Welcome to LearnLawBetter.
Have you heard conflicting information about whether to create your own law school outlines?
Should you use an outline from someone that aced the course?
Today, let me help you understand how the brain works so that you can get better grades.
Hi, this is Beau Baez, and today I want to help you understand why it is critically important
that you create your own outlines.
First, let’s define the terms.
A law school outline is a document comprised of all the rules that are likely to appear
on a law school exam.
So some of you are wondering, why not just get a copy of the outline created by the
guy who aced the professor’s class and is now the editor of the law review.
Or, why not use a commercial outline, like Emmanuel’s or Quimbees?
Did you hear me say not to use a commercial outline?
No, what I said is that you have to create your own outline.
At least first, before looking at someone else’s work.
Let me explain why you have to create your own outline first, which is tied to law school
exams.
Law school exams are testing you on higher order thinking skills, such as analysis, evaluation,
and synthesis, while college level exams test students on knowledge retention,
which is the lowest of all the thinking skills.
More on that in my episode called “College vs. Law School Exam.”
Because law school exams are different, you need to learn how to master the higher level
thinking skills, because that is where the points are on a law school exam.
Let me give you an example.
If I was testing you like a college professor, here's the question that would appear on
the final exam: Please define the three elements under Negligence Per Se.
If that was the type of exam I and other law professors gave, then using a commercial outline would
be the best possible option.
But that’s not what you’re going to encounter in law school.
You are going to see a fact pattern that first expects you to spot the issue and then apply
it to the rules you studied in the course.
I want you to stop thinking of your outline as primarily a tool to remember the rules.
Yes, it is that, but it can be so much more if you create your own outline.
And here’s why.
When you struggle through the creation process, you’re going to make mistakes.
You’re not going to get it right the first time out.
You’re going to have to keep coming back, over and over again. Reworking it as you develop
a stronger understanding of the law.
If you bypass this process and instead rely on somebody else’s work, you're not
going to do as well on the exam as you can.
In other words, the process of creating your own outline is just as important as the content
of the outline.
Now some of you are still a bit suspicious, so let me tell you about a scientific study that
was conducted a few years ago.
The researchers got professors teaching multiple sections of the same course to do everything
identically in those courses, except for one thing.
One section got the professor’s notes and the other section did not.
You may be thinking: boy I wish I'd been in the section that got the professor’s notes.
Be glad you weren’t.
The students that had to create their own notes outperformed those that had the professor’s
notes.
This and other similar studies demonstrate that learning is about the process, not the
content.
Yes, you need the right content, but if you bypass the process of creating the outline
you're not going to learn the law at a deep enough level to get the grades you want.
If you want to learn more about law school outlines, over the next two episodes I will
provide you with the how and when to create them.
If you’d like to see more episodes that can help you succeed, hit the subscribe and share button.
Also, don’t forget to check out LearnLawBetter.com where you will find more resources to help
you succeed, including my blog, newsletter, and exam bank.
Thanks for watching.