When people ask me the most common question that they get, it’s, “Do I have to take my law school policy question?” This policy question is asked so frequently that it has become a kind of joke in my professional life. In other words, “How long does it take you to rake in fifty dollars from working at McDonald’s drive through?” The reality is that you really don’t have to take it seriously.
You can’t take my law exam policy question seriously because if you do, you are kidding yourself. It’s just a silly question. The reality is that you are going to take this test one time, and you’ll take it really seriously. This means you’ll go all out to prepare. Some of the ways you prepare are: researching cases, talking to people who have already done this work, doing research yourself, reading legal documents (both classic and current works), attending seminars, going to conferences, taking classes, writing articles, shopping online, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, and much more.
The reality is that you don’t have to take my law exam policy question seriously, if you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. When it comes down to it, the questions on this type of test are designed to make you do some research. This research will help you understand what the questions mean, how they are phrased, and how the law might affect your life. If you don’t do the research, then you won’t understand the policy, or if you do understand it but fail to follow through with a thorough analysis, then you are setting yourself up to fail.
In other words, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. You can go ahead right now and take the LSAT and study. If you’re really serious about taking the test and scoring an A+ then you have to seriously consider taking the LSAT before you start studying. However, if you’re not in a hurry to do this, then you should definitely start with some free LSAT practice tests, just to get a feel for how the format works and to familiarize yourself with the types of questions that you will be asked.
Of course, since these kinds of tests are mostly multiple choice, it’s tempting to try to answer one or two of the questions out of frustration, but don’t do this. Even the best prepared student would get lost answering a half dozen questions in, let’s say, ten minutes, so just take your time and really think about what your answers will be. There’s no way to predict the format of the test without taking it!
When you finally do find the law school exam policy question that you know the answer to, spend a few minutes thinking about it. Make a list of the reasons why you might have asked this kind of question, and list your answers as best you can. Then write down the answer to the question and use any proofreading tools you happen to have lying around. Make sure that you are completely correct, and that you have written down every single detail you can think of. By the time you are sitting down to take the actual test, your answers should be completely correct and you should have gained quite a bit of confidence in your ability to answer tough law school questions.
The final step is to review the policy and write your own opinion about it. It’s very easy to criticize something that you have no experience with, so if you do feel that the question is too hard for you to answer, jot down any concerns you have and write them down in your review. You should also make a mental note not to include any negative responses to the question on your application form, since these questions are used in the applicant’s race to determine if you are a quality applicant or not. If you do this, you’ll probably end up in the same position as all of the other white applicants!
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