Reading outlines. Reading sample answers. Memorizing.
All good things to do. But that’s simply being a consumer. It feels like progress.
Being merely familiar with something or being able to recognize it—even being able to recite a rule statement—doesn’t mean you can USE it.
Just because you love reading books or watching videos doesn’t mean you’re going to make a good creative. You have to keep putting work out there under the eyes of scrutiny.
- Can you recall the issues and rules?
- Can you pick out the correct answer (for the right reason)?
- Can you identify all the relevant issues by looking at a fact pattern?
- Can you organize an answer for an essay or a performance test?
- Can you write out an answer in time?
That’s being a producer. That’s what you’ll do on the bar exam. That’s what the bar exam will ask you to do: to know HOW TO USE your knowledge to solve problems.
Consuming only prepares you to do the work that matters. It’s not the main thing to focus on.
It’s harder to test yourself with a question, take way longer than it should, and realize you don’t know how to answer it.
That’s what preparation is for… so that doesn’t happen while you’re on the hot seat.
Be a producer. Don’t just stand there. Give it a try now.
