THE OFFICE OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS PROGRAMS
WEEKLY STUDY TIPS FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 12th
Dr. Amy L. Jarmon, Assistant Dean for Academic Success Programs
Alert: it is four weeks and counting to Spring Break. No, this week’s tips will
not be on travel destinations in sunnier climes. Instead, this week’s study tips
focus on what you want to accomplish in the next four weeks before Spring
Break starts.
Many students erroneously mark Spring Break as the time to catch up on
everything – reading, outlines, papers, exercise, and sleep. Instead, you
want to focus on making good progress on all of those tasks before Spring
Break ever arrives. You will have completed 8 ½ weeks of classes prior to
Spring Break and will have 6 weeks of classes left after Spring Break.

Have all of your study tasks completed for all classes held prior to Spring
Break BEFORE you go on Spring Break. Why? Because you will already
have more of the semester behind you than in front of you. If you wait any
longer to get on top of your study tasks, it will be like a fast toboggan run
down icy slopes crashing headlong into exams.
o Distributive learning throughout the semester allows you time to
reflect on the material, opportunities to ask questions, and time to
complete practice questions. Cramming allows for none of these
advantages.
o The farther behind you get, the harder it is to catch up. For most
students who are behind, reading 50 catch-up pages at a 5-page-aday rate is “doable.” Reading 200 pages for several courses in one
week of “vacation” is not. Likewise, outlining one week’s catch-up
material at a time for several courses is “doable” for most students
who are behind. Outlining 8 ½ weeks for 3-5 courses in one week
of “vacation” is not.
o Cursory reading may get you by in classes where the professor
does not call on you, but it is not optimal for deeper understanding,
ability to apply material, and good exam grades.
o Throwing together a series of outlines quickly on Spring Break does
not allow you to process material so that you truly understand it and
know the overview of the course as well as the nuances. Also, it
does not give you enough time to learn the material deeply.
o Memorization of black letter law often takes much longer than
expected. By learning the necessary rules, elements, definitions,
and policies before Spring Break, you are far ahead on the memory
task.
o By consistently learning and using material throughout the
semester, you take advantage of long-term memory so that you
have better recall and retrieval of material during exams. The six-
week run may give you short-term “regurgitate it on the page”
memory, but will not give you lasting memory.
o Remember in three years you will take a bar exam on many of the
courses you are taking in law school. Do you want to re-learn it all
from scratch? Or, would you rather have much of the information in
long-term memory so that you just need to “dust it off” and review
it?

Start now on all of your major papers and projects that are assigned but
not due until the end of classes. Why? Same toboggan run reasoning.
Too many students leave until the bitter end work on major papers and
projects on which that they already have the full assignment information.
By completing research, reading, and analysis tasks early on your end-ofthe semester projects, you can begin writing during Spring Break (if not
before) and pace your writing and editing through the last six weeks.
o Students who leave it all until the end do not have any cushion if
they run into research problems, are required to do multiple rewrites, or have editing problems.
o Students who leave it all until the end do not have any cushion if
they have illness, family emergencies, or other unexpected
circumstances occur.
o “I work better under pressure” is a myth and is actually indicative of
a procrastination style known as “crisis maker.” These
procrastinators may get decent grades, but they do not do their
best work.
o By distributing the work on papers and projects over the semester,
you decrease your stress level AND the stress levels of your
significant others who have to deal with your stress.
o By learning efficient and effective management of papers and
projects in law school, you develop the ability to organize your case
load tasks in law practice. Many disciplinary actions against
attorneys are due to poor organization and work management
skills.
o For additional tips on managing projects and papers, read my prior
study tips on this topic located on the Office of Academic Success
Programs web pages:
https://www.law.ttu.edu/lawWeb/oasp/tips/ManagingLargeProjectsA
ndPapers.shtm.

Get control of your time management now before it becomes more difficult
to do so. Law school does not have to be a nightmare of stress, anxiety,
and disappointing grades. Please make an appointment to set up a
structured time management schedule if any of the following describe you:
o consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep;
o seriously behind in self-produced outlines for courses;
o seriously behind in reading for courses;
o
o
o
o
o
never before managed a major research or writing project;
have no life other than study for law school;
constantly stressed and anxious;
have not exercised since the summer before 1L year;
have a major illness, family problem, or other event that is
interfering with studying.