Author’s Note: Some years ago I prepared this little essay for the guidance of my students. When the essay began to circulate elsewhere, West Publishing volunteered to publish it in these pages with the thought that it might be of help to a wider audience. I
hope it is. Law examinations share a good deal in common with other stock forms of legal riting, such as the brief, the law office memorandum, and the judicial opinion.
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Developing proper skills of exam writing will have, therefore, permanent returns. Ideally, a good law examination tests how well a student has mastered the course material, and the ability to apply this knowledge to new situations. There are, however, some recurrent mistakes, oversights and unwise practices that prevent tudents from doing as well as they might. If you are alert to avoiding these pitfalls, ou will improve your
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examination results.