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Dustin Saiidi is an author and helps students pass the bar exam by providing practice how-to tips, strategies, and motivation. He is also the founder of the Bar Exam Mental Edge program, designed to increase your confidence, while decreasing your stress and anxiety during bar exam prep.
To do well and pass the bar exam, it really comes down to 7 areas of preparation.
First, know the overall concepts of what exactly the bar exam entails. One such concept is knowing that the bar exam is not a test of your “lawyerhood” or whether you should have graduated from law school. The only purpose of the bar exam is to . . . well, pass the bar exam. So, don’t get cute, fancy or bring in your clever arguments and analysis because, frankly, your graders won’t want to see it. Analysis should be short and concise. Boring and dry does better than passion and excitement on the bar exam.
Second, you must understand and apply techniques to supercharge your mind and body. The bar exam can be as emotionally challenging as it is cognitively challenging. It’s important that you feed your mind with positive words, images, and people that keep it focused on success. Eliminate the energy suckers and learn to manage your emotions as you make your way through. Also, know how your body affects your stress levels and performance.
- Did you know coffee contains cortisol which actually raises the level of stress in your body?
- Did you know that if you don’t eat frequently and the right kind of food, your body puts you into a fight or flight response, shoots out adrenaline, and clogs your cognitive brain function so you get up and go find it food to eat?
Know the rules of the mind and body to decrease bar exam anxiety and stress.
Third, get your life situated before the bar exam begins. Get your living situation, support group, lifestyle, and work routine in order. The bar exam won’t be your only focus, but it definitely should be your main focus. Get your life situated to eliminate distractions during the bar.
Fourth, learn from those who have gone before you and utilize best practice strategies for the bar, where the roadblocks will be, and how to best avoid them. Learn which materials you actually need and which you can toss, what the best order of approach is, how many hours to spend studying daily, and how to measure when you are really ready to pass the bar.
Fifth, learn the specific strategies for the essays. They are not the same as your law school essays. There are key distinctions you must put into play if you want to knock the essays down. Learn and practice these distinctions and you move way ahead of the game.
Sixth, learn the MBE tactics and strategies. Use the process of elimination to increase your test scores and be sure to review all your answers when studying, whether right or wrong.
Seventh, get ready for bar exam week. Use visualization techniques throughout your bar exam, warm up the mind, body, and energy properly on the morning of the exam, and be sure to manage your energy during your study period, especially during bar week.
Get these 7 Steps down and you will be on your way to bar exam success. Go to Amazon.com right now and order your copy of The 7 Steps to Bar Exam Success – the guide to help you pass your bar exam with more confidence, in less time, and with less stress than the rest.
Thanks Dustin!
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