Howdy, preppers! This is getting real. The bar exam is a month away! But don't panic. Keep working steadily toward your goals on Barbri/Themis, Adaptibar/QBank, and essays. You can learn an amazing amount of law in four weeks--if you hang in there!

Themis Simulated Exam

The 2-day Themis practice exam is scheduled for this week for all Themis preppers—even those who are behind Themis's "ideal" schedule. It's a complete simulation of the bar exam—2 MPTs and 6 essays on day one; 200 multiple-choice questions on day two. We're hosting this on campus on July 8 & 9 (and 10, for time-accommodated students).

Take the simulated exam under simulated exam-day conditions: Start at 9am, take a break from noon till 1:00 or 1:30, then start the afternoon session. No headphones, no music, no snacks, no beverages other than water. Turn your phone off to limit distractions. We'll feed you lunch on both days if you indicate your lunch choices on this form by noon on Saturday, July 2  5.

On day 1, you will need your Themis MPT book and your laptop. Be sure to bring your charger and maybe an extension cord to ensure you can reach a power outlet (just like exam day). We will provide hardcopy packets for the afternoon essays (just like exam day).

On day 2, you will need pencils (not mechanical--those are not allowed on exam day!) and the Themis Practice Exams book. We will provide bubble sheets (just like exam day). 

After the Themis Sim

After the exam, return to your student account under Practice Exams and input your answers for a detailed subject breakdown and peer comparison. The Themis "results" report for the MBE is broken into two reports, one for the morning session and one for the afternoon; a single report identifying your strengths and weaknesses across both sessions would be more helpful, but it is what it is. Fortunately, it's not too difficult to combine the two reports. I created a spreadsheet to facilitate that [link]. Make a copy in Google Drive for your own use, then input your per-subtopic scores from the morning and afternoon sessions. The spreadsheet will highlight the heavily tested topics where your score was weaker. It defaults to 3 or more equlas heavily tested and 50% or less correct equals weakness, but you can change those numbers under "Focus areas." See the "sample" tab of the spreadsheet for an example of a filled-out worksheet.

Now do some "focused practice" in Adaptibar or QBank to work on the weaknesses identified by the Sim. See the Week 6 blog post, which detailed the focused-practice steps after the Barbri sim.

If you're on Adaptibar, you have three practice exams remaining (SA2, CPE1, and CPE2). Space these out between the sim and exam day, aiming to complete CPE2 about 5 days before the real exam. If you're on QBank, you have CPE1  and CPE2 (but not SA2); again space the practice exams out with the goal of completing CPE2 four or five days before the real exam.

Training your body for game day

Bar prep focuses on training your brain. But the savvy prepper knows to train the body, too. How? Two ways:

• First, work on exam-day stamina by studying in 3-hour blocks from 9am to noon and 1:30pm to 4:30pm—the same hours that you will be sitting in the exam room (time-accommodated students should adjust the schedule according to exam-day hours). Note: I'm not saying to cut your study day down to six hours! I'm suggesting that for at least those six hours, you force your body to sit still and focus. Not a morning person? Now is the time to become one! Drag yourself out of bed a few minutes earlier each day until you are waking up at whatever time you plan to wake up on exam day. Need your 2pm nap? Work on powering through the afternoon doldrums.  Start now, and your body will be ready for the rigors of the exam.

• Figure out what you will eat on exam day. You don't want the munchies halfway through the morning session or a sugar crash at 3pm. Experiment to make sure your breakfast and lunch will keep you alert and focused during the exam. 

• Are you a "coffee achiever"? Figure out your optimal morning and afternoon caffeine dose—and where you will get it on exam day. (Pro tip from a caffeine junkie: Those Starbucks instant-coffee packets dissolve in a bottle of cold water and don't taste too awful.) We will serve coffee from Jason Deli (or something similar) on exam day with lunch at the Arlington test location.

Questions of the Week

Q: During the lunch break, can I go to my car or hotel room and skim my outlines or churn through some flashcards?

A: Yes; you're free to leave the exam site during lunch. Whether studying during lunch is useful is up for debate.

Q: The General Instructions part 2.5 say to put "smaller" allowed items into a clear plastic bag. Do I have to put my laptop into a giant Ziplock bag? 

A: No. You may hand-carry your laptop, keyboard, extension cord, cooling pad, sweater, etc.

Q: Will I be able to plug my laptop into a power outlet during the exam?

A: Yes. Outlets will be available at or near every table in the exam room. "Extension cord" is one of the items on the "allowed items" list, and I recommend taking one.

Q: Can I take [insert object of your choice] into the exam room? It's not on the "allowed items" list.

A: Probably not. If something is not specifically allowed, it's generally prohibited. There have been exceptions to this from time to time, so message your analyst on Atlas to be sure.

This week's incentive winners

The winners of this week's incentive drawing are David Ko and Ann Johnson. Congratulations!

Week 9 incentive targets

By 10pm on July 6, complete 68% of Barbri or 64% of Themis (including Practice Exam 2) AND 1175 questions in Adaptibar or QBank.

That's all for this week. As ever, if you have questions or need talked back from the ledge, email or call me or Prof. Deutsch or simply book an appointment on our Calendly pages. Our contact info is on this blog's home page.