Are exam postmortems good or bad?
Searched but did not find a thread about this. So, is it productive useful for you to discuss exams afterward, or are you violently opposed to the idea? Of the people I’ve spoken to, it seems like some adore it and some loathe it, with very little in between. Also, does the nature of the grade curve figure in to whether postmortems are productive or not?
I’d say they are bad, but I did it 1l year anyway. Right after every exam, my study partner and I went over the whole exam in depth over coffee or lunch. I think you just have to do it understanding that you can still get a good grade even when you miss some issues. There were always things he saw that I didn’t and vice versa. There was only one time it really bit me in the ass, when I realized I missed something HUGE on my ConLaw exam and I stressed about it the entire summer. I ended up getting an A and all that worry was for nothing. But personally I’m too neurotic not to postmortem, I can’t help it.
What good can come of it?
Bad 1L for sure.
For practice exams, great idea.
For f’realsy exams, with your professor, after you receive your grade and with an eye toward improving in the future, great idea.
For f’realsy exams, with your peers, before your grade comes out: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
+1
For me, I felt that since I had never taken a law school exam, (and I also studied alone, mostly), it was reassuring to know that other people also felt unsure and had missed issues, and that I wouldn’t necessarily fail because of that. It was also a nice bonding experience with people in my section.
Until this post, I would not have associated you with the word f’realsy
Been using it (without the support of others it would seem) since June according to TLS search: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/search.php?keywords=f'realsy&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
..
Exam post-mortems = No. Why? Psychological trick. Intimidate people.
In reality, don’t - You’ll see what you did right/wrong and the wait for grades will kill you even more. Isolate yourself from your law school peers after exams are over and forget about it until grades come in.
It can be good in certain cases. I know that I was freaking out about one of my answers, but after talking to someone in my study group, I learned that we both had the same answer and it was likely the correct one. Same thing happened to another person in my study group… right after the exam, she was upset about one of her answers, but then we found out that we both had the same answer (and I was pretty sure it was correct). So sometimes it is helpful if it puts your mind to rest.
And this is coming from someone with the name “LSATNightmares” so it’s gotta be on the money when it comes to dealing with stress from tests. I bet you want to change your name now to “ExamNightmares”.
I always find it comforting. Imagination can be a lot more dangerous than reality.
Rarely good. Every time the exam closes, some gunnerish kids IMMEDIATELY start talking about the exam, and it’s usually about some issue I missed. I basically have to run the hell out of the room as soon as I can.
This does feel pretty appropriate:
A lulzy “So what did you think of the exam?” to your friends is ok. Sitting down to discuss actual issues and compare with your friends is a little neurotic. As a 1L the best thing to do is wait for grades to come out, then talk with your professor. As a 2/3L why would you even care?
Haha, I’m not as fearful about law school exams. I actually find them easier than the LSAT, because they are more based on knowledge and hard work actually pays off. I just stink at standardized tests.
our section went to a bar and had a very strict no postmortem rule after our first exam! but then people just kept talking about it the next 3 days after…so we did the opposite for the rest and cut it off once we had enough beer in us
it seems like people are going to do it anyway at least generally…so if they do you might as well do it early…
I think we shot more for… talk about it only once people have enough beer in them.
Usually negative, because if you discuss an issue that everyone else saw you worry that you only saw the issues everyone else saw. Then if you miss an issue that someone else/everyone else saw … well, you know.
The only time it’s really comforting is if you think a question came totally out of left field and others agree.