An Unexpected Lesson in Audience Awareness
My oldest son recently went on a school trip to Washington, D.C. While there, he texted my wife pictures of famous monuments—like the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol. Thoughtful, right? Meanwhile, he sent me photos of R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
This wasn’t an accident. It was a masterclass in knowing your audience. He instinctively understood that my wife would appreciate the classic D.C. sights, while I would be far more excited to see two iconic droids from Star Wars. And he was right—his message instantly brought a smile to my face.
This same principle applies to bar legal writing, bar exam essays, and performance tests (like the Multistate Performance Test).
Audience Awareness in the MPT
Performance tests don't just test your ability to analyze legal issues—it tests whether you can adjust your tone, format, and content to suit the specific audience and task. Every performance test includes a “task memo” that tells you exactly who your audience is, and the best responses keep that in mind.
If your audience is a supervising attorney, your response should be professional but not overly formal, with clear legal analysis and well-organized arguments.
If you’re drafting a client letter, the language should be accessible and free of legal jargon, explaining the law in a way that a non-lawyer can understand.
If you’re writing a persuasive brief or memo, your tone should be advocacy-driven, framing arguments in the strongest way possible while maintaining professionalism.
Failing to recognize the audience on the performance test is like sending my wife a picture of R2-D2—well-intentioned but missing the mark.
The Bar Exam is a Communication Test
Bar graders don’t want long-winded discussions or creative legal theories. They want rule statements, structured analysis, and well-reasoned conclusions—delivered in an organized, easy-to-grade format.
The best communicators, whether in law or in life, recognize that different audiences require different approaches. My son may not have realized it, but in choosing which pictures to send, he demonstrated a key skill that every law student and lawyer should develop: understanding what your audience values and delivering it in a way that resonates.
So, the next time you draft a bar exam essay, an MPT response, or even a text message, take a lesson from a kid who nailed it in D.C. and remember—know your audience.
