Dickinson Law Library: Orientation to the Library for 1L Students: Law School Success Resources

Introduction

Law school is different. There is a lot to take in. Most of you did not major in "law" as an undergraduate. Not only that, but teaching and testing methods are very different from what you are used to. Below are some resources to help you develop the new skills you will need to succeed in law school.

Some Resources to Get Started

A First Generation's Guide to Law School (CALI)
Call Number: Online Resource

"This is written as a guide for first-generation students who are entering or are currently attending law school. It introduces students to law school vocabulary and available resources, gives guidance about how to prepare for the unique challenges of law school, and provides a roadmap for things like participating in class, studying for and taking exams, joining extracurriculars, taking care of your mental health, and networking. The guide includes interactive exercises that test the student's knowledge of concepts, encourage the student to reflect on their own interests and experiences, and explore resources in their law school and elsewhere. "--Publisher Description

Tweets to a Young 1L
An informal article written by a law professor about her own experiences and what to expect in law school
Videos for 1L of A Ride
This is a series of videos that accompany the book 1L of a Ride, which is available to you electronically as part of the West Study Aids Collection. Each video is around 10 minutes long. You will seed to set up a West Study Aids personal account to watch these off campus.

more... less...

Videos: Introduction; Planning Ahead & Biggest Fears; Structure & Role of U.S. Courts; The Socratic & Case Methods; The 1L Curriculum; First-Year Sample Course: Torts; How to Read and Brief a Case; C.R.E.D.O.—Top 5 Habits for Success; Essential Study Techniques; Legal Research Basics; Legal Writing Basics; Managing Stress & Maintaining Well-Being; Professionalism
Short Audio Clips for A Daily Reader for 1Ls
Short audio clips (2-4) minutes on a variety of subjects, tied to a book that provides daily advice

more... less...

You need to be on campus or have an individual West Academic study aids account to use this resource.

More Law School Success Resources from CALI

What is CALI?

CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) is a non-profit organization. Almost every law school in the country is a member. They create tutorials and open-access casebooks, among other things. They also sponsor "CALI Awards," which are given to the top 1 or 2 students in a participating class.

CALI Lessons and Podcasts

This is a collection of CALI Lessons and podcast episodes created by law school professors. You need a CALI account to access the lessons. Please also see our Electronic and Print Books.

Foundations: What Everyone Assumes You Know

CALI Lessons

Common Law Basics: What Faculty May Assume You Know
"A basic introduction (or refresher!) about sources of law, court structure, and precedent."
Analysis 1: Thinking Like a Lawyer
"This lesson explores one of the fundamental lawyering skills, which is to think like a lawyer, or analyze." It also includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Time Management: Creating Your Plan
"This lesson provides time management strategies for law students."
Words Matter
"This lesson is designed to show you some examples both of precision, and of when two things essentially mean the same thing."
Metacognition
"This lesson focuses upon the concept of metacognition and teaches you how to enhance your understanding about how you learn to better improve your study, organizational, test-taking and self-assessment skills with the goal of improving your performance in law school." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Don't Compartmentalize! Transfer is the Key to Law School Success
"This lesson seeks to introduce you to the concept of transfer (taking a concept from one place and using it in another place) so that you can begin to incorporate it into your legal studies."
Law School Resources
"This lesson will address what to do if you face a variety of academic and life issues. It will also get you to begin thinking about post-graduation planning."
Law School Lingo: How to Navigate a Brand New Vocabulary
"This lesson is designed to help you get started on mastering the brand new language that is the field of law."
Got a Question? How to Talk to Your Professors
"In this lesson, we will discuss best practices to follow when deciding whether to approach a professor with a question." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Primary v. Secondary Source: Why is Reading Cases So Hard?
"This lesson will explain why reading cases feels so hard, and give you tips on how to make things slightly easier." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

What to Expect in Law School
"In this podcast, four Academic Support professionals reflect on what came as a surprise to them when they entered law school, and share things they wish they would have known then."
First Generation Student Experiences
"[An] academic support professional and fellow first-generation student, speaks with two of her students about what it’s like to be a first-generation student in law school."
The Importance of Collegiality and Professionalism
"This podcast discusses the importance of collegiality and professionalism in law school and in practice, and gives concrete tips on how to practice being more professional, cooperative, and respectful in your everyday interactions."
Law School Myths
"In this podcast, four Academic Support professionals take on a series of law school myths."
Setting Realistic Expectations in Law School
"In this podcast, four Academic Support professionals discuss the importance of setting realistic expectations in law school, and provide guidance on how to do so."

Class Prep: Before, During, and After

CALI Lessons

Preparing for Class 101: Preparing for Your First Day of Class
"This lesson will run through critical considerations to think about before stepping into the law school classroom, or the "theater of learning" for the first time!"
Case Briefing
"This lesson focuses on case briefing. The lesson will guide students through cases identifying the most important part of cases to prepare for classes."
Excavating Facts from Cases
"This lesson will discuss ways to identify the legally significant facts within cases using pre-reading strategies."
Finding the Rule
"The lesson introduces several common rule structures and tests recognition of each. The lesson challenges the student to recognize the rule of law as it appears in several cases."
Introduction to Rule Synthesis
"Using non-law sources, students will learn how to extract individual rules from multiple articles to create one synthesized rule that can be used to solve new problems."
Policy-Based Analysis
"Recognizing and understanding policy in cases is a challenging task - and an invaluable tool. Knowing the policy behind case law and statutes and understanding the underlying policies helps us apply the law on exams and when representing clients. Engaging and practicing these skills throughout your law school career is essential."
Note-Taking 101: The Basics
"This lesson will walk you through things to consider before setting "foot" (physically or virtually!) in a law school doctrinal classroom. You'll learn about how to listen for and capture the most important information, how to maximize your note-taking efficiency by using symbols and shorthand, and the various software options available for taking notes."
Note-Taking 101: Case-Based Content
"Using a series of cross-doctrinal audio lecture examples and integrating periodic checks for understanding, students have the opportunity to develop their note-taking skills and practice categorizing the pieces of case-based information."
Secrets to Improved Memorization
"This lesson provides insight on how to remember the vast information from class to apply on final exams."
Help! I'm Zoning Out
"This lesson is designed to provide students with data about why their attention levels may dip during class or studying, including recent research regarding the effects of digital distractions on concentration."
Study Groups: Best Practices
"This lesson gives best practices on whether and how to form a law school study group."
Cases & Outlining: The Basics
"This lesson will take you step-by-step through a method of representing the content from cases in an outline."
Advanced Reading for Law School
"This lesson will deepen individuals reading skills specifically within the context of legal reading." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Active Reading for Law School
"This podcast will help you understand active reading. It will provide you with tips to help you read more efficiently for law school and strategies to improve your reading skills to be more fully prepared for class."
Learning Tips and Retention
Class Participation Tips
"This podcast discusses methods to use to make you more comfortable with class participation, including case briefing templates. The podcast will provide you with the opportunity to do a freewriting exercise, explore some research in the field, and learn a few tips on how to hone your approach to speaking out loud in class."

Exams: Preparing and Attacking

CALI Lessons

Legal Writing v. Exam Writing
"This lesson explains some key differences between legal writing and exam writing."
Attacking Exams
"This lesson will teach you the best ways to prepare for exams, and the best ways to organize your response on the day of your exam."
Outlining Basics
"This lesson teaches you why, when and how to create outlines when preparing for your law school exams."
Creating Study Aids
"This lesson introduces you to law school study aids. It begins with a brief overview of self-regulated learning and Bloom's learning taxonomy. Then, the lesson introduces law school study aids by pairing them with learning objectives at each level of the taxonomy. Finally, the lesson concludes with an activity designed to help you reflect on your learning."
Reading Comprehension Strategies for Exams
"In this lesson, we will provide some steps you can follow to improve your reading comprehension." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Issue Spotting
"This lesson explores one of the fundamental lawyering skills, which is to be able to spot issues. This lesson looks at what an issue is, and best practices in spotting them in cases, with clients, and on exams. Students will go through basic issue spotting exercises to better prepare for exams."
Hyped About Hypos
"This lesson will cover the what, why, when, where, and how of hypos so law students can conquer the material they are learning and be prepared for exams."
Analysis 2: The "A" in IRAC -- Application and Analysis
"This lesson is designed to help law students who may have received feedback that their analysis is conclusory."
Analysis 3: Using Your Facts
"This lesson will explain why it's important that you use your facts, as well as help you to do just that!" It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Advanced Exam Writing - Using Cases on Final Exams
"This lesson helps students understand where cases fit in a final exam answer and develop arguments based on cases." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
A Methodical Approach to Improving Multiple Choice Performance
"This lesson teaches a methodical approach for all law school multiple choice questions."
Multiple-Choice Questions: Wrong Answer Pathology
"This lesson teaches you how to select the right answer in a multiple-choice question by better understanding how to identify wrong answers, based on nine specific types of wrong answers."
Mechanics of Memorization
"This lesson provides memorization tools and techniques for exam success."
Improving Exam Writing with Deductive Reasoning
"This lesson explains deductive argument structure and how to employ it on an exam."
The Counterargument: A Key (But Often Overlooked) Part of Legal Reasoning
"This lesson explains the different types of counterarguments and shows you how to best integrate them into your analysis."

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Practice Makes Prepared
"This podcast explains the difference between case briefing, class note-taking, smaller writing assignments, and exam essay-writing. It’s a podcast that emphasizes exam strategy as beginning early with practice exam-writing, offers encouragement and thought exercises on overcoming self-resistance to practice, and describes how to use practice as a tool to conquer “freezing” on finals."
Why Outlining Should Be Called Synthesizing
"This podcast discusses why outlining in law school should really be called synthesizing, and gives tips to help you outline (or synthesize!) more effectively."
The Night Before Your Exam...
"This podcast includes tips students can use the night before their exam and the day of the exam to be better prepared."
Types of Law School Exams
"This podcast begins by explaining the differences between exams in undergrad and law school. It then introduces the three types of law school exams: multiple choice, short answer and the long essay."
10 Tips for Essay Exam Writing
"This podcast provides 10 practical tips and best practices, along with common mistakes you can avoid, for law school essay exam writing."
IRAC: There is No Better Way!
"This podcast discusses the benefits of using the IRAC structure (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) when outlining your answer to a law school exam essay."

Reflection: Maintain or Improve on Prior Performance

CALI Lessons

Grit, Growth, and Why It Matters. Or how to be Gritty.
"This lesson will teach you what grit and growth mindset are, and why they are important for learning and mastering success, specifically as they pertain to law school."
Mindfulness Practice in Law School
"This lesson introduces basic skills to help students practice mindfulness and stay in the present despite the numerous stressors."
Assessing Your Own Work
"This lesson will provide students with strategies for self-assessment, so that they can become critical judges of their work, and consequently precise legal writers."
How To Learn From Exams
"This lesson looks at how to learn from success and failures. Primarily, it focuses on what to do after a quiz, midterm, or final exam, and how to continue learning from those assessments." It includes video commentary from the author that expands on the material in the lesson.
Semester Self-Reflection and Assessment
"This lesson is designed to help you self-assess your semester performance. It is best suited for completion after you finish a full law school semester. It begins with a brief overview of self-regulated learning and metacognition. Then, the lesson provides a step-by-step process for assessing your law school semester."

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Competitiveness
"Acknowledging that law school is a competitive environment, this podcast catalogs areas of law school that are most competitive. And, it provides four tips for doing your best in law school."
How to Tell If You're Falling Behind and What You Can to Do About It
"This podcast discusses early warning signs that a law student may be struggling, and gives advice on how to effectively overcome these struggles. The podcast addresses students who may be experiencing difficulty understanding the material as well as students who are having a hard time keeping up with the volume of work."

Orientation to the Library for 1L Students

Introduction

Jump to:

Some Resources to Get Started

More Law School Success Resources from CALI

What is CALI?

CALI Lessons and Podcasts

Jump to:

Foundations: What Everyone Assumes You Know

CALI Lessons

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Class Prep: Before, During, and After

CALI Lessons

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Exams: Preparing and Attacking

CALI Lessons

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast

Reflection: Maintain or Improve on Prior Performance

CALI Lessons

Discussions in Law School Success Podcast