A course outline is one of the most important and valuable tools a law student can develop in order to excel in his or her courses.

Organizational Tool. Law school courses are comprised of an enormous amount of material, which must be memorized, comprehended and applied by law school students.  The sheer volume and complexity of such material can feel extremely overwhelming, if you don’t have an organizational structure in place to manage such information.  A law school course outline is the most effective means of organizing such copious information.  Furthermore, you are bound to see the same information from multiple sources.  Compiling all of the information into one spot allows for a streamlined approach of comprehending the material without duplication of effort.

Comprehension of the “Bigger Picture”.  A law school outline brings together all of the information that a student is exposed to during the duration of the law school course into one document.  An outline includes class notes, reading material notes, case briefs, treatise and study aid materials, and study group notes.  Having all of this information available in one place allows a student to gain an understanding of the “bigger picture” of the course.   It is all too easy to get bogged down the minutiae of dense legal materials.  An outline allow you to step back and figure out what you should be getting out of the course, what is important to focus on, and what is superfluous.

Outline Creation as a Study Method.  Many students either depend on commercial outlines or borrow the outlines of their classmates.  Their reasoning is that they do not have time to create a law school outline, and that their time is better spent studying.  This reasoning is in error.  First of all, the creation of an outline is in fact studying.  In order to create an effective outline, a student must understand his/her classwork well enough to be able to put a coherent outline together.  By putting an outline together, a student is reviewing and learning the law school course material. 

No Substitute for Your own Custom Tailored Work.  In addition, if you are not using an outline that is based on your particular professor’s course the semester that you are taking the course, the outline is of limited usefulness.  Your professor will have a very specific slant on a subject, with certain subjects emphasized, that can vary from semester to semester.  Generic commercial outlines will simply not capture the nuances employed by your professor during the semester.  Even if you try to compensate by adding your own touches to a commercial outline or from a classmate’s outline, you are likely to spend a lot of time with limited success.  Furthermore, if you spend enough time doing this, you may have just as well done your own. 

You are also more like to understand an outline that you created yourself than one coming from a third party.

Starting the Outline Process.  You should start outlining your law school course at the beginning of the semester.  Far too many law school students attempt to “cram” and recreate the semester close to it’s end.  It is best to outline as you go---that is, outline the material as you learn it, while it is fresh in your mind.   Outlines can always be modified and refined as you obtain a better grasp  of the material.

What to Include in Your Outline.  There are a number of building blocks that should definitely be included in your outline.  First, you should include any black letter law available to you.  Being able to spot an issue and recite the correct rule is half of the battle on a law school exam.  Black letter law includes statutes and codes, rules from cases, and other such things.

Whether or not your professor expects you to recite case names on the exam, it is always a good idea to include in your outline the essential facts and rule of law from each case you study.  Your coverage of any case in the outline should be proportional to the amount of time you spent on the case in class.

Some professors frequently employ the hypothetical as a learning device in their lectures.  Thus, it is a good idea to include the fact patterns of these hypothetical cases and the professor’s thoughts on them.  Since the exam is likely to be a hypothetical set of facts constructed by your professor, knowing what past hypothetical problems he has discussed might be of use.

You are writing your exam for an audience of one- your professor.  While you need not regurgitate everything ever said by the professor, you should consider his or her take on the subject.   It is a very good idea to focus on what your professor has emphasized during the course. The emphasis of the exam is likely to reflect the professor’s emphasis in class.

Often a professor will address the underlying policy arguments for a given rule or set of rules.  Policy is an excellent way to support your conclusion on a test when two or more possible routes are available.

           
While a law school outline is a lot of work, it is likely to relieve your test taking anxiety and be an enormous help in studying for the final exam.  Best of luck to you!