Finals Tips for Studying

Apr 10, 2023
student highlighting a book while studying

By Landen Logan, Oklahoma City University Law Review 2023-24 Notes & Comments Editor

When I was a 1L, my fellow had great advice for finals prep/studying. We were told to start studying for our last test and work backward. So, if your finals’ schedule order is Contracts, Civ Pro, and then Torts, you would begin with Torts. You spend a few days studying Torts. Then you spend a few days on Civ Pro. And lastly, you study Contracts. This method allows you to restudy the material the days before the final. It’ll allow you to study Civ Pro the two days after contracts and Torts the three days after Civ Pro.

If I take a final, I always allow myself to spend the rest of the day resting in bed, watching movies, or doing anything nonacademic on my to-do list. My only rule is “no drinking.” You can celebrate after the finals are over. Drinking after finals will make studying the next day more challenging. However, after you take the last final of the semester, you should reward yourself and take some time off. (Only once have I ignored this strategy, and it was because I was taking back-to-back finals. When you schedule your classes, try to avoid doing this!)

The last piece of advice I have for final studying is to start early. I did not my first semester, but I have every semester since. And because of that, I have improved each semester. I like to start on November 1st and April 1st. I spend one week on each class through each of those months. When it gets closer to the exam, I start over and spend a few more days on each class.