Using Review MaterialsOutlines, Flowcharts, Flash Cards, & Commercial Materials

What is the ultimate goal of creating a course outline?• Express YOUR understanding of the Law.• Help MEMORIZE or internalize the rules of law.• Use as an organizational tool.

Create a Course Outline

What is NOT in an outline?

� The point is to organize what you’re learning from all of your resources into one manageable document that you can review.

� The goal is to be able to use it as a review tool to help you study for final exams. It should contain the rules of law and your understanding of how to apply them. Yu should create one outline for each course you take.

� Don’t include case names, citations, procedural history, or a long descriptions of case facts. Instead, after you identify a topic and a rule that you need to remember, you should write the rule and include any exceptions. You may also want to include an example or a short summary of a case to help you remember how the issue is raised and to understand how the rules apply.

� Don’t include a lengthy history of the rules or discussions on the underlying policies.

Don’t get too overwhelmed, Keep it simple, & Add to

it as you learn.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Where Do I Start?

* Look first to your Hornbook (or casebook) and find the TABLE OF CONTENTS (“TOC”)

* Use the TOC as a guide to the issues you will be studying. The format is already there for you. Just cut and paste it into your outline. Don’t freak out about how long it is. Just do it. This will serve as the “skeleton” of your outline and you will simply fill in the rules and examples as you go.

* Hint: If you are lucky enough to have a detailed syllabus, you can use it in coordination with the TOC so that you can fill in your outline in the order each topic is discussed in class.

How Do I Start My Outline?

Adding Rule Statements

Readings Lectures

For Example…Looking to define: BATTERY

Read 40 pages in casebookRead 40 pages in hornbook

Attend Class with your professor

What is a definition that is common in all sources?What definition did your professor give in class?

This common definition will be the Rule Of Law that goes in your outline.

When taking quizzes, in the answer key.

When completing essays, in the model answer.

Your Professor will discuss them in class!

You’ll also find rule statements…

* BATTERY – A voluntary act that causes harmful or offensive contact with another, and the actor intended to cause that contact

* Voluntary Act --- define it here…* Harmful or Offensive Contact --- define it here…* With another* Intent --- etc.

What a part of the outline may look like…

�When taking exams, you gather points by:

Spotting IssuesHaving Complete and Accurate Rule StatementsAnalysis of Facts

Why is an Outline Important?

Your OUTLINE will expand and contract as your knowledge grows and you memorize the material.

Memorizing your OUTLINE will help you earn higher scores by quickly spotting issues and reciting complete and accurate rule statements.

FLOWCHARTS

Torts

Intentional Torts Negligence Strict Liability

Defamation & Privacy

Torts

Example:

A Sample Torts Flowchart

Negligence

Duty Breach Causation Damages

Example Contracts Flowchart

Formation

Mutual Assent

Offer Acceptance

Consideration

Bargained for Exchange

Promissory Estoppel

Restitution/Quasi Contract

Defenses to Formation

* Some students remember materials better when working with spatial relationships.

* It will show, in a concrete way, the inter-relationship between differing concepts.

* Find what works best for your learning style and develop the tools you need.

Why use flowcharts?

An example

FLASH CARDS

On a 3 x 5 notecard

First side

*BATTERY

(the rule you are defining)

Second side

* A voluntary act that causes harmful or offensive contact with another, and the actor intended to cause that contact

(your Rule Statement – i.e., definition)

Easy to carry around – grab memorizing time anytime/anywhere!

It’s easy to add to your stack of flash cards when you come across a new and important term.

Repetition is important to memorization.

Creating your own flashcards is a tactile way to imprint the information you are memorizing.

Why use flashcards?

Should you invest in them?

Commercial Materials

Many students will end up using study materials that they have purchased, either from upper division students or from various vendors.

It’s important to keep a critical eye on these materials – they sometimes contain errors or material that may not be accurate.

Commercial Materials

Be an ACTIVE learner and create your own materials, it helps the memorization process. Being a PASSIVE learner and just reading what someone else wrote is not as conducive to learning or memorizing.

With these provisos, many students, especially in the first year, find comfort in knowing they are on the right track. They use commercial materials as a back up plan – a way to double check their own work.

This is a GREAT way to use outside materials!

Good Luck!