As a law student, you know how difficult the subject can be. This is not always true, however. With good preparation and studying techniques, you can make life much easier. As a result, you'll be fully prepared to ace your course. There is a range of ways you can do this, and thankfully for you, we've run through them below.
You have a multitude of cases to memorize. Unfortunately, they can be immense, which is why you need to create a schedule. There's no way you'll be able to balance memorizing them along with a hectic social life. So, by creating a timetable, you'll be able to limit your daily activities enough to allow you to memorize whatever you need to, while still allowing you to not miss out on the things you love.
With a timetable by your side, a schedule shouldn't be something that is set in stone. Although it looks like it's allocated enough time for you, it may not be helping you. That's why you should regularly assess and tweak it. After all, it's extremely important to your success as being a law student requires you to be organized, whether you're sitting for the UBE exams or the LSATs.
Making a timetable is one thing, but not following it is another. You probably spent hours making it, which are now down the drain. As a law student, you can't afford such a thing.
Form Study Groups
You've probably heard of the saying two heads are certainly better than one. This is especially true when studying law. The details from legal cases aren't the most difficult things to wrap your head around. They're quite straightforward, just hard to remember. What is difficult is the legal concepts you have to comprehend. Sometimes, they can be quite complex, which is why you need a group of people to help you.
Forming study groups not only help you understand such topics, but help you make better notes. Your friends may have summarized your lessons better than you, and you should certainly make use of them. This will help you digest the topics better, which as you can imagine, is a must.
Don't Let Your Assignments Stack Up
Being a law student not only means that you have a lot of reading to do, it also means that you have a lot of papers to write. Half of your time may be spent typing things out. That's why you'll find it hard to juggle your assignments while trying to keep up with your lessons. The best thing to do would be to finish your assignments as soon as you get them. So, you'll have enough time to study.
Brief Each Case
Even if you spend a lot of time studying your cases, you still might not be able to master it. Don't worry, a lot of law students feel this way. You need to find a way to get everything you've just read into your head. Fortunately for you, law students from across the world agree that the best way to do this would be making short notes for each case, the moment you've done them.
Before you get to work, don't be afraid to take a while to fully understand what you're about to write about. This helps everything go into your head better when your pen hits the paper.
Over time, reading the summaries and notes you've made would help you know each case like the back of your hand. This method will help you understand the most important points of what you need to know, helping you avoid the unnecessary bulk of it all.
Come To Class Prepared
Your lecturer probably provided you with briefings of the cases you're going to be looking at. As we know, the cases you'll be running through would be jam-packed with information. That's why trying to understand them during class may not be easy. So, go through your briefings before your lecturer begins his lesson. Such a thing would help you prepare for what's about to come, making it resonate in you better. You'll also be able to make note of anything difficult before you meet the case. So, you'll know exactly what to ask your teacher for help with.
Know Your Writing Style
You'll be doing a lot of LRW. Legal writing is an art of its own, which is why you need to fully understand the format you'll be writing your papers in. No matter how good you've written your papers, they'll be heavily penalized if you haven't followed the format. What's more, creating a good LRW paper takes a lot of time. Don't be afraid to not rush it as you need to ensure you've read it a thousand times before submitting it.
Considering the intensity of things you have to memorize, cramming is not a good idea. There is no way you'll be able to jam such complex, heavy topics into your head. Not only will this not work, cramming would leave you very stressed. This is one of the reasons why students find their law degrees so difficult. Once again, this is where having a timetable would come useful.
Take A Breather
Yes, being a law student can be stressful, but you shouldn't let it get to your head. Thinking about how hard you have it would make things much worse. What's more, it isn't that bad. This is only the case if you don't handle your work wisely.
Without a doubt, law school is not easy. However, there is a myriad of ways you can make it easier. From the points we ran through, it's clear that you need to be a very organized person if you want to be a better law student. This means creating a timetable is your best bet. However, taking your time and understanding what's being said before and after class is also a must.
At the end of the day, you don't have to make law school harder than it is, especially since you'll be swamped with work. So, follow these steps as they'll benefit you in the long run.
