how to write bar exam essays pdf

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Many state bar associations post former bar exam essay questions and sample answers on their websites. These model answers are useful for studying for the bar and final exams.

Search online for state bar exam questions and answers, or use the list provided at the bottom of this page. Access is free.

• Try writing a response to a practice question, then comparing your response to the model answer.
• Some bar exam questions require the application of state law (e.g., California civil procedure), and may not be helpful if you are studying federal law. Read the question carefully. 
• Subject coverage will vary by exam and by state.

1L Subjects:

• Civil Procedure (federal and state questions)
• Constitutional Law
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2L/3L Subjects:

• Business Organizations
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• Professional Responsibility/Ethics
• Secured Transactions (Uniform Commercial Code 2)
• Wills & Trusts

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• UBE  (Many of the states on this list administer the UBE, but the states offer more recent model essay answers than the UBE)
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Bar Exam Preparation

Dominating the Essays: Organize Issues and Prioritize Rules to Know on the Bar Exam

Ever wonder how you’re supposed to juggle everything in your head? How do you prioritize the rules to know for the bar exam?

How are you supposed to learn all this when time is tight? How do you tackle the massive body of rules to know?

How do you know you’ve completed the essay in full? Did you even talk about the correct issues? Are the graders going to give you the points? Are they even going to read your prose?!

You’d love to start practicing essays but feel like you just haven’t learned enough law yet. It’s overwhelming to even begin.

At least the answer is right there in MBE questions… If you’re a bar taker struggling with coming up with what to write, essays are the bane of your existence. Your rambling paragraphs start to blur.

Let’s breathe. We can simplify the essays and make them less scary…

Key takeaways:

• Issues: Learn not just the rules but also how to present and organize the issues (with examples below)
• Rules: Highest-priority issues and rules are those that have appeared in the past (there are two other priorities)
• There are efficient and effective ways to hit both of the above at once

Know not just the rules but also the issues

Put yourself in the essay grader’s shoes for a moment…, so now, as the applicant, what can you do to get the most points on the essays, 1) don’t write like a lawyer. write like a bar taker., 2) organize the issues., prioritize memorizing the rules and issues in this order…, 1) issues and rules that have appeared in past exams, including main issues, sub-issues, defenses, 2) issues and rules deemed important, 3) other fringe issues and rules that might come up (rule against perpetuities, anyone), take your practicing and memorizing to the next level.

Before getting into how to prioritize the rules for the bar exam, I need to emphasize something else first.

After working with readers and coaching clients over the years, there are two things that have become apparent:

• Writing essays on the bar exam is NOT about writing like a lawyer
• Issues are king (I talk about this more in this video )

That’s why gaining experience and intuition through writing bar essays is so helpful. You won’t be too surprised or lost on what to write about during the exam.

Meanwhile, some bar takers think they have to write a beautiful treatise so that bar graders can put on a monocle, do a deep literary analysis of the romance between P and D, and press it against their chest while looking out the window because your prose tugged at their heart.

The graders couldn’t care less about that LOL

If it helps, think about the time you watched someone slowly lose interest in you while being unable to do anything about it. And how futile texting them your thoughtful walls of text was.

You sigh at the pile of essay answers that waits for you every day.

You have thousands of the same shitty ass essays to sift through. You have to try to be consistent and fair across all those essays. You try your best at your thankless job, and all they do is complain about your “subjectivity.”

You also want to get through these essays as quickly as possible since you’re already getting underpaid. You’re already reading these answers while at the red light or sitting on the toilet. Your life is blurring together.

Perhaps it’s time to cut corners. Maybe just look for the headings and scan for keywords in the analysis…

This becomes a fairly mechanical process once you get through several similar issue patterns. Like fact patterns , there are corresponding issue patterns .

Prior law experience or creative writing will detract from answering the way graders want you to.

Practicing attorneys tend to not do as well on bar essays because this is a SEPARATE skill from real practice.

How do you write the way the graders want to see? Write like a bar taker instead:

Make the issues loud and clear. Punch the grader in the eyes by creating clear headings. Break out the sub-issues and elements into their own “street signs” for the grader.

Here’s an example of a major issue ( Contract Formation ) and an element (Offer) clearly called out, and their corresponding principles (rule statements):

In fact, being able to identify (or “spot”) and organize the issues is at least as important as knowing the rules. ( Here’s how to make issue identification a systematic process. )

It’s not about long-winded analyses or writing beautiful rule statements (neither got me to pass the first time).

Issues are where everything starts. An IRAC can’t sprout (and you get no points) from a seed that’s never planted.

Identifying the relevant issues is a signal to the grader that you understand what’s being tested. Rules and applications will naturally cascade down from the issues like a waterfall. Yes, you still want the meat of your answer written well.

Think of it as submitting a resume (or texting a girl). Hit the main points that the reader will care about. You’re but one out of a pile. Just a number. A hassle to go through. Better make the most out of the 10-15 seconds of the recruiter’s attention.

There is a certain logic and order to how you approach each issue.

Example of how to organize a call of the question in an Evidence essay:

You can even start to notice common issues that clump together (that you should discuss to get as many points as possible):

Here’s one for a Civil Procedure essay. Just plug and play the rules:

This is like 75% of the essay, so don’t freak out if it looks like a lot. But it’s a lot more structured than trying to start by typing a mess of words, right?

The best part: These issues clumps repeat! There are issue patterns like I said above. So if you see another SMJ or PJ question, just plug and play the same thing as here.

Outlining the issues and filling in the blanks should become a routine process because you will have seen the patterns so many times. Success is boring, not sexy.

If you have issues outlined like this, you’re pretty much home free. Do this for every essay, and you’ll know how to solve similar essays that appear on the bar exam.

OK, so that was about issues. Now about prioritizing rules…

Of course, you still need to know the law corresponding to the issues you identify. But if you need to prioritize, narrow the field of issues and rules in this order:

Issues and rules that have been tested a lot tend to be tested again. The more they’ve been tested, the more important they are.

Learn the important issues and rules by solving problems from the past and studying the answers.

• Find a collection of past essays and PTs here (for the California and Uniform Bar Exams).
• Find real MBE questions from sources such as Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE or AdaptiBar .
• Here are the biggest (highly tested) areas on the MBE.

You don’t need to have “learned enough law yet” before you dive into the pool! Trying to ensure that is exactly how I failed the California Bar Exam my first time.

Knowledge removed from the facts is nothing. It’s all artificial if you don’t know how to use it.

Seeing real problems will be productive because it will reveal what you know and don’t know. It’s like getting on the scale to measure yourself. THEN you can review and fill in the gaps.

The essay and MBE questions you go through now will become familiar fact patterns you might see again on the exam. Practicing and self-critiquing your work help you accomplish everything you seek:

• Getting better at identifying issues
• Memorizing and remembering rules through active recall
• Knowing how to apply the rules you memorized
• Picking the right answer on the MBE more often
• Gaining confidence

In other words, practicing will help solidify everything, including understanding and retaining the important concepts likely to be tested. Exciting!

You may not get through all the past essays, but you may have a feeling that there are issues and rules that would be good to know.

Maybe you’ve seen them around somewhere, maybe in law school or mentioned in a bar prep lecture. Typically, they’re listed in outlines .

You’ll still need to rote memorize these things, unfortunately. MBE questions especially may test you on specific obscure rules.

Note that I continue to mention issues and not just rules. That’s because memorization isn’t just about memorizing rules .

Better to at least get familiar in case they ask you about it.

When I retook the bar exam, there were essay questions I wasn’t sure how to answer because I didn’t know about zoning (issues I didn’t know about) and criminal prosecutor ethical duties (rules I didn’t know).

Even though my life flashed before my eyes thanks to these gaps in knowledge, I still passed the exam by focusing more on the first two priorities during bar prep than absolutely everything at once .

Now you know where to focus if you’re short on time. If you feel tempted to skip over subjects based on predictions , try this approach instead.

It’s still a lot to learn, though.

If you want to make the material more manageable and less overwhelming, check out Magicsheets and Approsheets.

Magicsheets condensed outlines contain all three of the above categories of priority—covering 95% of the testable issues and rules in 5% of the space of your bar prep course content.

Approsheets issue checklists and flowcharts help you hit all the relevant issues on an essay so you can stop having that “blank screen syndrome.”

It’s a no-brainer if you want to invest in your dreams:

• What Should Your Final Preparation Look Like?

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Bar Study Resources: Bar Study - MEE

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WEBSITES - ESSAYS

• NCBE - Preparing for the MEE The MEE is written by the National Council of Bar Examiners (NCBE). This webpage has the questions from a recent actual test of the MEE. It also has both questions and analyses from several older tests.
• MEE - Maryland Exmaples of Good Answers Maryland has provided these actual answers as examples of what scored well. Each jurisdiction provides its own graders for the MEE. Additionally, the grades are ranked according to the pool of answers. This is somewhat analogous to a curve in law school. While there is no guarantee that these answers would score high in your particular pool of test takers, you may find these answers useful and informative.
• MEE - Minnesota Representative Good Answers Minnesota has provided these answers as representative of good answers. Each jurisdiction provides its own graders for the MEE. Additionally, the grades are ranked according to the pool of answers. This is somewhat analogous to a curve in law school. While there is no guarantee that these answers would score high in your particular pool of test takers, you may find these answers useful and informative.

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BarEssays.com Blog

How to properly set up issues and rules in bar essays.

06/22/2021 by baressays

A Guest Column by Brian Hahn of Make This Your Last Time

Last time in the BarEssays blog, I alluded to how issues were the most important component of IRAC in an essay answer .

That’s different from many students’ instincts from law school and school in general—that they need to write more to score higher.

This is not necessarily true. You can write little and score well. It’s not the word count itself that matters, although the word count is indicative of how many issues you’ve identified.

I know we’re already dropping bombshells 20 seconds in. But now you’re already ahead of the curve by arming yourself with these insights.

Let’s see if there’s more you can take away about essay writing for the California Bar Exam, with some specific examples illustrating the above:

• A Professional Responsibility essay that scored a 70, which has short, punchy IRACs courtesy of BarEssays )
• Another example from BarEssays where the word count is low but scored a 65 (PDF link courtesy of BarEssays )
• A client of mine who received a 65 on this 603-word Community Property essay from the recent 2021 February California Bar Exam (courtesy of Make This Your Last Time with permission from the author)

But before we go on, I want to be perfectly clear here:

I’m not suggesting that you write less in order to score high. Generally, shorter answers don’t get high scores because they tend to not discuss important issues the graders are looking for. Conversely, there are many lower-scoring answers that write a good amount (over 1,000 words) or even a lot (over 2,000 words). (Take a look at BarEssays to study more examples like these!)

With the passing scaled score of 1390 in California, an average written raw score of 60-62.5 would likely put you on track to pass (assuming you were also scoring 1390 on the MBE side).

As you saw above, a score of 60 or higher is doable if you can use the relevant issues and rules. Of course, you want to be able to discuss the facts and connect them to the rules, but this is not always the pivotal point as many bar takers assume. In fact, the application part is the easy part.

The hard parts that require understanding of the material are the issues and rules. Once you’re able to set up that issue skeleton and support it with rules, then you’re basically home free.

Even if you write beautiful rules or analyses, if you miss the issues that are intended to be identified, you’re turning in an incomplete answer, and you’ll get a score reflecting that.

To that end, I’m going to share how to set up the issues and rules, and when to go deep into analysis (or not).

How to set up issues and rules for the California Bar Essays

As always, the part we avoid is the thing that will make a bigger difference.

When you open up an essay question and try to answer it, where do you get stuck the most—probably the issues, right?

The blank-page syndrome is where you don’t know where to start writing. It’s less daunting to write something reasonable once you have the issues and rules down.

Fortunately, the bar exam tests you on a limited universe of issues. There are only so many issues they can test you on. And with 20+ years of essays available , many of these issue patterns have repeated over the years.

Consequently, if you’ve seen the past essays, you’ve pretty much seen them all. (You’ll still need to memorize areas that haven’t been tested, although that’s less important than the areas that have been tested frequently before.)

So how do you even find these issues in the essays?

As noted above, there’s a limited set of testable issues.

The issues are triggered by the facts (facts relate to rules, and rules relate to issues). But I never use the phrase “issue spotting.” To me, that implies you wing it and somehow happened to draw the issues out of thin air. As if you will somehow know it when you spot it in the wild.

Rather than a haphazard approach, I found that a systematic approach was more helpful to me (as well as many of my readers through the years).

This is called issue checking : Rather than thinking of it as spotting issues, you are now checking for issues, matching the facts to the known and preexisting issues.

So have a list of issues when you practice your essays. You can make your own, or you can use something like Approsheets ( fact-issue checklists and flowcharts, samples here ) or BarEssays templates which are available as part of a premium BarEssays membership .

If you had something like this set up already, does it seem more doable to write a full essay answer?

For 2015 February Essay 1

Here’s what I suggest when trying to solve those past essays…

List the issues and their corresponding rules. Be able to do this within 10-15 minutes (for California essays).

This is your skeletal outline. Now you can corral the facts from the hypothetical and connect them to the appropriate rules. Incidentally, this is known as essay cooking , a technique that allows you to double or triple your essay practice efficiency.

The “meaty” part of your answer, the application, is more stylistic than anything. The “correct” issues and rules will be relatively consistent. When skimming your answer, the graders will be looking for those over the precise choice of facts you included in your answer.

Speaking of the application part of IRAC, sometimes you want to dial that part up or down, depending on the situation.

When to focus on issues vs. deep analysis in your essay answer

If you see a broad call of the question, focus on identifying issues, less on analysis. Examples of broad calls of question:

• “With what crimes may D be charged?”
• “What ethical obligations did L breach?”
• “What remedies, if any, would be available?”

If you see a narrow call of the question, analyze the facts more. The issue has already been given to you. Examples of narrow calls of question:

• “Is D guilty of robbery?” (Discuss the elements of robbery and the facts relating to each element)
• “Can L ethically withdraw from representing P?” (Discuss mandatory and permissive withdrawals)
• “Did the court rule correctly on the motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction?” (Analyze the various sub-issues of the International Shoe test)

Note that narrow calls may raise sub-issues, nuances, exceptions, and/or defenses.

As you can see, distinguishing broad vs. narrow calls of the question can inform your issues and essay coking.

Should you ping pong?

There’s often a lot of “P would argue… D would argue…” type arguments in student answers.

Now, others may say you need to do this. And you can. But blindly throwing in fake court drama isn’t always the best of use of your limited time.

This style should be used where appropriate , not as a default.

Going off the above distinction between broad and narrow calls, this type of argument may be more useful for narrow calls where you want to be more thorough with your analysis. Or maybe the facts are vague; then you can look at different angles.

With a broad call of the question, the better approach is to argue opposing legal theories (such as a prima facie case vs. defenses) or split views (such as Cardozo and Andrews).

So don’t automatically go into ping-pong mode. Don’t lose sight that issues are key.

If you want to use what you learned here and write better essay answers, take a look at the variety of actual graded answers at BarEssays.com , and supplement with an issue checking aid like Approsheets .

How to Tackle Essay Writing on the Bar Exam

One skill that is expected to be cultivated and refined during law school is the ability to write well. This makes sense, since good writing will be essential for many legal careers. You will likely need to write memos, client letters, motions, petitions, briefs and other legal documents— so good writing is important! Consequently, the bar exam takes note of this and makes writing an essential component of it. 

Whether you’re taking the Multistate Essay Exam or a state-specific bar exam , you will be writing lots of essays during the bar exam and in your preparation for it. So here’s what you need to know about essay writing on the bar exam and strategies you can implement to improve your score.

Check out the most important bar exam essay writing tips below!

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Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) Jurisdictions

Most states use the Multistate Essay Exam. If you’ll be testing in one of these states, here are the basics you need to know:

There are 6 essay questions in total . This part of the test is 3 hours, so you have 30 minutes per question. Also, the subjects for this portion of the test cover:

• Partnerships
• Corporations and limited liability companies
• Civil procedure
• Conflict of laws
• Constitutional law
• Criminal law and procedure
• Real property
• Secured transactions
• Trusts and future interests
• Wills and estates

While any of these topics are fair game, these particular topics make up the majority of the MEE:

• Corporations and LLCs
• Family law and trusts
• Future interests

Consequently, you may want to spend extra time preparing for these areas of the law while also studying for the other subjects. 

The good news is that there are guides you can use to determine the most highly tested essay rules. These bar exam study resources will identify these rules and teach you additional rules of law. 

Here’s another important tip: focus your time on these major rules instead of wasting too much energy on nuanced rules that are less likely to be tested. 

Keep reading for more important study tips to help you pass the MEE:

Bar Essays Studying Tips 

The first part of learning how to tackle the essay writing portion of the bar exam is to develop a solid study plan . Your plan should incorporate the following: 

Learn More About the IRAC Method and Format

You may have used a variety of writing styles in law school, such as IRAC, CRAC or CREAC. However, the IRAC structure is the most commonly used one on the bar exam, and is what bar examiners will expect. Hence, you need to be familiar with this writing system:

• I – Issue
• R – Rule
• A – Analysis
• C – Conclusion

This system ensures that you write concisely and only include the necessary information. It’s not flowery and won’t contain a lot of excess content— which is a good thing, since you’re on such a constrained time limit!

As you practice, read through your answers and label each sentence with an I,R,A, or C . if a sentence cannot be labeled under one of these letters, it probably does not belong.

Practice Essay Writing Each Week

When you spend so much time studying for the bar exam , it may feel tempting to skip practicing the lengthy essay portion of the test. However, this is one of the biggest mistakes made by most test takers. 

Bar essays are an essential component of the test; they can often help leverage a higher score if you don’t do as well on some of the other test portions. Furthermore, while reviewing the rules of law is important, writing about them can show you understand them and know how they apply. 

Basically, don’t leave practicing these essays until the end of your preparation. Instead, make practicing essays part of your weekly study plan!

Practice Under Timed Conditions

When you first begin practicing the essay portion of the bar exam, you may not want to time yourself so that you can be sure you are spotting all the issues and honing your writing style . However, toward the middle of your study time, you will want to start practicing under timed conditions. 

It is not enough to know how to write a good essay. You need to know how to write a good essay quickly . You need to be able to quickly discuss the most important issues and know when not to elaborate on others.

The best way to study for these questions is to find previous MEE questions and practice them under timed conditions. Then, review the analysis to determine how you did.

Review Rules the Last Two Weeks of Your Study

Focus on memorizing as many rules of law as possible during your last two weeks of studying. You’ll need to be able to recall these basic rules as part of your essay writing without hesitation, so be sure that you can recite rules of law without even thinking about them.

Learn More About The BAR Exam

• Take These Steps To Pass The Bar Exam!
• How To Crush The Essay Portion Of The Bar Exam
• How To Study For The BAR While Working Full Time!
• How To Pass The BAR After Failing The First Time
• How To Become A Lawyer

Tips for the Day of the Bar Exam 

Okay, so now it’s the day of the bar exam— you need to know how to truly tackle these questions in the moment of truth. Here’s what you need to do:

Plan The Time You Have for Writing Essays 

Before beginning this portion of the test, you should have a plan on how you will manage your time, such as:

• First 10 minutes: Read the essay prompt. Maybe read it multiple times. Don’t rush this part; your ability to recall this information will be essential to answering the question. Also, outline your answer as you read through the prompt.
• Next 15 – 17 minutes: Write your answer.
• Last 3 to 5 minutes: Review your answer to check for competition and to make necessary edits.

Stick to this timeline for every question. If you start going over 5 minutes on every question, you won’t have enough time to tackle the last question. Ultimately, it’s far better to get out an analysis of all the questions than to answer one question perfectly and not even address another.

Make an Outline

Making an outline can help you organize your thoughts and create a plan on what you will be writing about. Mark up the prompt as you go— you may want to highlight or underline certain information to help your recall later. 

Try to make this outline clear, such as making a bullet list of items related to the prompt. If you run low on time, you can always copy and paste this information to provide a semi-answer to the prompt. Write your rule statement and list the relevant facts that will support your analysis. Also, consider how much time you will need to discuss each subpart of the answer. 

Apply the IRAC Structure

Now it’s time for you to apply what you’ve learned. Use IRAC to fully answer the question. 

Briefly state the issue in a bolded heading. Issues are usually clearly stated on bar exam essay questions rather than hidden in a fact pattern, so this should be an easy way to pick up points. Restate the issue and move onto the next part of your answer. 

State the rules that apply to the case. This is where rote memorization comes into play, since you need to be able to state the proper rule that applies to the question. Bold key terms to show that you know what rules and terms apply. This will get you the points you need on this section.

The summary of rules should be clear and concise and should demonstrate that you understand what is involved. Only address those rules that actually apply to this case and address the specific question. 

Show how the rule applies, given the particular fact pattern. This will be the longest portion of your answer. However, your analysis should still be shorter than your analysis in your legal writing class. You can pick up (or lose) a lot of points in this portion of the answer! You need to demonstrate that you know how to apply the law to the facts. Generally speaking, the more facts you’re able to explain, the higher your score will be.

Most of the facts in the fact pattern will be there for a reason— and you need to explain why these facts matter in your analysis. Provide a step-by-step analysis of how the facts support your conclusion. You may be able to score extra points by identifying counter-arguments or a majority and minority view. 

Conclusion 

End with a brief conclusion. One sentence is fine here. Perhaps unlike law school exams, there is usually a “right” conclusion. Some writing structures will use a conclusion first and then end with a conclusion, but this is not recommended on the bar exam. If you start with the wrong conclusion, the grader will look for ways to prove why you are wrong while grading your answer; therefore, save your conclusion for the end!

Organize Your Content 

Make your essay simple to read by taking advantage of all the tools at your disposal. Use paragraph breaks to organize your content, creating a clear I, R, A , and C section. Additionally, bold and underline key words and principles of law. Many essay graders will be scanning your work, so make it easy to identify that you understood the legal issues involved by drawing their attention to these key terms.

Also, use transitional words to qualify certain statements and to explain where you are going with your answer. This makes it easier for the grader to follow your analysis, as well as helps you to stay on track.

Answer the Question

Seems obvious, right? Listen:

While it seems simple to just answer the question you are asked, many bar exam essay questions include numerous fact patterns, potential rules of law that apply, and even some red herrings. Be sure that you only answer the question that is asked; don’t go off on a tangent that will not score you any extra points! 

Read over the instructions to the question and follow these instructions, even if that means ignoring something or assuming certain facts are true. Any time you devote to issues that are not relevant to the instructions takes away from time that can score you more points.

Manage Your Time 

Now that you’re in the middle of your answers, keep a close eye on time. It can be tempting to take just a few more minutes to feel you completed a question, but this can come back to haunt you by taking away necessary time from another question. Set alarms if you need to — and are permitted to — so that you know when time is up for each section. Also, you may want to set a reminder a few minutes before your allotted time so that you can quickly wrap up the question before moving on to the next one. 

With that being said, avoid writing a partial essay and then moving onto another one. It can take several minutes to regain your bearings and remember what the essay was about when you switch back and forth. Instead, finish each question in the allotted time and then move onto the next.

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Quick tips for essay writing.

Here’s a quick round-up of tips to keep you on track when preparing your bar exam essays:

• Read the facts more than once. Don’t rush this part!
• Don’t write a lengthy, historical background of the law. Instead, make it concise.
• Don’t write a long analysis regarding policy if the question does not ask for it.
• Present counter-arguments but spend less time on them than arguments
• Provide a clear and decisive conclusion.
• Pace yourself. The two-day bar exam is a marathon, not a sprint. Approach each question with patience and don’t try to rush it.
• Don’t talk to anyone about your answers. This will undoubtedly make you doubt yourself; you don’t need a hit to your self-confidence at this time!
• Have a fun plan for what to do after the bar exam to have something to look forward to.

So, there you have it— a plan to help you tackle the essay portion of the bar exam. Use these strategies to help boost your score and you will soon be a licensed attorney!

Thanks for reading and good luck on your exam!

Frequently Asked Questions About Bar Essays

How do you write an essay for the bar exam.

There’s a specific structure that bar examiners expect when you write answers to essay questions. This structure is called IRAC, which is short for “Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion.” When writing a bar essay, try and structure all of your sentences around these four subjects in a way that makes sense.

How many essays are on the bar exam?

The essay portion of the bar exam is called the Multistate Essay Exam, or MEE for short. It is made up of six different essay questions that you must write answers to over the course of three hours. The subjects can vary depending on what test you take, but all are related to the legal field and will require excellent logical reasoning and critical thinking to earn a high score.

How long should bar exam essays be?

Although there may not be a set word limit for your bar exam essay, a good rule of thumb is to write at least 1,000 words for each answer. However, you should avoid padding out your article’s word count with excessively detailed descriptions of legal concepts; stick to the IRAC format and ensure each word in each sentence has a purpose.

Is it better to write or type the bar exam?

There’s no universal answer to this question, since some students will prefer to write by hand and others will prefer typing. However, there are significant benefits to typing your bar exam essay questions over using a pen and paper, such as easy erasing and the ability to copy and paste. However, power issues on rare occasions have forced essay writers to resort to pen and paper, and it makes it impossible to lose progress due to a software error.

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Bar Exam Essay Questions With Answers

Passing the bar exam requires more than just knowing the law. Passing the bar exam also requires the ability to properly analyze a bar exam question, organize the issues, and write an effective answer. To demonstrate essay exam proficiency and how to apply the essential test-taking skills, consider the following bar exam sample question below, which will be used as an example to demonstrate how to approach an essay from start to finish, step-by-step, in order to produce a passing written answer.

February 2020 CA Bar Exam Question - Contracts

Barn Exports ("Barn") hired Sam, an up-and-coming artist whose work was recently covered in Modern Buildings Magazine, to paint a one-of-a-kind artistic design along the border of the ceiling in its newly renovated lobby. After discussing the work, Ed, the president of Barn, and Sam signed a mutually drafted handwritten contract, which states in its entirety:

Sam shall paint a unique design along the entire ceiling border of all public areas of the first-floor lobby. Barn shall pay $75,000 upon completion of the work.

When Sam began work, he was surprised that the new plaster ceiling in the lobby had not been sanded and sealed. Sam complained, but was told by Ed that preparation was part of his responsibilities. Although Sam disagreed, he spent four days sanding and sealing the ceiling. When Sam finished painting, he submitted a bill for $78,000, having added $3,000 for labor and supplies used in preparing the ceiling. In response, Barn sent a letter to Sam stating that, because he had not painted the borders in the two public restrooms in the lobby, no payment was yet due. Barn's letter also stated that it had recently spoken to several artists who perform similar work and learned that "surface preparation" was typically the responsibility of the artist.

According to Sam, before the contract was signed, he told Ed that the restrooms could not be included because his paints were not suitable for the high humidity in those locations.

Sam sued Barn for breach of contract in the amount of $78,000.

Barn countersued for specific performance to have the borders in the bathrooms painted.

• Is Sam likely to prevail in his breach of contract lawsuit against Barn and if so, what damages will he likely recover? Discuss.
• Is Barn likely to prevail in its lawsuit seeking specific performance against Sam? Discuss.

Step 1 – Call Of The Question

First, always start with the Call of the Question, which is usually located at the end of the exam, because the Call reveals what the Examiners want to know so the facts, yet to be read, can be put in that context. To interpret the Call, use the acronym SPOIL, which stands for the subject matter ( S ), parties ( P ), organizational structure ( O ), issues ( I ), and applicable law ( L ).

Like most Calls, the ones in the Contracts bar exam sample question reveal a wide variety of information, including:

(S) Subjects being tested - Contracts/Remedies:

• Call 1 specifies a "breach of contract lawsuit" and asks about "damages", which is a remedy in contracts.
• Call 2 specifies a "lawsuit seeking specific performance." Specific performance is also a remedy in contracts.

(P) Parties: Sam and Barn

• Call 1 asks about "Sam…in his…lawsuit against Barn."
• Call 2 asks about "Barn…in its lawsuit…against Sam."

(O) Organization structure to be considered - Sam vs. Barn, followed by Barn vs. Sam

• Call 1 asks about the "Sam…lawsuit against Barn."
• Call 2 asks about the Barn…lawsuit…against Sam."

Issues – Breach of contract, damages, and specific performance.

• Call 1 asks about "breach" and "damages." The second to last line provides "Sam sued Barn" for "$78,000."The facts, yet to be read in their entirety, can be put in the context of whether there was a "breach" by Barn that supports Sam's "$78,000 damages" claim.
• Call 2 asks about "specific performance." The last line provides "…specific performance to have the borders in the bathrooms painted." The facts, yet to be read in their entirety, can be put in the context of whether the court will find that Sam promised to paint the bathroom borders, and order such performance to Barn.

(L) There is no reference to the applicable law

Contracts test both common law or the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) The sample exam does not state which body of law to use. Thus, based on the facts, the examinee must make this determination after reading the fact pattern.

2 – Read The Facts To Understand The Story

Second, read the hypothetical facts once for content only. Focus on the story. Pay attention to the names of the parties, dates, quoted language, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc. If there is any confusion, read the hypothetical again for clarity.

In reading the exam facts, pay attention to the names of the parties ("Sam" and "Barn") mentioned in the Call. 

"Ed" is not a named party in the Call, but Ed is identified in the first paragraph as "the president of Barn." This reveals that based on Ed's conduct as an agent of Barn, Sam will likely impute arguments against Barn and vice versa.

There is not much in the way of dates, but "surface preparation" is quoted language from Barn's letter.  This is the Examiners' way of flagging that "surface preparation" is going to raise one or more issues and/or arguments. Further, the indentation of the contract terms is equivalent to quoted language, because the Examiners are drawing your attention to that text.

Finally, pay attention to verbs, adverbs, and/or adjectives, which are discussed below in Step 3. If there is any confusion about the content of the Sam v. Barn lawsuit and Barn v. Sam countersuit, read the exam facts again for a full understanding of the story. 

Step 3 – Issue Spot

Third, once understanding the story, begin issue spotting. Start at the beginning of the exam. Go paragraph-by-paragraph, sentence-by-sentence. As each issue is identified, jot it down in the margin of the exam next to the facts that raised it. By starting at the beginning of the fact pattern to issue spot, the first paragraph leads into Ed and Sam signing a contract, which states the terms that are intended for emphasis.

Here, the contract states, "Sam shall paint…" The verb "paint" may raise a goods contract if the contract requires Sam to deliver paint, or a services contract if the contract simply requires Sam to paint an existing area or object.

Further facts that state Sam shall paint "…a unique design along the entire ceiling border…" identify the applicable law as common law because "to paint along a border" is a service.

Continue the issue spotting process as described in the last paragraph of the exam question.

Step 4 – Utilize Mental Checklists And Approaches

Fourth, if during the study process , mental checklists and approaches for issue spotting have been developed, use them to pick up extra issues that could be overlooked without them. Mental checklists and approaches are recommended issue spots tools that every law student should develop during the study process, because they assist issue spotting and the more issues spotted and analyzed in the answer, the higher the grade will be.

In the Contracts bar exam sample question, the fact that Ed and Sam signed the mutually drafted $75,000 contract to paint the design makes offer, acceptance, and consideration fairly straightforward issues that may be picked up without a checklist.

However, defenses are commonly overlooked, which makes a Contracts defense checklist essential to trigger issues that could be missed without one.

The following is an example of the Fleming's Fundamentals Contracts defense approach that illustrates a mnemonic memory device: S o U nless A l I s M istaken, I M issed A erobics F itness D uring P hysical E ducation.  Each capital letter represents a contract defense that may be raised by the facts:

S – Statute of Frauds

U - Unconscionability

A – Adhesion Contract

I - Incapacity

M – Mistake

I – Illegality

M – Misrepresentation

A – Ambiguity

PE – Parol Evidence

In the Contracts sample question, the fact that "According to Sam, before the contract was signed, he told Ed that the restrooms could not be included…" raises the parol evidence rule, which bars oral statements (such as what Sam "told" Ed) made prior to the signed writing. This is critical evidence that Sam needs to introduce and that Barn needs to exclude, because the facts and the Call make Sam's obligation to related to the restrooms an important issue analysis.

Furthermore, one exception to the parol evidence rule is an ambiguity, i.e., allowing extrinsic evidence to resolve whether or not "all public areas of the first-floor lobby" in the contract include or exclude the bathrooms as Barn and Sam assert, respectively.

Step 5 – Reread The Call

Fifth, reread the Call of the Question to confirm a thorough understanding of what the Examiners want in the answer.

• Call 1, if Sam will likely prevail in Sam v. Barn for breach of contract and if so, what damages will he likely recover. 
• Call 2, if Barn will likely prevail in Barn v. Sam seeking specific performance.

Step 6 – Organize Issues On An Outline Sheet

Sixth, transfer the issues to a formal outline sheet, making sure they are properly organized. Jot down the formation issues of offer, acceptance and consideration, making sure they are properly organized first under Sam v. Barn (the first lawsuit as Call 1 dictates). Follow with defense issues of parol evidence rule and ambiguity. Continue through the damages issues as requested in the Call.

Repeat the outlining process with its particular issues for Call 2.

Step 7 – Reread Hypothetical One More Time

Seventh, go back and skim the hypothetical one last time to pick up any additional issues that may have been overlooked in steps #3 and #4. Add those issues to the outline.

Step 8 – Double Check Work - Reread The Call One More Time

Eighth, reread the Call of the Question one last time, making sure the issues on the outline are properly organized under the appropriate call if there is more than one.

Step 9 – Write The Final Answer

Finally, write the answer, using the proper presentation for each issue, which is usually referred to as IRAC (issue, rule, analysis, conclusion) or IREAC (issue, rule, explanation, analysis, conclusion).

To check your answer, enter your email address below to download the answer sheet for the above sample bar exam questions. The answer sheet shows you how to use the proper IRAC presentation as demonstrated for each issue above. The answer sheet is a teaching tool to demonstrate the culmination of the above series of sequential steps to follow to properly analyze, organize, and write a passing bar exam essay answer.

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Bar Exam Essay Template – How to Structure your Bar Exam Essays

Bar exam essay template:.

It can be helpful to have a bar exam essay template when you begin to write bar exam essays. A good bar exam essay template can help you ensure: (a) that you connect every dot and do not miss a step (that is, you will state the rule, apply it, and conclude); and (b) it can help you approach the bar exam with confidence knowing that you know how to design your essays to get the maximum amount of points. The general format is that for each issue, you want to use a “RAC” format. That is, state the rule , analysis , and conclusion.  You can think of this as an “IRAC” format similar to what you may have used in law school. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using the IRAC format because it differs from the format that law school essays follow.

A few things to note about this bar exam essay template:

• Issue: Generally, on the bar exam, the issues are clearly stated. Thus, they tend not to be hidden in a fact pattern as they are in a law school essay.
• Rule: State the rule as clearly as possible on your bar exam essay answer. If you know the key legal vocabulary then bold or underline those words to draw attention to them.
• Analysis: The analysis section won’t be as lengthy as it would be in a law school essay answer.  Oftentimes, the examiners will expect you to simply apply the law then conclude. However, sometimes (for example on MEE essays), you will gain points if you recognize the majority view and minority view in your analysis section.
• Conclusion: On bar exams, the overall conclusion is important. Bar examiners’ will be looking for you to conclude. Further, generally, there is a “right” conclusion.

One key thing to note is that in bar exam essay answers:

• you should not write a lengthy background of the law. Instead, answer the questions directly and concisely!
• you should not write a lengthy policy analysis for each issue you analyze
• you should not arrive at a wishy-washy conclusion in your answers. Arrive at a clear conclusion.
• you should not argue both sides nearly as extensively as you would on a law school essay answer

Using this bar exam essay template as you approach essays can be a big help. If you have any questions about this, please contact us at your convenience.

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The Smart Guide to the MEE

• MEE Jurisdictions
• Format & Overview of the MEE
• A Step-by-Step Approach on How to Read, Organize, & Draft Your Answer to an MEE Essay Question

15 MEE Tips to Increase Your Essay Score

• How to Study & Prepare for the MEE
• MEE Practice: How to Use Model Essay Answers & Sample Examinee Answers Effectively
• Where to Find Past MEE’s
• MEE Grading & Scoring
• What’s Next?
• Download the PDF

A Guide to Mastering the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE)

• DON’T cite cases or statutes in your answer.   Never cite to specific cases or statute sections in your answer UNLESS they are provided in the essay question. The bar examiners DO NOT require that citations be included, so don’t waste any time doing so.

When the issue can go either way, the bar examiners will normally award full credit for a conclusion that is well-reasoned . For example, on the July 2016 MEE concerning a contract assignability issue, the bar examiners stated: “Some examinees might argue against assignability of the contract because there are inevitable differences between the paint jobs, such as the relative ease of dealing with the homeowners. If well-reasoned, such analysis should receive credit .” (See July 2016 MEE, Essay 5, Point One).

• Your writing should be clear, concise, and to the point!   Writing a complete answer that is clear and concise will make it easy for the grader to read your essay, and in turn get you a higher score. You need to sound like a lawyer, but avoid being verbose. Get right to the point you’re making!

As such, you should follow these guidelines when drafting your answer:

• Only address the issues in the fact pattern that pertain to the question. The key for doing well on an essay is determining the exact issues the examiners want you to discuss. The majority of the time the call of the question – the question prompts at the end – specifically tell you what to discuss.
• Similarly, only state the rule(s) of law that are applicable to the analysis of the issues. For example, you will receive no points for stating an exception to a legal rule that is completely irrelevant to the fact pattern or issues.
• Make NO assumptions .   Never assume facts that aren’t in the fact pattern of the question. Similarly, don’t assume that each essay question only covers a single area of law. It’s possible that some of the questions will contain more than one area of law that you are responsible to know.

For example, on the July 2013 MEE (Essay 6), the rule for piercing the veil of an LLC was tested. This was the first time such rule was tested (for an LLC and not a corporation), and as such, almost no one knew the exact rule. In this instance, you could have used the rule for piercing a corporation (which is very similar). In the above-average examinee answers released by states, this is exactly what many examinees did.

For a 3-hour MEE session, you can use the following intervals as your guide:

To illustrate, whenever a specific issue comes up, you would run through the different concepts in your head and note down which to apply in your IRAC analyses. For example, when an Agency-Authority issue comes up, you would note the following: agency relationship, actual authority, apparent authority, inherent agency power.

The better option is to copy-and-paste the rule again into each part used, so that you make it as essay as possible for the reader to grade your essay. For examinees who handwrite the exam, we understand that this isn’t possible, so you should just refer the grader back to the other part of your essay answer.

The bar examiners have even endorsed both methods. Specifically, the NCBE has stated:

“Some examinees may discuss the elements of enforceability of a possessory security interest in the answer to [issue 1] and refer back to that discussion in their answer to this [issue]. Such examinees should get credit for that analysis as part of their answer to [issue 2]. Examinees may organize their answers either way and receive full credit.” (See, Feb. 2019 MEE Analysis, Essay 2, Point Two, note section).

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Bar Exam Information & Study Aids: Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)

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Multistate Essay Exam

The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) is developed by NCBE and consists of six 30-minute questions. It is administered by user jurisdictions as part of the bar examination on the Tuesday before the last Wednesday in February and July of each year. 

The purpose of the MEE is to test the examinee’s ability to

• identify legal issues raised by a hypothetical factual situation;
• separate material which is relevant from that which is not;
• present a reasoned analysis of the relevant issues in a clear, concise, and well-organized composition; and
• demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental legal principles relevant to the probable solution of the issues raised by the factual situation.

The primary distinction between the MEE and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is that the MEE requires the examinee to demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively in writing. More information is available from NCBE here

Study Aids for the MEE

MEE Questions and Analyses from Recent Administrations

NCBE publishes study aids for the MEE that include questions from previously administered tests and model analyses that are illustrative of the discussions that might appear in excellent answers to the questions. They are available for purchase at the  NCBE Study Aids Store .

For the six MEE questions administered in July 2018 (without analyses), see  Sample Questions .

MEE Questions and Analyses from Older Administrations

MEE Questions and Analyses from older administrations are available by accessing the following files. July 2014 February 2014 July 2013 February 2013 July 2012 February 2012 July 2011 February 2011 July 2010 February 2010 July 2009 February 2009 July 2008 February 2008

Essay Assistance

• Compilation of bar examination questions and answers by Institute for Bar Review Study Call Number: Bar Exam Materials - 1st Floor | KF303 .I5 Contains various states' essay examinations.
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The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) is a collection of 30-minute essay questions and is administered by participating jurisdictions on the Tuesday before the last Wednesday in February and July of each year. The MEE offers nine questions per examination, with most jurisdictions selecting six questions from the nine. Ohio does not administer the MEE but other states, including Kentucky, do.  

• MEE Information
• Sample Questions from the July 2023 exam are available on the NCBE web site.
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