Preparing for the MEE: NCBE Analyses v. Actual Applicant Responses

More than 40 jurisdictions administer the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) as part of their bar examinations. This includes the 35 or so jurisdictions that have already adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE).

If you’re preparing for the MEE, it’s important to review the analyses that the National Conference of Bar Examiners release for each test. (The NCBE has posted analyses from 2009 to 2013 on its website and makes others available for purchase through its online store. Some state boards of law examiners also make the same analyses publicly available on their own websites, for free.)

The NCBE’s analyses are illustrative of the discussions that might appear in excellent answers to the questions. These analyses are provided to those jurisdictions administering the MEE to assist their graders in grading the examination. As a result, they are good study and review tools for examinees, particularly in helping them identify narrow issues, understand the rules tested, and develop alternative explanations and counterarguments.

However, because the NCBE’s analyses address all the legal and factual issues the drafters intended to raise in the questions and provide alternative arguments based on facts or differing prevailing laws, these analyses are not necessarily model responses or answers that applicants can realistically draft in 30 minutes under test conditions. No worries, though—incorporating just a portion of the information contained in the NCBE’s analyses often leads to very high scores.

For a better perspective on what a strong response looks like—one that is written by an actual applicant under timed, testing conditions—you should take a look at the applicant responses that some state boards of law examiners have posted on their websites.

At least three states—Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York—release actual applicant answers that typically received scores superior to the average score awarded for the relevant essay. For the most part, these applicant answers have been reprinted without change, except for minor editing.

While these essays should not be viewed as “model” answers and, thus, should not be used as a means for learning the law tested on the examination, they are generally posted by the jurisdiction to illustrate the general length and quality of responses that earned above-average scores on the relevant essay.

Here are the three states that post applicant responses to MEE questions, along with the state’s first administration of the UBE.

Minnesota (UBE First Administration Date: February 2014)

https://www.ble.mn.gov/bar-exam/representative-good-answers/

New Jersey (UBE First Administration Date: February 2017)

https://www.njbarexams.org/bar-exam-questions-and-sample-answers

New York (UBE First Administration Date: July 2016)

https://www.nybarexam.org/ExamQuestions/ExamQuestions.htm