McLAUGHLIN BAR PREPARATION COURSE

Class 1
Introduction to the Massachusetts Essay Exam and Review Course
® 2008
Walter H. McLaughlin

Price $300
Payable by check sent to
Walter McLaughlin
49 Hill Rd #59
Belmont MA 02478

DESCRIPTION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAR EXAMINATION

The Two Components of the Massachusetts Bar Examination

• The Massachusetts Bar Examination consists of the Multistate Bar Examination given on Wednesday and the Massachusetts Essay Examination given on Thursday. Each is given equal weight in determining a passing score. After each part of the examination is scaled on a range of 1-200 (a total of 400 possible points), the two scores are combined, and a score of 270 or above is passing. Because a scaled score of 135 on each of the components will achieve the required 270, a scaled score of 135 on each part is referred to as a “passing score”.

• However, there is no minimum requirement on either portion of the exam. A poor score on one part can be offset with a good score on the other part as long as the total score is 270 or above.

• Nevertheless, as will be shown by an analysis of the 2003 scores, failure to achieve a scaled score of 135 on either part greatly diminishes your chances of passing the entire exam.

The Massachusetts Essay Examination

• The Massachusetts essay examination is administered on the second day of the bar examination. It consists of ten questions which are equally weighted. Since five questions must be answered in each of the three-hour morning and afternoon sessions, the average time allowed to answer each question is thirty-six minutes.

Subjects Tested on the Massachusetts Essay Examination

• The six multistate subjects are heavily tested on the Massachusetts bar examination, usually accounting for five of the ten questions. The examiners test Massachusetts law on the multistate subjects, so it is important to know the differences between Massachusetts law and the law which governs the correct answer to multistate questions. Procedure or federal jurisdiction, the UCC, domestic relations, and wills or trusts are also tested on almost every examination.

Subject Matter of Two Recent Exams.

THE GRADING PROCEDURE

• The multistate portion of the bar examination is statistically more reliable than the essay examination in measuring a constant level of competence for each administration of the bar examination because each administration of that examination contains 60 "control questions," 30 of which have been given on a previous February examination and 30 of which have been given on a previous July examination. The relative performance of the candidates for each administration on these common questions forms the basis for determining the difficulty of each examination. Each multistate examination is equated with previous examinations to maintain a constant level of competence at any given multistate scaled score by adjusting the raw score achieved by a candidate by adding a scaling bonus. The raw essay scores are then converted to scaled essay scores by reference to the overall performance of all candidates on the multistate examination.

Multistate Grading

• The candidate is first given a "raw score", that is, a computation of the number of questions answered correctly from the 200 given in the examination. No deduction is made for wrong answers, so it is important to answer all questions, even if the answer is a random guess. The raw score is then adjusted by adding points to achieve the "scaled score". Past grading practice indicates that you can expect from 10 to 19 points to be added to your raw score to determine your scaled score depending on the difficulty of the examination which you took. Because scaled scores represent fixed levels of achievement irrespective of the examination taken, the multistate scaled score rather than the raw score is used as one of the two components of the total Massachusetts score when computing the final score of each candidate. 270 points is necessary to pass.

Essay Grading

• The ten Massachusetts Essay questions are graded on the basis of zero to seven points per question. No partial points are awarded. The sum of the points awarded is the Massachusetts raw essay score. The maximum raw Massachusetts score is 70. After each examination, the Bar Examiner who wrote the question and his graders prepare the grading standards for each question, identifying all of the issues which could be discussed and describing how the relevant substantive law is to be applied to each of those issues, and the conclusions which should be reached

Explanation of the Grading Standards

• The very best answer, which receives a grade of 7, discusses all of the possible issues presented in the question which the examiner believes are relevant to an answer, applies the appropriate issues of substantive law to the facts raising that issue and comes to an appropriate conclusion. Answers receiving less than a 7 fail to meet one or more of these criteria in varying degrees. Some question are broken into multiple short answer questions, the correct answer to which will earn one point. On those questions your scores depend on how many short answer questions you answered correctly to earn the point.

Only the very best answer, the equivalent of an A+
on a law school exam, receives a 7.

An excellent answer, the equivalent of an A or A-
on a law school exam, receives a 6.

A good answer, the equivalent of a B+or B
on a law school exam, receives a 5.

A satisfactory or marginally passing answer, or B-
on a law school exam, receives a 4.

A marginally failing answer, a C+ or C
on a law school exam, receives a 3.

A clearly failing answer, or C- or D+
on a law school exam, receives a 2.

A very poor failing answer, a D or D-
on a law school exam, receives a 1.

A completely unsatisfactory answer or blank, an F
on a law school exam, receives no credit, or a zero.

Conversion of Raw Scores to Scaled Scores

• Each of the raw essay scores from 0 to 70 is then given a percentile rank. For example, the highest ten percent of scores receives a percentile rank of 90 or above. That percentile rank is the only number used to convert the raw essay score to a scaled essay score. The scaled essay score is determined by the scaled Multistate score achieved by the individual in the state who achieved that percentile rank on the Multistate exam. For example, if a student receiving a scaled score of 135 on Multistate was in the 28th percentile, a student in the 28th percentile on the essay exam would receive a scaled essay score of 135. Thus, the performance of the candidates as a group on the Multistate exam controls the scaled scores awarded on the state essay exam

Illustrations of Actual Grading

• Examples of how grading works in practice are illustrated by statistics from the July 2003 exam and the 2005 exams.

Passing Percentages as a Function of Essay Scores 2003

Scaled Multisate Score	Raw Multisate Score	Total Number Achieving Score	Pass__	Fail__	Percent Pass__
145+	134+	139	138	1	99.2%
143-144	131-133	38	37	1	97.3%
140-142	128-130	42	40	2	95.2%
139	127	13	12	1	92.3%
138.5	126	15	13	2	86.6%
138	125	17	11	6	64.7%
137	124	6	5	1	83.3%
136	123	17	13	4	76.5%
135	122	13	10	3	76.9%
134.5	121	14	11	3	78.5%
133	120	13	7	6	53.8%
132.5	119	7	4	3	57.1%
132	118	9	4	5	44.4%
131	117	4	0	4	0%
130	116	13	4	9	30.7%
129	115	12	3	9	75%
128	114	9	6	3	66.7%
127	113	5	3	2	60%
126.5	112	6	2	4	33.3%
126	111	4	1	3	25%
125	110	5	1	4	20%
122-124	107-109	17	0	17	0%
121	106	6	2	4	33%
120 and Below	105 and Below	31	0	31	0%
Totals		455	327	128

Performance on the 2006 Exams

2006 Average Multistate Scores	February	July
Raw Con Law	23/22__79%	25/33__76%
Raw Contracts	21/34__62%	24/34__71%
Raw Criminal Law	19/33__58%	22/33__67%
Raw Evidence	21/33__64%	22/33__67%
Raw Property	17/33__52%	19/33__58%
Raw Torts	24/34__71%	23/34__68%
Raw Total	129/200_64.5%	136/200_68%
Average Raw Multistate	129	136
Scaling Bonus	18	14
Average Multistate Scaled	147	150
Raw score necessary to achieve a scaled score of 135	117	121

2006 ESSAY SCORES	February	July
Average Raw Essay	39.2	38.5
Raw score necessary to achieve a scaled score of 135	37	33

• In February 2006, the raw score to achieve an essay scaled score of 135 was higher than it was in July 2006 because the Massachusetts candidates’ performance on multistate was much lower in February than it was in July.

Raw Score Levels Necessary To Achieve A
Scaled Essay Score Of 135

• The number of raw essay points necessary to achieve a scaled essay score of 135 on each examination will depend on two factors. The first factor is the percentile rank achieved for each raw essay score. The second factor is the percentile rank of candidates who obtained a scaled multistate score of 135. If candidates in the 28th percentile achieved a multistate score of 135, then candidates who were ranked in the 28th percentile on their essays would be awarded a scaled essay score of 135. On the July 2006 exam, to achieve a scaled essay score of 135, a candidate needed 33 raw essay points. Based upon the rough equivalents set forth above, that translates into 7 "C or C+" or "3” answers and 3 "B"- or "4"' answers. Since the total raw score on all 10 questions determines the raw essay score, scores on individual questions higher than 4’s" can compensate for low scores on other questions. The goal is to achieve at least 35 points from all ten essay questions or an average of 3.5 points per question.

• On the other hand, in February 2006 where candidates achieved essay scores which were similar to those in July but did much more poorly on the multistate exam, 37 raw essay points were need to obtain a scaled essay score of 135.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ESSAY COURSE

• The Massachusetts Essay course is, based upon the course which I have taught at Suffolk Law School for the past 13 years and the experience I have gained in preparing students for the Massachusetts Essay Examination since 1964. It is designed to be a self contained comprehensive package to prepare you for the Massachusetts Essay Examination. The entire course is contained on two CD ROMs. After this introductory lecture, this course consists of preparation for the 17 subjects tested on the Massachusetts Essay Examination, and a final review lecture.

• The course is comprehensive discussing both the substantive law and approximately 260 bar exam questions asked during the past 18 years in 75 hours of lectures, far more than is covered in any bar review course. Most students will not need to listen to all the classes and prepare all of the questions to adequately prepare for the bar examination. But for those most concerned about passing the bar exam, this course offers the most complete preparation available.

• Because technology has permitted me to continue to keep the material in the program which I prepared years ago and to continue to add new material the course has become a resource rather than a course of study which every candidate must follow. You should study the material you need in the most efficient way possible to achieve your goal of passing the Massachusetts Bar Examination.

Organization of the Course on the CD ROMs

• Each of the 17 subjects is contained in a separate folder with five sub-folders. The first entitled “Governing Law” contains a concise summary of the substantive law which you should know to prepare for the Massachusetts Essay Exam in the “Word” format and an audio-enhanced Powerpoint® lecture on the substantive law. The other four folders present the question classes in each subject.

• The 2006-2008 classes present the questions asked on the 2006-2008 Massachusetts Essay Exams.
• The “A” classes present the questions asked on the 2003-2005 Massachusetts Essay Exams.
• The “B” classes present the questions asked on the 2000-2002 Massachusetts Essay Exams.
• The “C “classes present the questions asked on the 1995-1999 Massachusetts Essay Exams.

The Substantive Law Classes

* The substantive law folder presents an organized outline of the substantive law of Massachusetts which you should learn in preparation for questions on that subject for the Massachusetts Essay examination. Each subject is presented in an outline in the Microsoft Word format and in an audio-enhanced Powerpoint® lecture on that subject. Since the presentation of the substantive law on the multistate subjects is based upon the multistate law for that subject together with the Massachusetts differences which are tested on the essay exam, presentations in both the lecture format and the text format of the multistate law and the Massachusetts differences are available. You should review the substantive law either in text format or lecture format before working with the four question classes on each subject.

2006-2008 Question Classes

• These questions are the most recent Massachusetts Bar Exam Questions. They were written by the present members of the Board of Bar Examiners and probably give the best insight into the questions which will appear on your exam. All students should listen to these classes. In preparation for each class you should print the questions to be discussed and prepare at least an outline of the answer to those questions. You should compare the issues on your outline with those discussed in the classes and go back into the question to see why you missed issues.

The “A” Question Classes

The second question session in each subject, the “A” class, consists of the questions asked on the 6 Massachusetts Essay examinations in the years 2003-2005. In preparation for each class you should print the questions to be discussed and prepare at least an outline of the answer to those questions. You can then either read the text of the slide presentation contained in the Word format, or listen to the audio enhanced Powerpoint® lecture discussing the questions, by clicking on the “click to start presentation” icon in each folder.

The “B” Question Classes

The third question session in each subject the “B” class consists of the questions asked by the examiners on the 2000-2002 Massachusetts Bar Examinations. There comes a time when you have seen enough questions, and you can skip some of the B classes. It is important to listen to these classes if this is a subject which you never had in law school or you have taken the exam before and did not do well on the question asked in that subject.

The “C” Question Classes

* The fourth question session in each subject the “C” lectures consists principally of an analysis of the questions appearing between 1995 and 1999 on the Massachusetts Bar Examination. Because these classes were recorded in an earlier technology, they do not provide the audio-enhanced Powerpoint® lecture. In preparation for each class you should print the questions to be discussed and prepare at least an outline of the answer to those questions. You should then print the text of the slides to be covered in the lecture in either the Word or Powerpoint® formats. This text contains both summaries of the pertinent substantive law and answers to each of the essay questions. You can then listen to the lecture and follow the audio which is activated by clicking on the icon, either on Powerpoint® or on the printout of the slides.

The Final Review Class

* The final review class will review the suggestions made by the Board of Bar Examiners for taking the Massachusetts Essay exam, and my suggestions for taking it. This class is a good review of the standards which the examiners expect on the essay examination,

Different Methods of Using the Material

* Your level of competence in writing essays at the time you start your preparation will determine the number of classes you actually listen to. If you are in the lower half of your class in law school, or have failed the bar previously, you should probably prepare for all of the classes and listen to all of the lectures. On the other hand, if you were in the top half of your law school class and have been performing well on the multistate tests, you can probably prepare adequately by reading the governing law and reviewing the most of the questions and the answers in text format. Even if you are reasonably confident, you should be listening to the 2006-2008 and the “A” lectures in most subjects and all of the lectures in the subjects which you did not take in law school.

Use of the Material Away from the Computer

• The disks contain, in addition to audio enhanced PowerPoint presentations, separate audio files for each class in the MP3 format. You can download those files onto a device which plays and listen to the lectures away from your computer. The disks also contain in separate folders a word file containing all of the questions, a word file containing all of the governing law and a word file containing all of the lecture notes. You can print out all of these files if you prefer to study using hard copy instead of a computer screen.

Mentoring is Available