How to Prepare for the BAR

Lecture Notes in How to Prepare for the Bar

Five Areas of Preparation for the Bar A. Mental Preparation 

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Be systematic. Organize your review materials by subject. Waste 1 or 2 days just to organize everything before you start reviewing. Never fall into the trap of studying in a non-organized manner. One suggestion is, gather 8 boxes where you can place everything that you have accumulated out of 4 years of law school. Place those which are more recent and more important on top so that you get to read them first. Do not bury yourself with useless materials. Try to get only those reviewers which are complete. Always exercise your discretion before you buy those reviewers. Make an outline and compare this with the syllabus of the bar exams. Spend time doing this do that you don’t miss anything at all. Make a timetable. Be sure to chop it. It’s like a game plan where you already know what to do first the first week, second week and so on. This has a psychological effect so that you know that you are ready to face the exams. be sure to stick with this timetable. You may lag behind but be sure to catch up or you may revise it also. Use the mirror technique during the last month of review. Study the last exam first and the first exam last, e.g., Remedial Law and Legal Ethics will have to be studied during the first week of August while Political and Labor Laws will have to be studied during the last week of August. Choose a good reviewer. You may not have enough time to read your annotated texts all over again. Just check out those reviewers and make sure that salient points are covered. Once you have chosen one, don’t change reviewers anymore. just be flexible in case there are mistakes in the reviewers. Get a compilation of the recent SC cases. This is very much useful as most questions are based on these cases. Read the codal provisions first before you jump into the annotated texts or the reviewers. Annotations, SC decisions are based on codal provisions. In the bar, you will be asked to answer what the law says not what the annotations say. When you read materials for the first time, read them as if it is the only time that you are reading them. Understand the material at once and lock it in your head. Don’t make the material more complicated that what it really is. You will be tested on whether you know enough on what it takes to be a lawyer. The questions are basic and only a small number are designed to determine who will top the bar. Memorize what you do not understand. In this way, if the very same wordings appear in the exam, you get to answer in verbatim and you already get points for this. Attend the bar review lectures. The reviews are designed to help you out and focus on more important issues. Notwithstanding, some would want to be absent to keep them at pace with their own schedules. It’s all up to you. You must balance everything. But the general suggestion is for you to attend the review.

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Lecture Notes in How to Prepare for the Bar 

Tape review lectures. Always read and listen. Listen to the tapes during your non-reading moments. What you read is reinforced by what you listen to.

B. Physical Preparation 

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Be physically fit during the review and the exam. The bar exam is tiring and draining. Remember that if you miss one Sunday, you have to repeat the entire exam again next year. Exercise regularly. You can go malling or you may want to do more physical exercises. It really depends on you. If you don’t regularly exercise, then just try to raise your hands or do stretching exercises. Get enough rest and recreation. This must be sufficient but not too much. Just give your body a time to recover. Fight also psychological tiredness by watching movies or simply go to Tagaytay and feel the breeze of cool air. Always remember that your peak should be in September. You can drink but be sure not to do it too much. Eat the right food. Take vitamins and supplements. Start training your body clock. You must train yourself to follow the schedule of the bar exams. It is usually 8 to 12 then 2 to 5. What you do is to concentrate and study during these hours daily. Read from 8 to 12 then take a 2hour break and then read again so that you get used to sitting and concentrating during these hours of the day.

C. Emotional Preparation 

Get rid of all emotional problems. Call a truce if you have any quarrel with anyone else. Tell them that you would like to have a ceasefire from now until September and just resume hostilities by October.

D. Psychological Preparation 

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Always think that you will top the bar. Maintain this visualization and think of yourself published in the papers as the topnotcher in the 2002 bar exams. aim high so that when you fall short, you only fall short a little bit. Always remember that a dream can only come true if you dream. Do not be afraid. You have everything it takes to pass the bar. At the end of the review, you will have everything that you need to know. Advance your time by I month. Think ahead so that if it is April 22 today, pretend that it is already May 22.

E. Spiritual Preparation 

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Rely on a Greater Force. Always remember that you cannot do it alone. Believe that someone is there to help you out. No matter how good you are, you are not enough to pass and top the bar. You need His help. Pray, pray, and pray. Additional Tips and Preparatory Things to Do

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Lecture Notes in How to Prepare for the Bar

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Brush up your English. The language of the bar is English so start reviewing your grammar and vocabulary at the same time. Improve your penmanship. The examiner has to read almost 2,000 booklets so that he would rather want to read a booklet with a good penmanship. If you can’t remedy your penmanship, just write in wider letters. Start using the pen that you will be using during the bar so that you will get accustomed to it. Preparing for the bar is probably the most difficult task you’ll ever undertake in your life. You have to give it your best shot. It is all or nothing. It is now or never. Although you may retake it next year, always think that there is no more tomorrow. These are only a few suggestions. There are a lot of tips out there but in the end, it is still you who will take the bar. It’s always up to you to choose which suggestions you will take.

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