I am going to assume the following: You went to class. You outlined. You studied. Because if you haven’t done those things, why are you taking exams? You don’t want to be a lawyer. Go do something you want to do.

For you who are stressed about your first set of law school finals, there is a lot of advice out there. Read it all! Take what you need and discard the rest. Here’s mine.

  1. Don’t panic. Really. You will get through this. You will not die. You will not pass out, throw up, or otherwise lose control of your bodily functions. Why? Because:
  2. All the information you need to answer the questions in the exam? You have it. In your head. Because you went to class, you studied, and you outlined. You just have to get it out and on paper and make it sound good.
  3. To do that, you need to outline your answers. Yes. Take the time (five, ten minutes) to outline your answers. It will save you a LOT of time throughout the exam. You will not have to figure out what to say next.
  4. Pace yourself.If you run out of time on a question, move on. Don’t risk blowing an entire section of the exam if you could have at least gotten partial credit. Often professors (at least mine) would give you a rough guide to how long each question should take. Cut that time by five minutes for each question and use the extra time to outline and then proof your answers.
  5. When you’re done, you’re done. Go drink. Go to a movie. Take the rest of the day off. Forget the material. YES. I said forget it. (Until bar prep.) Do not talk to your friends and classmates about the exam. Just…don’t.

Now — go get back to outlining, you! If you want more of my advice, I’ve got plenty.