This course is designed to improve legal analysis and study skills in preparation for taking the bar examination. It will assist with developing and practicing test-taking strategies and skills. It will also provide a familiarity with the methodology of the exam. Multiple-choice strategies and practice exams will be covered. The focus of the course is on subjects covered on the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination. Students also will have the opportunity to draft and receive feedback on essay answers pertaining to these subjects. This course is skills-based, not substance-based, so it is not intended to replace substantive course study review and/or commercial bar examination preparation courses. Only students on track to take the next February or July administration of the bar exam are eligible to enroll.
This course is graded on a pass/fail basis. To successfully complete this course, a student must earn both a passing course grade based on all course assessments and must earn a satisfactory composite score on the midterm and final exams. The satisfactory composite score shall be based on both the midterm and final exams. In addition, the satisfactory composite score shall be set forth in the course syllabus and shall be the same for all sections of the course offered in the same semester. If a student does not earn a passing course grade, then the student must retake the course in a future semester. If a student earns a passing course grade but fails to earn the satisfactory composite score, then the student presumptively fails the course. The student must then retake the course in a future semester. In the alternative, a student in this situation has up to two additional options:
1. The student may successfully complete Advanced Multistate Bar Exam Skills in lieu of repeating this course.
2. A student may request a grade of “incomplete.” The option of an “incomplete” shall be available to any student who does not achieve the satisfactory composite score needed to pass the course but earns a composite score that exceeds a minimum threshold set forth in the syllabus. A student may also be granted an “incomplete” if the student’s composite score on the midterm and final exams fails to exceed the minimum threshold, but the student earns a sufficient score on an assessment consisting of writing tasks comparable to those on the bar exam. A student receiving a grade of “incomplete” is required to fulfill all requirements of an individualized success plan, as approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or his or her designee. If a student does not fulfill all requirements of the individualized success plan by a date set by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the student’s course grade will be converted to an “F.”