Good question. The answer is always as soon as you sign up. Because there are so many students taking the bar exam these days, it is important to act early to make the experience as pain free as possible. The bar examiners usually suggest a few hotels on their website which offer discounted rates. If you’re taking the exam in Ontario, the ayers hotels are always nice and have reasonable rates. If you’re taking the exam at the century plaza, your best option is to stay in that hotel. While it is a little expensive, it is worth the extra cost. There is nothing better than not having to drive before or after the bar exam. So, if you haven’t made your reservation yet, go ahead and do it now while there is still time!

The short answer is “yes!” However, the bar examiners continue to test only a few types – memorandums, letters,  and portions of pleadings. Also, you will find many simularities when it comes to writing a performance test for these types of exams. Specifically, did you know you can apply the same IRAC formula used for essays for pts? Not sure if you knew this already, but doesn’t that make it a little easier to do some now? So, lets get you ready. Sign up today for a pt!

Students should be starting their bar reviews about now.  Some students will be told to not worry about pts at all or some will be told to not worry about them for another month. We believe that you should never put off studying for the performance tests. Even if you do one pt this week and review it next week. We know its early but the value of the section is nothing to joke about. You should continue to keep this section of the bar exam on your radar. By the end of June hopefully you have done atleast three pts and reviewed them thoroughly. Its usually good to do one a week starting now.  So, lets get you signed up and practicing. Spots are limited.

Of Course! The hardest thing for students who fail the bar exam is review their past exams. Its amazing what a little stress and anxiety can do to your writing! Take a few minutes. Read through them. I’m sure you will find it very interesting to read through your answer without all of the stress on exam day. Now, go download the model answer. See some areas you could have improved? I’m sure you will.

We get this question all the time. We find that most students should do anywhere from 5-8 pts before the bar exam. However, while we recommend this schedule, most students do 1-3 pts. However, after getting a low score, and using our services, they then do many more before their next attempt and can improve their score. Practice is key with the performance exam. Students need to be exposed to the different types of pts out there. It is always good to try different types of pts!

Yes – its that time again. 5 days before the bar results come out. There is nothing you can do at this point to change your results. Hopefully, you did the best you could – and that’s all we ask our students to do! Just relax. Enjoy the next few days doing the usual things – family events, meals, a movie etc.

Timing is crucial during the performance exam.

First, and most importantly, are you bringing a watch or mini clock with you to the bar exam. If you aren’t – then go get one.

Secondly, timinig is important for many reasons. You should first give yourself a few minutes to evaluate the table of contents for both the file and library.

Next, spend a few minutes reading through the memo from the superivising attorney. Read through it a few times if necessary.

After you’ve got an idea of what the task is – give yourself about an hour to read through and outline the file and library.

At this point in time, you should have approx  1 1/2 hours left. Spend the next hour writing your exam.

The last 30 minutes should be used for reviewing your work. Did you answer all of the questions? Is it in the correct tone? Did you cite the correct cases?

Most importantly – does it all make sense?

If you use your time correctly, this should all flow accordingly.

Myths

There are several myths out there which students continuously believe are true when they think abotu the performance exam. Here are a few that I’ve heard recently:

1. You can’t study for the performance exam.

2. The performance exams do not matter because they aren’t worth that much.

3. You can’t bring anything with you to help organize your pt books.

4. You can’t keep track of your time during the pt exam/

5. The bar examiners don’t test the same types of pt questions year after year.

Have any of you heard thse myths before? I have.

The truth is – these are all myths. Now is my chance to break them down.

1. You can’t study for the performance exam: Wrong. Of course you can. There are tons of resouces out there to practice. Practice is absolutely crucial if you want to do well on this section. The bar examiners continue to make these exams harder and this is why this process cannot be overlooked.

2. The performance exams do not matter because they aren’t worth that much: Incorrect. Did you know that each pt exam is worth two essays? How much preparation are you doing for each of your 6 essays? Time to get serious and start treating each section with the value they deserve.

3. You can’t bring anything with you to help organize your pt books: Of course you can. You can bring paper clips, highlighters, pens, a watch, and few other little items. These are essential to keeping organized!

4. You can’t keep track of your time during the pt exam: Of course you can! Got a watch? I’m sure you do. Well make sure it fits within the guidelines set by the bar examiners and bring it with you.

5. The bar examiners don’t test the same types of pt questions year after year: Oh really!?! Well I recommend you examine the past 5 years of pt exams and i’m sure you’ll notice a few trends. We have spent an enormous amount of time reviewing past pts and can definately tell you that there are trends and general themes the bar examiners continue to follow.

Hope that helps clarify a few of your concerns!