Mastering the Law School Exam: A Complete Career Guide by Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus (1st Edition, 2006) - Essential Study Resource for Law Students & Bar Exam Preparation

With a thirty-year interest in law teaching, learning and exams and as the author of a book on such exams that I periodically revise, How To Do Your Best On Law School Exams, I try to read new books on such exams to deepen my understanding. Most of them, however, are either altogether forgettable or mostly forgettable.But Professor Suzanne Darrow Kleinhaus' recent book, Mastering the Law School Exam, is a very valuable contribution that can help students to get on the legal frequencies required for the first-year law exams. While the book is strong overall, two chapters stand out. The materials on multiple-choice questions in Chapter Five provide unusually clear, useful and step-by-step instructions for learning this type of question that may be increasingly used by professors on their exams.Chapter Eight, "An Exam Make-Over," is an original and simply remarkable contribution. From all her experience in aiding students, she has managed to get inside the minds of students who are struggling with the very different law exams. This Chapter exemplifies brilliance, insight, and caring, a trinity of accomplishment. While it is explicitly designed for law students whose initial grades do not reflect their effort, I suggest it could benefit any first-year student. For example, its striking and exhaustive listing and explanation of common student mistakes in thinking about and writing exams could aid students before they take them, not just after disappointing results.I recommend it highly: it is a star in a mostly bleak sky.Professor John Delaney (retired)