The Goodson Blogson does not wish to scare you, but there are just a few weeks left until the July bar exam. If you are one of the thousands who will sit for the exam at the end of this month, you may be interested in some additional study resources at the Goodson Law Library.
In our online catalog, try a subject keyword search for “Bar examinations—United States—Study guides”. This will retrieve some helpful resources for any bar exam, including an updated 2010 edition of Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (on Reserve) and other titles like The Essential Rules for Bar Exam Success (KF303 .F75 2008).
If you’re interested in seeing past exams from North Carolina, start at the NC Board of Law Examiners site. This site offers past exams from 2005-2007 free for download, for those who would like a peek at the structure of state-specific essay questions. (Even older essay questions are available in the library at the call number KFN7476 .N671, but the latest exam available in print is 2003.) The North Carolina Bar Association has also prepared a brief guide to Drafting a Bar Exam Essay Answer (KFN7476.Z9 D73 2004), with tips and tricks for NC test takers. An updated (2009) version of this pamphlet is available in PDF at http://younglawyers.ncbar.org/media/300925/09draftingexamanswer.pdf.
For bar examinations in other states, there is a collection of past exams in the Microforms Collection on Level 1 of the library (cabinet # 35, top drawer). Available dates vary by state, although many of the most popular bar exam destinations for Duke Law (such as California and New York) have received past exams up to July 2009. To see what years are available for a particular state, search the Duke Libraries catalog for the subject keywords bar examinations and [state]; e.g. bar examinations and Maryland. Note that many states also make past exams available for free on their bar exam websites, such as New York’s page of Past Exam Questions, which may be more up-to-date than our microfiche collection. Visit http://www.ncbex.org/bar-admissions/offices/ to locate the Board of Law Examiners site for your state.
Good luck to all of our July 2010 exam-takers!
In our online catalog, try a subject keyword search for “Bar examinations—United States—Study guides”. This will retrieve some helpful resources for any bar exam, including an updated 2010 edition of Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (on Reserve) and other titles like The Essential Rules for Bar Exam Success (KF303 .F75 2008).
If you’re interested in seeing past exams from North Carolina, start at the NC Board of Law Examiners site. This site offers past exams from 2005-2007 free for download, for those who would like a peek at the structure of state-specific essay questions. (Even older essay questions are available in the library at the call number KFN7476 .N671, but the latest exam available in print is 2003.) The North Carolina Bar Association has also prepared a brief guide to Drafting a Bar Exam Essay Answer (KFN7476.Z9 D73 2004), with tips and tricks for NC test takers. An updated (2009) version of this pamphlet is available in PDF at http://younglawyers.ncbar.org/media/300925/09draftingexamanswer.pdf.
For bar examinations in other states, there is a collection of past exams in the Microforms Collection on Level 1 of the library (cabinet # 35, top drawer). Available dates vary by state, although many of the most popular bar exam destinations for Duke Law (such as California and New York) have received past exams up to July 2009. To see what years are available for a particular state, search the Duke Libraries catalog for the subject keywords bar examinations and [state]; e.g. bar examinations and Maryland. Note that many states also make past exams available for free on their bar exam websites, such as New York’s page of Past Exam Questions, which may be more up-to-date than our microfiche collection. Visit http://www.ncbex.org/bar-admissions/offices/ to locate the Board of Law Examiners site for your state.
Good luck to all of our July 2010 exam-takers!