SURVIVING THE ONTARIO BAR EXAM
If you’re gearing up to write the Ontario Bar Exam, you might be feeling a little anxious or overwhelmed. You’re not alone. These materials are notoriously dense, and these exams require a unique kind of preparation compared to traditional law school exams. Here are some tips to help you stay focused, stay sane, and ultimately, pass.
Organize Your Materials and Supplies
Most candidates are responsible for printing their own materials, so your first decision will be how you choose to organize them. Some test-takers use binders, but I chose to coil-bind each subject into its own booklet. This tends to be the most common method, as the smaller booklets are lighter and easier to flip through.
Once you’ve handled the printing, you’ll need to purchase tabs and multi-coloured highlighters. However many highlighters you think you’ll need, double it. Then create a highlighting system that makes sense to you. For example, many candidates highlight limitation periods in a distinct colour.
It’s best to print and organize your materials right away because unless you’re under a severe time crunch, it’s better to do all of your reading on the printed pages rather than on a PDF. This way you can highlight and tab important pages as you go.
Make a Study Schedule
This will be trickier than you think, especially if you’re writing both exams back-to-back.
First, you need to determine how much solicitor material you’d like to cover before writing the barrister exam. This is a double-edged sword: the more you cover in advance, the less fresh it will be in your mind on exam day. However, it would be highly inadvisable (and in my view, practically impossible) to try and cover all of the solicitor material in the two-week period between the two exams. Find a healthy balance.
Then, you’ll need to calculate how many pages you need to read per day. This material is incredibly dense, so try not to pick an unmanageable goal. You’ll want to build in flexibility for slower reading days and faster reading days. Based on the courses you took in law school and your general interest in different areas, some subjects will take a lot more time to get through.
Finally, decide how many days you want to leave at the end for practice (more on this below).
Read the Materials
Be prepared to spend several weeks per exam reading through these materials. Try to stick to your study schedule, but don’t hesitate to adjust it as needed.
This will be challenging. It’s easy to forget to prioritize your well-being, but no one does their best work when they’re exhausted. As you go through these materials, make sure to sleep, eat well, exercise, and take breaks. Keep in touch with supportive friends and family members and don’t put your mental health on the back burner.
Practice Practice Practice
Carve out several days (or more) in your study schedule for practice exams. This will be the most important part of your preparation. You will want to do these in the days leading up to the test, after you’ve read all of the material.
The time crunch on these exams is intense, so practice under timed conditions as much as possible. This will also help you develop time-saving strategies. Knowing when to move on from a question, even if you’re not completely sure about your answer, is an invaluable skill.
Write the Exam
Just like any other exam, make sure to sleep well the night before, eat a balanced breakfast and, above all else, arrive early. Review the LSO website in detail on arrival times and permissible items. Bring a good snack or two.
Finally, remember: you don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be prepared.
Colleen Dowling
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.