Pass the Bar Exam Using the Right Tools and Approach for You

John passed the 2023 July California Bar Exam on his first try after deciding that his bar review course wasn’t working for him.

I know. Yet another success story about someone who ditched the traditional route. Might as well pack up and go home.

But leaving the bar course behind isn’t just for repeaters. And messages like this often take multiple repeats to click in your head. Kind of like memorizing the law.

Well, let’s see how John did it. I’ve parsed out 5 teaching points from studying his success story and the multiple updates he sent me before and after the exam.

💬 “I would say that you know how you, personally, best study, and if a certain method isn’t working and another method seems like it might be better, don’t be afraid to try it!

Resources John used to pass the California Bar Exam

Magicsheets & Approsheets

💬 “I realized they [Magicsheets] broke down the black-letter law in a very clear, concise way and made memorizing pretty simple.

💬 “Approsheets made it clear how to be familiar with which specific issues we needed to be prepared to address for each possible topic that could come up on the bar.

💬 “[They] made the process of studying for the essays seem almost too ‘easy’ compared to the horror stories I had heard from other people in the past.

AdaptiBar and Jon Grossman’s video lectures

💬 “Jonathan Grossman’s AdaptiBar videos are also highly entertaining but VERY straightforward and practical.

  • Use code here for 10% off your entire cart (including lectures)

▶ Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE

▶ Mary Basick’s Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam

Past exam questions and selected answers

John’s approach to studying and passing the California Bar Exam, in five parts

1) Pivot from “trusting the process”

💬 “I realized I wasted time with one of the mainstream bar prep companies and trusting their process too much.

I’ve made this point several times now, so I won’t belabor the point too much.

But isn’t it interesting how so many success stories mention this? Is it just a coincidence?

Maybe! I’m not saying this is THE way to go. I’ve already mentioned that traditional bar courses DO work for people. I’m not poo-pooing them (too much).

💬 “I abandoned the traditional bar prep program and bought your Magicsheets, knowing that was what I needed to pass.

Just use the course properly. It’s a supplement. Or put together your own curriculum as the dean of your own studies. This is especially relevant if you’re the scrappy type.

💬 “But after I passed I realized that for the bar exam, you don’t need extra complexity. You need to just use whatever tools help you know the rules and issues for each topic and the practice applying them in the manner and format that the bar graders are looking for.

First-class flights take you to the same destination as coach seats. Don’t let anyone question you for having your own itinerary. It’s about what fits your needs and style.

John found that the course materials were not as helpful as other resources. It wasn’t working for him.

💬 “Earlier in the summer, I had originally been using a traditional mainstream bar-prep company, which was not bad and had some helpful aspects, but it was becoming very clear to me during the prep process that other resources might be more effective for me, personally. I just was not finding the video lectures very helpful. Even watching them at a faster speed wasn’t helping. . . . I knew that it was key to know the black-letter law and to be familiar with what issues should be brought up for each essay subject. But those huge, thick books from the mainstream companies just weren’t cutting it for me for memorizing. I knew there had to be another solution.

2) Focus on big areas you can control. Let everyone else stress about predictions

The Tripod Approach is one efficiency approach that John used to attack where most of the predictable points were.

💬 “I also found Brian’s ‘tripod’ approach to be spot-on. Brian advises focusing bulk of your efforts on the MBE topics, PR essay, and performance test, rather than get overwhelmed about stressing which exact topics will be on the essays. (Obviously, he’s not saying to ignore the other topics. But focus on the MBE topics, PR and PT.)

This is most applicable to the California Bar Exam, but if you’re not taking CA, can you think of leverage points in your exam? The idea is the same, and I have some starting points for UBE in the article.

Practicing what you’ll do on the actual exam might be obvious to you at this point, so I’ll let John explain what he did for the MBE, essays, and PTs in his full story below.

I’ll make one important point, though:

3) Don’t miss the issues in your essays

On bar exam essays, issues are paramount. If you want to pass the essays, identifying issues is non-negotiable. Knowing the law means knowing the issues too.

💬 “Just wanted to give you a pretty cool update. The other day out of curiosity I was skimming over the answers that the State Bar recently released for the essays. I didn’t actually really notice any big issues that I missed in any of the essays. I was almost shocked. I really don’t think that would have happened without the Magicsheets and Approsheets.

It’s the inverse of what you knew in law school, where beating up the issues and writing gigantic analyses was the name of the game.

4) Use the right tools and approach for you

💬 “As for general advice, I would say that you know how you, personally, best study, and if a certain method isn’t working and another method seems like it might be better, don’t be afraid to try it.

And if something doesn’t work, great! You narrowed down what works and what doesn’t work for you. Elimination is one way to progress.

💬 “If I don’t pass, then I know I’ll need to spend more time on the stuff that I figured out works. (There’s nothing I could have done more with the mainstream bar prep materials that would have helped on those essays that the Magicsheets and the Mary Basik book wouldn’t have been more effective.)

The same goes for the tools you use to assist your studies. Well, how do you know what’s going to work or not?

You don’t, at least at first. I suggest you try different things early on (or as soon as possible) so you know what’s working for you and what isn’t working.

💬 “After taking the bar exam on Tuesday and Wednesday, I can now confirm that if I’m able to scrape by and pass it was because I started using your products (as well as things such as the Mary Basick book, Adpatibar and Emanuel) rather than mainstream bar prep. If I don’t pass, then I know I’ll need to spend more time on the stuff that I figured out works. (There’s nothing I could have done more with the mainstream bar prep materials that would have helped on those essays that the Magicsheets and the Mary Basik book wouldn’t have been more effective.)

What a great attitude. If something doesn’t work, cross it off.

That’s how John found tools that were compatible with him that impacted his studies.

💬 “I totally agree with you that it’s about the training itself more than the tool. That being said, if you don’t have the right tools, that can impact your training. In your Serena Williams analogy, it seems like, for me, the mainstream companies were more comparable to playing tennis on a video game while the combination of Magicsheets/Adaptibar/Mary Basick/Emanuel is more like actually practicing playing tennis.

What’s my Serena Williams analogy? It’s not about which tennis racquet will let you beat Serena Williams. It’s about how you train your technique rather than obsessing over which racquet is the “best.”

So it’s also about how you use what you have as a training tool, not just what you use.

Be the best student and learn from what you have instead of trying to demand immediate results. Speaking of which…

5) Stop obsessing over minimum scores you need to scrape by

On the actual thing, expect to be about 70% as good as your top condition. Not saying you will be—but account for that possibility.

You will fall to the level of your training, not rise to the level of your expectations.

I get that you’re overwhelmed, and it’s useful to know what a good target is, but don’t be one of those people who want to barely scrape by. Aim higher than the target to actually hit the target. Prepare to be several notches above minimal competence.

Minimum competence does not mean bare minimum.

💬 “I realize that my time is better spent just cooking some essays and seeing what happens rather than worrying about the exact numbers. (I’m just trying to get some slight peace of mind.)

Refer back to the case study about C, the busy big law partner who was still humble enough to go through every essay and study every day consistently.

Bar preparation is just that—preparation. It’s not merely “studying” and reading words on a page. It’s getting ready to answer questions on the exam.

You’re a lawyer with a duty of zealous advocacy not only to your clients but also to yourself. When you go to trial, when you have a conversation with the other party, or when you have a client meeting, you don’t go in blind. You’re prepared ahead of time. Set a higher standard for yourself, and treat your needs accordingly. Don’t waste time trying to figure out what the minimum you can get away with is. You might as well spend that time learning.

The less you know, the more you don’t know what you don’t know.


Great job, John! Here are the resources he used again.

What does preparation mean to you now?

What’s your new standard for preparation?

John’s full story

Text version

We had emailed in July (see below) just before the bar exam when I abandoned the traditional bar prep program and bought your Magicsheets, knowing that was what I needed to pass.

Just wanted to let you know, that I passed! I am very confident that your product was key in getting me there.

This was my first time taking the California bar exam. Earlier in the summer, I had originally been using a traditional mainstream bar-prep company, which was not bad and had some helpful aspects, but it was becoming very clear to me during the prep process that other resources might be more effective for me, personally. I just was not finding the video lectures very helpful. Even watching them at a faster speed wasn’t helping.

I knew that it was key to know the black-letter law and to be familiar with what issues should be brought up for each essay subject. But those huge, thick books from the mainstream companies just weren’t cutting it for me for memorizing. I knew there had to be another solution. And I came across Brian’s Magicsheets. I realized they broke down the black-letter law in a very clear, concise way and made memorizing pretty simple. Furthermore, Brian’s Aproposheets made it clear how to be familiar with which specific issues we needed to be prepared to address for each possible topic that could come up on the bar.

Brian’s products made the process of studying for the essays seem almost too “easy” compared to the horror stories I had heard from other people in the past. I began questioning myself as to whether I was now missing something. After the bar exam, I was questioning whether I had actually passed. But after I passed I realized that for the bar exam, you don’t need extra complexity. You need to just use whatever tools help you know the rules and issues for each topic and the practice applying them in the manner and format that the bar graders are looking for. (I highly recommend Mary Basick’s book as another resource for CA bar essay writing, specifically for formatting and practicing identifying all the issues that get you the points you’re looking for to just pass this exam.)

I also found Brian’s “tripod” approach to be spot-on. Brian advises focusing bulk of your efforts on the MBE topics, PR essay, and performance test, rather than get overwhelmed about stressing which exact topics will be on the essays. (Obviously, he’s not saying to ignore the other topics. But focus on the MBE topics, PR and PT.)

For the MBE, as many other people have said, I also found Adapitbar to be huge for the MBE. With Adaptibar, I really liked the strategy of just going over as many questions as I could, but at my own pace. I learned it was very important to go over the reasoning for WHY each right answer was right and why EACH wrong answer choice was wrong. (Even if you got the question right. A huge part of the learning it not just doing the question, but also studying it after you check the answer and making sure you understand the rule and any nuance of the rule that’s being tested.) Jonathan Grossman’s Adaptibar videos are also highly entertaining but VERY straightforward and practical.

For the PR essay, Brian’s Magicsheets and Aproposheets broke down exactly what you need to know and practice for issue spotting (just like with all the other essay topics.) For the PT, I had heard good things about Bar MD’s videos and those ended up being pretty solid. You don’t need to go crazy with practicing 50 PTs, but you should probably practice writing out at least a few so you’re prepared to write the PT in the format that the bar graders are looking for and in the time constraint you’ll have on the actual exam.

As for general advice, I would say that you know how you, personally, best study, and if a certain method isn’t working and another method seems like it might be better, don’t be afraid to try it.

January 1, 2024

Happy New Year. Just wanted to give you a pretty cool update. The other day out of curiosity I was skimming over the answers that the State Bar recently released for the essays. I didn’t actually really notice any big issues that I missed in any of the essays. I was almost shocked. I really don’t think that would have happened without the Magicsheets and Apoposheets. (Right before the exam, I basically just used the Magicsheets and Aproprosheets to guide me as to what I would write for any possible topic and it apparently ended up matching the sample answers pretty well in terms of issue identification!!)

Text version (before and after taking the bar exam)

July 18, 2023

Just wanted to let you know how good your Magicsheets and Apropsheets are. I have the CA bar exam next week and am very annoyed with myself that I didn’t get them sooner. (I just got them the other week.) I realized I wasted time with one of the mainstream bar prep companies and trusting their process too much. Earlier this summer, I began focusing more on other resources such as Adaptibar, the Mary Basick CA essay book, and the Emanuel Strategies and Tactics and realized the extent to which other resources were better than the mainstream companies. Then I finally got your Magicsheets despite the narrative from other people that I didn’t need them and that I should just focus on what the bar prep company gave me so I wouldn’t overcomplicate things.

In hindsight, I should have gotten them during 3L and spent my free time just “cooking” essays and memorizing issues during my last year of law school. I’m a little concerned about what’s going to happen with the July exam (since essays are much tougher for me, personally, than MBE and I didn’t get your products until recently), but if I need to take it again in February, I know I’ll have a much better approach.

July 18, 2023

Thank you, Brian. The narrative was basically a combination of “do whatever the big bar prep companies tell you” and “don’t try to combine too many different rule statements from different sources.” (i.e., Why would you need Magicsheets if you already are looking at rule statements from the Mary Basick book and the bar prep outlines.)

I’m not really great at memorizing but am better at coming up with SOME kind of BS to connect laws to a fact pattern. On the exam, we know that there will be a Professional responsibility question, so I’m preparing to be taking your “clients love fierce counsel, courts feel differently” mnemonic and go through each duty and try to find SOMETHING in the fact pattern to write about.

I also saw on your blog where you had some samples of score sheets from actual students who did not pass in the past. That was actually very helpful to give me a better understanding, so that you for that as well. 

July 19, 2023

Thank you, Brian. I totally agree with you that it’s about the training itself more than the tool. That being said, if you don’t have the right tools, that can impact your training. In your Serena Williams analogy, it seems like, for me, the mainstream companies were more comparable to playing tennis on a video game while the combination of Magicsheets/Adaptibar/Mary Basick/Emanuel is more like actually practicing playing tennis. (But of course, I agree that someone using those tools ineffectively and lazily probably wouldn’t do as well as if they had worked hard using the mainstream approach.)

By the way, do you have any idea if those numbers for the MBE in the reports on the screenshots are specifically percentage of questions correct or if they are actually percentiles? The screenshots say percent, but your blog references percentiles and that would make sense. If it’s percentiles, it actually seems like if you can just score in the 65-ish percentile (i.e. better than 65 percent of other people), then that COULD give a lot of breathing room to have some mediocre essays (i.e., the majority of the essays in the 55-ish range)—if I’m looking at these numbers correctly.

That all being said, I realize that my time is better spent just cooking some essays and seeing what happens rather than worrying about the exact numbers. (I’m just trying to get some slight peace of mind.)

Thanks so much for answering these questions and hopefully I’ll be finished with this process next week. If not, I know I’ll be using your product for next February.

July 27, 2023

After taking the bar exam on Tuesday and Wednesday, I can now confirm that if I’m able to scrape by and pass it was because I started using your products (as well as things such as the Mary Basick book, Adpatibar and Emanuel) rather than mainstream bar prep. If I don’t pass, then I know I’ll need to spend more time on the stuff that I figured out works. (There’s nothing I could have done more with the mainstream bar prep materials that would have helped on those essays that the Magicsheets and the Mary Basik book wouldn’t have been more effective.) But I still really don’t want to have to do this process again.

It’s annoying because when I was sitting there doing the essays, I was realizing that if I had the Magicsheets/Approsheets in front of me, the essays might actually be easy. For me, the biggest thing is just memorization, so it would have been much better if I had been working with those tools the whole time.

On the other hand, when I was going into the convention center on Day #2, the guy behind me in line was telling me he didn’t know he was supposed to use the cases from the library from the previous day’s performance test. So at least I wasn’t in his position!


Some screenshots were removed at John’s request.

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