Part one. Legal analysis in a nutshell -- The case method and its myths -- Legal issues -- Common argument strategies -- Arguments for essential first year legal concepts -- Sources of law -- Casebooks -- Part two. Using the tools of legal analysis to crack the case method -- A three-part strategy for cracking the case method -- Reading and briefing cases -- Rhetorical class discussions -- Outlining and exam preparation -- Final exam strategies -- Sample contracts final exam essay question and annotated answer -- Sample constitutional law final exam essay question and annotated answer -- Now it's your turn to practice law school skills -- Appendix. The common law tradition (with civil law comparisons).
Summary:
"For about 150 years, law schools have relied on the Case Method to teach the skills and art of legal analysis to first-year law students. Yet many first-year students struggle academically. They do not struggle because they lack intellectual ability. Instead, they struggle because they are suddenly immersed in a unique and seemingly opaque educational process where nobody has concretely explained what they should try to learn, much less how to learn it. So these students are forced to try to understand their professors' teaching methods on their own--a difficult task for many beginning students, even those who may "get it" but cannot articulate what "it" is. So students understandably ask fundamental questions like the following. Why do reading assignments consist of appellate court opinions? Why do professors rely on the Socratic Method? Why do law school classes so often leave students with more questions than answers? Why do professors' teaching methods differ from their assessment methods and how can students bridge that gap? What do instructors look for when they grade essay exam answers? Why can law students believe they knew "all the rules", yet get poor grades? Cracking the Case Method, 3d ed., provides concise and accessible instruction on how to succeed in law school by answering these questions--and many others. Students need to know what to study and how the opinions they read and discuss in class relate to law school exams"-- Unedited summary from publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.