bar exam essay portion

How to Tackle Essay Writing on the Bar Exam

One skill that is expected to be cultivated and refined during law school is the ability to write well. This makes sense, since good writing will be essential for many legal careers. You will likely need to write memos, client letters, motions, petitions, briefs and other legal documents— so good writing is important! Consequently, the bar exam takes note of this and makes writing an essential component of it. 

Whether you’re taking the Multistate Essay Exam or a state-specific bar exam , you will be writing lots of essays during the bar exam and in your preparation for it. So here’s what you need to know about essay writing on the bar exam and strategies you can implement to improve your score.

Check out the most important bar exam essay writing tips below!

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Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) Jurisdictions

Most states use the Multistate Essay Exam. If you’ll be testing in one of these states, here are the basics you need to know:

There are 6 essay questions in total . This part of the test is 3 hours, so you have 30 minutes per question. Also, the subjects for this portion of the test cover:

• Partnerships
• Corporations and limited liability companies
• Civil procedure
• Conflict of laws
• Constitutional law
• Criminal law and procedure
• Real property
• Secured transactions
• Trusts and future interests
• Wills and estates

While any of these topics are fair game, these particular topics make up the majority of the MEE:

• Corporations and LLCs
• Family law and trusts
• Future interests

Consequently, you may want to spend extra time preparing for these areas of the law while also studying for the other subjects. 

The good news is that there are guides you can use to determine the most highly tested essay rules. These bar exam study resources will identify these rules and teach you additional rules of law. 

Here’s another important tip: focus your time on these major rules instead of wasting too much energy on nuanced rules that are less likely to be tested. 

Keep reading for more important study tips to help you pass the MEE:

Bar Essays Studying Tips 

The first part of learning how to tackle the essay writing portion of the bar exam is to develop a solid study plan . Your plan should incorporate the following: 

Learn More About the IRAC Method and Format

You may have used a variety of writing styles in law school, such as IRAC, CRAC or CREAC. However, the IRAC structure is the most commonly used one on the bar exam, and is what bar examiners will expect. Hence, you need to be familiar with this writing system:

• I – Issue
• R – Rule
• A – Analysis
• C – Conclusion

This system ensures that you write concisely and only include the necessary information. It’s not flowery and won’t contain a lot of excess content— which is a good thing, since you’re on such a constrained time limit!

As you practice, read through your answers and label each sentence with an I,R,A, or C . if a sentence cannot be labeled under one of these letters, it probably does not belong.

Practice Essay Writing Each Week

When you spend so much time studying for the bar exam , it may feel tempting to skip practicing the lengthy essay portion of the test. However, this is one of the biggest mistakes made by most test takers. 

Bar essays are an essential component of the test; they can often help leverage a higher score if you don’t do as well on some of the other test portions. Furthermore, while reviewing the rules of law is important, writing about them can show you understand them and know how they apply. 

Basically, don’t leave practicing these essays until the end of your preparation. Instead, make practicing essays part of your weekly study plan!

Practice Under Timed Conditions

When you first begin practicing the essay portion of the bar exam, you may not want to time yourself so that you can be sure you are spotting all the issues and honing your writing style . However, toward the middle of your study time, you will want to start practicing under timed conditions. 

It is not enough to know how to write a good essay. You need to know how to write a good essay quickly . You need to be able to quickly discuss the most important issues and know when not to elaborate on others.

The best way to study for these questions is to find previous MEE questions and practice them under timed conditions. Then, review the analysis to determine how you did.

Review Rules the Last Two Weeks of Your Study

Focus on memorizing as many rules of law as possible during your last two weeks of studying. You’ll need to be able to recall these basic rules as part of your essay writing without hesitation, so be sure that you can recite rules of law without even thinking about them.

Learn More About The BAR Exam

• Take These Steps To Pass The Bar Exam!
• How To Crush The Essay Portion Of The Bar Exam
• How To Study For The BAR While Working Full Time!
• How To Pass The BAR After Failing The First Time
• How To Become A Lawyer

Tips for the Day of the Bar Exam 

Okay, so now it’s the day of the bar exam— you need to know how to truly tackle these questions in the moment of truth. Here’s what you need to do:

Plan The Time You Have for Writing Essays 

Before beginning this portion of the test, you should have a plan on how you will manage your time, such as:

• First 10 minutes: Read the essay prompt. Maybe read it multiple times. Don’t rush this part; your ability to recall this information will be essential to answering the question. Also, outline your answer as you read through the prompt.
• Next 15 – 17 minutes: Write your answer.
• Last 3 to 5 minutes: Review your answer to check for competition and to make necessary edits.

Stick to this timeline for every question. If you start going over 5 minutes on every question, you won’t have enough time to tackle the last question. Ultimately, it’s far better to get out an analysis of all the questions than to answer one question perfectly and not even address another.

Make an Outline

Making an outline can help you organize your thoughts and create a plan on what you will be writing about. Mark up the prompt as you go— you may want to highlight or underline certain information to help your recall later. 

Try to make this outline clear, such as making a bullet list of items related to the prompt. If you run low on time, you can always copy and paste this information to provide a semi-answer to the prompt. Write your rule statement and list the relevant facts that will support your analysis. Also, consider how much time you will need to discuss each subpart of the answer. 

Apply the IRAC Structure

Now it’s time for you to apply what you’ve learned. Use IRAC to fully answer the question. 

Briefly state the issue in a bolded heading. Issues are usually clearly stated on bar exam essay questions rather than hidden in a fact pattern, so this should be an easy way to pick up points. Restate the issue and move onto the next part of your answer. 

State the rules that apply to the case. This is where rote memorization comes into play, since you need to be able to state the proper rule that applies to the question. Bold key terms to show that you know what rules and terms apply. This will get you the points you need on this section.

The summary of rules should be clear and concise and should demonstrate that you understand what is involved. Only address those rules that actually apply to this case and address the specific question. 

Show how the rule applies, given the particular fact pattern. This will be the longest portion of your answer. However, your analysis should still be shorter than your analysis in your legal writing class. You can pick up (or lose) a lot of points in this portion of the answer! You need to demonstrate that you know how to apply the law to the facts. Generally speaking, the more facts you’re able to explain, the higher your score will be.

Most of the facts in the fact pattern will be there for a reason— and you need to explain why these facts matter in your analysis. Provide a step-by-step analysis of how the facts support your conclusion. You may be able to score extra points by identifying counter-arguments or a majority and minority view. 

Conclusion 

End with a brief conclusion. One sentence is fine here. Perhaps unlike law school exams, there is usually a “right” conclusion. Some writing structures will use a conclusion first and then end with a conclusion, but this is not recommended on the bar exam. If you start with the wrong conclusion, the grader will look for ways to prove why you are wrong while grading your answer; therefore, save your conclusion for the end!

Organize Your Content 

Make your essay simple to read by taking advantage of all the tools at your disposal. Use paragraph breaks to organize your content, creating a clear I, R, A , and C section. Additionally, bold and underline key words and principles of law. Many essay graders will be scanning your work, so make it easy to identify that you understood the legal issues involved by drawing their attention to these key terms.

Also, use transitional words to qualify certain statements and to explain where you are going with your answer. This makes it easier for the grader to follow your analysis, as well as helps you to stay on track.

Answer the Question

Seems obvious, right? Listen:

While it seems simple to just answer the question you are asked, many bar exam essay questions include numerous fact patterns, potential rules of law that apply, and even some red herrings. Be sure that you only answer the question that is asked; don’t go off on a tangent that will not score you any extra points! 

Read over the instructions to the question and follow these instructions, even if that means ignoring something or assuming certain facts are true. Any time you devote to issues that are not relevant to the instructions takes away from time that can score you more points.

Manage Your Time 

Now that you’re in the middle of your answers, keep a close eye on time. It can be tempting to take just a few more minutes to feel you completed a question, but this can come back to haunt you by taking away necessary time from another question. Set alarms if you need to — and are permitted to — so that you know when time is up for each section. Also, you may want to set a reminder a few minutes before your allotted time so that you can quickly wrap up the question before moving on to the next one. 

With that being said, avoid writing a partial essay and then moving onto another one. It can take several minutes to regain your bearings and remember what the essay was about when you switch back and forth. Instead, finish each question in the allotted time and then move onto the next.

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Quick tips for essay writing.

Here’s a quick round-up of tips to keep you on track when preparing your bar exam essays:

• Read the facts more than once. Don’t rush this part!
• Don’t write a lengthy, historical background of the law. Instead, make it concise.
• Don’t write a long analysis regarding policy if the question does not ask for it.
• Present counter-arguments but spend less time on them than arguments
• Provide a clear and decisive conclusion.
• Pace yourself. The two-day bar exam is a marathon, not a sprint. Approach each question with patience and don’t try to rush it.
• Don’t talk to anyone about your answers. This will undoubtedly make you doubt yourself; you don’t need a hit to your self-confidence at this time!
• Have a fun plan for what to do after the bar exam to have something to look forward to.

So, there you have it— a plan to help you tackle the essay portion of the bar exam. Use these strategies to help boost your score and you will soon be a licensed attorney!

Thanks for reading and good luck on your exam!

Frequently Asked Questions About Bar Essays

How do you write an essay for the bar exam.

There’s a specific structure that bar examiners expect when you write answers to essay questions. This structure is called IRAC, which is short for “Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion.” When writing a bar essay, try and structure all of your sentences around these four subjects in a way that makes sense.

How many essays are on the bar exam?

The essay portion of the bar exam is called the Multistate Essay Exam, or MEE for short. It is made up of six different essay questions that you must write answers to over the course of three hours. The subjects can vary depending on what test you take, but all are related to the legal field and will require excellent logical reasoning and critical thinking to earn a high score.

How long should bar exam essays be?

Although there may not be a set word limit for your bar exam essay, a good rule of thumb is to write at least 1,000 words for each answer. However, you should avoid padding out your article’s word count with excessively detailed descriptions of legal concepts; stick to the IRAC format and ensure each word in each sentence has a purpose.

Is it better to write or type the bar exam?

There’s no universal answer to this question, since some students will prefer to write by hand and others will prefer typing. However, there are significant benefits to typing your bar exam essay questions over using a pen and paper, such as easy erasing and the ability to copy and paste. However, power issues on rare occasions have forced essay writers to resort to pen and paper, and it makes it impossible to lose progress due to a software error.

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Valerie Keene is an experienced lawyer and legal writer. Valerie’s litigation successes have included wins for cases involving contract disputes, real property disputes, and consumer issues. She has also assisted countless families with estate planning, guardianship issues, divorce and other family law matters. She provides clients with solid legal advice and representation.

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California Bar Exam details

A typical california bar exam is a 2-day exam.

California Bar Exam information is subject to change without notice. Please verify with The State Bar of California Office of Admissions .

Please also reference the  NCBE Covid-19 updates page  for NCBE updates and individual jurisdiction announcements.

Bar exam details

• Three 60-minute essay questions (in the AM)
• Two 60-minute essay questions (in the PM)
• One 90-minute Performance Test (in the PM)
• Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM)

Subjects tested

• Constitutional Law
• Contracts/Sales
• Criminal Law/Procedure
• Federal Civil Procedure
• Real Property

California Essay Subjects

• Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations; and Limited Liability Companies)
• CA Civil Procedure
• CA Community Property
• CA Evidence
• CA Professional Responsibility
• CA Wills and Succession
• Plus all MBE subjects

California Performance Test

• “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.
• A scaled score of 86 on the MPRE is required for admission.

Click here to learn more about the MPRE .

The MBE score is 50% of the total score, while the written portion accounts for the other 50%.

A passing score of 1,390 or greater on a 2,000 point scale is required based on the combined scores of the California Performance Test, the essay questions, and the MBE.

Reciprocity

Acceptance of mbe score.

California does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.

Admission on Motion

California does not provide for admission on motion. Examination is required of all applicants. Attorneys who have been licensed in another jurisdiction for four years may be eligible to sit for the attorney exam (written exam only).

Foreign law graduates and lawyers

If you are a foreign law graduate or lawyer, you may already be eligible to sit for a U.S. state bar exam with your current credentials.

California operates a relatively open policy in permitting foreign law graduates or lawyers to sit the bar examination, and does not impose restrictions to admission on grounds of nationality or residence.

Learn more about U.S. bar exam eligibility and requirements for foreign law graduates, lawyers, and U.S. LL.M. students.

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• Sep 24, 2019

Breaking down Essay Grading by the California Bar Exam

If you are gearing up to take the February 2020 California Bar Exam, you may be wondering how the California bar essay portion is graded. California recently made some changes to their bar exam going from a three day examination period to two days. Day one is the written portion of the exam and consists of 5 one-hour essays and one 90 minute Performance Test.

California divides the graders into six groups, each consisting of 12 experienced graders and up to 4 apprentice graders. Both groups are supervised. The graders assign a raw score to each essay on a scale from 40 – 100. The State Bar of California has explained, “in order to earn a 40, the applicant must at least identify the subject of the question and attempt to apply the law to the facts of the question. If these criteria are not met, the answer is assigned a zero.” We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume you want to hit a score of 65 and above. That’s exactly what our inexpensive materials are geared to accomplish.

A score of 55 is designated as a below passing paper . The applicant missed or incompletely discussed two or more major issues. The applicant had a weak or incomplete analysis of the issues addressed and the overall organization was poor.

A score of 60 is a slightly below passing paper . The applicant may have missed or incompletely discussed one major issue. Discussion of all issues was incomplete and organization of the issues was poor.

A score of 65 is an average passing paper . Applicant had a lawyer-like discussion of all major issues and missed some minor issues. Overall paper could have been better.

A score of 70 is a slightly above average paper . Applicant had a lawyer-like discussion of all major issues and missed some minor issues. Paper could have been better, but analysis and reasoning warrants more than a 65. Well organized paper.

A score of 75 is a distinctly above average paper . Applicant discussed all major issues in a lawyer-like fashion and discussed the ancillary minor issues. Overall, a well organized paper.

A score of 80-85 is unusually complete and thorough paper. Applicant discussed all major and minor issues in a lawyer-like fashion and very well organized.

Components used for grading include: organization/format, issue spotting, rule statement, and analysis. A passing paper will have use of headings and IRAC used to organize issues discussed. Issues are generally discussed in a logical order. A passing paper will discuss all the main issues, but may fail to discuss some of the minor issues. A passing paper will have clear rule statements that may be stated verbatim or in your own words that blend some of the concepts into one statement. Rules are correctly applied to the facts of the case and there is infrequent discussion of both sides of an issue, but paper still discusses major issues raised from the fact pattern.

We hope this gives you a better idea of what a passing (65 and above) paper looks like. Feel free to head to our sample page to see a CBB sample of Civil Procedure. All subjects are organized in the same fashion and are specifically geared towards a passing score of 65 and above.

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Breaking Down the Bar Exam: Tips to Prepare and Pass the Test

Jul 18, 2023

The bar exam is a critical element of the law school journey, but preparing for it can be daunting. Simply from the sheer volume of information and the desire to pass on the first attempt, it can leave students overwhelmed. However, with the right preparation and resources, students can increase their chances of success.

We have tapped three of our experts at Western State for insights on this pressing topic:

• Tania Shah , director of the academic success program and associate professor of law
• Kathleen Bolus , associate director of the academic success program and assistant professor of lawyering skills

Read on to hear some of their tips and information about resources that can help you prepare for and pass the bar exam.

Western State’s Commitment to Student Success

• Basic Bar Studies (BBS) class : This six-unit, robust course helps students learn the fundamentals of bar exam subjects. Students take this class during their last semester and have access to resources through the bar exam. The class incorporates multiple-choice questions to improve students’ test-taking skills, as well as essay practice and feedback. Each semester the course is individualized based on data that shows where the class and students can benefit from more focus – whether a subject or format.
• Curriculum throughout the law school journey: From the beginning of law school, curriculum that incorporates bar exam essays and performance tests are part of classes. While we are focused on helping develop successful lawyers, not bar takers, we introduce bar exam formats early on, helping our students develop both critical thinking and the necessary skills to pass the exam.

• First-timer bar exam program: Since 2020, Western State has offered a specific program for first-time test takers, and this program has seen a lot of success and growth over the years. While voluntary, 88% of the previous class elected to participate as it has helped increase the pass rate among the students. This program helps hold students accountable during the study period as well as provides them with continued support for questions and reviews. In addition, Western State offers students who participate and pass the first time a full refund on the bar review program.

Overcoming Common Bar Exam Concerns

Even with the best resources available, it isn’t uncommon to have concerns about the bar exam. We have insights from our faculty outlining some of the common concerns they hear and how to overcome them.

• How can I possibly memorize this much information? Western State emphasizes the importance of early preparation. We focus on research-proven active memorization strategies and activities and implement them early in the law school journey by watching videos and continually reviewing legal concepts. By solidifying these skills and memorizing key principles during law school, students can feel more confident heading into bar prep.

• I want to take the bar exam in a different state, how do I need to prepare differently? If a student plans to take the bar exam in a different state, the first thing to do is to look at the state’s bar exam website to understand the requirements to sit for the exam and become a licensed lawyer in that state. Many of the states have the same multiple-choice, however, the essay portion may vary. For example, the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) consists of the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), which requires 30-minute essay responses. In contrast, California has its own essay format, with one-hour essay responses. Students should familiarize themselves with the specific requirements of the state they intend to practice in and tailor their preparation accordingly. Outside of knowing the differences for the exam, the students can still leverage the bar prep course at Western State to help them prepare.
• What if I get behind in my study schedule? Getting behind can create a domino effect, but if you do, it is important to reach out for support right away. There are methodologies to restructure the schedule and tips for where to focus to optimize the time you have remaining.

Taking the Bar Exam

After you have spent hours preparing, it is important to ensure you are set up for success on the day of the exam. The night before and the day of the bar exam should be approached strategically.  Here are some tips:

• Simulate exam-like conditions during the last month of preparation. This includes timing yourself and practicing under time constraints.
• Establish a consistent sleep schedule, maintain a balanced diet and take care of your physical and mental well-being leading up to the exam.
• Study during the time of the exam so you are used to that schedule.
• If staying at a hotel, ensure your accommodation is made well in advance and you have a place to stay within walking distance of the exam venue.
• The break is not long, so packing lunch can help reduce stress on the day of the test.
• Check your computer to ensure it works and you have the right charger with you and everything you bring is permissible.
• Have strategies to help calm your nerves and stay focused during the exam.
• Don’t put the exam on a pedestal – trust your preparation!

Taking the Bar Exam a Second Time

While the goal is to pass the bar exam the first time, if you don’t, don’t worry! Western State is still here for you!

Western State offers a repeater program for students who were not successful on their first attempt. This program provides tailored guidance and plans based on an analysis of the student’s previous performance. It is crucial for students to seek feedback and guidance from experienced professionals to identify areas for improvement and tailor their study approach accordingly.

Understanding the Upcoming Changes

As these changes roll out, it is important that law schools adapt their curricula to align with these updates. At Western State, our faculty are monitoring for any announcements and are well positioned to support the next group of test takers.

Preparing for the bar exam requires dedication, strategy and effective utilization of available resources. At Western State, we are proud to offer exceptional support to our students, emphasizing early preparation, active learning and access to valuable study materials. Good luck to our July test takers!

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Professor Arshagouni began his career in legal academics in 2002 as an assistant research professor at the University of Houston Law Center’s Health Law & Policy Institute. He then spent several years teaching at Michigan State University College of Law where he taught a number of health law related courses as well as first year Contracts and Property. Professor Arshagouni has also taught at California Western School of Law and Whittier School of Law. Prior to legal academics, he practiced law as an associate in the health care practice groups at Sidley Austin in Los Angeles and at Foley & Lardner, also in Los Angeles.

Before entering the legal profession, Professor Arshagouni had a career in medicine. He worked for several years as a pediatrician and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. While at UCI, he acted as director of pediatrics at a community clinic in north Orange County, CA.

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BarEssays.com Blog

How to properly set up issues and rules in bar essays.

06/22/2021 by baressays

A Guest Column by Brian Hahn of Make This Your Last Time

Last time in the BarEssays blog, I alluded to how issues were the most important component of IRAC in an essay answer .

That’s different from many students’ instincts from law school and school in general—that they need to write more to score higher.

This is not necessarily true. You can write little and score well. It’s not the word count itself that matters, although the word count is indicative of how many issues you’ve identified.

I know we’re already dropping bombshells 20 seconds in. But now you’re already ahead of the curve by arming yourself with these insights.

Let’s see if there’s more you can take away about essay writing for the California Bar Exam, with some specific examples illustrating the above:

• A Professional Responsibility essay that scored a 70, which has short, punchy IRACs courtesy of BarEssays )
• Another example from BarEssays where the word count is low but scored a 65 (PDF link courtesy of BarEssays )
• A client of mine who received a 65 on this 603-word Community Property essay from the recent 2021 February California Bar Exam (courtesy of Make This Your Last Time with permission from the author)

But before we go on, I want to be perfectly clear here:

I’m not suggesting that you write less in order to score high. Generally, shorter answers don’t get high scores because they tend to not discuss important issues the graders are looking for. Conversely, there are many lower-scoring answers that write a good amount (over 1,000 words) or even a lot (over 2,000 words). (Take a look at BarEssays to study more examples like these!)

With the passing scaled score of 1390 in California, an average written raw score of 60-62.5 would likely put you on track to pass (assuming you were also scoring 1390 on the MBE side).

As you saw above, a score of 60 or higher is doable if you can use the relevant issues and rules. Of course, you want to be able to discuss the facts and connect them to the rules, but this is not always the pivotal point as many bar takers assume. In fact, the application part is the easy part.

The hard parts that require understanding of the material are the issues and rules. Once you’re able to set up that issue skeleton and support it with rules, then you’re basically home free.

Even if you write beautiful rules or analyses, if you miss the issues that are intended to be identified, you’re turning in an incomplete answer, and you’ll get a score reflecting that.

To that end, I’m going to share how to set up the issues and rules, and when to go deep into analysis (or not).

How to set up issues and rules for the California Bar Essays

As always, the part we avoid is the thing that will make a bigger difference.

When you open up an essay question and try to answer it, where do you get stuck the most—probably the issues, right?

The blank-page syndrome is where you don’t know where to start writing. It’s less daunting to write something reasonable once you have the issues and rules down.

Fortunately, the bar exam tests you on a limited universe of issues. There are only so many issues they can test you on. And with 20+ years of essays available , many of these issue patterns have repeated over the years.

Consequently, if you’ve seen the past essays, you’ve pretty much seen them all. (You’ll still need to memorize areas that haven’t been tested, although that’s less important than the areas that have been tested frequently before.)

So how do you even find these issues in the essays?

As noted above, there’s a limited set of testable issues.

The issues are triggered by the facts (facts relate to rules, and rules relate to issues). But I never use the phrase “issue spotting.” To me, that implies you wing it and somehow happened to draw the issues out of thin air. As if you will somehow know it when you spot it in the wild.

Rather than a haphazard approach, I found that a systematic approach was more helpful to me (as well as many of my readers through the years).

This is called issue checking : Rather than thinking of it as spotting issues, you are now checking for issues, matching the facts to the known and preexisting issues.

So have a list of issues when you practice your essays. You can make your own, or you can use something like Approsheets ( fact-issue checklists and flowcharts, samples here ) or BarEssays templates which are available as part of a premium BarEssays membership .

If you had something like this set up already, does it seem more doable to write a full essay answer?

For 2015 February Essay 1

Here’s what I suggest when trying to solve those past essays…

List the issues and their corresponding rules. Be able to do this within 10-15 minutes (for California essays).

This is your skeletal outline. Now you can corral the facts from the hypothetical and connect them to the appropriate rules. Incidentally, this is known as essay cooking , a technique that allows you to double or triple your essay practice efficiency.

The “meaty” part of your answer, the application, is more stylistic than anything. The “correct” issues and rules will be relatively consistent. When skimming your answer, the graders will be looking for those over the precise choice of facts you included in your answer.

Speaking of the application part of IRAC, sometimes you want to dial that part up or down, depending on the situation.

When to focus on issues vs. deep analysis in your essay answer

If you see a broad call of the question, focus on identifying issues, less on analysis. Examples of broad calls of question:

• “With what crimes may D be charged?”
• “What ethical obligations did L breach?”
• “What remedies, if any, would be available?”

If you see a narrow call of the question, analyze the facts more. The issue has already been given to you. Examples of narrow calls of question:

• “Is D guilty of robbery?” (Discuss the elements of robbery and the facts relating to each element)
• “Can L ethically withdraw from representing P?” (Discuss mandatory and permissive withdrawals)
• “Did the court rule correctly on the motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction?” (Analyze the various sub-issues of the International Shoe test)

Note that narrow calls may raise sub-issues, nuances, exceptions, and/or defenses.

As you can see, distinguishing broad vs. narrow calls of the question can inform your issues and essay coking.

Should you ping pong?

There’s often a lot of “P would argue… D would argue…” type arguments in student answers.

Now, others may say you need to do this. And you can. But blindly throwing in fake court drama isn’t always the best of use of your limited time.

This style should be used where appropriate , not as a default.

Going off the above distinction between broad and narrow calls, this type of argument may be more useful for narrow calls where you want to be more thorough with your analysis. Or maybe the facts are vague; then you can look at different angles.

With a broad call of the question, the better approach is to argue opposing legal theories (such as a prima facie case vs. defenses) or split views (such as Cardozo and Andrews).

So don’t automatically go into ping-pong mode. Don’t lose sight that issues are key.

If you want to use what you learned here and write better essay answers, take a look at the variety of actual graded answers at BarEssays.com , and supplement with an issue checking aid like Approsheets .

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Bar Truths. What Happened When the Essay Portion is Open Book. Did it matter?

A lot of posts on this subreddit lament that the bar exam is nothing but a memory test. There is a grain of truth about memory but is the bar exam a memory test? Georgia did something along with a couple of other states. They allowed open notes for the essay portion of the exam. They did not restrict what you could use for open notes. This meant that half the exam was open note in some form since the PTs you must use only what they give you and complete the task asked of you. They did this in the October 2020, February 2021 and July 2021. So what happened? These are the stats for all takers divided by first time takers and repeaters.

October 2020: First time takers 82.5% Repeaters 29.9%

February 2021: First time takers 69.4% Repeaters 28.2%

July 2021: First time takers 79.9% Repeaters 14.4%

Compared to closed note the four administrations prior to COVID and open book essays

February 2020: First time takers 62.6% Repeaters 27.2%

July 2019: First time takers: 79.6% Repeaters 25.0%

February: 2019: First time takers: 65.6% Repeaters 31.0%

July 2018: First time takers: 72.9% Repeaters 18.5%

The first impression is that it didn't really change things much. The stats except for the repeaters in 2021 are not that varied. Of interest is that Georgia also posts the average MBE score for the ABA schools located in Georgia and this is where it tells the tale.

There are 5 ABA accredited law schools in Georgia and the MBE stats tend to follow the selectiveness based on LSATs as does its pass rates for all takers.

July 2021 Open note Essay

Emory avg MBE 146.8 All Applicant pass rate: 82.3%

University of Georgia avg MBE 150.2 92.5%

Georgia State University avg MBE 143.3 81.3%

Mercer University avg MBE 136.5 70.0%

John Marshall Law School avg MBE 130.6 39.1%

What to make of this? If the open notes didn't raise the success rate of schools with lower LSAT criteria then is the bar exam nothing more than an MBE test? Is the MBE just a proxy for LSAT scores? That doesn't seem right if we are measuring minimal competency. Or is it that memorization is not as important than application? I don't know but what it does say is that if you do better on the MBEs your success rate jumps up and that sort of means it is at one hand a memorization test and problem solving test. You could write scholarly articles on this, but what one can come away with is even if you had open notes on the essays that didn't save you. So take it for what it is worth. Any thoughts? What do you think?

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California Bar Exam Essay Guide

In this guide, we show you how to conquer the essay portion of the California Bar Exam.

We start by giving you a general overview of what is tested on the California Bar Exam, some California Bar Exam essay tips, and a frequency chart so you can see when particular subjects were tested.

Then, we dive into each of the 14 subjects that are fair game on the California Bar Exam and give you tips and tricks for each one.

Lastly, we give you the option to download a PDF of this guide if you would like to view all of the chapters at the same time or to save to consult later.

Send Me a PDF of the Guide:

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California Bar Exam Essay Guide Chapters

• Introduction to the Guide
• Chapter 1: What is Tested on California Bar Exam Essays : Here, we give you a brief overview of how the essay portion of the California Bar Exam is structured, what is tested on California Bar Exam essays, and when California distinctions are tested.
• Chapter 2: California Bar Exam Essay Tips : We reveal important essay tips to make sure you are writing essay answers that get the most points.
• Chapter 3: California Bar Exam Essay Frequency Chart : We show you exactly when each California Bar Exam subject has been tested so you can get a visual idea of the highly tested areas of law, plus the less tested areas of law.
• Chapter 4: Agency and Partnership
• Chapter 5: Civil Procedure
• Chapter 6: Community Property
• Chapter 7: Constitutional Law
• Chapter 8: Contracts
• Chapter 9: Corporations
• Chapter 10: Criminal Law
• Chapter 11: Evidence
• Chapter 12: Professional Responsibility
• Chapter 13: Real Property
• Chapter 14: Remedies
• Chapter 15: Torts
• Chapter 16: Trusts
• Chapter 17: Wills
• Chapter 18: Download PDF : We provide you with the option to download this guide in PDF form if you would like to view all of the chapters at the same time or to save to consult later.

The Goal of Our California Bar Exam Essay Guide

Students are often unsure how to approach the essay portion of the California Bar Exam. As a result, many students study ineffectively or inefficiently. The goal of our California Bar Exam Essay Guide is to help you find an effective and efficient approach to the California Bar Exam right from the beginning. This guide will help you feel confident on test day so you can conquer the essay portion of the California Bar Exam!

If you have any questions, we are happy to answer them. You can  contact us here  at your convenience. We love to hear from our readers!

Additional California Bar Exam Resources

Below are some additional California Bar Exam resources that we recommend: Please check out all our  California Bar Exam services here !

• California Bar Exam On Demand Course : Our On Demand California Bar Exam Course is tailored to work with your schedule so you can walk into the bar exam with confidence. It includes tailored outlines, access to prerecorded lectures that you can start and stop at your convenience, self-administered quizzes, 10 essays graded by a personal attorney essay grader, and released multiple-choice and essay questions. We give you everything you need to pass the California Bar Exam, on your time! Check out a preview of our course here.
• California Bar Exam private tutoring : We tutor for all aspects of the California Bar Exam! You get an outline relevant to the topic you are discussing with your purchase!
• MBE services : we have a variety of MBE services to help you pass the multiple-choice portion of the California Bar Exam.
• Essay feedback : we offer one-time or weekly essay feedback for the California Bar Exam.
• California Bar Exam One-Sheets : We summarize the highly tested topics on the California Bar Exam in one sheet, front and back, for each subject! Check out a sample here .

Go to the next topic, Chapter 1: What is Tested on California Bar Exam Essays .

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Common Bar Essay Problems and How to Avoid Them

June 2, 2015 By Alison Monahan 2 Comments

When you review a lot of bar essays, you begin to see what sets the good ones apart. The answers that score the highest have some telltale traits that really start standing out the more of them you read. We here at the Bar Exam Toolbox have seen a lot of bar essays: top scores, failing scores, and everything in between. We’ve also come up with some common pitfalls that tend to make an essay score lower. What makes a bar essay bad, though? Or, more importantly, what can you do to make yours good ? Here are some of the most common problem areas we see year to year, and how you can improve them.

Misconceptions About What the Graders Want

The kind of analysis the bar graders are looking for vary from one jurisdiction to another, and can differ vastly from what you might have been writing on final exams in law school (even if you did well in your classes). One thing is for sure, though, bar graders are looking for something very specific. A lot of first-time bar takers think that so long as their essays are coherent, relatively correct, and hit the correct issues they have it made. It takes more than that, though. It’s important to find out exactly what the graders in your jurisdiction value. How do you do this? Review the posted sample answers. Review as many of them as you can and look for commonalities.

Lack of structure

You may have some memories from your law school exams of writing whatever came to your head as fast as you could. You may have even done relatively well. This is probably because a lot of law school professors are more willing to hunt and peck through stream-of-consciousness babble to find the correct points of law buried within. These days are over. Bar exam graders simply will not do this. They will read your essay critically and very quickly (usually in just a couple of minutes!). What does this mean for you? It means you need to make it as easy as possible for them to give you points. How do you do this? By being organized.

Find a format that allows you to call out the issues you’re discussing in each paragraph. Make them salient. Employ easy-to-follow approaches, such as IRAC . Organize your answer based on the call of the question. Use attack plans. A more structured answer is easier to read quickly, and it’s easier to see at a glance whether the writer is hitting all of the necessary benchmarks. Your bar exam grader is not going to give you the benefit of the doubt and search for the gems in your answer. It’s your job to put those gems on display.

Not Using the Facts Precisely or Completely Enough

You may have heard that using the facts on the bar exam is important . This is actually a big understatement. If you’ve talked to any of us at the Bar Exam Toolbox, you’ve probably heard many, many times how crucial the facts are! What does it mean to use the facts, though? A lot of bar takers think that using the facts is the same as just throwing them into your answer in some way—just making them show up somewhere. It’s not.

As we’ve said before, the fact patterns on the bar are incredibly precise and well-crafted. The talented people who write these hypos are painstaking about what they put in and what they leave out. How do you use the facts you’re given then? In a nutshell, you need to pinpoint which specific rule element(s) each fact “matches up” with. Then, you need to use the facts to “check off” each element (or say why it is not satisfied based on the facts you have). Regurgitating facts just for the sake of throwing them into your answer is a waste of time. This likely won’t get you any extra points. Matching the facts with precise issues (better yet, with rule elements or requirements)—this is what to aim for.

Lack of Planning

Did you plan the essays you wrote on your final exams in law school? A lot of students did not. Writing bar essays is different, though ( see above). Your audience is different, and you’re being tested on different skills. In order to get the precise, formulaic structure we discussed above, you need to have a plan (and you probably need attack plans and lots of practice too!). If you’re going to figure out how to use all of the facts you get, this definitely takes planning before you begin writing. Coming up with a plan for your essay before you start typing furiously is the best way to make sure you’re getting as many points as possible, and it’s also one of the only ways to avoid the dreaded stream-of-consciousness writing we talked about above.

Missing Issues

Most bar takers know they need to spot as many issues as possible to do well on the exam. A lot of students, though, think that so long as they memorize a lot of law, these issues will just start popping out at them when they read through the fact patterns on exam day. Not quite true. There are a lot of intermediate steps in between. It’s true, you can’t do too well spotting issues if you don’t know the law. You have to know the law. You also need to practice issue spotting , and you must practice your ability to determine which kinds of facts trigger which types of issues. How do you do this? Come up with your essay writing plan and do as many closed-book practice essays as you can. Don’t just practice identifying issues, practice writing out full, timed exams so you are getting good at writing analysis and allocating your time too ( see below).

Misallocating or Wasting Time

Timing is huge on the bar exam. I’ve seen quite a few failing essay answers that probably would have passed if they were actually completed. Running out of time is a very real concern, as is misallocating time between planning and writing, or giving more time to one question instead of apportioning time equally. So, how do you get good at managing your time ? Not surprisingly, the answer here is practice. Use a clock. Cut yourself off when your predetermined planning time is over and it’s time to move on to writing. Cut yourself off when the allotted time for the essay ends. Practice some essays back-to-back so you can get a feel for what you can accomplish in an hour. Discipline yourself to move onto the next essay so none of them are lacking. Be strict with your time you’re allowed, the bar exam will be.

Failure to Critique and Review

Writing practice is only half the battle when it comes to getting good at bar essays. More often than not, I see students improve the most dramatically when they start critically reviewing their own work—and when they actually re-write essays that they miss the mark on. Why is this? Well, first of all, it’s almost impossible to learn from our own mistakes if we don’t know what those mistakes are ( if you’re a repeat bar taker , this is especially true—go get those essays you had returned to you and critique them ruthlessly!). Second, it’s difficult to apply what you’re learning on one essay to a new, completely different essay since the new essay might test very different areas of law (even within the same subject). If you write the same essay a second time, you can instill knowledge about those legal issues and cement your attack plan and process so next time you see that issue, you feel more comfortable with it.

Getting critical reviews of your essays from a trusted source like a bar program, a professor, or a tutor is also a great way to ensure that you’re seeing your missteps and fixing them. Often, bar students are over confident in their abilities. Even when they make mistakes, even when they miss issues, they may somehow convince themselves they were closer to getting it right than they actually were. Sometimes getting a tough critique early on from someone who knows what the graders are looking for is the very best thing you can do for your writing.

Do you need help with the essay portion of the bar exam? BarEssays.com is a great study tool for the essay portion of the California Bar Exam. And Bar Exam Toolbox readers get a special on membership ! Email us to get the coupon code.

Want more useful bar exam advice? Sign up for our  free mailing list  now!

Did you find this post helpful? Check out some other great articles:

• The Ins and Outs of Studying for the Bar Exam 
• Bar Exam Essays – You Must Become an Expert at Reading the Facts
• 10 Tips for Working and Studying for the Bar Exam
• Warning Signs You May Need Extra Help as a First Time Bar Exam Taker

Photo credit: Hururg/Shutterstock

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About Alison Monahan

Alison Monahan is the founder of The Girl's Guide to Law School and the co-founder of the Law School Toolbox . Alison is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she was a member of the Columbia Law Review and served as a Civ Pro teaching assistant. You can find her on Twitter at @GirlsGuideToLS or @LawSchoolTools .

Reader Interactions

These are some great tips for passing the bar’s essay questions. I think you are right about having misconceptions as to what the graders want to hear. Reviewing study questions and finding commonalities in the sample answers is a great way to study.

We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your site provided us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful to you.

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