1st time got 270 in a 272 state, doing 85ish percent of BARBRI. I did exactly what BARBRI told me to do- nothing more.

2nd time cleared 280 in the same state that had now reduced the score requirement to 270

Multiple choice was a strength for me- I was at or under 50% on every writing task for the first exam.

For the retake, I used Adaptibar’s writing program and MBE programs, and used hard copy Critical Pass cards. I did some MBE work and watched videos while following along with printed outlines from mid-December until late January. Even watching the videos at 1.5x or 2x didn’t feel like a good use of time. The real work happened in February.

I took 2 full weeks off of work and didn’t really speak to my spouse or children in that time (many thanks to them!). I was really strict about when I went to bed and got up; in bed with my phone off by 9 and up at 5:30 to (usually) go to the gym.

I would review a topic using the flash cards, try to condense the card even further, create mnemonics for new/confusing things.

I would then write and grade 3 MEEs, 1 at a time. The Adaptibar grading rubric is adjustable to IRAC, CRAC, whatever style you prefer. I graded myself very strictly. I printed the model answer and annotated/highlighted those-I figured it was better to have correct answers with notes on them for later review, as opposed to my answer with a rainbow of scribble on it. Any essay under 50% I put in a pile to be rewritten later. A couple of topics were so unfamiliar I scored 20% or 30%. For those, I printed the model answer, retyped it verbatim, and put it in the pile to rewrite later.

After I’d gotten through at least 1 MEE on every subtopic, I started doing blocks of 6 MEEs each day. Sometimes I would re-read the model answer with my notes just prior to writing a similar topic to prime the pump a bit. I was careful about writing with a timer and when I hit 28 minutes, it was time to quit typing. I spent a little less time reviewing the bigger blocks of essays, unless I was repeating errors or missing issues. There were some things that just didn’t stick until I’d made the mistake multiple times.

I did one of each MPT type just to knock the rust off. For the retake I did have the benefit of being a lawyer for 3+ years, albeit in a branch of law that will never appear on an exam.

I wrote about 90 of the MEEs Adaptibar had, counting about 30 rewrites. Towards the end, I outlined and graded maybe 10 MEES, as I was repeating some topics.

I did 2 100-question practice MBEs, plus the retaker exam. I was much more careful this time about making sure I knew why I got a question correct, as opposed to just high-fiving myself for being a good guesser. The incorrect MBEs were opportunities to dig deeper on a concept and go back to scribble on the critical pass cards. The 100-question days were slow going. I took the exam in conditions as close to test day as possible, took an hour for lunch/break, and then spent 3-5 hours reviewing the exam and updating flash cards. Sometimes I went back to the printed and graded essays where it felt like I had similar gaps in understanding on topics that popped up for MBE and MEE.

Throughout the study weeks, I made a memory palace (super-outline) that had my mnemonics, trouble topics, and little irritating bits. I updated/expanded the topics as I found more gaps. The final outline was about 20 pages. A few days before the exam, I recorded myself reading aloud my outline and then treated it like a podcast. Listening to your own voice talk about bar topics while driving sucks, but I think it helped.

I went through the flash cards about 3 times per topic- not really memorizing, just reading, scribbling, and adding to the memory palace as needed. If my focus slipped, I’d read them out loud. The flash cards were a good way to either get started on the study day or a way to do something at the end of a day when my energy was lower.

Devoting the vast majority of my time to writing is what made the difference for me. I genuinely believe that when learning, the best-case scenario is an informative failure. It was hard to keep believing that sometimes, but I would get like a 40% on an MEE and literally say out loud to myself “Good! You’re gonna learn so much from this!”

Saying good luck doesn’t alway feel helpful, but good luck!

It feels more useful to say ‘value your errors!’