There are few exams which render more fear in the test taker than the Bar Exam. BUT, it really is not all that bad. If you approach it in a practical and methodical way, you should not have any trouble achieving a successful score.

First, I would recommend purchasing some type of Bar Review Course. That doesn't mean that it has to be the most popular or most expensive. Most of them are pretty much the same. Just make sure that there are lots of practice tests and lots of descriptions about the types of questions that are asked on the exam. There are several avenues to pursue - books/workbooks, tapes, classes, etc.

Second, taking your time while walking through the answers to each practice question is probably one of the most important things you could do. The description of the answer will often lead to the purpose behind the type of question asked. This is really what you are doing the practice tests for anyway, not to learn bits of knowledge. Remember, you don't have any legal knowledge before going to law school, so they really aren't testing your ability to recall legal knowledge. They are trying to see whether you can infer, deduce, and logically answer the question before you. To understand the premise of the question is key and that is where the practice tests will help. Take as many as you can and read the descriptions of the answers each time.

Third, don't stress and don't over analyze. Often you will find that if you try to think too hard about the question you are going beyond the simplicity of it. Too often you will find yourself with an incorrect answer.

Fourth, please go to bed early and eat a great, but not too heavy, breakfast. I also found that it was helpful to bring a snack along as well. They will give you chances for bathroom breaks and to eat a quick snack while on break may allow you to focus more on the test at hand than to be thinking about your growling stomach. Remember, the exam is long!

Last, take your time, but don't lolly-gag. If you try to rush, you will make stupid mistakes - like accidentally skipping a line on the bubble sheet and then finding that you have to go back and erase and move each answer up a line (I think we've all done that at one time or another). That will take precious time away from properly answering questions.

Oh, yeah - Don't try to cheat. You will only cheat yourself.
Good Luck! It is not that bad!

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