While an at-home, open-book exam may sound like an alien concept in law school, the goal of assessment remains the same—you are being tested on your ability to recognize issues, articulate the relevant law, and apply that law to a new set of facts and circumstances to reach a reasoned conclusion. To correctly identify the issues triggered in a fact pattern, you must understand how the legal issues operate under a variety of factual scenarios. Consequently, you must have a clear understanding of the legal rules, and, just as importantly, have mastered articulating the arguments and counter-arguments that can arise. Thus, successful open-book examinees prepare for the exam with the same amount of effort and practice as one would for a closed-book exam.
That does not mean that you avoid making any changes to your exam preparation strategies. Indeed, you should be strategic about implementing a plan that maximizes the benefit of “open book.” As we will explain, it is helpful to recognize that:
Having more resources during an exam isn’t necessarily better. Simply having more resources, like multiple outlines, handouts, study aids, and every note you ever took in the course, does not equate to a better exam answer. If you engage in practice exams under exam conditions, you will realize quickly that certain resources, like your voluminous casebook, will be of no use at all. At bottom, more does not mean better.
Favoring quality of time over quantity of time leads to better results. For extended-time exams (e.g., 24 hours), it is important to recognize that the quantity of time does not necessarily improve the quality of the writing. Extended-time, open-book exams can lead to writing and re-writing to the point of exhaustion. Heed your professor’s advice for the recommended time. You need gas in your tank for the rest of exams. And who hasn’t changed an answer on a multiple-choice exam during “extra time” only to discover that their first instinct was indeed correct? And as we will discuss in detail later, professors may impose page, word, or character limits on student answers, so you may not get to write a novel anyways!
You still need to know the law cold. Time-limited, open-book exams may allow you to double-check one or two pieces of information. You will likely spend the rest of the time planning and writing just as you would for a closed-book exam. It should go without saying that you shouldn’t plan on learning how a given rule works during the exam. There is no avoiding that, to perform well, you need to memorize, despite the fact that you will have access to material. You may even find that there isn’t time to consult your materials at all
Effective strategies to maximize the open-book format include modifying your course outline so it operates as an effective tool for locating information during the exam. This deliberate, thoughtful organization will allow you to use your outline easily, methodically, and quickly. Further, engaging in the process of thoughtful organization will also help you understand the material that much better.
Have general questions, concerns, or something to add? We’d love to hear from you in the comments. Keep going—you can do this!