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Graded Bar Exam Essay Answer Bank
Are you writing bar exam essays the way the graders want? One way to check your work is to see graded essays, including high- and low-scoring answers from actual bar takers.
To that end, you’ll find two things here:
- Mostly for California. Other states like New York and Nevada are also available.
- For more actual essays from California takers, check out BarEssays ( click here to grab a $25 coupon ).
- Below the essay bank is a link to California bar essay issue charts by subject and year.
Real graded CA bar essay answers (some other states available)
Essay 1 (Business Associations): 65 , 60 , 65 (65/65), 55
Essay 2 (Real Property): 60 , 60 , 60 (60/60), 60
Essay 3 (Professional Responsibility): 55 , 70 , 55 , 57.5 (60/55), 60
Essay 4 (Civil Procedure): 55 , 55 , 52.5 (50/55), 60
Essay 5 (Remedies, Contracts, Torts): 65 , 60 , 67.5 (65/70), 60
California PT: 55 , 55 , 65 (65/65), 65 , 60
Essay 1 (CA Community Property): 67.5 (65/70), 70 *
Essay 2 (Constitutional Law): 50 , 55
Essay 3 (Professional Responsibility): 70 , 65 , 60
Essay 4 (Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure): 70 , 65 , 55
Essay 5 (Contracts): 55 , 50
California PT: 60 , 60
New York MEE and MPT Answer Set 1 (MEE 1: 44.79, MEE 2: 54.53, MEE 3: 35.35, MEE 4: 49.59, MEE 5: 37.83, MEE 6: 57.81, MPT 1: 46.28, MPT 2: 47.66)
Washington MEE 1: 5
* I like what this donor said : “I am an ESL speaker, so please disregard any grammatical errors. However, I can still achieve a score of 70.” I hope to impart this optimistic view that you CAN write the way the graders want. It’s a learnable skill.
Essay 1 (Business Associations): 55 , 55 , 55 , 52.5 (55/50), 60 , 55 (55/55), 55 , 50 , 70
Essay 2 (Torts): 55 , 55 , 55 (annotated with comments) , 75 (80/70), 70 , 65 (65/65), 60 , 60 , 75
Essay 3 (Professional Responsibility): 60 , 60 , 45 , 50 (50/50), 70 , 62.5 (60/65), 50 , 60 , 60
Essay 4 (Criminal Law and Procedure): 55 , 55 , 50 , 62.5 (60/65), 55 , 52.5 (55/50), 65 , 65 , 55
Essay 5 (Remedies): 40 , 50 , 55 , 62.5 (60/65), 55 , 55 (50/60), 50 , 50 , 50
California PT: 60 , 60 , 55 , 65 (65/65), 60 , 65 (65/65), 60 , 60 , 55
Essay 1 (Civil Procedure): 57.5 (55/60), 60 , 55 (55/55), 65
Essay 2 (Constitutional Law): 57.5 (60/55), 70 , 52.5 (55/50), 55
Essay 3 (Real Property): 52.5 (55/50), 55 , 62.5 (70/55), 60
Essay 4 (Professional Responsibility): 67.5 (65/70), 55 , 57.5 (55/60), 60
Essay 5 (Evidence): 62.5 (60/65), 65 , 57.5 (60/55), 60
California 90-minute PT: 60 (60/60), 65 , 75 (75/75), 60
New York MEE and MPT Answer Set 1 (MEE 1: 50.35, MEE 2: 42.22, MEE 3: 40.51, MEE 4: 47.07, MEE 5: 34.95, MEE 6: 41.81, MPT 1: 39.36, MPT 2: 40.35)
Essay 1 (Contracts): 67.5 (65/70), 62.5 (65/60), 55 , 52.5 (55/50), 65 , 55 , 60
Essay 2 (Constitutional Law): 57.5 (60/55), 55 (55/55), 55 , 60 (60/60), 60 , 55 , 55
Essay 3 (Professional Responsibility): 62.5 (60/65), 60 (55/65), 50 , 62.5 (60/65), 65 , 55 , 55
Essay 4 (Business Associations): 55 (55/55), 57.5 (60/55), 45 , 60 (60/60), 50 , 55 , 50
Essay 5 (Wills, CA Community Property): 57.5 (55/60), 62.5 (60/65), 60 , 57.5 (60/55), 55 , 50 , 65
California 90-minute PT (Objective Memo – Torts): 75 (75/75), 65 (65/65), 60 , 60 (60/60), 65 , 55 , 50
New York MEEs and MPTs: Set 1
Nevada Essays and NPTs: Set 1
Selected answers for 2022 July MEEs and MPTs
The essays are generally structured fine. Formulaic IRAC is a good way to organize arguments.
Regarding the second essay specifically (Con Law), there were more free speech issues in the first call of the question, such as whether content-based or content-neutral rules apply in a public school. I didn’t see respective rules for those (strict scrutiny for the content-based, for example). I think you did well hitting on those threshold issues like overbreadth, but you may have missed more important issues.
This leads me to think that perhaps you are getting some issues right but not others. I encourage you to study when the selected answers get posted on the state bar website (or here ) to see which issues they discussed and how they’re resolved.
I think that you may also need to connect the rules to the facts, rather than simply listing out facts in your application paragraphs. I noticed this in the third essay (Professional Responsibility). One way is to use the word “because.”
I wanted to add that you did a good job on the PT. This is where some people lose a lot of points when they neglect it since it’s worth 2x an essay.
Essay 1 (Criminal Law and Procedure): 67.5 (70/65), 70 (65/75) , 67.5 (80/55), 65 (65/65), 50 , 67.5 (60/75), 55 , 65
Essay 2 (CA Community Property): 72.5 (80/65), 57.5 (55/60), 65 (65/65), 65 (65/65), 60 , 65 (70/60), 55 , 65
Essay 3 (Torts, Remedies): 62.5 (65/60), 52.5 (55/50), 55 (55/55), 57.5 (60/55), 55 , 60 (60/60), 60
Essay 4 (Evidence, Professional Responsibility): 52.5 (55/50), 50 (50/50), 65 (65/65), 57.5 (60/55), 55 , 62.5 (65/60), 55 , 70
Essay 5 (Business Associations, Remedies): 65 (60/70), 62.5 (65/60), 65 (70/60), 62.5 (60/65), 60 , 57.5 (55/60), 55
California 90-minute PT (objective memo): 52.5 (55/50), 60 (65/55), 57.5 (55/60), 57.5 (55/60), 55 , 60 (65/55), 55 , 60
Some things to focus on:
- Lay out the rules first. However, try to only introduce rules that you are going to use. This keeps your answer tight and gives you more time to talk about the facts and other issues. If you are spending a ton of time writing about the rules, you may not have that luxury. Also, don’t introduce new rules after you start talking about the facts or applying another rule.
- Focus on completely identifying the issues. Ask yourself, what are they trying to test you on with these fact patterns? The more you solve similar fact patterns, the more you’ll see issue patterns you can whip out on the exam. Also, sometimes it’s better to have more issues identified with less analysis, especially for broad calls of the question. Professional Responsibility is one such subject where you want to focus on the issues and rules first (cook the essay), then fill in your analysis as time allows.
- Be clear with your organization and presentation. You want to make it easy for the grader to know what issue you’re discussing, what the rule is, and where you are applying the rule. And of course what your conclusion is. Use headings and paragraphs liberally. The easier you are to understand, the more likely they will give you points. Remember that reading thousands of these essays is exhausting for the grader. Give them a breath of fresh air. Writing bar essays isn’t just about legal knowledge; it’s doing a service for your client.
- Address all the questions completely.
From the applicant:
Here are a few of my thoughts:
- Essay #1 – The 25 point discrepancy between the first and second grader makes absolutely no sense to me. When I read my response, I cannot understand how I possibly could have been given a 55 by the second grader.
- Essay #3 – I broke out all the elements for the equitable remedies (TROs, Preliminary Injunctions, Permanent Injunctions) because this was a remedies-heavy question. So again, not sure what I did to receive only a 55 on this essay.
- PT – Because the bar exam was back in person in February, I had the ability to make a strategic decision to do my PT first (before Essay #4 and #5), which I did. All I could hear anyone talking about after the afternoon session on the first day was how they did not finish the PT. This made me feel even more confident because I did finish. I even spent 5 extra minutes on the PT to make sure it was bulletproof to avoid what happened to me on the PT in July. In July, I missed the infamous “Blue Pencil” issue and did not finish concluding. Yet, I got the same exact score on the PT in February as I did in July. When I walked out of the afternoon session on day 1, I thought I at least got a 65 on the PT, but I honestly was expecting a 70 or 75. With how much the PT is worth, this dropped my raw writing score significantly.
- MBEs – my percentiles went up in most areas compared to the July bar, but my scaled score was lower. I understand the scaling changes for each exam, but not quite sure what else I can do for the MBEs when I spent 90% of my time during bar prep preparing for the MBEs.
My feedback:
First, I have to say that this was one of the hardest CA exams, with a 33.9% pass rate as you know. Even with a higher raw written score, you received a lower scaled score. Unfortunately, that’s just the casualty of whatever statistical adjusting they do. Theoretically, scaled scores are equivalent to one another… Theoretically.
Essay 1 :
I agree with you that the disparity in scores for Essay 1 is unusual. I don’t see how it deserves a 55. You pretty much did textbook IRAC, identified numerous issues, and organized and presented it all in a clean format. The only thing I can think of is that you didn’t actually connect the rules to the facts step by step. If you analogize it to an algebra problem, each line is a small step to the answer. Here’s an example:
Rule = perfect. (Note that I also had perfect rules on my first attempt.)
- “Here, Jim and Fred both armed themselves with handguns and went to the store on Avon street.” Great.
- “As an accomplice, Jim can be liable for any foreseeable crimes if he aided, encouraged, or abetted the crimes.” What made Jim an accomplice? The bridge is missing. One way to tell if you are bridging the rule to a relevant fact is if you can use the word “because.” The better thing to say here is to say what Jim did that would qualify as aiding, encouraging, or abetting. I don’t think the facts say such a thing.
- “Here, it can be inferred that Jim partook in these crimes and aided, encouraged, or abetted the target crimes and any foreseeable crimes.” I disagree with the “inferred” part. You should cite a fact from the hypo to support this. You talk about conspiracy below this, which is closer to what happened in the fact pattern.
My guess is that the 2nd reader read the essay more carefully since it was a reread in the gray zone.
I didn’t read through the rest in the interest of time, but one thing that’s evident is that essay grading is subjective. Hence, any “best practices” you can do to make it easy for the grader to give you points will help. I think your formatting is nice and clean. I love how you break down the issues, and you know your rules. You’re in a great place in terms of knowledge. Perhaps better usage of the facts will help next time around.
Essay 3 :
You did a great job on the remedies question. When the selected answers come out, take a look at what other torts there could have been. At first glance, you probably got the major ones.
Without doing a deep dive, I can only say that it was hard to see where the application of the facts was. I saw a lot of statutes being recited, and noticed your usage of facts in the middle of one of the paragraphs.
Raw written score :
Your average written score is 61.8 (432.5 / 7). You needed a 62.78 for this exam. That’s just 7 more raw points (~439.5 vs. 432.5). Can’t help but think that you would have “passed” the essay portion if they’d kept your first read.
VIDEO: review and breakdown of the 5th set of essays
Essay 1 (Civil Procedure): 65 , 55 , 55 , 55 , 62.5 , 50 , 50 , 65 , 50
Essay 2 (Professional Responsibility): 60 , 65 , 50 , 50 , 57.5 , 50 , 75 , 62.5 , 60
Essay 3 (Torts): 55 , 55 , 51 (adjusted for ExamSoft issue), 65 , 62.5 , 55 , 55 , 65 , 60
Essay 4 (Criminal Procedure): 50 , 60 , 50 , 60 , 62.5 , 65 , 65 , 65 , 57 *
Essay 5 (Wills, CA Community Property): 70 , 55 , 50 , 65 , 72.5 , 60 , 60 , 57.5 , 60
California 90-minute PT: 55 , 55 , 55 , 55 , 60 , 45 , 55 , 55 , 56 *
- PT-only donation: 65
- 2021 July was administered online, and the scores of 57 and 56 resulted from an adjustment for those who had issues with Examplify.
Washington MEE 1: 4
Washington MEE 2: 3
Essay 1 (Evidence): 55 , 45 , 52.5
Essay 2 (Contracts & Remedies): 60 , 50 , 60
Essay 3 (CA Community Property): 55 , 65 , 80
Essay 4 (Professional Responsibility): 50 , 60 , 62.5
Essay 5 (Real Property): 50 , 50 , 52.5
California 90-minute PT: 60 , 45 , 55
Second column of essays has some of my annotations in bubble comments.
Essay 1 (Professional Responsibility): 57.5 , 50
Essay 2 (Business Associations – Corporations): 52.5 , 50
Essay 3 (Real Property): 57.5 , 55
Essay 4 (Criminal Law & Procedure): 62.5 , 55
Essay 5 (Remedies – Contracts): 55 , 55
California 90-minute PT: 52.5 , 50
Essay 1 (Torts): 60 , 70 , 57.5 , 60 , 50
Essay 2 (Professional Responsibility): 65 , 75 , 57.5 , 57.5 , 60
Essay 3 (Contracts Remedies): 60 , 65 , 52.5 , 60 , 60
Essay 4 (CA Evidence): 65 , 60 , 57.5 , 70 , 65
Essay 5 (Business Associations): 65 , 55 , 65 , 65 , 55
California 90-minute PT: 57.5 , 60 , 60 , 55 , 70
The recurring theme I see in your essays (nice job on the PT) is that issues are missing. I think your IRACing is good. However, you can’t do the IRACs if you don’t bring up the I (issue) in the first place.
To this end, Approsheets may be helpful. In addition, I’ve heard good things about Mary Basick’s blue book (2nd ed.)
Sample answers aren’t out yet, but I’d suggest looking at the higher-scoring answers in the essay answer bank for reference
Examples of things you could have discussed:
Q1. NIED. What recovery is possible (part of the questions)
Q2. PR essays typically have general calls (what violations or obligations are there)… Issue identification is especially important.
Q3. Valid contract formation. Could have discussed more specific sub-rules and corresponding facts for the elements for specific performance (final call of the question)
Lesser point: Since you’re handwriting, presentation becomes more important. Try to leave enough spacing between issues and discussions so that it’s easier for the grader to see where discussions end and begin.
Essay 1 (Civil Procedure): 55 , 55 , 55 , 50 , 62.5 , 65 , 60 , 55 , 65
Essay 2 (Remedies, Con Law): 60 , 62.5 , 70 , 55 , 62.5 , 52.5 , 55 , 72.5 , 50 , 60
Essay 3 (Criminal Law and Procedure): 55 , 60 , 55 , 60 , 57.5 , 65 , 55 , 55 , 70
Essay 4 (Prof Resp): 60 , 55 , 50 , 50 , 55 , 52.5 , 55 , 65 , 55 , 55
Essay 5 (Contracts): 60 , 57.5 , 60 , 55 , 57.5 , 55 , 65 , 70 , 60 , 55
California 90-minute PT: 55 , 60 , 60 , 65 , 62.5 , 55 , 70 , 60 , 60
My assessment of essays in the 5th column of essays above (in bold ).
Essay and PT set 1 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 57.5, Q3 62.5, Q4 55, Q5 57.5, PT 70)
Essay and PT set 2 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 62.5, Q3 60, Q4 60, Q5 62.5, PT 62.5)
Essay 1 (Wills, Trusts, CA Community Property): 70 , 60 , 55 , 65
Essay 2 (Torts): 57.5 , 65 , 65
Essay 3 (Real Property): 52.5 , 62.5 , 60 , 65/70
Essay 4 (Civil Procedure, Evidence): 65 , 55 , 60
Essay 5 (Prof Resp): 55 , 52.5 , 60
California 90-minute PT: 57.5 , 60 , 60 , 65/60
Essay 1 (Contracts): 60 , 55
Essay 2 (Evidence): 65 , 65
Essay 3 (Prof Resp): 75 (sample from BarEssays ), 55
Essay 4 (CA Comm Prop): 60 , 55
Essay 5 (Con Law): 55 , 50
California 90-minute PT: 55 , 55
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores: Q1 60, Q2 50, Q3 50, Q4 55, Q5 50, PT 55)
Essay and PT answers set 2 (scores: Q1 65, Q2 57.5, Q3 55, Q4 65, Q5 55, PT 60)
New York : 2018 July New York (UBE) MEE and MPT set (MEE 1-6 scores in order 57.06, 44.55, 55.46, 41.42, 53.79, 40.09; MPT scores in order 49.42, 52.44; total 137.7)
Essay 1: 55 ( Brian’s Annotations )
Essay 2: 60
Essay 3: 60
Essay 4: 65 ( Brian’s Annotations )
Essay 5: 65
California 90-minute PT: 65
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 55, Q3 65, Q4 50, Q5 60, PT 60)
Essay and PT answers set 2 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 60, Q3 55, Q4 70, Q5 60, PT 50)
Essay 1: 60 , 72.5 , 60 , 65 , 60 , 65 , 60
Essay 2: 60 , 62.5 , 60 , 60 , 55 , 55 , 65
Essay 3: 65 , 62.5 , 65 , 55 , 55 , 50 , 50
Essay 4: 60 , 65 , 65 , 70 , 60 , 60 , 65
Essay 5: 65 , 62.5 , 60 , 60 , 55 , 55 , 60
California 90-minute PT: 65 , 57.5 , 75 , –, –, 55 , 45
Essay 1: –, 62.5 , 60 , 55 , 50
Essay 2: –, 57.5 , 55 , 60 , 50
Essay 3: –, 65 , 55 , 70 , 65
Essay 4: –, 60 , 60 , 60 , 50
Essay 5: –, 65 , 60 , 55 , 65
Essay 6: –, 65 , 60 , 60 , 60
PT A: 57.5 , 70 , 55 , 70 , 65
PT B: 60 , 60 , 70 , 65 , 60
Essay 1: 55 , 65 , 65 , 55 , 55
Essay 2: 55 , 55 , 60 , 55 , 45
Essay 3: 60 , 50 , 60 , 55 , 55
Essay 4: 55 , 65 , 55 , 55 , 50
Essay 5: 55 , 60 , 75 , 60 , 55
Essay 6: 50 , 60 , 50 , 55 , 55
PT A: –, –, 50 , 50 , 55
PT B: 50 , –, 60 , 60 , 55
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 60, Q3 45, Q4 60, Q5 65, Q6 60, PT A 50, PT B 55)
Essay and PT answers set 2 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 50, Q3 50, Q4 50, Q5 55, Q6 50, PT A 55, PT B 60)
Essay and PT answers set 3 (scores: Q1 60, Q2 57.5, Q3 65, Q4 52.5, Q5 65, Q6 60, PT A 60, PT B 57.5)
Nevada : Essays Day 1 (scores in order: 63.32, 90.06, 71.40 / 75.00 passing), MPTs (score in order: 67.50, 51.91 / 75.00 passing), Essays Day 3 (scores in order: 61.52, 93.47, 76.43, 78.82 / 75.00 passing)
Essay 1: 60 , 65 , 62.5
Essay 2: 50 , 60 , 60
Essay 3: 50 , 55 , 60
Essay 4: 60 , 70 , 55
Essay 5: 50 , 55 , 57.5
Essay 6: 50 , 60 , 57.5
PT A: 55 , 55
PT B: 65 , 70
My analysis of the first column of essays and PTs above (in bold ) (my estimated scores before actual scores were sent to me + my evaluation of the answers and suggestions)
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores: Q1 55, Q2 60, Q3 65, Q4 50, Q5 60, Q6 50, PT A 60, PT B 70)
Essay and PT answers set 2 (ZIP file with images; scores: Q1 55, Q2 75, Q3 65, Q4 55, Q5 50, Q6 50, PT A 55, PT B 60)
Essay and PT answers set 3 (scores: Q1 50, Q2 50, Q3 50, Q4 60, Q5 55, Q6 55, PT A 55, PT B 55)
Essay 1: 60
Essay 2: 65
Essay 4: 55
Essay 5: 55
Essay 6: 60
PT A: 60
PT B: 55
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores in order: Q1 60, Q2 55, Q3 55, Q4 60, Q5 55, Q6 55; PT A 50, PT B 50)
Essay and PT answers set 2 (scores in order: Q1 60/55, Q2 75/85, Q3 60/55, Q4 65/65, Q5 65/60, Q6 60/60; PT A 55/55, PT B 60/60)
Essay 1: 65
Essay 3: 55
Essay 6: 55
PT B: 70
New York : 2014 July New York essay answers set (scaled scores in order: 60.82, 44.77, 43.83, 40.62, 45.01, 31.66)
Essay and PT answers set 1 (scores in order: Q1-6 55, 55, 55, 55, 55, 55; PTs 55, 60)
Essay 1: 65 , 60
Essay 2: 55 , 50
Essay 3: 55 , 50
Essay 4: 50 , 55
Essay 5: 50 , 55
Essay 6: 60 , 60
PT A: 55 , 65 , 70
PT B: 60 , 55
Issue Outlines
Sample legacy (3-hour) CA PT answers by Brian
PT 2008 FEB B (Dr. Snyder) — with grader commentary PT 2006 FEB B (Estate of Small) — with grader commentary and self-analysis PT 2012 FEB B (State v. Dolan) — self-graded PT 2009 JULY A (Farley) — self-graded PT 2010 JULY A (Vasquez CC&Rs) — self-graded with notes, comments, and questions Snow King Mountain Resort answer , notes Pearson
California essay and issue charts by subject
Anonymous donor’s how-to-use: Barbri has a different chart that has the subjects in the left column, the month and year of the test along the top row, and the question number where the subject and test date intersect, but creating the chart this way made me focus on my weakest subjects instead of trying to predict which topics would be tested. There were certain subjects where I missed a lot of issues, e.g., constitutional law and community property, because I didn’t take ConLaw II or CP in law school.
Instead of doing the same amount of essays for each subject, I’d only outline the subjects that I’d spotted most of the issues for and use my extra time reviewing how the essays were organized in my weakest subjects for as many essays as I could. Having a chart allowed me to find those essays faster, compare how they were written from year to year, and create a template for how to approach issues that I hadn’t learned in law school.
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JD Advising July 2022 California Bar Essay Predictions
Are you starting to prepare for the July 2022 California Bar Exam? Are you curious as to what subjects might appear on the July 2022 California Bar Exam essays? We have taken a close look at the trends on the California Bar Exam essays and created our July 2022 California Bar Exam essay predictions. Below is a survey of the essay subjects we think are worth extra attention.
Disclaimer: You should NOT rely solely on these July 2022 California Bar Exam essay predictions when you study! You should review all subjects when preparing for the California Bar Exam. All subjects are fair game for the exam. This is just our educated guess on what will appear on the exam, which we do for fun! Sometimes we are right. Sometimes we are not! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested topics and be careful not to ignore any subject! Now, onto our July 2022 California Bar Exam essay predictions.
Note: All of the suggested essays noted below can be found for free on the State Bar of California website. You can find exam questions and selected student answers for all of the exams from July 2012 through February 2021 on that website.
If you’d like to receive this post as a downloadable PDF, please fill out the form below, and we will email it to you!
Send Me a PDF of The Predictions:
Agency and partnership.
Agency and Partnership is combined with Corporations under the subject “Business Associations,” which was just tested in February 2022. The February 2022 question focused on Corporations, and not Agency and Partnership, however this is not surprising as Corporations tends to be more frequently tested than Agency and Partnership. Nonetheless, Agency and Partnership was last tested in February 2020, so it is possible that the Examiners could test this subject on the July 2022 exam. When the Examiners test this subject, they tend to test both Agency and Partnership, so be sure to review the common issues that could come up for both of these subjects!
Here are some essays we suggest you review to get started on Agency and Partnership:
- February 2020 (partnership formation; actual authority; apparent authority)
- February 2015 (vicarious liability; liability of partners; creditors’ rights)
- July 2014 (Combined with Corporations and Professional Responsibility—actual and apparent authority)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Agency and Partnership topics.
Civil Procedure
Civil Procedure was last tested on the July 2021 exam. It seems that the Examiners have been testing this subject slightly less frequently in recent years, including it on the essays about once every three administrations of the exam. Nonetheless, we do think this subject is ripe for testing given its importance! Civil Procedure is almost always tested as a stand-alone subject, so we do not expect to see this subject crossed over with another subject. The Examiners almost always test the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but they did test California law on the July 2016 exam, so be sure to review the California distinctions for this subject!
We recommend that you begin preparing for a Civil Procedure essay by reviewing the following exam questions:
- July 2021 (diversity jurisdiction; venue; Erie Doctrine; discovery)
- July 2017 (joinder)
- July 2016 (California law; personal jurisdiction)
- July 2015 (claim and issue preclusion)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Civil Procedure topics.
Community Property
Community Property was just tested in February 2022, and it was also tested in the two administrations before that (February 2021 and July 2021). It is possible that this subject has become a new favorite of the Examiners, and you could see it tested again on the July 2022 exam! Keep in mind that this subject frequently appears as a crossover subject on essays, having been recently crossed over with Wills and Trusts. We do think that Wills and Trusts are ripe for testing, so the Examiners might decide to test all three subjects (Wills, Trusts, and Community Property) in a single essay!
- February 2021 ( Pereira and Van Camp analysis)
- February 2019 (Combined with Wills—devising community property without other spouse’s consent)
- July 2018 (CP used to improve SP; commingled bank account; tracing; retirement pension; personal injury settlement)
- July 2017 (transmutation; fiduciary duties)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Community Property topics.
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law has not been tested on the California Bar Exam essays since July 2019. It is usually tested about once per year, so this issue is ripe for testing! Constitutional Law is usually tested as a stand-alone subject, but we have seen it tested as a crossover, most commonly with Real Property (where the issue tends to be eminent domain), and in July 2019 it was crossed over with Remedies.
To get some practice with Constitutional Law, we recommend taking a look at the following essays:
- July 2018 (Dormant Commerce Clause; Privileges and Immunities of Article IV; Equal Protection Clause; substantive Due Process)
- February 2018 (Establishment Clause; Free Exercise Clause)
- July 2016 (Procedural Due Process; standing; Eleventh Amendment)
- February 2014 (Free speech—content-based regulation; time, place, and manner regulation; vagueness)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Constitutional Law topics.
Contracts was last tested in February 2021, where it was tested as a crossover question with Remedies. Given that we usually see this subject tested at least once per year (and sometimes it is tested on both administrations in a calendar year!), this subject is ripe for testing! Recent Contracts essays have appeared as crossover questions with Remedies, and the February 2018 Contracts essay was a crossover with Professional Responsibility. We think Contracts could be tested as a standalone subject in July 2022, but be aware of these subjects with which it is frequently crossed over just in case the Examiners decide to test it as a crossover again!
We recommend reviewing the following Contracts essays:
- February 2021 (UCC—contract formation; perfect tender rule; disclaimer of warranties; expectation damages)
- February 2020 (Common law—preexisting duty; parol evidence rule; specific performance)
- July 2019 (UCC and Common law—formation (acceptance); Statute of Frauds; conditions)
- July 2018 (UCC—anticipatory repudiation vs. prospective inability to perform)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Contracts topics.
Corporations
Corporations is now included in the subject labeled “Business Associations,” which includes Agency, Partnership, and Corporations. Business Associations was just tested in February 2022, and that question focused on Corporations. However, the Examiners tend to test Corporations more frequently than Agency and Partnership in the Business Associations essays. Thus, it is possible to see this subject tested again in July 2022. Also, be on the lookout for a Business Associations crossover question – we have seen it crossed over with Professional Responsibility quite a few times!
- October 2020 (board meetings; derivative action by a shareholder; duty of loyalty – interested director transaction)
- July 2015 (Combined with Professional Responsibility—duty of care; fundamental changes)
- July 2014 (Combined with Professional Responsibility—federal securities law)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Corporations topics.
Criminal Law & Procedure
This subject was just tested on the February 2022 exam and, in fact, that essay tested both Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. The February 2022 question included slightly more Criminal Law than Criminal Procedure issues, which is somewhat unusual, given that the Examiners have favored Criminal Procedure within this subject in the past several administrations of the exam. Thus, if this subject is tested again in July 2022, we think it is more likely that the question would focus on Criminal Procedure this time. Nonetheless, you should not ignore Criminal Law, since both subjects are fair game for the exam!
- July 2021 (Fifth Amendment—custodial interrogation, invocation of the right to remain silent, and right to counsel)
- July 2019 (Fourth Amendment—reasonable expectation of privacy; robbery)
- February 2018 (Fourth Amendment—warrant exceptions: plain view, consent, exigent circumstances; probable cause based on informant)
- February 2013 (inchoate crimes; receipt of stolen property; factual impossibility)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Criminal Law & Procedure topics.
Evidence was just tested on the February 2022 exam, however, it appeared as a crossover with Professional Responsibility. On that exam, the Examiners tested the California Evidence Code rather than Federal law. So, we think it is possible that this subject could be tested again in July 2022, with it slightly more likely that the Examiners would test Federal law this time instead of California law. Keep in mind, though, that there have been instances where the Examiners tested California law or Federal law back-to-back, so don’t ignore the California Evidence Code, just in case it is tested again!
- February 2019 (federal law—relevance; hearsay; witness testimony; impeachment)
- February 2017 (federal law—relevance; hearsay; authentication; impeachment; policy exclusions)
- February 2016 (California law—civil case; relevance; hearsay; impeachment; authentication; character evidence)
- July 2014 (federal law—relevance; hearsay; impeachment; leading questions)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Evidence topics.
Professional Responsibility
Professional Responsibility is tested in virtually every administration, so it is pretty much a given that you will see a Professional Responsibility essay on the July 2022 exam. On the February 2022 exam, Professional Responsibility appeared as a crossover question with Evidence, so we think the Examiners will test Professional Responsibility as a stand-alone subject in July 2022.
Here are some suggested Professional Responsibility essays you should review to prepare for the July 2022 exam:
- July 2021 (concurrent client conflict; supervision of nonlawyer)
- February 2021 (fee agreement; referral fee; solicitation; duty to report)
- July 2019 (partner/supervising lawyers and subordinate lawyers; fairness to opposing counsel; duty of loyalty re: disclosure of job offer)
- July 2016 (duty of confidentiality; representation of an organization and duty to report)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Professional Responsibility topics.
Real Property
The February 2022 exam included a question testing the issues of nuisance and trespass, which we expect the Examiners to label “Real Property” as they did on the February 2018 exam (which tested similar issues), even though these are actually tort claims. So, if the Examiners choose to test Real Property again on the July 2022 exam, we think they will test more “traditional” Real Property issues, such as easements, covenants, or recording acts.
You should begin your review of Real Property by looking at the following essays:
- February 2021 (easements; real covenants and equitable servitudes)
- October 2020 (joint tenancy; adverse possession)
- February 2019 (landlord-tenant issues)
- July 2016 (recording acts and shelter rule; warranty deed)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Real Property topics.
On the February 2022 exam, the question testing Real Property also asked, “What remedies may [the plaintiff] reasonably seek?” So, we expect them to label this question as a Remedies question, as well as a Real Property question. Given that this question tested tort remedies, it is possible that the Examiners could test Contract remedies should this subject be tested on the July 2022 exam. Keep in mind that Remedies is commonly crossed over with Contracts, so it is entirely possible that you could see a Contracts/Remedies question on the July 2022 exam.
- February 2021 (Combined with Contracts—compensatory damages; expectation damages; consequential damages; rescission)
- October 2020 (Combined with Contracts—reformation; specific performance; temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction)
- February 2017 (Combined with Torts—compensatory damages; restitutionary damages; punitive damages)
- February 2016 (rescission; unilateral/mutual mistake; equitable defenses)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Remedies topics.
As discussed above, the July 2022 exam contained a question testing the torts of nuisance and trespass, but we expect the Examiners to label this question “Real Property” rather than Torts. So, Torts was last tested in July 2021 and could be tested in July 2022. We usually see it tested about once every three administrations of the bar exam, and we also generally see it tested by itself, although it could be tested as a crossover with Remedies, like we saw in February 2017.
- July 2021 (negligence—premises liability; negligence per se; defenses to negligence)
- February 2020 (defamation; intentional infliction of emotional distress)
- February 2019 (strict liability—wild animals; negligence—premises liability)
- February 2013 (strict products liability; negligent products liability)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Torts topics.
Trusts crossed over with Wills
The State Bar of California tends to test at least one non-MBE subject on the essays each administration. Since we saw Community Property and Business Associations tested on the February 2022 exam, we think that Trusts and Wills are ripe for testing! Trusts has not appeared since February 2019, so it is possible that the Examiners could test Trusts as a stand-alone question, however we frequently see it crossed over with Wills, so we think it is more likely that you will see a Wills/Trusts crossover question on the July 2022 exam.
We recommend you review the following essays to gain exposure to the issues we think are ripe for testing on the July 2022 exam:
- July 2021 (Wills & Community Property—execution of a will; capacity; intestate succession; pretermitted child doctrine)
- February 2019 (Trusts, Wills, & Community Property—creditors’ ability to reach trust property)
- February 2016 (Trusts—pourover will; revocation of trust; fiduciary duties of trustee)
- February 2015 (Wills & Trusts—charitable trusts and cy pres doctrine)
Note: Your review should NOT be limited solely to the essays listed above! Please review our Free California Bar Exam Essay Guide for the highly tested Wills & Trusts topics.
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