Four Tips for a Successful Second Semester
Before the school year began, I wrote about how to succeed in a virtual semester for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, law students across the country are still engaging in online schooling. Many students may have struggled during their first online semester and are trying to find a way to succeed in their second online semester. Throughout my first 1L semester I was able to discover tactics and methods to be successful in a virtual world.
Here are four key steps that students should consider in their second virtual semester.
1. How to learn the substantive material
The first factor is fairly obvious. You must have a complete understanding of the substantive material. This means actively engaging in lectures. In an online setting, it is easier than ever to be passive, and this would be a mistake.
Even if you aren’t a naturally vocal person, you can actively engage by focusing on what the professor is teaching and internalizing the questions other students ask. After class, if you are still confused about substantial material, professors are often very open to making themselves available to meet with students one-on-one in a virtual setting. Taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to a professor one-on-one can be invaluable.
A perfect way to stay on top of the material is to review either independently or in groups. I find that mixture of both works best for me, but everyone is different. I prefer to review the material independently and once I feel confident about it, I then review with a group. I believe that this works best because by reviewing independently, you can identify areas of strength and weakness. Reviewing with a group is helpful because you solidify your knowledge by teaching and discussing the areas you know well and asking others to help with concepts that you are having trouble grasping.
By setting yourself a schedule to review material after class time and completing readings, you will be able to stay on top of the material and feel comfortable with the substantive concepts entering exam time.
2. Update summaries/notes as you go
Preparing your summaries ahead of time is of the utmost importance. I began first semester without this in mind, and when I began to structure and piece together my summaries at the end, it took me a lot of time and energy.
I quickly learned that when you have several courses, each with a lot of material, it is best to add and build your summaries while you learn the material. After every class, I recommend adding and updating your summary. This may appear to be time consuming, but once exam time comes around, you will be happy that you put the time in during the semester instead of doing it for all your courses at the end. Especially since most law school exams are open notes exams, it is essential to have coherent summaries.
3. Practice Exams
Professors usually post several past exams that will look very similar to your exam. Once you have solid summaries and notes, and truly understand the material, it is time to apply your knowledge.
The perfect way to do this is to start completing practice exams. This is helpful for several reasons. Firstly, it will help you identify concepts that you have to continue to review. When you come upon a difficult question, you will be able to identify that concept, case, or statute, and then go back and review it. Sometimes you think you understand a concept, but then when a question appears, you may realize that there are parts that you may still need to review.
Secondly, practice exams will help build confidence. Law exams can be daunting. But by seeing past exams that the professor has written and being able to answer those questions, you may begin to realize that the exams are not as scary or daunting as they appear to be. I suggest doing practice exams independently and review the answers if the professor has posted them. If there are no posted answers, it is also helpful to review with peers.
4. Know how to answer the exam questions
Once you have a good grasp of the material, have a good summary, and have written practice exams, you are not done with your preparation. Each professor writes exams differently and they each look for very specific types of answers.
It is imperative that you know what a professor is looking for in a perfect answer. Some have particular preferences when it comes to organizing answers, some prefer that students summarize cases in their answers instead of just referencing them, some prefer more application, and some prefer less application. Knowing the information is only helpful if you have an understanding of how the professors want you to communicate that information. It is important that you listen to your professors when they discuss how to approach exam questions. You also can meet with your professor and ask how to approach the exam questions. Knowing how a professor wants students to structure and outline answers can ensure that you will communicate your knowledge in the way the professor expects.
Recap
1. Actively engage in the material
2. Learn what study/review method works best for you — independent vs. group vs. hybrid
3. Make a schedule for reviewing lectures and readings
4. Update summaries as you go
5. Practice exams
6. Learn what your professor looks for in a perfect exam answer
Good luck in the winter semester!
