How to Answer Bar Question[1]

HOW TO ANSWER BAR QUESTION 1. In responding to a question, the first paragraph should immediately contain your very short answer to the question and indicate clearly where you stand. For example, if the question is asked: “A is entrusted a diamond ring to S to sell. S pledged it instead in a pawnshop. Can A recover the ring from the pawnshop? Can the pawnshop insist on payment first of the loan from A? As suggested, the first paragraph should immediately contain your answer, as in this manner.

“Yes, A can recover the ring from the pawnshop. But the pawnshop cannot insist on payment first of the loan from A.” 2. Your second paragraph must contain the relevant provision of law or jurisprudence. (Do not cite actual article number or the case title if you are not certain.) Thus, in response to the problem posed above, the second paragraph may contain the answer as follows:

“The Civil Code is very explicit. A person who has lost any movable or has been unlawfully deprived thereof may recover it from the person in possession of the same. And the pawnshop cannot insist on payment first of the loan from A since, in the first place, the pledge is void. The Civil Code provides that for a pledge to be valid, the pledgor must be the absolute owner of the thing pledged. And should a thing be pledged with a pawnshop without authority from the owner, the Supreme Court has held in Dizon v. Suntay that considering the enormous profits of a pawnshop, it cannot insist on reimbursement of the amount for which the thing was pledged.” 3. The third paragraph must then relate the law to the facts of the case. This should justify your answer. Thus,

“Under the facts, it is indubitable that A can recover the ring from the pawnshop without any obligation to pay the pawnshop the amount of the loan.”

4. KISS. Keep it simple, sugar. Nothing beats a short, straight-forward answer to a question. Odiosa est oration, cum rem agas longinquum loqui. “It is a tiresome way of speaking when you should dispatch the business to beat around the bush.” Do not say more than you have to. An examiner will never appreciate your verbosity. He simply does not have the time nor the patience for long-winded answers. Do not even attempt to impress him by flooding him with a 3-page answer to a very simple question. Similarly, the more you say, the more chances there will be for you to commit a mistake in substantive law or in spelling or grammar. 5. As much as possible, answer in three to four paragraphs only, with each paragraph containing a single, concise sentence. Make sure to limit your answer to one page, if possible 6. Always state clearly where you stand on an issue. Do not present two answers. In law, only one party litigant wins a case. One of the adverse parties has to lose. So it is in answering Bar exam questions. When choosing a side, be sure to make up your mind. You cannot flip-flop in the course of your answer. Vigorously defend your answer. If you know the law, appreciate the facts properly, and your conclusion proceeds logically from your correct appreciation of the facts and the law, the Bar Examiner will be most impressed. In the end, what is most important might not be your conclusion but the justification for your conclusion. How you arrived at your conclusion is just as important as the conclusion itself. The journey is as important as the destination. In the same way, you might have the “right” answer. But your logic and reasoning might be totally warped. You won’t get good credits for this. 7. Be responsive to the question. Make sure you identify the issues properly. Sometimes, Bar questions can be very tricky. So many facts are said but a different question is asked in the end. Be sure to read the question at least twice to make sure you truly understand what the examiner is looking for. Also, if the Bar subject is Civil Law, even if a Remedial Law issue arises, answer only on the basis of Civil Law provisions or jurisprudence. Do not digress. Do not give a Remedial Law answer to a Civil Law bar subject. 8. As much as possible, endeavor with all your might to have an intellectual fund of Latin maxims. Supreme Court cases or specific provisions of law (article number). I can almost guarantee that if you manage to cite one or two relevant Latin maxims, actual Supreme Court cases or specific provisions of law, even if your answer to a

number of bar questions might leave a lot to be desired, the Bar Examiner will give you the benefit of the doubt and let you pass. How do you go about memorizing certain Latin maxims, etc.? You should realize that just like not all Bar subjects are created equal, neither are all legal provisions created equal. Some legal provisions are more important than others. And in all cases, Bar question are repeatedly asked on certain legal provisions. There are so called “favorite” Bar questions. Thus, in civil law for example, a question will most likely always be asked on validity of marriages or on quasi-delicts. Since you can already predict that a question or two will be asked on certain “favorite’ legal provisions, then memorize one or two relevant Latin maxims, Supreme Court case titles, or specific provision of laws bearing on those provisions. The examiner will be most impressed if you do this.