Taking practice exams is a proven way to improve performance on exams. Applying legal rules to a new set of facts will help you learn those rules, even if you have not yet had time to review them. This exercise also helps to identify complexities and nuances that you might not catch when passively reading through your notes or outline. And, finally, writing out answers to practice questions forces you to practice the other skill that is being tested: legal analysis. Below are some resources for finding hypos and practice questions.
The practice question does not need to be from your current professor; any exam in the same format will work just fine. Write out answers to hypos and practice exam questions early and often–even if you have not yet finished (or started!) reviewing and outlining. If you need help getting started, check out this short guide: Practice Questions: Why, When, and How.
Law Library Exam Database
The Law Library maintains a database of past exams for you to use for practice. You can ask your professors if they plan to release old exams or hypos, but know that many reuse questions and so do not release them. If you have a sample answer (or a friend’s answer), you can use a worksheet to assess your performance and drill down on your analysis. Remember that practice questions do not need to be from your current professor! Any question will work, but be cautious with sample answers. If the answer explains the law in a way that differs from how your professor explained it, always defer to your professor.
Commercial Study Aids
Full-length exam questions. Use full-length exam questions later in the semester to practice issue-spotting and time management as well as legal analysis. In addition to the Law Library’s exam database, you also can use the Siegel’s and the Emanuel study aids. Siegel’s is not available online, but there are hard copies on reserve in the Library or you can buy it. It has sample exam questions (issue-spotter and multiple-choice) along with sample answers. Emmanuel CrunchTime and Emanuel’s First Year Questions and Answers similarly have sample essay questions and answers. They are both available for free online. Search for Emanuel (there’s one for each first-year subject).
Other study aid sources, including CALI (Computed Assisted Legal Instruction) and Quimbee, are also available to Berkeley Law students via library subscriptions, but require registration. The Law Library’s Study Aid Research Guide has detailed information about how to register. If you have trouble registering, please contact the Law Library. Both CALI and Quimbee offer sample exam questions and answers. As always, if the sample answer explains the law in a different way than your professor, it is a helpful exercise to think about how you would rewrite the answer using the framework you learned in class.
Multiple-choice questions
Emanuel CrunchTime, CALI, Quimbee, and Siegel’s offer practice multiple-choice questions and answers. Emanuel CrunchTime is available online through the Law Library with your CalNet ID. Search for Emanuel (there’s one for each first-year subject). CALI and Quimbee both offer a tutorial in addition to practice multiple-choice questions. These study aids are available through the Law Library, but require registration. Siegel’s is not available online, but Professor Hernandez has hard copies in her office. Please email her at erika.hernandez@berkeley.edu to borrow a copy. As always, if a sample answer explains the law in a different way than your professor, defer to your professor.