[blindLaw] Starting Law School Tips and Advice

Sun Dec 28 21:32:10 UTC 2025

Mr. Brian, Great feedback!

Thank you so much for sharing your insights and your experiences. This is
very helpful and interesting. I appreciate it we all do.

By the way, will you do practice questions and practice, essays and
practice multiple-choice stuff?

Did you use any study aids and supplements as well, Brian
On Sun, Dec 28, 2025 at 1:13 PM Brian Unitt <BrianUnitt at holsteinlaw.com>
wrote:

> Aser,
>
>
>
> I was very interested to read your approach to developing and using
> outlines. I feel like I had a similar approach albeit in the pre-technology
> world of 1980-1983. So just as a matter of archeological curiosity I will
> share that I took class notes with slate and stylus, and case notes the
> same way, listening to taped case books. I kept the class notes and case
> notes in separate files (physical file folders) and combined them into
> outlines in the course of the semester. Then during dead week before exams
> I would condense them and that would help get the essentials into my head.
> So I guess I would say that technology gives us better tools and more
> flexible ways to do the work, but the approach, or more likely various
> approaches to getting the material into our heads are pretty timeless.
>
>
>
> Best of luck to all the students on the list.
>
>
>
> Brian
>
> Brian C. Unitt (he/him/his)
>
> Certified Specialist in Appellate Law
>
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>
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> *From:* BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> *On Behalf Of *Aser
> Tolentino via BlindLaw
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 27, 2025 1:05 PM
> *To:* omar duncan <oduncan821 at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* Aser Tolentino <agtolentino at gmail.com>; Blind Law Mailing List <
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [blindLaw] Starting Law School Tips and Advice
>
>
>
> This is where other people’s advice might diverge from mine. Reading it
> all and internalizing what the substance of the rules mean in all their
> complexity is very important. That said, memorizing everything word for
> word quickly leads to diminishing returns. That’s why I pointed out that
> reducing the outlines to their essential elements to the maximum extent you
> are comfortable with is a big part of creating the final form of your study
> outlines. There are people out there who can reel off entire passages of
> the UCC chapter and verse. I was not one of them, but I did get an A in
> contracts. This I think was because of two major factors: grading on essays
> is typically based on how well you demonstrate your understanding of the
> issues presented in the prompt and practically apply the law as conveyed to
> you in the course, and first-year courses are typically graded on a curve.
> So long as you are identifying the issues at play, not swinging at red
> herrings, and making reasonable conclusions based on defensible
> interpretations of the law, you are checking off most of the grading rubric
> and accruing enough points to elevate your responses above a sizable
> portion of the class. In a different example, if memory serves my Trusts,
> Wills, and Estates class had an entirely multiple-choice exam. I think my
> unweighted score was something like 56%. I got an A.
>
>
>
> On Dec 27, 2025, at 3:02 PM, omar duncan <oduncan821 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Amazing this is golden advice thanks Mr. Aser.
>
>
>
> And aside from outlining, what would you do to practice . Rule statement
> for the Irac on exams.
>
>
>
> For example, contracts and civil  procedure requires lots of rote straight
> up rule memorization word for word? How did you go about memorizing the
> rules and applying them to practice essays?
>
>
>
> I know learning rules comes  in stages? How do you go from learning rules
> the first time and  memorizing them from the primary source like the RST
> statement, a UCC uniform  commercial code, or the book for federal rules of
> civil  procedure, then to put them in your outlines, then going from your
> outlines and applying the rules  to practice the rules for rule statements
> on practice essays and multiple-choice hypo.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 11:47 AM Aser Tolentino <agtolentino at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> People use outlines differently depending on their studying and test
> taking strategies. I personally used them as aids for facilitating recall
> of important information like elements of a tort or crime. The trick to it
> for me was to familiarize myself with the whole outline to the point where
> I could recite it not quite word for word but close enough to convey the
> meaning. What would help from there would be condensing it further and
> further to the point where you’re not really looking at the material itself
> but the shorthand that allows you to recall the information with the fewest
> words possible. Some folks took this strategy to the extreme, such that the
> first thing they did when starting the test was to duplicate their
> abbreviated outline from memory, basically turning it into a giant mnemonic
> device.
>
> If you have an outline though when you take a practice test, you can see
> what you recall from memory and then consult the outline to quickly fill in
> the blanks. Going through that a few times can create associations between
> the types of question you are likely to encounter and the material in your
> outline, which hopefully helps promote recall in the actual testing
> environment. This was just how things worked for me and other people I
> studied with. YMMMV.
>
>
>
> On Dec 27, 2025, at 2:30 PM, omar duncan <oduncan821 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Got it cool thanks
>
>
>
> And how would you use your outline would you use the outline for just
> plain studying and also answering essay questions  and multiple
>
> Choice questions and using the outline as you do essay and multiple choice
> test prep as a point of reference while  doing test prep?
>
>
>
>
>
> And after doing the initial outline prep would you ever add onto it or
> revise it as you continued on?
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 10:58 AM Aser Tolentino <agtolentino at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> If I had it to do all over again, I’d try to set aside time at the end of
> each chapter: so there’s enough time for the material to develop context
> but not so much as to risk forgetting details. I think the core should
> start with the professor’s slide decks if you have them, or the syllabus if
> not. Then class notes and finally the reading or your case notes if you
> need the clarification.
> Our study groups used Word so there was commonality. Just to show how long
> ago I was in class, we used Facebook group chats to coordinate and check
> each other’s understanding of key points. I’d use Discord for that now I
> guess. LOL
> I preferred using heading levels with bulleted lists for most content and
> numbered lists for things like necessary elements or multi-part tests.
>
>
> > On Dec 27, 2025, at 1:35 PM, omar duncan via BlindLaw <
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hey Aser good morning.
> > I hope all is well. That’s a good start. I Hope you had a nice holiday
> for
> > Christmas Day.
> >
> > Around how early would you start outlining? And how often did you outline
> > and lastly how exactly did you outline?
> >
> > Did you do subheading and headings and underline and bold to indicates
> > level and organization of the material as well as the importance and
> > significance.
> >
> >
> > Also, on what platform did you do outlining? Was it a word processor or
> > another application?
> >
> > Lastly, what sources and materials do you refer to to compile and
> organize
> > your outline? Did you use class notes, PowerPoint, and supplements and
> > study aids or lectures and stuff like that?
> >
> >
> > I Appreciate some insights On your outlining process. Thank you for your
> > attention, time, and Assistance.
> > This guidance and insight will definitely help me out next semester
> > To be honest I did not do a very good job without lining this semester
> that
> > just finished, but I think I did all right, but I don’t want to make it a
> > habit to not do outlining. I need to do outlining and I can appreciate
> any
> > advice  or  insights you are   able to provide.
> > Thank you for your attention and have a great new year. Please get back
> to
> > me when you can.
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> >> On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 9:16 AM Aser Tolentino via BlindLaw <
> >> blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> I’d have started outlining way earlier so I could spend more time
> >> memorizing the outline or doing whatever prep with the outline already
> >> committed to memory. I did more bullet points than actual briefing or
> >> highlighting. I graduated fifteen years ago, so back then K1000 was
> still
> >> in active development. Having the book saved to KES format was handy
> >> because moving through the book was super fast with that interface and I
> >> did assigned reading with a preliminary skim as fast as I could get
> through
> >> the material. That way I got a quick high-level view of what we were
> >> covering and could decide on what to take away from the cases. Case
> books,
> >> the good ones at least, trim the opinions down to just the points that
> are
> >> relevant to the author’s intended teaching objectives.
> >> My biggest point of advice has nothing to do with tech, but more on the
> >> whole experience. Get to know your classmates. Make friends and develop
> >> support structures: if you’re lucky, those will be the same people.
> >>
> >> On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM Nate Appledorn via BlindLaw <
> >> blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Greetings all,
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I will be starting law school this fall and was wondering if you had to
> >> do
> >>> it all over again, what would you do differently? I was thinking in
> >> regards
> >>> to accommodations or what software or services you found helpful or
> would
> >>> have found helpful.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I was also curious as to what alternatives you have found useful
> instead
> >> of
> >>> rainbow briefing or writing a case brief for every case in the text.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> If anyone has an accessible copy of the Federal Rules of Civil
> Procedure
> >>> and Evidence they would be willing to share, I would greatly appreciate
> >> it.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> All the best,
> >>>
> >>> Nate Appledorn CP
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> >>>
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