Tips &Techniques

Washburn Bar Services

The Kansas Essay Exam

The EssayTwo 3-hour blocks 16 questions total

(8 in the morning & 8 in the evening)22.5 minutes for each questionEach essay is worth the same amount

of points.

The 19 Subjects Tested:

Agency and EmploymentConflicts of LawConstitutional LawContractsCorporationsCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureEvidenceDomestic Relations and

Family LawFederal Civil Procedure

Kansas Civil ProcedureLegal EthicsNon-corporate Business

OrganizationsPersonal PropertyReal PropertyTortsTrusts and AdministrationUCC and Commercial

TransactionsWills

Tips for before writing the essay

1. Your outlines and materials should be created with essay analysis strategies in mind.

2. Your rule statements should be good to go in your head before the bar exam.

3. When you flip to a fresh question, read the call(s) of the question first before going into the fact pattern.

4. You should spend some time planning/outlining your response before writing.

(A) Identify which issue you are discussing(B) List elements of the rule(C) Lay out the facts

An Exercise Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were

headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan's car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and "felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me." The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny's family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial.

Is there any hearsay? Please discuss.

Tips for writing the essay itself

ULTIMATE GOAL: Sound like a lawyer—but a concise one and one that cares about the grader.

1. Follow directions in the call of the question and then answer the question asked.

2. Formatting: Everything you do format-wise is to aid the grader’s job. A. Use headings and short sentences.B. Skip lines between paragraphs.C. Use and define legal terms.

3. Use CRAC (but if you have to fudge, use either CRA or RAC)

Let’s do this again… Following Directions on the Bar

Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan’s car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and “felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me.” The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny’s family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial.

Write a memo addressing to your senior partner whether Penny’s statement is hearsay.

Oh, it’s you again...Answering What the Bar wants

Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan’s car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and “felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me.” The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny’s family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial.

Is this evidence admissible at trial? Why or why not?

More tips about writing: Let’s talk

CRAC.(1) Every essay answer must substantively: State the RULE of law APPLY the rule to the facts Reach a CONCLUSION

(2) But every answer must be organized in a CRAC form.

Begin with the CONCLUSION

Instead of an issue statement, just start with the conclusion.

The conclusion should be a restatement of the question with a clear answer. A short heading is fine.

Do not hedge. Be definitive!But what if I don’t know what my conclusion will be

before I do my analysis?

Set out the RULE of LawUse Kansas law. Default to common-law rules if you don’t know

what Kansas would use.Set forth the rule that governs the issue from your rule-

driven outline or template and only the rule.Again, define legal terms contained in the rule. If you don’t know a law, make it up and apply it to the

facts while sounding like a lawyer.

Set out the ANALYSIS. Apply the law to legally

significant facts.Always, begin your application sentence with “Here,…”Avoid conclusory analysis and avoid just reciting the facts. Use

the following syntax/formula for a balanced analysis:

“Here, [insert legal conclusion] because [insert legally relevant fact].”

Do not leave facts on the table. And don’t paraphrase them if possible.

Be aware of the different levels of depth in your analysis.

Different levels of analysis

Complete CRAC analysisAll issues and sub-issues are discussed with complete rule

statements and in separate CRACs.Semi-complete CRAC analysis

Similar as above but sub-rules statements are left out Truncated CRAC analysis

All issues and sub-issues are discussed within one CRAC.Melded CRAC analysis

Same as the truncated analysis except rules and analysis are more closely inter-mingled. Only do this is if you’re desperate for time. This will get you the very least amount of points.