Day One In Review, On To Day Two . . . .

After the First Day:

First, did you see anyone in the exam today that maybe got a little nervous. Maybe, they did not have a mantra, or a method to get through the problems. Try to sympathize and be thankful that you weren’t in that group. Game over for Day One.

What’s Next.

Dinner.

A nice, loving dinner, regardless of what your mind wants to whisper into your ear. You want to wait for dinner because you want to talk (just, a little) about the examination. You are excited; half of the test is over, and you want to share excitement, relief, etc., about it. Slow down. Try to have your main dinner earlier than later after the examination. Why? While you are running your mouth about all the excellent writing you did, you are going to tire soon, and fall asleep before you know it. I would rather you take a nap at 6:30 today, than talk a lot after class, get a late dinner and wake up Wednesday morning, or at 4:00 a.m., Wednesday morning without having a defined plan.

Have dinner now, make whatever phone calls you choose, take a walk, then nap for two or three hours. Upon waking, you can do a number of things. Look over a few concepts, if you like, watch something on television, listen to music, exercise, pack your bag for the next day, shop for lunch if you have not before.

Or, if you have done all of those things and feel comfortable about Day Two, then you can return to your nesting spot and dream about how to attack those long property and constitutional law questions. I want you to be well rested and well nourished for Day Two. I do not want you to be so talked out that you cut into the day’s food and sleep.

Preparing for the Second Day.

If you decide to take an early nap, and upon waking, want to look at the MBE or a few questions or a particular subject area, then do it. If you awake from your sleep and you do not want to look at the MBE or a few questions or a particular subject area, then don’t do it.

I chose to look at a few questions and even answered 17 or so, just to make certain that I would not forget how to place a round pencil in a round hole.

But whatever you decide, do not tell anyone what you are going to do, or why you are going to do it, just move forward on it according to your plan. You did not make a decision about how you were going to approach this two months, two weeks or even two days ago, just to get to the hotel and debate with someone about how you have decided to attack the bar exam.

It is not the kind of party where people can pick what you will wear, so don’t go and get all dressed for it on anyone's behalf, except your own.

The MBE – The Weak Day

Careful ladies and gentlemen - - but we get caught up in the circling of answers to questions, and after a while, during the exam, we remember why we like MBE questions better than essay questions. MBE questions are low on the interactive scale. We don’t have to draw any fancy pictures, or create any acronyms for a question. We don’t have to return to the facts and re-write them. We don’t have to do anything other than place a black mark in a circle.

A trick, we could teach the right pet to do as an April Fool's trick.

Let’s not be fooled.

You are going to have to think on each and every question. I pretend that there is no other question alive except the question that I am working on right now. If you have to shake your head and get back to reality if you become drowsy, then do so.

I remind myself, that every question is personal.

I answer it, then dispose of it, one question at a time.

I keep my time, and make certain that I do not fall behind. You cannot say that you did not finish if you do not let yourself fall behind. No excuses.

Do not skip questions.

You should know that by now. Why? Just in case you don’t know - - well, If you skip a question and fail to skip a question on the answer sheet too, then you are filling in the wrong blanks until the proctor tells you to stop. That is really dangerous. Do not play with your bar licensure like this. It is not worth it.

If you come to a question that for whatever reason you’ve decided not to answer because it is too %#%^%f?, then make a guess, fill in that circle, and move on. At least you are on the same set of questions moving forward and not jumping up and down screaming because you made what you would deem an innocent, yet, fatal mistake.

Please do not try to guess how many constitutional law, contracts, torts, criminal law/procedure, property, and evidence questions you answered in the a.m. session. That is a waste of time. There is no need for it. You still have to answer the afternoon questions.

It is still 100 questions that you will have to answer in the afternoon whether the moon is in Pisces and Saturn is in the upgrade of Jupiter. It won’t matter.

What does matter is that you keep your energy and lively spirit up and moving throughout Wednesday’s examination, so that you do not pretend to have MBE-last-fifteen minutes of the test- itis. You can’t get the itis. You just can’t. Fifteen questions in the last part of the exam with fifteen minutes to go. Do you know what this could mean? A score of fifteen more or fifteen less points – you can choose how you want to go out.

You cannot think about anything else during the last 8 questions. Think of only one question at a time and nothing else, please. If you have to, then say to yourself for each question, “This Is for the Money. This is for the money.” Then answer the question.

Question 95. This is for the money.

Question 96. This is for the money.

Question 97. This is for the money.

Question 98. This is for the money.

Question 99. This is for the money.

Question 100. This is for the money.

Finished. It is pay day.

I mean, PLAY Day.

Go for it. Just leave the keys to the car home.

Thank you for your time.

BTW: There are a couple of post-bar posts.

You will need to look at it for you or someone else. See you tomorrow.