Monday, June 30, 2014

The MBE Exam Progression


For all MBE questions, here is the list of progressions you should follow to get the most out of your 1.8 minutes when working on the MBE exam.

1. Read the call of the question first.

2. Read the fact pattern carefully and critically

3. Try to decide the issue after you read the fact pattern and before you look at the answers.

4. Once you have figured out the issue, think of the black letter law and the distinctions.

5. Read the answer choices.

6. Try to eliminate the answer choices, one by one, looking for errors in law or in fact or both.

7. Remember that in order for the answer choice to be correct, it must be correct in all of its answer.

8. After you are done with the question, let it go and move to the next answer.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The MBE Exam: The Analysis of the MBE


The Multistate Examination is hard. You have to have a game plan when you go into the exam.

Here are some suggestions:

Reading a Question

Because of time constraints, you will have time for only one reading of the fact pattern. Do not read the fact pattern as a novel.


You must read carefully and actively to spot signal words and legally significant facts. Pay attention to the bar examiners’ particular use of language and look for the following as you read:

1) Relationships between parties that signal the area of law and legal duties: landlord/tenant, employer/employee, principal/agent, buyer/seller;

2) Amounts of money, dates quantities and ages;

3) Words such as “oral” and “written,” “reasonable” and “unreasonable,” among others;

4) Words that indicate the actor’s state of mind. Look for such language as:

• Intended
• Decided
• Mistakenly thought
• Deliberately
• Reasonably believed


Never Assume Facts

The bar examiners construct MBE questions to contain all the facts you need to answer the question. You must rely solely on these facts and no others, to answer the question. Of course you may draw reasonable inferences from the facts but you cannot fabricate your own or create “what if” scenarios.

Stick to the Law

You must apply the rule of law to the facts . You cannot get emotionally involved with the parties or substitute your instincts for what you know is legally correct. Don’t think someone is guilty when the call of the question says he is not. That is not what the question is asking you.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Monday, June 23, 2014

The MBE Exam: Examining the Facts


Don’t ever assume facts when you read the fact pattern on the MBE question. There are no omitted facts in the MBE. Do not read into the question any facts that are not there or to assume any facts that are not there. Also, always assume that the facts are important. There are no red herrings on bar exams. Don’t feel any sympathy or hatred for anyone in the fact pattern. They are sometimes designed to elicit emotion from you in order to steer you to the wrong answer. For example, a serial murder will have a procedural defect he can rely on, so he will be found not guilty. You don’t want him to be found not guilty, so you look for the guilty answer choices and you end up picking the wrong answer.

As you read through the fact pattern, ask yourself why these facts are important. Since you have read the call of the question, you will have a better context of why the facts are there and why they are important. Make sure you pay attention to dates, ages, dollar amounts and parties. They will be important.

Also, look at the parties and how they are acting. For example, look for words like intentionally, knowingly, mistakenly, reasonably, etc. These words will be important when you look through the MBE answer choices.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Answer Every Question on the MBE

Some questions on the MBE will stump you. You look at the call of the question, the fact pattern and the answer choices and you have eliminated at least half the answer question. But you are now stuck between two answers and you can’t decide which answer is the right one.

With the limited amount of time you have to answer every question, you are going to have to guess. At least with your decision down to two answers, you have a 50% chance of getting it right. Pick one of them and move on to the next question. Remember, you do not lose points for an incorrect answer.

Do not ever skip questions on the MBE. Answer them in the order they are given. Put a check by the question or even write down the number and, only, if you have time left, you can go back and recheck your answer.

But make sure you fill in the bubble for your answer choice for the correct question. You do not want to skip that question, lose your place on the bubble exam answer sheet and then mismark the remaining answers because you forgot you skipped the question. That is a horror story that has happened to applicants too many times to count.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The MBE Exam: The Frequently Tested Subjects on the MBE, Part 2


The Bar Examiners frequently test the same areas over and over again. Part of your preparation for the bar exam is knowing the areas in which the Bar Examiners like to test. Here are some of the more heavily tested areas on the Multistate.

Torts

Torts on the bar exam emphasizes negligence, just like in law school. Of course, negligence comes in many shapes and hues, including negligence per se, res ipsa loquitur and differing standards of care.

Evidence

When you think of evidence the only thing that should be ringing in your ears is the word hearsay. The vast expense of hearsay requires knowledge of what out-of-court assertions are not hearsay, as well as what statements fall within the exceptions. The Best Evidence Rule is on the exam, but not a highlight for examiners.

Criminal Law and Procedure

It is important to know search and seizure issues from the Fourth Amendment as well as Miranda issues from the Fifth Amendment and right to counsel issues from the Sixth Amendment. Also focus on common law crimes, such as criminal homicide.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBETesting Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Monday, June 16, 2014

The MBE Exam: The Frequently Tested Subjects on the MBE


The Bar Examiners frequently test the same areas over and over again. Part of your preparation for the bar exam is knowing the areas in which the Bar Examiners like to test. Here are some of the more heavily tested areas on the Multistate.

Constitutional Law

Individual rights matter a lot. These range from Equal Protection, to Due Process, to the Privileges and Immunities Clause to, of course, the First Amendment

Property

Property law covers a wide variety of subjects. While basic Property concepts, such as easements, covenants, adverse possession, estates in land and future interests, are covered, the examiners have taken a liking to mortgages in recent years. For many students, mortgages were not even included in their basic property class.

Contracts

The most tested area in contracts is basic formation issues. Conditions, third party beneficiaries and remedies also matter.

An MBE Tutor is important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The MBE Exam: Understanding the Black Letter Law


You must build a good, solid foundation of the black letter law. In order to have a good foundation, you must review each bar exam subject. Go through each subject, one by one and absorb each subject as best you can. As you go through the subject, make sure you understand the basic law before you move on.

To build a foundation of the law, you need to break the subject areas into more manageable components. Break your subject into topics. And go through the elements of the topics of each subject.

What I mean by that is to take a subject, like Torts. Then break the Tort subject down to topics, i.e. Negligence. Do you know all the elements of negligence? Do you know the elements of battery? You can outline it and/or make sure you know it by heart before you move on. You can do that memorization by reciting it or writing it down without looking at your notes or outlines.

Once you feel you know that topic, do some MBE questions on that topic just so you know you have it.

An MBE Tutor is so important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

The MBE Exam for the July 2014 Bar Exam


I have talked with many students this bar exam cycle about their MBE scores. Many students I talked with failed the MBE while passing the state portion of their bar exam. The MBE is always difficult because you have to get the right answer or you get no points. Across the board, whether you are from Harvard or from a third tier score, contracts and property are one and two for the hardest subjects of the six – and where most students have the most difficult. Torts is ranked as the easiest subject in terms of how many questions students get right nationally.

For those who failed the MBE exam, evaluate your scores carefully. I have many students tell me that they were close to passing because of their scaled scores. But, remember, scaled scores are not always accurate in assessing your actual scores. Usually, in a bar cycle, the scaled scores were roughly 15 to 18 points.. That means the NCBE added 15 to 18 points to your raw score this bar cycle. In July, we can’t be sure how many points they will increase your raw score.

Look at your raw score. That raw score is your accurate assessment. Find the percentage that you got right and you will see how much more you need to get a passing score. For example if you got a 100 on your raw score, you are sitting at a 50% rate on your MBE. That is way too low to successfully pass the bar exam. To be sure that you will pass the MBE, you need to be testing around 65% when you go into the July 2014 bar exam.

Also ask yourself if your scores were low in every subject or did you do well in some subjects and not well in others? This evaluation will determine how you should study of the July 2014 bar exam. If you have across the board weakness, then you have problems with the analytical portion of the test – you are not understanding the strategy of elimination. If you scores reflect an up and down weakness per subject matter, then you need to concentrate on those weak subject while not forgetting to work on your stronger subjects.

As the July 2014 bar comes closer, we will discuss strategies and tactics for the MBE.

An MBE Tutor is so important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.

Monday, June 2, 2014

The MBE: The Intentional Tort


To do well on the torts section of the MBE, you must know your intentional torts.  This area within torts is heavily tested and will cover battery, assault, false imprisonment, IIED, trespass to land and chattels, and conversion.  You must study all affirmative defenses, as well.

An MBE Tutor is so important to the repeat taker.  The MBE Testing Institute can help you overcome the difficulty of the MBE test and help you to a successful score.

If you need help passing the MBE, contact the MBE Testing Institute at pass@mbetestinginstitute.com for more information.