How to Make an Outline

What is an outline? An outline is a document summarizing everything you’ve learned in class that you typically get to take into your law school final exam.

First off, you do not need to go through this outlining process completely alone. Get a study group together (even if that's just one study partner) to talk through some of the issues, ask questions, and bounce ideas off of each other. 

I. START OUTLINING EARLY

Outline each topic/ section of the syllabus after you’ve finished the last class on that topic. Outlining always takes more time than you think.

That being said, it is possible to start too soon. If the syllabus says you will spend three classes on a topic, do not start outlining after class one of three. Wait until after the last class on that topic to start outlining it.

Do not start outlining on day one, and don’t wait to start outlining until the week before finals. Landing on either end of the spectrum can be detrimental.

II. FORMAT YOUR OUTLINE IN A WAY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Just because someone else formats their outline in a certain way, it does not mean that’s how you should format your outline. There is no one way to organize an outline. Present the information in a format that is intuitive for you.

Although there is no “right” way to organize it, if you print your outline, I strongly encourage you to tab each section of it so that it’s easy to locate information on the exam. However, note that some exams will be open hard drive with the option to access your outline on your computer, so searching through the document will be easiest that way. Open hard drive exam policies generally depend on the law school and your professor’s discretion.

III. CREATE YOUR OUTLINE FROM SCRATCH

This is a controversial opinion, but you absolutely need to make your own outline. Condense your class notes into a summary of the class and then use old/ example outlines to supplement any information you missed. It is common to see people doing it the other way around where they start with an old outline and then just update it with information from their notes. I think that's a mistake.

There are some people who disagree with this and think that you can just use other peoples' outlines and be fine. While I recognize and agree that you should collect a few example outlines from others, they should just be a resource and not the final result.

Most importantly, the process of making the outline from scratch and having to turn a blank Word document into a comprehensive summary of the class is what prepares you for the exam. By wrestling with the material yourself and being forced to understand it well enough to summarize it, you end up knowing the material really well.

Further, starting with a completed outline and just adding onto it skips the step of synthesizing your notes when you learn exactly where the holes are in your comprehension. This part of the process where you figure out what you don’t know is so crucial—you definitely do not want to be figuring that out for the first time during the exam.

Finally, many professors change their class material from year to year. Depending on the class topic and the professor, those changes may be slight or they may be substantial. Either way, old outlines have a good chance of missing information that was added or including information that your professor didn’t teach during your semester—which you definitely don’t want to include on the exam.

IV. ASK YOUR PROFESSOR QUESTIONS

I cannot emphasize this enough. Go to office hours. Email your professor with questions. Talk to your professor to get a sense of what should be in the outline. For example, you should not go into an exam where your professor wants to see tons of policy considerations with an outline that doesn't clearly denote all of the policy considerations your professor highlighted in class.

Some professors may also mention that citations to specific case names in your exam answer is mandatory while other professors may not care at all as long as you get the general idea down. Your outline should implement these kinds of preferences that your professor has so that your exam can reflect them.

V. SUPPLEMENT YOUR OUTLINE WITH EXISTING OUTLINES

After you've completed a good faith effort at creating your own outline, find old outlines to compare yours with. Check to see if there is information you're missing, if there's a better way to word some of it, or if there's just an easier way to organize it.

Start with outlines from students who have taken that same class with that same professor before. If you can't get your hands on some of those or if you simply want more reference points, you can review outlines from past students who had other professors or commercial outlines.

Where can you get old outlines? The best case scenario is that you’ve made friends with someone who has taken the class before and he or she is willing to share. I also recommend looking at your school’s posted CALI awards. The CALI Excellence for the Future Award® is given to the highest scoring student in each law school class. By looking at that list, you may see that someone you know CALI’d one of the classes that you’re in, and more often than not they’d be happy to help.

If reaching out directly to other students isn’t your thing, most student organizations have outline banks as a perk of membership in that organization. In these outline banks, other students who were members of that club over the years have donated their outlines for other members to reference. Of course, this means that you will need to join (and pay membership fees for) some student organizations that have outline banks.

Caution: do not use just anyone’s outline. Using an outline from someone who got a C- on the exam as your model outline will likely be less helpful than using the outline of someone who earned an A+. This is why I far prefer contacting other students directly who have done well rather than finding a nameless outline in an outline bank. However, you can’t just go around asking everyone what grade they got in their classes. To balance this, looking at your school’s CALI awards for familiar names is a safe bet because you automatically know the students listed there got the highest grade in that class. You’d be surprised by how many people are willing to help students they don’t even know. Usually, they remember being in your shoes and have no issues with being a resource for you.

Ultimately, you should only reference other students’ outlines as a supplement to your own to look for ways to succinctly state the facts of the case, search for a better way to word a rule statement, or see if there was something you missed.

VI. GET ADVICE FROM OTHER STUDENTS WHO'VE TAKEN THAT CLASS

This step is not optional. Find other students who've taken that exact class with that exact professor before. Ask them what study and outlining methods worked well for them and what didn't. Your fellow law school students are a wealth of knowledge and there are some easy ways to avoid major hurdles in a class if you just reach out and ask for tips. This definitely includes tips that can be incorporated into your outline.

If you’re uncomfortable reaching out to other students for help, start with your TAs. The TAs have volunteered to be there because they genuinely want to help and would be happy to answer your questions.

VII. TAKE PRACTICE EXAMS & REVISE YOUR OUTLINE ACCORDINGLY

Take your outline for a test run. Use it on a practice test to see what needs to be added or taken out and then adjust it accordingly before your final exam.

Most law schools have a database of past exams (often in the law library). If your professor is one that does not release past exams, look at past exams from other professors who have taught that same class.

Alternatively, you can use commercial resources like Quimbee for sample exams. However, most people will caution against using commercial practice exams. This is because commercial resources have to be very broad to appeal to students at schools across the country. That can be great if you’re referencing the resource for information on a particular topic, but when it comes to getting a sense of what your exam will be like, commercial practice exams can confuse you with questions on topics that your professor didn’t even teach.

It is also very popular for study groups to get together and come up with their own hypotheticals or sample essay questions for the group to review.

Regardless of where you get the practice questions, take the practice exam seriously and review your answers with your professor in office hours to see if you're on the right track for the exam.