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Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams (平装)
by Richard Michael Fischl, Jeremy Paul
| Category:
Law school guide, Law study |
| Market price: ¥ 238.00
MSL price:
¥ 218.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Written with impressive rigor, this book is an excellent tool for improving exam writing, legal analysis and writing skills. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-23 00:00>
This book saved my law school carreer. law school tests are notoriously ambigous. There are no right answers. Unfortunatly, there seems to be no help for students. One of the proscribed methods is the IRAC method (when you get to school you will learn this and this is not the time to write about it). This book gives you a different way of acheving success in the test. The book does criticize IRAC and offers its own way of handling the testing questions. Getting To Maybe is written by law professors and who would know more about passing their tests as well as how a professor thinks? The book is a well written philosophy on the test and the mistakes. The authors spend a great deal of time explaining their philosophy and it is helpfull for the second half of the book. The book shows the common test question mistakes and how to fix them. The book also provides sample tests with sample answers and explanations of why they are good answers. This is the best part of the book, a side by side comparison of good and bad answers which makes this book invaluable. Highly reccommended.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-23 00:00>
Who better to get advice on law exams from than two law professors, who also graduated at the top of Harvard Law's class? My grades have gone up and up since reading (and re-reading) this book. Anyone who goes to law school, especially where competition for grades is tight will benefit. The more you read it, the more you grasp the strategy. So don't get discouraged if you're a bit confused the first time. I'd recommend reading through this before you enter law school and at least once (maybe twice) a semester as you can squeeze in a few extra minutes. I've looked at every book about legal reasoning and taking law exams that I've been able to get my hands on and this book has the best system by far. It might not be the easiest system to understand (after all the easy road isn't always the best road in law school), but once you grasp it you'll be thankful. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-23 00:00>
Having graduated with high honors from one of the top five law schools, I relied on several of these books to identify the appropriate approach to taking law school exams. I applied the approach as follows: (1) read only those assignments provided by the professor (ignore commercial outlines, etc.); (2) take extensive notes of everything the professor says in class (and do not write down any student comments or student answers to Socratic questions); (3) organize your notes of the professor's lectures into your own outline; (4) read the professor's prior exam files, including any student answers selected by the professor as "model answers"; and (5) practice taking the professor's old exams in the few days leading up to exam day. The rationale is that your professor will be looking for you to spot those issues that he or she views as important. The more of these issues you spot, the higher your exam grade will be. Ditch those commercial outlines and study group meetings. In addition to Getting to Maybe, you should also prepare for law school by conditioning yourself to what its competition will feel like. Two excellent books that accomplish this goal are Scott Turow's One L (Harvard in the 1970s) and Scott Gaille's The Law Review (2002 book about competition at The University of Chicago Law School). |
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D. Friedman (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-23 00:00>
The aim of this book is to help current law students perform well on law school exams. Law school exams are famously ambiguous; hence the title of the book.
The title of the book is a play on the title of a classic book about the art of negotiation, called Getting to Yes. Implicit in Getting to Maybe is that, unlike a negotiation, performance on law school exams does not require an exact answer or resolution.
The method by which these law professors explain this concept is especially interesting. In connection with their academic research, they propose to break down law school exams into small components, and thoroughly analyze those components. The result is a very substantial and comprehensive analysis of the structure of law school exams and the skills required to do well on these exams.
You may be asking how the professors purport to explain all law school exams, for surely there are professors for whose exams these methods will not work. These professors make the interesting point that in the United States, law education is fairly uniform, and, therefore, the skills required to perform well on law school exams are fairly uniform, as well.
I read this book prior to starting law school. I found it useful primarily because I have read a number of other books about legal reasoning and the study of law and the law school experience that are more basic than the material in this book. If this is your first book regarding the study of law or peformance in law school, I would advise putting it aside in favor of a book offering a broader overview of law, its study, and law school. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-23 00:00>
After my first semester exams, I realized that I needed to refocus my efforts, and reading this book is a part of that refocusing. I am in the midst of reading this book, and so far it has been enlightening and engagingly written. I especially like the issue spotting section (perhaps because the most common prof complaint was missing an issue!).
I recommend this book for the first year student who would like to improve on her midterm grade. Chances are you've heard the typical professor and upperclassman advice, perhaps you've attended after-school workshops. If you've heard the words but could not apply them, now would be a good time to get your hands on this book. For now that you know the advice, the authors go in depth explaining how to use what you know.
One caveat: I bought this book in the middle of my first semester and had trouble following it. Hence, the four stars. You may understand this book better when you have had several months of school, advice, etc. If you are an entering student, I recommend getting all the advice you can get and hold off on this book for semester 2. Be prepared to work hard!
Contrary to popular opinion, law professors really DO want you to do well! Heed them early and often - and get this book!
**A post-graduation note: This book was not as helpful as I'd hoped it would be, but not because it's bad, but because you need to spend a good bit of time really going through it. If you are "in the thick of things" in school - well you might not have the time to go through this book and understand everything. It's not impossible to understand, but I found the book pretty challenging. Also, its not a very quick read. Therefore, I revise my prior comments about not reading it until you get through your first semester of school. If you can at all help it - read this one when you have time to reflect on the authors' message. Either read it before you get to law school, or spend your winter break on this one. I still think you'll thank yourself for putting in the effort, especially if you are very self-motivated. But if you are the type of student that learns better through classes (hey, lots of us are!) - you might be better off spending the time with LEEWS - which is actually a pretty good and legitimate program. Someone below suggested using the Examples and Explanations series to practice - an excellent suggestion. I would also add to that, ALWAYS practice on the professor's old exams, if there are any on file in your library. |
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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