STUDY AIDS

(what's the deal with commercial outlines?)

To understand why commercial outlines are a solid investment for many people, it's important to know the purpose of casebooks:

The casebook is not meant to be a text which sets forth the law of a particular subject matter in a clear and organized fashion. Rather, the point of the casebook is to force you to pull out these terms and figure out how the analyses are organized on your own based on the different cases that you read.

The problem with this is two-fold:
1) this assumes at least one of the following: (a) everyone learns in the same way, (b) there is only one way to learn the law or (c) casebooks are the best way to learn the law. Given that everyone learns differently, it can hardly be expected that gleaning legal concepts from a casebook is ideal for every law student.

2) most first-year courses cover subject matter that is dictated by state law, which means that the law is not uniform across the fifty states. Casebooks are filled with opinions from various state courts. The finals for these classes cover the black-letter law -- the law that, for the most part, is common to all states. Law professors cannot assume that all their students will practice in a particular jurisdiction and usually make an effort to teach the general concepts of the field rather than the laws of a particular jurisdiciton (though some may emphasize California law). For example, in Torts and Contracts, you won't be citing to cases -- in those classes, cases are a good way to illustrate the legal concept as applied to a particular set of facts, not a definitive statement of the law.

But... Reading casebooks is great way to learn how to read cases, an essential skill if you're planning on going into litigation. I think that it's important to read casebooks intensely until you feel that you've reached a point where you're comfortable with reading cases (being able to pull out holdings, policy arguments, etc.) -- which can take awhile. However, at least for me, there are better ways to learn the material for an exam than through a casebook -- particularly, study aids.

How To Pick Study Aids: The best way to decide whether or not to get a study aid is to do the following: pick a concept that was somewhat confusing to you but that you managed to figure out eventually. Grab a study aid and read about the concept. If you find that it explains it well then, most likely, it would do so for other topics.

Also, consider the following:
1. each type of study aid is a completely different resource -- some offer outlines of the law, some strictly offer practice problems. Make sure you're getting the type of resource you're looking for.
2. study aids can get pretty expensive -- make sure you're spending money on the ones that'll help you the most.
3. going through study aids can be time-consuming -- certain study aids are more time-consuming than others.

The RECOMMENDATION I give for each study aid is based on what generally has worked for me. Again, the best way to pick study aids is to actually read through them. I think generally for every subject you should have some sort of black-letter law outline (e.g., Emanuel's) and another study aid which has practice problems (e.g., Examples & Explanations). The latter can actually be accomplished by practice exams provided by the professor, assuming you can get enough of them.

1. Emanuel and Gilbert

Emanuel: After each chapter, there is an Exam Tips section which offers advice about dealing with the chapter topic if it comes up on an exam. Also, there is a Quiz Yourself section with some sample questions about the chapter topic. There are sample practice exams and multiple choice questions at the back of the book.

Gilbert: Usually easier to read than Emanuel -- also, they have more tables and flowcharts (Emanuel has almost none). However, it does not have the Exam Tips or Quiz Yourself sections. There is a signifcant section of review questions in the back as well as some sample exam questions.

Choosing Between The Two: Choosing between the two usually comes down to personal taste. If you haven't decided, pick a concept and compare the explanations in one versus the other. Sometimes, one of the two may be more up to date -- so make sure to check that you pick up the most recent of the two. Also, keep an eye out for Gilbert's written by either your professor or by the author of your casebook.

RECOMMENDATION: Have one of these for every one of your black-letter law classes (i.e., Torts, Civ Pro and Contracts).

Special Study Aid: Crunch Time

CrunchTime is basically a shortened version of Emanuel's. It features the Capsule Summaries (short versions of the outline for each chapter) and the Exam Tips. On top of this, the CrunchTime also has a section with a bunch of flowcharts. Pace McCaskill is a big fan.

RECOMMENDATION: Crunch time is solid for last-minute study sessions and for people who learn visually. Usually, unnecessary if you have Emanuel's or Gilbert's, but may be worth looking into for some.


2. LexisNexis Understanding Series

This is one of the best study aids out there and one that is not very well known. It's written as a text, not as an outline and it explains everything very clearly. The Understanding books are very thorough and they refer to many cases, most of which are probably assigned reading in the casebook. They're available for all the first-year, black-letter courses and for many upper-division courses as well.

RECOMMENDATION: If available, I'd choose this over a casebook or at least as a supplement to one. If you're going to buy an Understanding book, buy it early so you have enough time to get through it.

3. Examples & Explanations

The Examples & Explanations series is a very popular study aid. Each chapter is arranged in the same way: (1) brief intro into the topic, (2) questions/hypos about the topic and (3) answers/explanations of the questions. This does not cover as many topics as Emanuel's or Gilbert's, but it definitely does a good job explaining the topics that it does cover.

RECOMMENDATION: The Glannon E&E is essential for Civ Pro. The Torts and Contracts E&E aren't as good, but may match your learning style.

4. Law-in-a-Flash:Flashcards

Each set has anywhere from 350 to 650 flashcards which cover both black letter law principles followed by cards with hypotheticals about the principle. Like E&E, this is great for what it does cover and offers solid practice problems; however, it is not as complete as Emanuel's, Gilbert's or the Understanding series.

RECOMMENDATION: Great option for people who learn best through flashcards. Also, a good source of practice problems with its hypotheticals.

5. Legalines & Briefs

These stuy aids are basically summaries of your casebooks and they're good way to reduce class preparation time. Casebriefs summarize each of the cases in a casebook and Legalines summarizes the rest of the text in the casebook in addition to the cases. It's best to find the briefs or Legalines that are keyed to your particular casebook.

RECOMMENDATION: Legallines is always better than briefs, but usually harder to find one keyed to your book.

6. Nutshells
These are available for pretty much all subjects -- chances are that for any class you take you will be able to find a Nutshell. However, they tend to only provide a very broad picture of the issues. It's not a bad idea to read through a Nutshell to get an overview of the course.

RECOMMENDATION: Nutshells may help in the outlining and studying process (i.e., in creating connections between issues), but, generally, I would only get a Nutshell for a class that does not have an Emanuel or Gilbert.

7. Multiple Choice Questions & Practice Exams

For exams that have multiple choice sections, you have to turn elsewhere for practice problems because professors generally do not release sample MC questions. The Q&A is all multiple choice -- it has questions on specific topics and then a final exam which covers all topics. Siegel's has both multiple choice questions and essay questions.

RECOMMENDATION: Definitely worthwhile if you have a multiple choice section for an exam, but not necessarily a top priority.

Note: You may also want to look for sample MC questions online.

8. Introduction to Law Treatise

The Introduction to Law treatises are alot more dense than the Understanding series. They're much more helpful for classes where depth of discussion and policy are emphasized over issue-spotting. These should be purchased early in the semester.

RECOMMENDATION: not essential for first semester courses -- a must for Constitutional Law next semester.

Where to Get Study Aids:
The USC bookstore is very limited in its study aid selection. If you can't find it there, try the UCLA law bookstore which has pretty much all the legal study aids out there. It's located next to the UCLA Law School at the Lu Valle Commons. You can holla at them at (310) 825-7238, though I'm not really sure why you would.

If you're looking for outlines...

APALSA

La Raza

BLSA

MESALA

OUTLINING
(the master outline)

The purpose of the master outline is to summarize a semester's worth of material in about 30-60 pages.

Signs of a good outline:

• a good outline teaches you concepts well enough to be able to spot them in a fact pattern. This not only applies to broad concepts, such as causes of action, but also to narrower concepts, like elements of the cause of action or points of analysis within an element.

• A good outline should set forth these concepts in a larger framework. For example, if the concept is an element of a cause of action (e.g., duty) it should go where you would put it in the analysis (e.g., under negligence).

And so, to end a sentence with a preposition, that's what an outline is for.

Some considerations in beginning the outlining process:

The Big Decision: to make from scratch or not to make from scratch...?

The first thing to know: making an outline from scratch isn't necessary, nor is it a guarantee, to doing well on a finalexam. In fact, there are just as many people who use old outlines to study and do well as those who make their own and did well. In other words, all other things being equal, in making this consideration, you shouldn't give extra weight to making your own outline

The key to this decision is whether or not making an outline will actually help you learn the material. In fact, this should always be the main factor affecting how you choose to study. You should never spend your time doing anything because you think it's "part of law school" or "something everyone is doing" or "some other phrase in quotes." Only spend your time on what actually makes you more prepared to take a law school exam -- your reasoning and ultimate decision should be completely based on your individual study habits.

In terms of outlining, if you're the type who learns by writing things down and formulating analyses, you may want to lean towards making an outline from scratch. If you're the type who learns by reading and making notes in margins and writing sarcastic responses to rhetorical questions overused by casebook authors, then you may want to consider editing an existing outline.

If you're not quite sure what type you are, a great way to help make the determination is to take a look at a practice final exam. Since the ultimate purpose of outlining is to help prepare you for an exam, it's good to have a concrete idea of what a law school exam is like. I feel that if you know exactly what you're preparing for, you'll quickly figure out how you would personally best prepare for it. Also, once you do make the decision to edit or make from scratch, keep the final in mind -- in fact, I would recommend having a few practice exams nearby throughout the outlining process.

(Note: practice exams can be found on the school website. On the school home page, there's a "Quick Link" that takes you to "Exams," which are arranged by professor and class).

Other things to consider in making this decision:

• availability of old outlines for your professor
• if outlines are available, you may be able to conserve some time by editing a good one.
  
• time it will take you to make an outline versus editing one
• making an outline from scratch takes a long time -- if it really won't help you learn the material better, this should be the biggest factor in favor of editing an outline.
  
• when you would like to have your outlines finished
• figure out when you would like to start taking practice exams -- that should coincide with when you're outlines need to be done. Ideally, you want to have 2-3 weeks to do exams, but even 1 week is more than most people end up with.
  
• what other things you'd like to make prior to an exam
• if you're looking to make a checklist, tiered checklist, issue-spotting outline, or anything else for the test, it will take its time. You want to make sure you have plenty of time to make these...

Keep in mind...

1. you don't have to do the same thing for each class. You can make an outline for some classes and edit outlines for other classes. Or you can do a combination: make an outline that consists of edited parts of old outlines and original parts.
   
2. deciding to edit an outline doesn't mean you can just slack off and do less work. You should be spending just as much time as someone who is making one from scratch. Except you do get to spread your time over reviewing the outlines you edited and making test-taking tools (e.g., issue-spotting outlines, checklists).
   

However, by the end of this week, you should decide, for each of your classes, whether you will be making an outline from scratch or not.

Editing Outlines

A. If there are prior outlines for your professor

1. Find an outline that you like -- good format, thorough, right length, etc.
2. Update and expand the outline with class notes, readings and commercial outlines -- you should get it to the point where it meets the Signs of a Good Outline described above.
   
3. Refer to other old outlines to make sure you haven't missed anything
   

B. If there are no outlines for your professor:

1. Find some outlines for the same subject for another professor
2. Get your syllabus for the class and figure out the broader topics that have been and will be covered
3. Cut and paste portions of the outlines corresponding to these topics in the order that they're covered in your class.
4. Now you got your outline ready for editing. See step A.

CAUTION: Prior outlines were made by prior students who may or may not have taken the time to check that everything in their outline is accurate. While editing, make sure that what's staying in your outline is actually accurate.

Also, don't feel like you have to keep an old outline more or less as it is. If there are portions of the outline that don't work for you, don't just slightly edit them -- take them out and make a new section. Or at the very least, completely rework it so it makes sense to you.

Note: Even if you choose to edit an outline, read the following section on making an outline from scratch because you will be incorporating many of the same ideas in the editing process.


Making an Outline

I can't seem to come up with a transition to the following list:

1. When putting together the analysis for a concept, put the elements of the analysis in question format. It helps to indicate exactly what the analysis entails and how you should be framing your answer on an exam:

A. Did the defendant owe a duty to the plaintiff?
1. ...
B. Did the defendant breach the duty to the plaintiff?
1. ...
C. Did the defendant's breach cause damage to the plaintiff?
1. ...

2. Issue Discussion: besides spotting issues, you should also develop the skill of arguing for and against the existence of an issue within a set of facts. I usually like to have concrete examples in my outline of situation where the issue exist and where it doesn't (hypos or cases).

3. Using Commercial Outlines: commercial outlines are really good for weeding out the black letter law. Casebooks rarely have direct statements of the law conveniently laid out for you in outline format. Emanuel's and Gilbert's are great for organizing the portion of an outline on a particular topic or issue (e.g., battery). They also have examples and hypos throughout the analysis.

4. Class Notes: though this varies from professor to professor, class notes are primarily important for (a) indicating what is covered and to what extent; (b) the professor's "version" of the black letter law; and (c) policy arguments (specifically, those favored by the professor).

(a) -- I usually organize my outline based on the order in which material is covered in class. Also, the extent to which something is covered in class is a good way to dictate the depth of the discussion it should be given in your outline.

(b) -- for example, the professor may use a particular term which is used differently in Emanuel's; or may opt for a three-factor test as opposed to a four-factor test with respect to a particular topic; or she'll specifically tell you not to use a Restatements analysis. Some professors care more about this than others.

(c) -- you can get policy arguments from the casebooks and from commercial outlines as well, but you'll usually be able to tell which one the professor supports from their lecture.

5. Exam Format: in making an outline, consider what the exam is like. The main questions:

a. is there a multiple choice section?
b. is there a policy question?

A multiple choice section shouldn't really change how you outline, but it will require you to have a solid understanding of each concept standing alone. Usually, multiple choice questions on law school exams tend to be questions about short fact patterns highlighting one or two prominent issues.

A policy question on an exam may change your outline by requiring you to add policy arguments throughout your outline or by making/editing a separate policy outline.

Streamlining

Continue to edit your outline after it's done. Keep the long version of the outline, but start streamlining the outline as you learn the material. Remove hypos and unnecessary references to cases and try to get it down to as bare of an analysis as you can. This can slowly be converted to an issue-spotting outline or at least something which will be very practical while taking the exam.

Wow, this was a really long post.