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Paperback Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams Book

ISBN: 0890897603

ISBN13: 9780890897607

Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

$12.99
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Book Overview

Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader's performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for "right answers," and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations. But the authors don't stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage. In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance.

Customer Reviews

6 customer ratings | 5 reviews

Rated 5 stars
Bought this (almost) too late - don't make the same mistake!

I bought this book after my third year of law school, after being put on academic probation. Basically, I had to get my grades up in a term and a half (summer term plus a full load in the fall), or I wouldn't graduate. I wish I hadn't let things get that bad before I read this book! After reading the book and applying its theory, I was able to raise my GPA from 1.7 to 2.6. This book made a huge difference in the way I...

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Rated 5 stars
Great for improving exam writing, legal analysis, and writing skills

In my first year of law school, my legal writing tutor recommended this book. After reading it, my grades went up, which I believe was partially because of how this book helped me improve writing law school exams. It helps new law students understand what it means to "think like a lawyer." That is, it gives students a framework for analyzing complex issues. Reading this book also significantly increased my performance...

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Rated 5 stars
Impressive rigor

The aim of this book is to help current law students perform well on law school exams. Law school exams are famously ambiguous; hence the title of the book.The title of the book is a play on the title of a classic book about the art of negotiation, called _Getting to Yes_. Implicit in _Getting to Maybe_ is that, unlike a negotiation, performance on law school exams does not require an exact answer or resolution.The method...

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Rated 5 stars
Everyone Needs Help at some point...

Whether you want to believe it or not...taking a law school exam is unlike any exam you took in undergrad. I found that out after I bombed my first exam, and a friend recommended this book. If you do nothing else, skip to the part where it talks about how to write an exam, how to address all the issues that your prof is looking for and "czar of the universe." "Czar" was a section that I found VERY helpful when I had to...

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Rated 5 stars
The Secrets of Success are Secret No More

Getting to Maybe is a Godsend. Even for those of you who've already finished first-year, it's well worth getting.I am the author of Planet Law School: What You Need to Know Before You Go--but Didn't Know to Ask. Unfortunately, Getting to Maybe was first published in 1999, a year after PLS, so I could not recommend it in PLS. Hence this posting, now. Even though the authors and I are competitors, and our books are published...

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