Superb Owls and Superb Exam Writing: A Timely Reminder
Every year, as Super Bowl LIX weekend approaches, the internet lights up with images of owls—majestic, wise, and, well, superb. Why? Because of a common typo: instead of "Super Bowl," some people inadvertently type "Superb Owl" (shifting the "b" from "bowl" to the end of "super"). What started as an innocent mistake has now become a beloved internet tradition, with Google searches for "Superb Owl" spiking just as football fans prepare for the big game.
This year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles is set to take place this Sunday, making it the perfect time for a friendly reminder: if you’re taking the bar exam, watch your spelling in your essay and performance test responses—whether those misspellings come from simple typos, overzealous autocorrect, or sheer exam-day exhaustion.
While boards of law examiners typically state that their graders do not formally assess responses for spelling, grammar, or writing style, the reality is that misspellings can still affect how your response is received. Take, for example, the guidance from the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners: "While the essay examination is not an examination in grammar, spelling, or writing style, the cogency and coherence of your reasoning and discussion are being tested."
In other words, careless errors may not cost you points directly, but they could make your writing more difficult to follow, leading graders to spend extra time deciphering your argument—time that could instead be spent recognizing the strength of your legal analysis.
Here are some practical tips to avoid superb owl-esque mistakes on the bar exam:
✅ Double-check given names. If the exam question provides a name for a party or case, use it exactly as written.
✅ Watch out for plurals and possessives. Common mix-ups like "its" vs. "it’s" or "their" vs. "they’re" can subtly disrupt readability.
✅ Keep legal terminology precise. Misstating key terms (e.g., "estoppel" vs. "estopple") could weaken your credibility.
Ultimately, while the graders won’t be docking points for grammar-school errors, you don’t want to give them any reason to struggle with your writing. A clearly written response ensures they focus on your substantive legal arguments, not deciphering an accidental "Superb Owl."
What are some commonly misspelled words that you might encounter on the essays? Here are some misspelled words I’ve noticed over my years of teaching (with the common misspellings in parentheses):
Agency
📖 Principal (not “principle”)
📖 Respondeat superior (not “respondent superior”)
Civil Procedure
📖 Collateral estoppel (not “collateral estopell”)
📖 Joinder (not “joiner”)
📖 Judgment (not "judgement")
📖 Res judicata (not “race judicata”)
📖 Supplemental (not “supplementel”)
Conflict of Law
📖 Erie doctrine (not “Eerie doctrine”)
Constitutional Law
📖 Imminent lawless action (not “imminant lawless action”)
📖 Statute (not “statue”)
Contracts and Sales
📖 Guarantee (not “garantee” or “guaranty”)
📖 Parol Evidence Rule (not “Parole Evidence Rule”)
📖 Statute of Frauds (not “Statutes of Fraud” or Statue of Frauds”)
Corporations and LLCs
📖 De jure corporation (not “de jury corporation”)
📖 Dissociation (not “disassociation”)
Criminal Law
📖 Actus reus (not “actus rea”)
📖 Embezzlement (not “embezzelment”)
📖 Mens rea (not “mens reus”)
Criminal Procedure
📖 Plain view exception (not “plane view exception”)
📖 Waiver (not “waver”)
Evidence
📖 Admissible (not “addmissible”)
📖 Marital communications (not “martial communications”)
📖 Relevant (not “relevent”)
Family Law
📖 Marital property (not “martial property”)
Partnership
📖 Dissociation (not “disassociation”)
📖 Remuneration (not “renumeration”)
Real Property
📖 Adverse possession (not “adverse posession” or “adverse possesion”)
📖 Conveyance (not “convayance”)
📖 Covenant (not “covenent”)
📖 Covenant of seisin (not “covenant of season”)
📖 Foreclosure (not “forclosure”)
📖 Quiet enjoyment (not “quite enjoyment”)
Secured Transactions
📖 Accession (not “acession” or “accesion”)
📖 Judgment lien creditor (not “judgment lein creditor”)
📖 Repossession (not “reposession” or “repossesion”)
Torts
📖 Res ipsa loquitur (not “res ipsa loquitor”)
Trusts
📖 Cy pres (not “Cyprus”)
📖 Settlor (not “settler”)
Wills
📖 Anti-lapse statute (not “anti-laps statute”)
📖 Codicils (not “codiciles”)
📖 Holographic wills (not “halographic wills”)
📖 Intestate succession (not “interstate succession” or “intestate succesion”)
📖 Per stirpes (not “per stripes”)
📖 Pretermitted children (not “pertermitted children”)
So, as you enjoy Super Bowl weekend, let the Superb Owl phenomenon be a lighthearted reminder: attention to detail matters—whether you’re on the field, on the internet, or in the bar exam testing room.
