California Writing of the Week (WOW) Course

If you’re taking the California bar exam, you know you need to practice, right? Easier said than done, unfortunately! Best intentions aside, most people who fail the California bar exam didn’t practice their essay writing consistently enough.

That’s why we’ve developed the California Writing of the Week (WOW) program — to ensure accountability and make sure you’re writing consistently during your bar prep.

The California WOW program will help ensure you do at least one practice essay a week for the ten weeks leading up to the bar exam. (You’ll have immediate access to all essays, so you can incorporate them in a different order in your study schedule, if you like.)

The substantive essays cover a variety of commonly-tested topics, from Torts and Contracts to Community Property and Professional Responsibility. For each one, you’ll get an attack plan for the subject area, the specific law you need for this question, additional videos walking you through how to make a useful pre-writing outline and draft a passing answer, and a sample answer drafted by the Bar Exam Toolbox team. (You can see the full list of substantive topics here.)

You’ll also have five performance tests to work on. The Writing of the Week program has been updated to reflect the new format of the California bar exam. All PT practice tracks the new 90-minute California performance test.

That’s a total of 16 writing assignments (11 substantive essays + 5PTs) and more than 18 hours of writing practice.

Definitely a lot of very good structured practice, which can help you get the results you want on exam day!

Here’s what a former WOW student had to say:

Well done! You should create 60 of these presentations – one for each day until the exam. It’s a great help for those of us studying on our own!

Ready to get started? Jump down and register now!

How WOW Works

The California WOW program is designed to be really easy to use. Here’s how it works.

Every Monday for the ten weeks leading up to the bar exam, you’ll receive a WOW email, reminding you to complete that week’s work. Each substantive topic includes the following:

• An introductory “attack plan” video where Lee Burgess — co-founder of the Bar Exam Toolbox and a California bar exam expert — covers an approach to the general topic area, with a downloadable version for reference.
• A 10-15 minute substantive video mini-lecture where Lee explains the exact law you’ll need for this question.
• Next, you’ll make a pre-writing outline (using the included timer) and use the included self-evaluation to evaluate your work. When you finish, you’ll review the outlining video, where Lee walks you through exactly what your outline should have included. You’ll also have access to two sample pre-writing outlines — one in a linear, written format and the other in a diagram format, so you can see what makes the most sense to you.
• Finally, you’ll write your answer (using the included timer) and use the writing self-evaluation to help you evaluate how you did. Also included is a sample answer, drafted by the Bar Exam Toolbox, to show you what a solid answer looks like. You’ll watch a final video, where Lee walks you though the answer, and will make notes on a final self-evaluation of things to work on for the future.

After ten weeks, you’ll have done substantive essays in eleven different topic areas, completed five performance tests, learned a bunch of law, and had the chance to carefully evaluate your own work (one of the keys to passing the bar exam).

Sound interesting? Click here and get started today!

Or read on for answers to some frequently asked questions about the WOW workshop.

Frequently Asked Questions about WOW

Don’t see your question listed? Feel free to contact us.

Is there a WOW workshop for my jurisdiction? 

• Yes! If you are studying for the California bar exam, this WOW program is for you. But if you arrived at this page and you are taking an exam in any state that uses the MEE, the MPT or the UBE, we have a WOW program for you too!

What if I miss a week or lose the weekly email?

• Don’t worry, you will have access to the your personal WOW page where you can access all materials, review past topics, and catch up on anything you’ve missed.

What if I want to start earlier?

• When you register for WOW, you’ll have immediate access to all of the videos, which you can use starting immediately. You’ll still get the weekly email reminders after the course “officially” starts, but you can work ahead if you like.

Is it possible to start later?

• We recommend starting as soon as possible for maximum effectiveness, but it is possible to start any time. You’ll receive access to all of the earlier WOW weekly workshops when you sign up, so you can catch up by doing more than one essay per week.

Do I need to do the workshop on Mondays? 

• No, you don’t necessarily need to do the practice on Mondays, but we encourage you to build this into your weekly study schedule at a consistent time. Each week, you’ll have about 1.5 hours of work (more on a PT week), which includes watching the video explanations and doing the writing practice. WOW is a great use of your study time because practice is one of the key activities that helps you be as prepared as you can be on exam day.

Who gives the substantive lectures? 

• The California substantive lectures are given by Lee Burgess, co-founder of the Bar Exam Toolbox, who has been helping aspiring attorneys prepare for the California bar exam since 2009. Lee will also walk you through the performance tests. She’s taught bar prep at various California law schools and has tutored numerous students privately for the California bar exam. Lee knows how important accountability is for bar studiers and understands what type of information students find most helpful. She has taken these lessons and packaging them in a way that can help you during your bar preparation!

How long will I have access?

• You will be able to access the WOW videos and documents for a full year after the date of your purchase. If you decide to take a later bar exam, we can adjust your “start date” so that you will have full access during your exam prep period.

Can I combine WOW with the Brainy Bar Bank?

• Yes! You can combine WOW with the California Brainy Bar Bank (offering 180+ practice essay questions and 60+ practice performance tests) at a special rate. Learn more about the Brainy Bar Bank here. Of register for both here.

Ready to get started? Jump down and register now!

Why WOW?

This accountability and feedback is what most bar exam studiers are looking for, and we’re happy to offer a cost-effective option for students who may not need a full tutoring program.

When we talk to bar studiers around the country, students say they want three things:

• More accountability
• A more detailed explanation of the work they need to be doing to pass
• A greater understanding of what goes into a passing essay

The WOW workshops provide all of these things at a very reasonable price in a convenient format. What’s not to like? Your wish is our command.

What’s Covered?

These are the substantive law topics you’ll work on in the California WOW course:

• Community Property
• Contracts
• Constitutional Law/Property
• Corporations/Agency/Partnership
• Criminal Law
• Evidence
• Professional Responsibility
• Real Property
• Remedies
• Torts
• Wills

You’ll also have five practice performance tests, selected from commonly-tested formats.

Have any questions? Feel free to drop us a line.

Or get started now!

Register Now

Please select the appropriate option below to get immediate access to the California WOW program. If you’d like to learn more about the Brainy Bar Bank, please click here. Purchase both together, and save $45 on the combo!

Having problems? Please contact us for help!