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YES WE CAN, PASS THE BAR. 29writing well-reasoned, well-organized, grader-friendly, responsive answers to essayexams and MPT questions administered under timed conditions. Studentspractice the Technique over the course of the semester, across a variety of testablesubject areas, in the context of in-class writing exercises, homework exercises,and a final examination. During the introductory lecture, students are shown theprimary goals of the course, which are: (1) to encourage them to use essay andMPT Bar Exam questions as diagnostic rather than prognostic tools; 2) to practiceand master utilization of the Technique under simulated exam conditions;and 3) to habituate effective practice and review activities that will foster a senseof confidence in their approach to preparing for and taking the bar exam.Course instruction provides the following: 1) numerous in-class and take-homebar essay and MPT writing exercises; 2) a technique for expressing coherent,well-reasoned, and well-organized legal and factual analysis in response to baressay and MPT questions; 3) diversified methods of feedback,105 includingPowerPoint instructional review of all in-class writing assignments 106 and weeklygraded feedback on essay and MPT writing assignments; 107 and 4) strategies fororganizing and maximizing their bar preparation efforts. The PTEX faculty iscomprised of a talented and experienced cohort of law professors and a member105 See, e.g., Day, supra note 63, at 341 ("Law schools must give students better feedback regardingtheir performance."). Various modalities of feedback are provided to students enrolled in theJYfEX course to ensure that all types of learners benefit from the class. As the Day study stresses, it isimportant to "[r]ecognize and support students who learn differently." [d. Students may be visual,aural or kinesthetic learners or a combination of these learning types. To reach all learning types,feedback in the PTEX course is delivered in the form of: PowerPoint presentation based lectures,which responds to the visual and aural learning styles; video-taped classes where aural and visuallearners can review the classes at their convenience; and the administration of practice exams in-classunder timed conditions and model answers, which corresponds to the strengths and needs of kinestheticlearners.106 Each answer is formatted to highlight identification of issues, organization of issues, andpresentation of legal and factual analysis using a grader-friendly format that responds to the gradingmethod used by most Boards of law examiners (i.e., short grading periods, practitioners, etc.). Eachanswer is also formatted to emphasize and reinforce using the JYfEX Technique so that students arereceiving consistent instruction over the course of the semester and learning to apply the Technique inthe context of a variety of testable subjects.107 See Lorenzo A. Trujillo, The Relationship Between Law School and the Bar Exam: A LookAt Assessment and Student Success, 78 U. COl.o. L. REV. 69, 76 (2007) ("State bar examiners use oneof two methodologies for grading the essay portion of the exams: holistic or analytical .... Holisticgrading consists of comparing the whole of each essay against a defined performance standard ....On the other hand, analytical grading deconstructs the analysis and assigns a point value to each issueand sub-issue."). The PTEX grading methodology employs both assessment measures and providesstudents with a numerical assessment (i.e., a holistic indicator) and narrative comments evaluating thequality of specific aspects of the answer (i.e., an analytical indicator). The PTEX Diagnostic gradingform is designed to standardize feedback and direct students to recognize the strengths and weaknessesof their written responses to essay exam questions.
30 UNIVERSITY OF TilE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LAW REVIEWof the federal judiciary.l0B Each faculty member teaches questions in the subjectarea in which he or she practices, researches, and/or teaches, so each facultymember is able to direct students in the use of the PTEX Technique to writeresponsive essay and MPT answers in their doctrinal area of expertise.2. Course Format and MaterialsThe PTEX course begins with an emphasis on essay exam writing, transitionsto a focus on the MPT, and culminates with a final exam testing both questiontypes. The class is organized based on an active learning model that is characterizedby question-taking, followed by direct and constructive feedback. 109 As anapplication-based course, students spend most of their class time taking questionsunder simulated exam conditions. I to During the review, which immediately followsthe administration of each question, students receive feedback in the formof a PowerPoint presentation of a model answer,111 learn about the aspects oftheir answer that are essential to achieving a passing score, and learn to evaluateaccurately the quality of their own answers.112 To further reinforce this instruc-108 See PTEX: Faculty who Practice and Teach, available at http://www.ptexbar.com/faculty.htm. The PTEX faculty is led by Professor and PTEX Course Director Tanya Washington. ProfessorWashington is a recently tenured Associate Professor of Law at Georgia State University College ofLaw. Her team of distinguished PTEX faculty include Professor Barbara Babb, Professor CharlesTiefer, Fourth Circuit Judge Andre M. Davis, and Professor Roger Fairfax. All PTEX faculty havesignificant experience practicing in their areas of instruction and substantial law teaching experience.109 See, e.g., Day, supra note 63, at 345 ("Exams can be deconstructed for students by workingthrough the question, exposing the relevant issues, and then demonstrating how the student shouldapply legal analysis to the problem .... If professors can teach students to deconstruct essay questionsand hone their writing skills, they immeasurably enhance students' chances of passing the exam.").110 Following the introductory lecture, seven classes are devoted to essay exam writing instructionand the administration of essay exam questions testing subjects that are tested on bar exams inmost jurisdictions: Torts; Property; Constitutional Law; Contracts; Criminal Law/Criminal Procedure;Family Law; and Civil Procedure. Three classes are devoted to Multistate Performance Test writingexercises, and one class is devoted to the administration of a final examination comprised of threeessay exam questions and one Multistate Performance Test question. The final is formatted like anactual bar examination and is administered under simulated exam conditions to afford students theactual bar exam experience.111 The administration of each in-class question is followed by a thorough review of the answerby a PTEX Instructor who presents a model answer. These answers, which are prepared and providedby the Instructors, emphasize the applicable substantive law and the most effective and time efficientway to approach, organize and write reasoned, responsive answers. Students are encouraged to askquestions as part of the review of all essay and MPT questions administered in class. Over the courseof the semester, students take thirteen in-class essay questions and two in-class MPT questions. All ofthe model answers are designed to emphasize application of the PTEX Technique and to providestudents with an example of a well-organized, grader friendly format for their essay exam and MPTanswers.112 See, e.g., Day, supra note 63, at 344 ("Law schools must produce better legal writers byimproving essay exam writing. Many professors make available to students sample exams and questions.But professors often do not explain to students how to achieve the results. Putting samples onclass websites or on reserve or handing them to students is insufficient. The learning is passive at best.
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