An MBE Strategy For Getting The Most Points Possible

When you're in the bar exam taking the MBE, you may find yourself getting a little behind schedule.  If you start running out of time and know you won't be able to answer all of the remaining questions, use this trick to getting the most points possible on those leftover questions.  For each question that remains, make a quick judgment as to what subject is being tested by that question.  If it one of your two strongest MBEs subjects, take the time to answer it (or at least get rid of 2 of the possible answer options, giving you a 50% shot at getting that answer correct).  If the subject matter is one of the other five subjects, just make a quick guess. Since each question is weighted the same, you only want to spend your precious time and energy on questions you have the strongest chance of answering correctly.

But that leads me to the obvious question: DO YOU KNOW WHICH MBE SUBJECTS YOU ARE STRONGEST IN?  Do you know which subjects you get right 70% of the time, and which ones you get right only 55% of the time?  If not, use this useful tool I developed.  It is called the MBE Tracker.  It will track how many MBE questions you've done, divided by subject matter.  It also tracks your scoring for each of those subjects, so you know which MBE subjects are your strongest and which are your weakest.  This is also great for tracking your improvement as you continue to practice MBEs.  Finally, it can keep track of the average amount of time you spend on each question in case you find finishing in time a challenge.

The MBE Tracker has 8 columns: 1 for each MBE subject, and 1 for mixed.  Each column will have 2 sub-columns.  In the first sub-column, simply list the number of MBEs you completed during your practice session.  The second sub-column is used to record the % correct you got on those MBEs.  (Tip: In case you’ve forgotten how to determine a percentage, simply divide the number of questions you got correct by the total number of questions you did.  So if you get 25 out of 35 questions correct: 25 / 35 = 71%)

The MBE Tracker with Timing is a variation of this document, created for those who consistently struggle to finish in time.  This MBE tracker has a third sub-column for each subject where you list your average time per question.  This will tell you if you are getting faster as you progress.  In case you are not aware, you have 1.8 minutes (108 seconds) per question if you are to finish in time.  Just make sure to use a timer when you practice, and then divide your total time by the number of questions you have completed.

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