Outline Preparation

1. Outlines generally. An outline will not help you on a law school exam. A good outline will, but it must be your own work. A decent outline made on your own is better than a perfect outline done by someone else. There is nothing wrong with using other outlines for reference, but the outline that has a better chance of getting you and “A” will be your own outline. Here are a few suggestions:

  • You are the best interpreter of that chicken scratch you call your notes. Don’t underestimate what’s in there. If it’s in your notes, chances are it’s important, and chances are you jotted it down correctly. So use your notes to make your outline.
  • The importance of making your own outline is gaining your own understanding of the material, not another student’s understanding. If you understand the material on your own, you don’t need another outline.
  • If you use another outline, use it to compare and reinforce your own understanding. DO NOT learn the material from another outline because you won’t learn it and other outlines might be dead wrong.

2. Detailed Outlines. You should work on your outline throughout the semester. After you gather all your final materials, make a detailed and organized outline of your class. Remember, this is class specific. If your Contracts professor spent 3 months on consideration, what do you think the bulk of the exam will cover? DO NOT try to memorize EVERYTHING that is in your detailed outline. You will go crazy. Just understand everything.

  • All your notes and hypotheticals
  • All the cases with facts, holding, reasoning
  • And anything else that’s important

3. Final Checklist. Finally, boil down the law that’s in your outline to something manageable. You must understand the big picture of your course to effectively use all the material in your outline. Make an issue checklist to study from. Looking at the issues on your checklist should trigger your memory about that issue, and you should be able the think about the material rather than reading it off of your detailed outline. YOU MUST MEMORIZE YOUR CHECKLIST. It is easier to memorize, and it will make you discuss and analyze on the exam rather than regurgitate memorized materials. Professors are checking your ability to analyze, not to memorize. To make your checklist,

  • Go through your syllabus or your casebook and look at the names of the chapters.
  • Go through your outline highlight what you think are the big issues.
  • Make a one-page checklist of the big issues.
  • As you study the checklist, fill in the details that are important under each big issue, but don’t make another detailed outline.
  • Your final checklist will be the study tool that takes you into the exam.