Quality Over Quantity: Tips for Improving MBE Performance

When preparing for the bar exam, a common question arises: "How many multiple-choice questions should I complete?"

While it’s tempting to think that more is always better, the reality is that the quality of your practice is far more important than the sheer number of questions you complete. Focusing on quality over quantity will not only enhance your understanding but also improve your chances of passing the bar exam.

The belief that completing thousands of questions is the best way to prepare for the Multistate Bar Examination is widespread. However, this approach often leads to burnout and superficial learning. Memorizing questions and answers might help in the short term, but it does little to deepen your understanding of the underlying legal principles or improve your analytical skills.

To improve your performance on multiple-choice questions, prioritize quality practice sessions. Here’s how to do it effectively:

✅ Set Realistic Goals

Instead of trying to complete a high number of questions each day, aim for a more manageable target, such as 30-50 questions. This allows you to spend ample time reviewing each one thoroughly.

Here are some concrete actionable steps you can incorporate into your review:

• Create Daily Targets: Set a daily goal of completing 30-50 multiple-choice questions.

• Schedule Testing Blocks: Allocate specific times each day dedicated to both answering questions and reviewing them. For instance, spend an hour in the morning and another in the evening.

• Use a Timer: Simulate exam conditions by using a timer to complete each set of questions. This helps build time management skills crucial for the actual exam.

• Track Progress: Maintain a log of your daily and weekly question count to ensure consistency and identify patterns in your practice.

✅ Engage in Active Learning

Engage actively with each question. Don’t just mark an answer and move on—consider why each answer choice is right or wrong. This process helps you internalize the legal concepts and apply them effectively.

Consider these practical steps to enhance your learning:

• Analyze Questions: After answering a question, write down why you chose your answer and why the other options are incorrect.

• Discuss Questions: Discuss particularly challenging questions with study partners or professors to gain different perspectives and deeper understanding.

• Create Hypothetical Scenarios: Create your own hypothetical scenarios related to the question to explore the application of the legal principles in various contexts.

• Use Mind Maps and Other Visual Aids: Use mind maps or flow charts to visually organize and connect different legal principles.

✅ Conduct Thorough Review of Explanatory Answers

Reviewing explanatory answers is crucial. Take the time to understand not only why the correct answer is right but also why the other options are wrong. This deep dive into the explanations is where real learning occurs.

Here are some effective actions to integrate into your study sessions:

• Allocate Appropriate Time: A rule of thumb is that you should spend, at a minimum, the same amount of time reviewing the explanatory answers as you spent working through the question. That means, in the mean, you could be spending at least three minutes answering the question and reviewing the explanatory answer since you have given 1.8 minutes per question to complete each multiple-choice question on the bar exam.

• Highlight Key Points: Use highlighters or digital tools to mark key legal principles and rules in the explanations. Carefully reviewing the rules of law in the explanatory answers is important for the essay portion for the bar exam, too, because concepts tested on the MBE are also fair game to be tested on the MEE.

• Maintain Error Log: Maintain a log of questions you got wrong, including the explanations and key takeaways. Regularly review this log to track your improvement.

• Create Summaries: Summarize the explanations and key points in a separate study guide or flashcards. Review these summaries regularly to reinforce learning.

Remember: quality trumps quantity. It’s not about how many questions you answer—it’s about how well you understand the material and can apply it when it counts. Prioritize quality in your practice sessions, and you’ll be well on your way to success on the bar exam.