Criminal litigation MCQ exam on bar practice course

Hi all,

I have read the examinable material in Blackstones but there are still things that I probably may forget as it is generally a lot of material.

I spoke to my tutor who advised being realistic in what I can do.

There are generally lots of time limits, dates etc. the usual legal spiel

How can I overcome this?
What helped you pass the MCQs
How did you go about preparing for the exam ?
Did you ever feel like you knew close to 100% or more like 70% of the material?

Reply 1

UniofLaw Student

Official Rep

Original post by Butterflywings24

Hi all,
I have read the examinable material in Blackstones but there are still things that I probably may forget as it is generally a lot of material.
I spoke to my tutor who advised being realistic in what I can do.
There are generally lots of time limits, dates etc. the usual legal spiel
How can I overcome this?
What helped you pass the MCQs
How did you go about preparing for the exam ?
Did you ever feel like you knew close to 100% or more like 70% of the material?

Hi,

I made notes on all of the syllabus areas from my reading in Blackstones. I then would go through those notes and condense them making flash cards with specific rules or dates etc. as I went. Once I had condensed them as far as I could, I just focused on the flashcards and eliminated them from my working pile when I had gotten them right 5 times in a row. When I got something wrong, I would read it again in my notes and write it down on a piece of paper 3 times before continuing with the flash cards. This isn't the most exciting way to study but it worked for me!

I never felt I knew 100% of the material and I definitely had some weaker areas when I went into the exam but I think it would be unlikely that anyone is confident they know it all.

Reply 2

Butterflywings24

Original post by UniofLaw Student

Hi,
I made notes on all of the syllabus areas from my reading in Blackstones. I then would go through those notes and condense them making flash cards with specific rules or dates etc. as I went. Once I had condensed them as far as I could, I just focused on the flashcards and eliminated them from my working pile when I had gotten them right 5 times in a row. When I got something wrong, I would read it again in my notes and write it down on a piece of paper 3 times before continuing with the flash cards. This isn't the most exciting way to study but it worked for me!
I never felt I knew 100% of the material and I definitely had some weaker areas when I went into the exam but I think it would be unlikely that anyone is confident they know it all.

Hi,

Thanks so much for commenting. Already I feel very seen.
i did consider the making notes part but I have primarily focused on putting all the relevant Blackstones references for each unit into a separate document. So all SAs for each unit have separate documents. It really took me ages. Then I just used a traffic light system so I knew what I needed to go back over. However for some of the key sections we need to know I probably will make it more interactive like for the bad character gateways for example. as sometimes I will learn it, then I will read a different SA and my mind goes blank. I think it is a bit of a stress response too though.

Would you say when you did the flash cards/your notes you knew things more word for word or did you just put it in your own words kind of like a summary. As there are some topics that I can recall exactly as it is in blackstones but I still would know what it was about.

Thanks so much for your honesty! I am going to do some past papers in the next couple of days . I’m hoping to go through all the mocks and synap questions. what was your strategy for past papers?

Reply 3

UniofLaw Student

Official Rep

Original post by Butterflywings24

Hi,
Thanks so much for commenting. Already I feel very seen.
i did consider the making notes part but I have primarily focused on putting all the relevant Blackstones references for each unit into a separate document. So all SAs for each unit have separate documents. It really took me ages. Then I just used a traffic light system so I knew what I needed to go back over. However for some of the key sections we need to know I probably will make it more interactive like for the bad character gateways for example. as sometimes I will learn it, then I will read a different SA and my mind goes blank. I think it is a bit of a stress response too though.
Would you say when you did the flash cards/your notes you knew things more word for word or did you just put it in your own words kind of like a summary. As there are some topics that I can recall exactly as it is in blackstones but I still would know what it was about.
Thanks so much for your honesty! I am going to do some past papers in the next couple of days . I’m hoping to go through all the mocks and synap questions. what was your strategy for past papers?

Hi,

I am glad you found my tips helpful and it looks like you have it all under control anyway!
When I did flashcards I did write them word for word but I would consider that I had learnt them if I got the general gist bar where it was a situation of "can" and "may" as you need to know those sorts of words exactly.

With past papers, I would sit down and give myself the time that I would have in the exam and do the paper without any notes. Often I would finish with lots of time to spare because I tended to go with gut instinct rather than over analysing. I used the technique that I use in exams which is moving on from a question quickly if I don't know it and putting a star next to it so I come back later and think about it in more depth then. Often, I found the time spent looking at other questions allowed some part of my brain to process the one I was previously stuck on.

Good luck and I am sure you will smash it. Just remember, don't panic!