how to prepare for the bar exam

8/6/2019 How to Prepare for the Bar Exam

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2002 ATENEO CENTRAL BAR OPERATIONSLecture Notes in

How to Prepare for the Bar

Five Areas of Preparation for the Bar

A. Mental Preparation

Be systematic. Organize your review materials by subject. Waste 1 or 2days just to organize everything before you start reviewing. Never fall into the trap of studying in a non-organized manner. One suggestion is, gather 8 boxes where youcan place everything that you have accumulated out of 4 years of law school. Placethose which are more recent and more important on top so that you get to read themfirst.

Do not bury yourself with useless materials. Try to get only those reviewerswhich are complete. Always exercise your discretion before you buy thosereviewers.

Make an outline and compare this with the syllabus of the bar exams. Spendtime doing this do that you don’t miss anything at all.

Make a timetable. Be sure to chop it. It’s like a game plan where you already

know what to do first the first week, second week and so on. This has apsychological effect so that you know that you are ready to face the exams. be sureto stick with this timetable. You may lag behind but be sure to catch up or you mayrevise it also.

Use the mirror technique during the last month of review. Study the lastexam first and the first exam last, e.g., Remedial Law and Legal Ethics will have tobe studied during the first week of August while Political and Labor Laws will have tobe studied during the last week of August.

Choose a good reviewer. You may not have enough time to read your annotated texts all over again. Just check out those reviewers and make sure thatsalient points are covered. Once you have chosen one, don’t change reviewers

anymore. just be flexible in case there are mistakes in the reviewers. Get a compilation of the recent SC cases. This is very much useful as mostquestions are based on these cases.

Read the codal provisions first before you jump into the annotated texts or thereviewers. Annotations, SC decisions are based on codal provisions. In the bar, youwill be asked to answer what the law says not what the annotations say.

When you read materials for the first time, read them as if it is the only timethat you are reading them. Understand the material at once and lock it in your head.

Don’t make the material more complicated that what it really is. You will betested on whether you know enough on what it takes to be a lawyer. The questionsare basic and only a small number are designed to determine who will top the bar.

Memorize what you do not understand. In this way, if the very same

wordings appear in the exam, you get to answer in verbatim and you already getpoints for this.

Attend the bar review lectures. The reviews are designed to help you out andfocus on more important issues. Notwithstanding, some would want to be absent tokeep them at pace with their own schedules. It’s all up to you. You must balanceeverything. But the general suggestion is for you to attend the review.

Tape review lectures. Always read and listen. Listen to the tapes during your non-reading moments. What you read is reinforced by what you listen to.

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B. Physical Preparation

Be physically fit during the review and the exam. The bar exam is tiring

and draining. Remember that if you miss one Sunday, you have to repeat the entireexam again next year.

Exercise regularly. You can go malling or you may want to do morephysical exercises. It really depends on you. If you don’t regularly exercise, then justtry to raise your hands or do stretching exercises.

Get enough rest and recreation. This must be sufficient but not toomuch. Just give your body a time to recover. Fight also psychological tiredness bywatching movies or simply go to Tagaytay and feel the breeze of cool air. Alwaysremember that your peak should be in September. You can drink but be sure not todo it too much.

Eat the right food.

Take vitamins and supplements.

Start training your body clock. You must train yourself to follow theschedule of the bar exams. It is usually 8 to 12 then 2 to 5. What you do is toconcentrate and study during these hours daily. Read from 8 to 12 then take a 2-hour break and then read again so that you get used to sitting and concentratingduring these hours of the day.

C. Emotional Preparation

Get rid of all emotional problems. Call a truce if you have any quarrel withanyone else. Tell them that you would like to have a ceasefire from now untilSeptember and just resume hostilities by October.

D. Psychological Preparation

Always think that you will top the bar. Maintain this visualization and think of yourself published in the papers as the topnotcher in the 2002 bar exams. aim high so thatwhen you fall short, you only fall short a little bit. Always remember that a dream canonly come true if you dream.

Do not be afraid. You have everything it takes to pass the bar. At the end of thereview, you will have everything that you need to know.

Advance your time by I month. Think ahead so that if it is April 22 today, pretendthat it is already May 22.

E. Spiritual Preparation

Rely on a Greater Force. Always remember that you cannot do it alone. Believe thatsomeone is there to help you out. No matter how good you are, you are not enoughto pass and top the bar. You need His help.

Pray, pray, and pray.

Additional Tips and Preparatory Things to Do

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Brush up your English. The language of the bar is English so start reviewing your grammar and vocabulary at the same time.

Improve your penmanship. The examiner has to read almost 2,000 booklets so that hewould rather want to read a booklet with a good penmanship. If you can’t remedy your

penmanship, just write in wider letters. Start using the pen that you will be using during the bar so that you will get accustomed

to it.

Preparing for the bar is probably the most difficult task you’ll ever undertake in your life.You have to give it your best shot. It is all or nothing. It is now or never. Although youmay retake it next year, always think that there is no more tomorrow.

These are only a few suggestions. There are a lot of tips out there but in the end, it isstill you who will take the bar. It’s always up to you to choose which suggestions you willtake.

—oOo—

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