professionals recommend drinking lots of water, eating more fruits and vegetables, and some light meats (or nuts) for protein that will help your stomach feel full. It will take a few days for the body to adjust, but it will adjust for the better.

Ideally, your body should not bother you while you are taking the exam. You should not feel hungry, but not too full either. You should not feel tired, but not too wired.

You can go back to eating at Arby’s and getting wasted after the exam.

Don’t let your law school’s poor bar passage rates discourage you. Finally, for those graduating from schools with below-average bar passage rates, don’t think you will be part of the majority who will fail. If there was ever a time to feel like a special snowflake, this is it.

Of course, thinking happy thoughts alone will not get the job done. Frankly, you will have to study longer and harder than the average law school graduate. And your chances of passing will decrease if you are going to be hung up over your alma mater’s subpar passage rates.

Think about it this way. You’ll be proving yourself for the rest of your career. Trust me on this. So get used to it.

Hopefully, these five tips will reduce exam anxiety and improve your performance. Good luck!

Earlier: Top 3 Common Bar Exam Preparation Pitfalls


Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.