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YES WE CAN, PASS THE BAR.ing the substantive focus relatively narrow; 2) Explicitly explaining thelearning process and skills such as reading, case briefing, outlining,studying, preparing for tests, and exam writing; 3) Providing explicitmodeling of skills ... 6) Encouraging independent learning, focusingon reflective learning methods which encourage students to thinkabout their own learning processes ... 8) Providing academic credit;9) Providing repeated practice opportunities for applying new learningskills followed by immediate verbal or written feedback ... and 11)using professional teachers. 97 27The following sub-section provides a description of the PTEX course and detailshow it is designed to facilitate and enhance effective bar skills competencies andperformance on the writing-focused portions of the Bar Exam.1. Course DescriptionThe PTEX Bar Skills Essay Writing class is a fourteen-week practicum thatprovides an intensive writing experience for students in preparation for the writtenportions of the bar exam, the essay examination,98 and the MPT.99 Thoughthe specific focus of the course is on the writing portions of the bar exam, theclass begins with an introductory PowerPoint presentation describing the purpose,format, and content of the bar exam, as well as highlighting the specificcompetencies essential to success on the different portions of the exam. looThough there are some general competencies that are important to success on thebar (e.g., discipline, knowledge of substantive law, good exam taking skills), becausethe MBE differs dramatically in format and focus from the MPT and Essay97 Riebe, supra note 34, at 293.98 The length of the essay examination and the subject matter tested varies from jurisdiction tojurisdiction. However, most essay exams test the examinee's ability to spot issues, identify and analyzerelevant facts in the context of controlling doctrine, and reason their way towards a well supportedconclusion.99 The MPT is a national examination designed to test an examinee's ability to apply fundamentallawyering to a factual scenario presenting a problem requiring legal resolution. It tests theexaminees' ability to extract legal principles and facts from the library case file and to apply controllingdoctrine to the facts at issue in a well organized an analytically sound motion or memorandum.The MPT instruction offered in the PTEX course addresses the most challenging aspects of draftingMPT answers: discriminating between relevant and irrelevant facts; identifying the controlling legaldoctrine; engaging in well-reasoned analysis; and writing a well-organized response. Professors reviewadministered MPT questions, using PTEX model responses, which provide a step-by-step roadmap for identifying issues, analyzing issues within the applicable legal framework, and drafting conciseand well-structured answers. They also emphasize and reinforce use of the PTEX Exam WritingTechnique in the context of MPT questions.100 For a full discussion of the PTEX Writing Program, see The Writing Experts, available athttp://www.ptexbar.com (last visited Nov. 23, 2010).
28 UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTIUCT OF COLUMBIA LAW REVIEWExam, different skill sets are essential for these written portions of the exam. 101This information helps students appreciate the nature and character of the differentparts of the examination they are preparing for, the ways in which the variousparts are similar to and different from law school exams, and the kinds of preparationactivities that will improve their performance on each portion of theexam. 102It has been noted that "[t]he [Bar] exam is considerably different from thetype of exams that law students have been exposed to either in law school or intheir undergraduate training."to3 It is particularly important that students appreciatethe difference between law school essay exams and bar essay exams becausethe similar format of the exam motivates students to believe that they are moresimilar than they actually are. Most bar essay examinations are written andgraded by practitioners, not law professors. During law school, the focus is onteaching the evolutionary development of legal doctrines, and law school examstest the student's ability to engage in legal discourse with an emphasis on thesubtle distinctions and nuances of the law. The bar essay exam, on the otherhand, is used to test the quality and reasonableness of one's judgment in identifyingissues, recognizing and analyzing key facts, and applying the relevant legalstandards to those facts. 104 So, while a law-laden answer may earn big points on alaw school exam, on most essay examinations, substantial points are allocated forissue-identification and factual analysis. Other important distinctions betweenlaw school and bar essay exams include: bar essays provide a shorter time framefor answering questions; bar essays present multiple-subject questions; and baressays test an examinees ability to identify the subject matter area being tested ineach question (e.g., whether the question is testing Torts or Contract law). In lawschool, a student, by virtue of being enrolled in a particular class, knows that theexam will test a particular subject area.Next, students are introduced to the PTEX Exam Writing Technique (Technique),a step-by-step jurisdiction and subject-matter neutral methodology for101 See, e.g., Riebe, supra note 34, at 302-03 ("It is recommended that [s]chools ... ensure thatstudents understand what the bar exam is ... [and] that students understand the structure of theirstates' bar exams.").102 It is important for students to appreciate that certain kinds of preparation methods (e.g.,using flash cards which strengthens one's ability to recognize the correct rule of law) may be moreuseful for the MBE but not as useful for the MPT and essay exam. The course instruction emphasizesthat their preparation must include activities that prepare them for all portions of the bar. This isimportant because generally students spend a disproportionate percentage of their preparation timepreparing for the MBE, which presents a more inviting format (multiple choice questions), and lesstime preparing for the MPT and essay exam questions which are formatted such that examinees arerequired to write their answers.103 Day, supra note 63, at 335.104 Day, supra note 63, at 337 (discussing the Multistate Essay Examination which, "[i]n additionto testing knowledge of subjects not tested on the MBE ... tests factual analysis, legal analysisand reasoning and communication skills").
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