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California Bar Exam Essay Guide

In this guide, we show you how to conquer the essay portion of the California Bar Exam.

We start by giving you a general overview of what is tested on the California Bar Exam, some California Bar Exam essay tips, and a frequency chart so you can see when particular subjects were tested.

Then, we dive into each of the 14 subjects that are fair game on the California Bar Exam and give you tips and tricks for each one.

Lastly, we give you the option to download a PDF of this guide if you would like to view all of the chapters at the same time or to save to consult later.

Send Me a PDF of the Guide:

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California Bar Exam Essay Guide Chapters

• Introduction to the Guide
• Chapter 1: What is Tested on California Bar Exam Essays : Here, we give you a brief overview of how the essay portion of the California Bar Exam is structured, what is tested on California Bar Exam essays, and when California distinctions are tested.
• Chapter 2: California Bar Exam Essay Tips : We reveal important essay tips to make sure you are writing essay answers that get the most points.
• Chapter 3: California Bar Exam Essay Frequency Chart : We show you exactly when each California Bar Exam subject has been tested so you can get a visual idea of the highly tested areas of law, plus the less tested areas of law.
• Chapter 4: Agency and Partnership
• Chapter 5: Civil Procedure
• Chapter 6: Community Property
• Chapter 7: Constitutional Law
• Chapter 8: Contracts
• Chapter 9: Corporations
• Chapter 10: Criminal Law
• Chapter 11: Evidence
• Chapter 12: Professional Responsibility
• Chapter 13: Real Property
• Chapter 14: Remedies
• Chapter 15: Torts
• Chapter 16: Trusts
• Chapter 17: Wills
• Chapter 18: Download PDF : We provide you with the option to download this guide in PDF form if you would like to view all of the chapters at the same time or to save to consult later.

The Goal of Our California Bar Exam Essay Guide

Students are often unsure how to approach the essay portion of the California Bar Exam. As a result, many students study ineffectively or inefficiently. The goal of our California Bar Exam Essay Guide is to help you find an effective and efficient approach to the California Bar Exam right from the beginning. This guide will help you feel confident on test day so you can conquer the essay portion of the California Bar Exam!

If you have any questions, we are happy to answer them. You can  contact us here  at your convenience. We love to hear from our readers!

Additional California Bar Exam Resources

Below are some additional California Bar Exam resources that we recommend: Please check out all our  California Bar Exam services here !

• California Bar Exam On Demand Course : Our On Demand California Bar Exam Course is tailored to work with your schedule so you can walk into the bar exam with confidence. It includes tailored outlines, access to prerecorded lectures that you can start and stop at your convenience, self-administered quizzes, 10 essays graded by a personal attorney essay grader, and released multiple-choice and essay questions. We give you everything you need to pass the California Bar Exam, on your time! Check out a preview of our course here.
• California Bar Exam private tutoring : We tutor for all aspects of the California Bar Exam! You get an outline relevant to the topic you are discussing with your purchase!
• MBE services : we have a variety of MBE services to help you pass the multiple-choice portion of the California Bar Exam.
• Essay feedback : we offer one-time or weekly essay feedback for the California Bar Exam.
• California Bar Exam One-Sheets : We summarize the highly tested topics on the California Bar Exam in one sheet, front and back, for each subject! Check out a sample here .

Go to the next topic, Chapter 1: What is Tested on California Bar Exam Essays .

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Make This Your Last Time

Bar Exam Preparation

Predictions for the Bar Exam (What to Focus On for Efficient Study)

Before every exam, a handful of people come out of the woodwork and shamelessly ask about subject predictions for the bar exam.

“Does anyone know the essay predictions?” “What do you think will be tested?” “I don’t think ____ will appear on the exam.” “Anyone think ____ will be tested?” “I know we’re not supposed to listen to predictions, but…” “What are ____’s predictions?” “Here are my MEE predictions!”

Whose speculations are you going to listen to?

If you’re like many bar takers, or if you’re a repeater, you say: “Haha of course I’m not going to rely on the predictions. I shall adequately study all the subjects. You should too!”

And then you panic and look at the predictions anyway.

Did you want me to tell you, “Aww poor baby, don’t worry. It’s normal and happens to the best of us 🥺”?

You SHOULD worry if you’re secretly tempted to rely on predictions… because this kind of thinking is entirely predictable and avoidable. Sweating about predictions is not a good place to be and requires intervention.

Also, remember when subjects actually leaked for the California exam in 2019 and people got mad over it? Do you want to know the subjects ahead of time or not? Make up your minds!

Maybe you’re too young to remember ancient history. I’ve been dealing with you people for too long.

Here’s why you should look toward essay/MEE predictions for entertainment value and morbid curiosity only (and 3 things you can focus on instead):

ENOUGH! This is just making me mad now.

You already “know” you shouldn’t rely on predictions. You already “know” this isn’t the right way that will help you pass the bar exam. But like a toxic relationship, some people will keep trying to force it to work anyway as you watch in horror.

I’m not saying you can’t take an extra look at the predicted subjects or review them more closely when you’re short on time. Honestly, I’d be doing this too in your position.

All I’m saying is that I’ve never heard of anyone being glad that they gambled on predictions (or worse, paid hundreds of dollars to people who prey on the desperation of bar exam takers).

Sometimes they’re mostly spot on. Sometimes they are way off the mark.

How will you know which it will be this time?

Bottom line, you can’t rely solely on predictions. Hope is not a strategy.

Stop playing defense hiding behind predictions and huffing hopium. Play OFFENSE from a position of strength and confidence.

There are other better ways to strategize your approach if all you want is to take control of your bar prep.  I can give you these three ideas on what you might try focusing on instead for a better experience.

These are useful hints to make your studies more informed and predictable.

1. The Tripod Approach for studying for the bar exam

I initially proposed this with California takers in mind, but you can apply this to your particular exam based on your score split across essays, PT, and MBE, as well as any other known/predictable factors.

The Tripod Approach (in this example for the California bar) suggests focusing on these three areas that make up the bulk (70%+) of your score:

• Professional Responsibility essay (practically guaranteed to appear)—focus on identifying issues over deep analysis since the call of the question is usually broad. For example, “What ethical violations, if any, has L committed? Discuss under ABA and CA rules.”
• Performance test (~14% of overall score and often neglected despite having a higher concentration of points per time allotted than an essay)
• MBE (50% of overall score and accounts for 3-4 of the subjects tested across the 5 essays )

By stabilizing a few key areas that you  know  will be tested, you can coast a bit on the rest of the exam while letting everyone else cry about predictions.

More details in this article about this approach and how to prepare for each of the three “legs” of the tripod.

• Focusing on the MBE (50%) and the MPTs (10% x 2)?
• Making sure you understand tough MEE subjects that tend to appear like Secured Transactions?
• Selecting an easier and more portable jurisdiction to take the exam in?

2. Identify YOUR strengths and weaknesses over others’ bar exam predictions

Personally, I’d focus more on my weak subjects than subjects that are “likely to appear” in the next exam. Gambling on predicted subjects or only your strong suits makes you a glass cannon.

Don’t risk your bar license and another 6 months of your life based on hope. Hope is not a strategy.

It’s not putting in the time itself that makes you better. Improvement comes from constant feedback and learning every time you try to solve a difficult problem.

So stop ignoring or simply “reading up” on the subjects you don’t like. Techniques that are just shown to you are useless if you don’t get up and try them yourself. Lean into the discomfort so you don’t become a glass cannon.

3. Pay extra attention to MBE subjects (including highly tested MBE topics)

Preparing for the MBE is not only easy to jump into since you’re at least familiar with the subject matter from law school—but the MBE also tests important subjects that also appear in essays.

Moreover, MBE subjects do double duty. If you’re taking the California Bar Exam, at least 3-4 of the 5 essays will touch upon MBE subjects. In other jurisdictions too, MBE subjects will absolutely be tested on some of the essays.

So if you wanted to prioritize your attention in a Hail Mary or do some last-minute review, MBE subjects are where your effort would go (many of which may coincide with the predictions of your choosing).

Of course, make time in your study schedule to hit non-MBE subjects. I said to focus more—not only—on MBE subjects.

There are highly tested areas within the MBE itself you can further focus on, too. Again, don’t only study solely these areas. This is just to guide your prioritization.

If you want to supplement your MBE prep, you have some excellent options:

Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (8th edition) is a great start. It has a short guide for each subject as well as excellent explanations for NCBE-licensed questions selected to cover a wide range of testable issues.

If you want something more robust and more analytical, you have two main choices: AdaptiBar and UWorld MBE QBank .

Free trials are available for both, so you can try them out yourself. I review AdaptiBar here and UWorld here . Here’s a comparison of both .

• Feeling Stuck and Burned Out with Bar Prep

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CA Bar Final Forecast

$ 50.00

Go beyond subject predictions in our Final Forecast ahead of the July 2024 California Bar Exam.

Join barmd founder, maureen macmanus esq, for a review of what issues have and have not been tested in recent years along with a packet of essays testing you on the issues discussed..

The Final Forecast is a BarMD student favorite we are excited to now offer to all studiers, no previous purchase required.

This class includes:

• Final Forecast Lecture, live on zoom, 7/16 @ 6 p.m. PST with recording posted within 24 hours.
• Final Forecast Essay Packet with Selected Answers
• Final 2 week study plan
• How to Organize an Essay When You Don’t Know Where to Start
• Lesson on Making up Rules when you have no idea what the rule is
• How to Better Guess on the MBE
• How to utilize your BarMD products in the final days ahead of the exam*

Leave with the perfect must study list to help you pass and add confidence from a review of what you’ll need to pass!

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