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| Photo Credit |
Many 1Ls have been in classes for about
two weeks now. If you are one of them,
have you figured out your learning style yet?
Do you have your studying method pinpointed? It is important to know how you learn because there is only one law exam per course which
will likely determine your entire grade in that course. You do not have the opportunity to use
trial-and-error and gauge which method is the best for you. Now is the time to figure out your learning
style, and implement the best study strategies for you.
Auditory learners
process information by listening. If you
are this type of learner, you will tend to focus in class by listening during
lectures, and by talking things out with a study group (or even to yourself).
If you choose to form a study group, it should be done at the beginning of the
semester rather than later. If you are
auditory, you must accept that much of the law is written, including exams. You will need to bridge this gap, but how you
do so is up to you. Among the tools are
audio books, which you can listen to while working, driving, jogging, you name
it. Don’t fight the non-auditory nature
of some aspects of law school. Instead, use your skills and talents to excel in
all areas.
Another learning style is visual. These learners learn best through reading,
outlining, and drawing pictures, graphs, diagrams, whatever. If you are this type of learner, you might be
better off working alone rather than joining a study group. In fact, study groups may frustrate a visual
learner because the visual learner cannot see what is being described or
discussed in the group. You will want to
create, reorganize, and update your outline, and then create graphs that are
helpful to getting the black letter law down, and then focus on practice exams.
The third type of learner is the kinesthetic learner (or hands-on
learner). This type of learner excels
when performing the task. Regrettably,
there is little hands-on activity during law school. Therefore, this type of learner must figure
out creative ways to understand the material. Flashcards and fun games might
work, and it’s not a bad idea to get your hands active by actually creating
some physical representation of property law, tort law, and so on. A study group can be beneficial because
hypotheticals can be discussed—or find the right group and act them out!
Plan a realistic schedule, and stick to
it. It is easy to let exam preparation fall to the wayside until the end of the
semester, because you already have so much to read. Many, many students begin outlining and creating flashcards and organizing at the end
of the semester. Absolutely not! If you
do this, it won’t matter that you “finish” in time for the exam and have a
marvelously compiled study aid. It won’t
matter whether or not you memorize it. That’s not what law exams are about. You should complete your organization well before it is time to study for
exams. So start now, and you’ll be off
to a great start!
