My son likes to watch the Food Network. By joining him, I’ve learned a lot about cooking. For example, I’ve learned about reduction, which involves simmering or boiling liquid down to thicken it and intensify its flavor. Reduction is what I think of when discussing an “outline of the outline” with students.

Top law students value consistency over intensity. This is an idea communicated in James Clear’s best-selling book Atomic Habits, which I cover in The Law School Playbook Mind Matters Topic 4: Evolve and Be Kind.  But let’s be candid—choosing consistency over intensity is difficult to do. 

Dear 2L Self, 

YOU DID IT! You made it through the dreaded first year of law school and overcame the cliché of being “scared to death.” You used grit and perseverance to endure the academic year and gained valuable work experience over the summer. At this point, you’ve done a lot of things that many people wouldn’t dream of attempting, let alone accomplishing. You’re pretty much on top of the world! 

I am experiencing what can only be described as some type of outline-mania this week. Outlines are great and the process of making them and grappling with the difficult material is essential to success. However, outlines are just one piece of the puzzle. All too often students focus on creating and fine tuning their outlines because they feel that they are not yet ready to do practice problems. I want to be clear on this—I totally disagree. If you wait too long to work through practice problems, your performance will suffer. I could give you many more, but here are a dozen reasons why practice problems are essential.

As an introverted extrovert, or ambivert, I often find myself in uncomfortable spaces. I am generally a private person, reluctant to “put myself out there.” But this spring, I asked my students the most effective way to reach them with skills information. When they answered a podcast and I agreed to do one, I didn’t think through all that would take.

Many students I’ve met with recently have inaccurate and incomplete rule statements in their briefs, outlines, or practice exam answers. Students may get by doing this when called on in class, but failing to transcribe accurate and complete rule statements will lead to missed issues and missed opportunities to discuss the facts relevant to those issues on exams. In law school, legal theory and policy are not tested heavily. Generally speaking, you are tested on your ability to reach a well-reasoned conclusion by applying the rule of law to a set of facts. At the heart of this is an accurate and complete rule statement. Thus, the “rule” is not a mere technicality or place marker in your case briefs or exam answers.

If you are 1L just starting out, use these pointers to understand multiple choice questions in law school. If you are a 2L or 3L who is familiar with multiple choice questions in law school, let this information be a reminder of best practices. Above all else, meaningful practice is key!

With midterms around the corner, I thought the following outline FAQs might be helpful tips for 1Ls and reminders for 2Ls! Have an enjoyable and productive weekend!

What is the best way to use an outline other than making it and reading it?  How to use your outline is an important topic because even law students who have strong outlines can write weak exam answers. Research shows that the least effective way to use your outline is reading and re-reading it. Doing so will merely familiarize you with its contents (not commit the contents to memory) and will give you a false sense that you know and understand the material when you may not. There are a variety of ways to use an outline and they all involve one common theme—actively engaging with the material (rather than passively reading it). In practical terms, that means you need to engage in retrieval practice or “the testing effect” by undertaking activities that force you to generate an answer to a question without using your outline as an initial matter.

If you use a navigation app to get to a destination, it sometimes notifies you of an alternate route that would save you time.  One, for example, that would save you 6 minutes.  Do you stay on course or choose the quicker route? Me, I like being prompt (okay, early), so I invariably opt for the quicker route.  Is that cheating?  After all, both get me to the same destination.

I attended an event the other day where the speaker discussed McDonald’s efforts, some years ago, to increase its milkshake sales.  McDonald’s approach to doing so, she explained, wasn’t unusual.  McDonald’s identified its typical milkshake customers and then surveyed those customers as to how it could improve the milkshakes.  Although the customers gave advice and McDonald’s took it, McDonald’s efforts resulted in just a small increase in sales. 

That’s where Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen, known for “disruptive innovations,” came in.  Christensen approached increasing McDonald’s milkshake sales in a different way.  He viewed the customers as needing a job to be done and hiring a milkshake to do it.

I like small things—paradigms that can be followed easily, little lessons that can be absorbed readily.  They eventually add up to big things. That’s the amazing part about teaching and learning.  On a regular basis, I challenge myself to break lessons into manageable pieces that our brains can absorb in the digital world.  Those who listen to my podcast know that I intentionally keep the episodes short.  After all, who wants to listen to a three hour discussion devoted solely to breaking down a statute?  I challenge law students to do the same.

According to the relevant research, generative learning takes place when students select from proffered information, organize the selected information into a coherent structure, and integrate the selected information with prior knowledge. Students who use generative learning strategies perform better than those who simply use rote learning strategies (limited to memorizing only). What does all of that mean? Create an outline or some type of course summary. Start this weekend.

Most briefs I have reviewed this week were at opposite ends of the spectrum—some contained few general facts and others contained nearly every fact in the case.  As law students (and as lawyers in practice), your job is to find the material facts.  In other words, you are looking for the facts that are legally relevant to the case.

For those of you who are not active on Facebook or LinkedIn, here are links to The Law School Playbook’s most recent posts:

Overwhelm.  If I had to describe my most recent coaching sessions in one word, undoubtedly that word would be overwhelm.  At this point in the semester, the daily course work is coming at a fast and furious pace, and I’m on the sidelines reminding students that simply doing class prep isn’t enough.  Midterms and final exams seem far away, so students don’t want to focus on improving their test-taking skills.  Somewhat ironically, they don’t have the time to talk about time management (which, incidentally, is the best time to talk about time management).  What they want is the emotion associated with overwhelm—be it anxiety, anger, helplessness, or panic—to go away.  That makes sense.  I know how uncomfortable overwhelm can be.

Law schools require students to memorize a large volume of rules in preparation for midterms and final exams. This is true even if an assessment is “open book,” because students rarely have the time to look up information during law school exams. Effective memorization means knowing the rules, sub-rules, and exceptions to rules backward and forward in a form that includes the “magic words” capable of altering the meaning. Memorization must take place throughout the semester—cramming is next to impossible given the volume of information.

As an academic success coach, I lament being unable to reach certain students—often those who need me most.  Even this early in the semester, I can identify students who will make the most of my services and those who will view academic success as another “to do” item.  When discussing my ability to reach students with someone today, I had a lightbulb moment. 

Hit the ground running your first week of classes by focusing on these best practices for note taking.