Before answering an essay question, you must outline and organize your response.  When the exam begins, too many students read the first paragraph in an essay exam question, recognize an issue, and are so overjoyed at finding an issue that they spend the next 20 minutes responding to it.  The problem with this approach is that the fact pattern was probably over a page long, and the writer just spent more time than was necessary in responding to a relatively straightforward issue. 

While different students outline differently, students who perform well on law school exams take the time to read through the entire essay question, create a list of the various issues contained therein, and then take a few more minutes to separate out the major issues from the minor ones.  This approach will give you a better sense of how much time you have to complete your entire answer.  (Adapted from Succeeding in Law School by Herbert N. Ramy.)

A scholarship is available for a first-year diversity student to obtain clerking experience with the legal department of Procter & Gamble for six weeks, followed by six weeks in Dinsmore & Shohl's main office.  Both are located in Cincinnati, OH.  The scholarship winner will be assigned mentors from both organizations, providing a dedicated resource to assist with professional development.  Scholarships are also available for a number of Summer Associate positions at the Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH;  Charleston, WV; Lexington, KY; or Louisville, KY offices of Dinsmore & Shohl.  First-year students may apply between December 1st and December 31st by completing the attached application. 

   

If you are a current 1L/2L student and are interested in a Summer 2011 Fellowship at a labor-related organization throughout the U.S., information is available at:  www.peggybrowningfund.org  The application deadline is January 14, 2011. 

Read the instructions!  This is the most obvious advice imaginable, but every exam period one or more students will lose points on an exam for not following a professor's directions.  Most students get flustered at the start of an exam, so this type of mistake is more common than you might imagine.  When the exam starts, take a deep breath, slow yourself down, and read the instructions.

Decide how you need to balance your play and study time over the holiday.  What family commitments do you have?  Are your outlines complete?  Where are you in your review for exams?  Here are some tips to consider:

• Be realistic about your ability to study over the holiday.  Do not expect to accomplish six weeks of work in 5 days.  Enjoy Thanksgiving Day with family or friends.  Block out times when you can realistically study during the remainder of the vacation.
• Make a priority list of tasks.  Work on tasks in the order of priority.
• Break tasks into smaller steps.  It is easier to motivate yourself to outline one topic or rewrite one section of a paper.  You will not be motivated by too large of a task. 
• Consider productive ways that you can use travel time:  listen to Sum and Substance CDs or a homemade tape of your outline while driving back and forth; review an outline sitting in the airport; quiz yourself with flashcards instead of watching an in-flight movie; if traveling with a classmate, consider answering practice questions together during the trip.
• Consider whether you can include your family or friends in helping you study: quizzing you from flashcards or quizzing you on your outlines, for example.  You get to study, and they get to participate.
• And, most importantly, have safe and healthy traveling and holiday celebrations.
  

The Academic Success Office will close today at 11:30 a.m.  There are still study aids available for a variety of subjects, including a set of CDs for Torts, Family Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, and Evidence - perfect if you have a long commute.  E&Es are also available for many subjects.  Stop by today before 11:30 if you would like to check out a study aid.  The office will reopen on Monday.

The School of Law IT staff will offer a CardMail information and training session to all students at 12:15 pm, Thursday, January 6, 2011 in room 275. Tasty vittles will be provided.

CardMail, the new student e-mail system provided by Microsoft Windows Live, will be available to all UofL students beginning in January 2011. CardMail features 10 GB of mail storage, instant messaging, a movie maker, a photo gallery and the 25 GB Windows Sky Drive, which allows you to store documents online and access them anytime, from anywhere.

Please submit a response to our CardMail survey and let us know what you want to know about CardMail. For more information about CardMail, check University I.T.'s CardMail page.

Congratulations to Nicole Crump, Jeffrey Hall, John Gilliam, Ryan Goode and Fernando Valdizan for their success at the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, Nov. 13-14 in Detroit.

Nicole and Jeff are going to the national finals in Atlanta and John and Ryan received excellent comments on their negotiation performances notwithstanding facing tough competitors!  Fernando, an experienced negotiator, thoughtfully served as a student coach. Our special thanks to Dean Arnold and Prof. Mary Jo Gleason for their coaching and support. Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Jared Sawyer and Jennifer Siewertsen on being selected for the 2011 Wechsler Criminal Law Team!