Western State University College of Law
Basic Bar Studies
Course Materials
Spring 2007
©2007
Western State University College of Law
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Basic Bar Studies - Spring 2007
PURPOSE OF THIS COURSE
Welcome to Basic Bar Studies, and congratulations! Preparing for the California Bar Exam is
a long and difficult journey, but by enrolling in this course, you have made that journey
significantly less difficult.
This is the first semester that WSU has offered the Basic Bar Studies course. At the outset,
you should know that the entire WSU faculty is committed to making this course a success.
The entire faculty was involved in designing this course, and at least seven full-time faculty
members, along with a bar exam essay writing expert, will be participating in the execution of
the course. With this level of faculty commitment, I can assure you that if you make this
course a priority, you will be well prepared to enter your summer bar preparation course.
In designing this course, the faculty began with a desire to offer third year students the
opportunity to receive extensive feedback on two of the three major sections of the California
Bar Exam (essay writing and MBEs) in an environment free from the pressure of an actual
bar exam looming on the horizon. The faculty chose to focus on the MBE subjects, and more
specifically on those subjects that have proven to be the most difficult: Contracts, Torts,
Evidence, Property, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Professional
Responsibility. We also chose to go in-depth on each of these subjects by offering 4-6 hours
of instruction per subject (rather than, for example, covering 15 subjects with limited coverage
of each). We believe that when you actually sit for the bar, you will benefit by this more
extensive depth of coverage.
The goal of this course is two-fold: (1) for students to receive substantial practice in writing
actual bar-administered essay exams and in completing MBE’s; and (2) for the faculty, in
turn, to provide students with extensive feedback on each of these components. To
effectuate these goals, in this course, you will have the opportunity to complete and receive
feedback on over 350 MBE questions, seven essays from previous California bar exams, and
several essay outlines. The course will culminate in a six-hour mock bar exam, consisting of
three hours of MBE’s and three one-hour essays. Throughout the semester, the professor
assigned to teach a particular bar-tested subject will provide extensive in-class feedback on
both the practice MBE’s and the assigned essay outlines. Such feedback will consist of class
lecture time during which the professor will either review the assigned essays or discuss how
best to approach the specific MBE questions that proved to be the most difficult among those
assigned for a particular subject. To provide even further feedback, experienced essaygrader and adjunct professor, Jennifer Mertus, will grade each practice essay and will provide
extensive oral and written feedback on each. After reviewing written comments, students will
have the opportunity to receive even further feedback from Professor Mertus during regularlyscheduled office hours. Students will complete their education with two essay-writing
workshops, which will each be conducted by Professor Sheppard, Professor McAllister, and
Professor Mertus.
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COURSE RULES AND INFORMATION
FACULTY
Members of WSU’s full-time faculty will teach the specific courses in which they have
expertise. The Syllabus indicates which professor will teach each particular class session.
WSU’s Director of Professional Skills, in conjunction with adjunct professor, Jennifer Mertus,
will grade the practice essays and essay outlines. Professor Mertus will also provide
extensive oral and written feedback on each practice essay.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Please purchase the first-listed text from the Titan Book Store on the Cal State Fullerton
campus. If you do not already possess the other required texts, you may order them through
the publisher’s website (see Dean Susan Keller for details).
(1)
(2)
(3)
Kimm Walton & Steve Emanuel, Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (Aspen 2006)
Dennis P. Saccuzzo, Bar Secrets: The Multistate Subjects, 2nd Edition (Applications of
Psychology to Law, Inc. 2005)
Dennis P. Saccuzzo, Bar Secrets: The California-Specific Subjects, 2nd Edition
(Applications of Psychology to Law, Inc. 2005)
HANDOUTS, READING, E-MAILS, WEB POSTINGS
You are responsible for the information contained in all handouts, web postings, e-mails, and
assigned reading. All reading must be completed by the date indicated on the Syllabus.
GRADING


THREE GRADED COMPONENTS: Your final course grade will be based on three
components: (1) the essay outlines and in-class practice essays; (2) the assigned
MBE’s; and (3) the final exam. The first component constitutes 20% of your final
course grade; the second constitutes 20% of your final course grade; and the third
constitutes 60% of your final course grade.
DUE DATES: The Syllabus provides due dates for all assignments.
COURSE COMPONENT #1: ESSAYS
Throughout the course of the semester, you must complete seven in-class essays and six
essay outlines. This course component contains 100 possible points.
Each in-class essay is worth 10 possible points. There are seven in-class essays, for a
combined total of 70 possible points. Each in-class essay may cover any of the topics
covered in the course prior to the administration of the essay. This design will allow you to
test your ability to both spot and analyze issues, and provides a more accurate
representation of what you will encounter in an actual Bar Exam.
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The six essay outlines designated on the Syllabus are each worth five possible points, for a
total of 30 possible points on the essay outlines. Note that a professor may request that you
complete additional essay outlines as part of your class preparation; however, such additional
essay outlines will not be graded.
For each in-class essay you complete, you will receive a designation of “Pass +,” “Pass,”
“Pass/Fail,” or “Fail.” You will also receive extensive written feedback on each essay, and
you will have an opportunity to meet individually with Professor Mertus to obtain additional
feedback.
Your score on each essay will be converted to a numerical value on a scale of 1-10. The
following Grading Guidelines will govern the scoring of each in-class essay:
ESSAY GRADING GUIDELINES1
Pass +
(9-10 points)
 Spotted all or nearly all issues
 Appropriately analyzed all issues
 Utilized excellent organization2 and format3
 Utilized clear, concise writing style
Pass






(7-8 points)
Spotted most issues
Good analysis of issues
Satisfactory organization
Satisfactory format
Possibly some awkward or wordy writing
Possibly discussed some non-issues
Pass/Fail
(5-6 points)
 Missed one or more issues
 Fair to adequate analysis
 Organization and/or format needs improvement
 Possibly over-analyzed, or under-analyzed, the issues
 Possibly discussed several non-issues
Fail




(4 or fewer points)
Missed many issues
Poor analysis or analysis missing
Poor organization and/or format
Discussed several non-issues
1
These Grading Guidelines are general guidelines that the grader will refer to when scoring essays. Thus, for
example, a student might miss only one issue yet receive a score of “5” if, for example, that student also failed
to organize her answer properly, failed to analyze the spotted issues in sufficient detail, and discussed two nonissues.
2 “Organization” refers to the proper use of IRAC.
3 “Format” refers to the layout of the essay (i.e. use of headings, overall organization, etc.)
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FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-CLASS ESSAYS AND ESSAY OUTLINES
(1) All essay outlines must be typewritten in black ink, single-spaced, on white, 8 ½ x 11
inch paper. If possible, in-class essays should also be typewritten in black ink, singlespaced, on white, 8 ½ x 11 inch paper.
(2) Text for both essay outlines and practice essays must be Times New Roman.
(3) For both essay outlines and practice essays, use one-inch margins on the top, bottom,
left, and right margins.
(4) For both essay outlines and practice essays, number each page in the center at the
bottom of the page, using Times New Roman font.
OFFICE HOURS (FOR REVIEWING ESSAYS AND ESSAY OUTLINES)
Professor Mertus will hold regular office hours every Monday throughout the course of the
semester. To meet with Professor Mertus, you must sign up for an available time slot
through the Basic Bar Studies Lexis Course Web Page. To do so, log on to the Course Web
Page. From the main menu, click on “Communication.” Next, click on “Events.” From this
page, you may sign up for an available time slot. Time slots are generally available in 15-30
minute segments, and only one student may sign up per time slot.
COURSE COMPONENT #2: MBE’s
Six subjects are tested on the MBE: Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Evidence,
Real Property, and Torts. As part of your homework in this course, you must complete MBE
questions in all six of these subjects from Walton & Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the
MBE. For each set of questions, you will complete your answers on scantron, and will use
your WSU exam number (rather than your name). Professor McAllister will provide blank
scantron forms on the Friday before each set of MBE’s is due.
After you turn in each set of assigned MBE’s, without matching exam numbers to names,
Professor McAllister will identify the specific questions that the class had the most difficulty
with. He will then distribute that information to the lecturer for that particular subject, who can
then target the most difficult questions in his or her MBE Review Lecture. The Lecturer will
not know which students missed which questions.
The practice MBE’s are worth 20% of your overall course grade. Combined, the practice
MBE’s consist of 100 possible points. If you turn in every set of required MBE’s on time and
complete each in good faith (see page 7 below), you will receive the full 100 possible points
allocated to the MBE’s. This means that your “raw score” on the practice MBE’s will not
affect the grade you receive on the MBE portion of the final grade. Thus, for example, you
can miss 75% of the assigned MBE’s and still receive the full 100 points. You will, however,
lose 15 points for each set of required MBE’s that you fail to complete in good faith or that
you fail to turn in on time.
COURSE COMPONENT #3: FINAL EXAM
The final exam will consist of a six-hour mock bar exam. The first three hours will consist of
100 MBE questions, and the final three hours will include three essays.
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Approximately 70 of the 100 MBE’s will be derived from the 350 MBE’s assigned from Walton
& Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (which provides you with an additional
incentive for completing every MBE in good faith). The other 30 MBE’s on the final exam will
not be derived from your weekly homework. Each of the three essays will be derived from
past California bar exams, and may only address the seven topics covered in this course.
SUMMARY OF COURSE GRADING REQUIREMENTS
ESSAYS: The in-class practice essays and essay outlines, combined, are worth 20%
of your overall course grade, and consist of 100 possible points.
 Each in-class essay is worth 10 possible points; there are seven in-class
essays, for a combined total of 70 possible points.
 The six assigned essay outlines are each worth five possible points, for a total
of 30 possible points.
 At the end of the semester, the 100 possible points allocated to the essays will
be weighted accordingly so that the point allocation equates to 20% of the
course grade.
MBE’s: The practice MBE’s, combined, are worth 20% of your overall course grade,
and consist of 100 possible points.
 If you turn in every set of required MBE’s on time and complete each in a good
faith manner, you will receive the full 100 possible points allocated to the
MBE’s. Your “raw score” on the practice MBE’s will not affect the grade you
receive on the MBE portion of the final grade. Thus, for example, you can miss
75% of the assigned MBE’s and still receive the full 100 points.
 You will lose 15 points for each set of required MBE’s that you fail to complete
in a good faith manner or that you fail to turn in on time.
 At the end of the semester, the 100 possible points allocated to the MBE’s will
be weighted accordingly so that the MBE portion of the course equates to 20%
of the course grade.
FINAL EXAM: The final exam, consisting of a six-hour mock bar exam, is worth 60%
of your course grade.
 The 100 MBE’s will each be worth 1 point, and the three essays will each be
worth 10 possible points, for a combined total of 130 possible points.
 Approximately 70 of the 100 MBE’s will be taken from the MBE’s assigned from
Walton & Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE. The other 30 MBE’s on
the final exam will not be taken from your weekly homework.
 At the end of the semester, the 100 possible points allocated to the MBE portion
of the Final Exam will be weighted accordingly so that it equates to 30% of the
course grade. In addition, the 30 possible points allocated to the Essay portion
of the Final Exam will be weighted accordingly so that it also equates to 30% of
the course grade.
TOP THREE GRADES: Students receiving the top three grades in this course will be
awarded a new set of Emanuel’s “Law in a Flash” note cards.
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ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
This is a three-credit course. Pursuant to WSU’s written policy, if you accumulate five or
more absences, you will fail this course and receive a grade of 0.0 (on the 4.0 scale). See
WSU Student Handbook, § 5.13. Because your class meets only once per week, if you are
absent for an entire, or substantially all, of a three hour class period, you will have
accumulated two official absences. If, however, you are absent for only half of a three hour
class period (or a significant portion thereof), you will accumulate just one absence. Thus,
upon your third full absence, you will fail this course.
ADDITIONAL GRADING REQUIREMENTS
Professor McAllister has discretion to lower your final grade for any of the following conduct:
arriving in class late or leaving early, and consistently being unprepared for class. Professor
McAllister also has discretion to raise your final grade for outstanding class participation.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COURSE
If you have questions about the course, please contact Professor Marc McAllister, who can
be reached at mmcallister@wsulaw.edu or (714) 459-1145.
HONOR CODE
I would like to clarify some aspects of academic dishonesty that are important to this course.
 In all aspects of this class – including writing essays, meetings with your instructors,
and class attendance – you are strictly bound by the Honor Code.
 All work in this course must be your own. This means that, for the in-class essays and
essay outlines, you must do your own writing and revising. For the essay outlines, you
may not discuss the assignments with another law student, a professor, or a lawyer.
 GOOD FAITH REQUIREMENT: In order to earn course credit for your work, you must
complete the assigned MBE questions and essay outlines in good faith. This good
faith requirement means that you must not work together with other students on MBE
questions, you must not copy and submit another student’s work product, and you
must not copy and submit for credit the suggested “answers” from any printed source.
LEXIS COURSE WEB PAGE
Before Week 2’s class, you must enroll in the Lexis Web Course. To do so:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Go to www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool
Click on “Web Courses”
Enter your LexisNexis ID and click “Sign In”
Click on the “Courses” tab. From the course catalog, find the course entitled,
“Basic Bar Studies – Spring 2007,” and click on “Enroll.”
We will use the Lexis Web Course for a variety of purposes, including distributing
assignments, posting additional learning materials, posting classwide messages, and
answering common questions.
You will be presumed to have access to the Web Course and you will be responsible
for all material posted there. Good luck this semester!
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