The Predictability of Combos
I’m a terrible eater, and it’s especially worse when I travel. You might have found yourself in the same situation if you were able to travel this holiday weekend.
Whenever I travel—whether it’s the weekly Ohio-to-Tennessee-and-back commutes or trips elsewhere—I usually grab something at a fast-food chain’s drive-through and devour it while still driving to the final destination.
My go-to meal is usually the Cheeseburger Combo Meal from McDonald's that includes two cheeseburgers resembling hockey pucks, medium fries, and a medium Sprite or Diet Coke. It doesn’t taste great, but it’s the ultimate car-friendly combo. Except for the occasional minced onion that might escape the buns, there’s hardly anything from that McDonald’s combo meal that might end up on my clothing while driving. If it weren’t for potential stained-shirt disasters, my McDonald’s combo meal of choice would certainly be the McRib meal.
The Cheeseburger Combo Meal is also predictable. There's that knowledge of consistency in the food, whether I'm ordering the combo meal in Williamsburg, KY, or Rocky Top, TN, that leads to the food's attractiveness. You always know what you're going to get. I know how the Cheeseburger Combo Meal is going to taste, and I know how my body is going to react to it.
For the best combo meals from all the major fast-food restaurants, check out this article on the pop-culture website UPROXX. (Spoiler alert: The cheeseburger and McRib meals didn’t make the list for McDonald’s.)
Speaking of combos, the MEE portion of the bar exam may test a combination of multiple subjects in a single question. It’s rare—but it happens—and you should make sure you don’t go into an essay question with such narrow vision where you fail to identify issues that might be beyond the main subject at play.
There are some natural and predictable combinations of subjects on the MEE, like Agency and Partnership, or Criminal Procedure and Conflict of Laws, or Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure, or Wills and Trusts.
Since 2008, these MEE essays below have tested multiple subjects in a single question. If you're familiar with how subjects might be combined, you won't be caught off guard on exam day. After all, you never want to be surprised on exam day, just like I don't like to be unnecessarily surprised during my drives.
Agency
July 2008 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2009(Agency and Partnership)
July 2010 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2011 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2012 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2013 (combined with Torts)
February 2014 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2015 (combined with Torts)
February 2016 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2018 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2019 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2018 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2019 (Agency and Partnership)
Early September 2020 (combined with Corporations)
Late September 2020 and October 2020 Remote (Agency and Partnership)
Civil Procedure
February 2009 (combined Conflict of Laws)
February 2012 (combined Conflict of Laws)
July 2017 (combined Conflict of Laws)
July 2019 (combined Constitutional Law)
Conflict of Laws (currently only tested alongside another subject)
July 2008 (combined with Family Law)
February 2009 (combined with Civil Procedure)
July 2011 (combined with Family Law)
February 2012 (combined with Civil Procedure)
July 2012 (combined with Wills)
February 2017 (combined with Family Law)
July 2017 (combined with Civil Procedure)
July 2019 (combined with Wills)
Constitutional Law
July 2019 (combined with Civil Procedure)
July 2020 (combined with Corporations)
Contracts and Sales
July 2010 (combined with Negotiable Instruments) (Negotiable Instruments is no longer tested on the MEE)
Corporations
July 2020 (combined with Constitutional Law)
Early September 2020 (combined with Agency)
Criminal Law
July 2009 (Combined with Criminal Procedure)
February 2014 (Combined with Criminal Procedure)
Criminal Procedure
July 2009 (Combined with Criminal Law)
February 2014 (Combined with Criminal Law)
July 2016 (Combined with Evidence)
July 2017 (Combined with Evidence)
Evidence
July 2016 (Combined with Criminal Procedure)
July 2017 (Combined with Criminal Procedure)
Family Law
July 2008 (combined with Conflict of Laws)
July 2011 (combined with Conflict of Laws)
February 2017 (combined with Conflict of Laws)
Partnership
July 2008 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2009(Agency and Partnership)
July 2010 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2011 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2012 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2014 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2016 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2018 (Agency and Partnership)
July 2018 (Agency and Partnership)
February 2019 (Agency and Partnership)
Late September 2020 and October 2020 Remote (Agency and Partnership)
Torts
July 2013 (combined with Agency)
February 2015 (combined with Agency)
July 2017 (combined with Agency)
Trusts
February 2013 (combined with Wills)
February 2015 (combined with Wills)
July 2020 (combined with Wills
Wills
July 2012 (combined with Conflict of Laws)
February 2013 (combined with Trusts)
February 2015 (combined with Trusts)
July 2019 (combined with Conflict of Laws)
July 2020 (combined with Trusts)
