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Robin Boyle, St. Johns Law School Assistant Dean for Academic Success & Professor of Legal Writing Exam Essays Common Mistakes Among At-Risk Students

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October 22, 2011 LSAC Academic Assistance Topical Workshop Finding a Way Through: Working With Students Who Have Learning Disabilities My experience: Teaching LRW for 18 years Directing ASP for 6 years Contracts I (Conditional Admissions Program) for 4 years Legal Analysis Practicum (At-Risk 1L) 1 year Agency Practicum (At-Risk 2L) in progress

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Why Focus on At-Risk Populations? Prevalence of learning disabled students (although not all LD students are on the lower end of GPA range).* Not all at- risk students have diagnoses. Not all students with diagnoses inform me. Even if Im informed, not all LD present the same way on exams. * See Leah Christensen, Legal Reading and Success in Law School: The Reading Strategies of Law Students with ADD, 12 The Scholar: St. Marys L. Rev. on Minority Issues 173 (2010).

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About the LAP (1L course) 36 students enrolled in total: 17 students below 2.1 (Academic Probation) mandatory enrollment 10 students b/w 2.1 & 2.2 (Required to receive AS services) mandatory enrollment Offered to @ 30 students whose GPA were b/w 2.2 and 2.49 of those students, 9 opted in

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In 1 st year/2 nd semester LAP course Predominant problems Not providing enough text Going off on tangents stream of consciousness Havent mastered IRAC (I didnt get it 1 st semester) Need more careful case reading & statutory reading Strategies to Remedy Provided weekly writing assignments Focused on IRAC Explained different purposes (not just exams If a memo, then... If a brief, then... )

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Course topics Close Case & Statutory Reading Outlining Rule Synthesis Application of Law to Fact Analogy/Distinction Essay Exam Writing Learning Styles* See Robin A. Boyle, Law Students With ADD: How to Reach Them, How to Teach Them, 39 John Marshall L. Rev. 349 (2006)

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Emphasis Organization of Legal Analysis: Intro (thesis paras) Divide by sub-issues Rules with and without statutes, synthesis of case holdings Application to facts with detail (not skipping steps) Stating counterarguments Stating conclusions without ambiguity

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Writing Assignment Topics Assignment #1 Common law: Contracts case: Sidway v. Hamer (uncle who promised nephew not to drink/gamble until age 21 - $) produce case brief, summarize for a course outline, write essay on hypothetical fact pattern.

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Statutory Analysis Assignment #2 New York Vehicle & Traffic Law Definition of Motor Vehicle in Sec. 125 (vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular power, then exceptions...) Two fact questions how would the court decide (actual cases)? In each question was there a motor vehicle?

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Practice Separating by Issue Assignment #3 - Restatement 2d Sec. 90 (Promise Reasonably Inducing Action or Forbearance) 1) A promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action... 2) on part of the promisee... 3) does induce such action... 4) is binding if injustice can be avoided Two hypo fact patterns given essay answers required

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Rule Synthesis Assignment #4 Covenant not to Compete two fictitious cases and a fact pattern Goal was to divide by sub-issues Synthesize rules Apply in detail

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More Rule Synthesis Assignment #5 Topic: Emotional Distress Restatement 2d of Torts 4 Summaries of cases Hypothetical facts Goal: Write an essay using IRAC

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Course Materials Distributed Succeeding in Law School, by Herb Ramy Handouts

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Results of First Year LAP course Students who attended class and turned in assignments showed improvement in their Spring GPAs to a statistical significance level in comparison to those in their GPA cohort who did not participate. Suggestions try to get buy-in from students (relevant topics, offer course credit, offer course grade)

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Improvements seen from 1L to 2L More text in their essay answers. Some students are using good organization to essays. Some students are reading cases and Restatement very well. Some 1Ls improved GPAs and are not required in 2L course.

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Agency Practicum Course text: J. Dennis Hynes & Mark J. Loewenstein, AGENCY, PARTNERSHIP, AND THE LLC (Abridged 7 th ed. Lexis Nexis). Two sections 9 in Day 9 in evening Most of the students are required to take course (GPAs under 2.2).

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Agency Practicum (2Ls) Common Problems with essays and exam answers Issue statements lack legal terms Rushes past the rule (reduced to bullet outline, parenthetical) Doesnt delve into the next level of rule (repeats the general rule) Lacks meaningful application of law to fact Brushes past counterargts Mentions cases that were not covered in class

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HW for Agency 2Ls Writing short essays to hypothetical problems Submitting course outline of first two chapters (I spotted over-inclusive and under-inclusive outlining) Drafting contract provisions from the point of view of 3 different parties Self-Assessment survey (what percentage of time last semester did you spend on briefing cases? What did you learn from meeting with your professors about exam-taking skills?)

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In-class work Provided an open-book mid-term Reviewed in class the exam & assigned re-write as HW Because it was doctrinal course, spent more class time discussing cases than in LAP course (1 st year). Small class size allowed for students to spend time on their questions about assigned readings and other topics

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Integrating ASP skills Learning styles assessments (online Building Excellence) Time Management Test Anxiety discussed Individualized feedback electronic commenting One-on-one conferences

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Any Questions - Contact boyler@stjohns.edu (718) 990-6609 Thank you!!