This is 7 of 10 posts on exams, also known as “The Exam Series,” created by collaborators Amanda Bynum (Professor of Practice, Law | Director, Bar & Academic Success | The University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law); Shane Dizon (Associate Professor of Academic Success | Director, Academic Success Program | Brooklyn Law School); Halle B. Hara (Professor and Director of the Academic Success Program | Capital University Law School); Jacquelyn Rogers (Associate Professor of Law | Academic Success & Bar Preparation | Southwestern Law School); and Sarira A. Sadeghi (The Sam & Ash Director of Academic Achievement | Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University).
During-Exam Topics
Be Aware of Potential Honor Code Violations. Many ethical issues can arise with respect to take-home exams, so be sure to determine your law school’s applicable policy. Pay particular attention to:
What type of collaboration, if any, is permitted. Almost every law school will have a policy that disallows student collaboration. Although the temptation to engage in prohibited collaboration may increase when physical presence in the building is not required, the potential penalty for such a violation is no less harsh. Think possible expulsion or character and fitness. Unless the instructions explicitly provide otherwise, once the exam has been distributed, avoid all contact with classmates. Do not work together to create a plan or an outline. Do not prepare, write, or edit answers together. At bottom, the exam answer needs to be yours and yours alone. Similarly, do not discuss the exam with mentors, coworkers, spouses, or anyone with a J.D. during your exam period.
What sources you may consult during the exam. The sources you can use on an open-book exam vary. In some circumstances, you will be permitted to use only a single book, such as the Uniform Commercial Code. In others, you may use the book in addition to an outline. Finally, some open-book exams will allow you to consult your text, your outlines or notes, and study aids. Determine if your law school has adopted a universal definition of “open book” that governs all of your exams. If not, know what each exam allows so as to avoid ethical problems. In sum, ignorance of the policy will not be an excuse for an honor code violation.
Whether copying and pasting into the exam is allowed. On open-book exams, there is a temptation to copy and paste material from an outline. You need to examine whether this is permissible and whether you are permitted to retype directly from work that is not your own, such as a commercial outline, a text, or a secondary source. Consider that the latter will almost certainly constitute plagiarism and a violation of the Honor Code. If you retype anything, it must be from material that you created yourself.
Create and follow an exam schedule. After reading over the exam: the first problem to tackle is a math problem. Just as you would during an in-person essay exam, give yourself internal deadlines based on the weight (if provided) or perceived difficulty of the sections. In other words, figure out how much time will you allocate to each section. Be specific. For example, decide upon a time that will you start and stop writing your essay exam answer. This means more than: essay (30 minutes) and multiple choice (30 minutes). Rather, an exam schedule will use and stick to specific times, such as: 10:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. essay question – plan from 10:00 a.m. - 10:12 a.m.; write from 10:12 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.; multiple choice from 10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (5 questions so approx. 4 minutes per question). During your online take-home exams, have scrap paper handy to keep track of your schedule. After all, the real benefit of creating the schedule is following it.
Plan and Organize Your Answer. Although many academic skills fall into the “discover-what-works-for-you” category, planning and organizing your essay answer isn’t one of them. It is not optional. It is nearly impossible to write a strong answer without a plan. Imagine yourself opening your exam, the timer starting, and you jump right in. Some students do this, fearing they will lose precious time on traditional race-horse exams. That is a mistake. A big one. The very nature of law school exams requires critical thought and analysis. Consequently, the value of the planning and outlining time cannot be overstated. This does not change with open book exams.
Please add your questions, comments, or concerns in the comments.