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The Schematic Approach

No one - not even a chess master - can learn the thousands of rules and elements that appear on the Bar exam without a "trick". The schematic approach provides such a trick by showing you the most effective way of organizing and learning. It is faster, more efficient and much easier than conventional methods.

In the schematic approach, information is presented the way the human brain stores it. In learning any topic, the brain begins by forming a simple general categorical framework. Detailed information is then added to that framework in stages.

Bar Secrets® provides schematic overviews for each subject. These schematic overviews begin with the simplest, broadest categorization of the law. Each has from 2 to 14 of these broad categories. These broad categories are referred to as level one. For example, level one for torts consists of eight broad topics:

1. intentional torts,
2. defamation and privacy,
3. negligence,
4. strict liability,
5. vicarious liability,
6. products liability,
7. other torts, and
8. remedies.

Any issue in torts can fit into one of these eight categories. Prior to taking the bar or any torts exam you must have at your fingertips each of these broad categories. They provide the cues for retrieving the more specific information that follows.

Following the level one outline, there is a second outline that again lists each of the major broad categories. Each broad category is then connected to two or more major issues. This outline is referred to as level two. Level two contains all of the major issues that you'll be expected to spot. Again, you must have each of these issues at your fingertips.

Following levels one and two are the details, definitions, and major rules of law associated with each of the basic issues. These details are referred to as level three. It is necessary for you to have a recall knowledge of each of the rules of law contained in level three. You must also know, and be able to communicate, the effect of any rule of law. For an example of one part of a level three schema, click here.

Our approach to law studies is based on scientific principles in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology that we have been using and teaching for a number of years. In brief, we present the information in a hierarchical schematic format that follows the natural way information is organized by the human brain. A schematic represents the structure of an organized body of knowledge. Once a person has the basic structure, it is easy to learn and remember the details, which is why law professors have little difficulty picking up and remembering small details of law quickly and with little effort.