Rule of Law Exams
Every semester it’s the same thing. On the last day of class the professor talks for a couple of minutes about the exam, explains the format of the test, what materials you may use, etc. Then s/he makes a gigantic mistake: s/he asks a room full of law students if they have any questions about the test.
It usually starts innocently enough, perhaps with some clarifying questions. Then it starts to get a bit silly, as students ask questions that have already been answered, or fish for information about particular topics on the exam. Within just a few minutes it has turned downright ridiculous. Students start asking what material they should focus on. Or they want to know the exact number of questions on the test. “Exactly what is the format of the multiple choice questions,” they might want to know. “What kind of answer gets a HH?” “Can you make all exams dating back 20 years available to us?” "Would you say that Chapter 7 is particularly important?" Every class I’m tempted to ask, “Can you please tell me all the questions on the exam as well as give me all the answers? Because that would make my studying much easier.”
posted by Max Power at 3:37 PM
29 Comments:
I don't understand. How else am I going to gun my way to the top and prove to myself, my parents, fellow classmates, and future employers that I am awesome?
Another thing that always drove me crazy during "question time."
If you ask a question and the professor has a hard time answering it, like it's something that he HASN'T THOUGHT ABOUT and DOESN'T THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT, please understand that the question your asking almost certainly has NOTHING to do with the exam.
Every semester it seemed like a big chunk of the question time was wasted by people nitpicking about an obscure, difficult question that the professor wasn't interested in. Stop it. It doesn't make any sense.
Dear Max,
I think you should get off your powerful high-horse and stop analyzing other people's questions (which, by the way, are misquoted and hyperbolized) for the sake of appearing like a "normal" law student. Spare me your righteousness...as far as I'm concerned, we are all in the same boat, going through a stressful time. Do you have any positive thoughts of your own instead of ridiculing your peers? I have yet to hear anything less-than-hackneyed coming out of your mouth! So perhaps you should heed your own advice...just a thought.
5:34, I agree with you. Max Power should STFU. His post has a chilling effect on classroom discussion. Maybe he's just jealous that his i-law outline isn't finished yet.
I may roll my eyes at the people asking 'stupid' questions, but really I'm happy that they are asking all the questions while I can sit there and act like I know everything, without having to look stupid myself. So go right ahead, and thanks, now I don't have to go to office hours.
Umm, overreaction much, 5:34? And hackneyed? That just hurts. Sorry though, I like the view from my "powerful" high horse, so I think I'll stay up here awhile. In the meantime, take a deep breath and relax, it's all going to be okay, I promise.
But seriously, I was just poking fun at law school classes--I wouldn't think anyone would mistake that for "ridiculing" my peers.
That's just the problem Mr. Highpower--you weren't really "thinking," just being a small-minded patronizing chap. By the way, classes don't exist in the abstract...they're made up of people...unfortunately, with some smug fellows like you. I whole-heartedly agree with the top three folks above you. Do something more useful with your time...like your outline.
I'm with you Max. Calling someone else "righteous," "hackneyed," "hyperbolic" -- and that uber-slur, "having a chilling effect on class discussion" -- doesn't relieve you from being the asshole who asks stupid questions. I think you also missed a point of Max's: your tedious grasping at tiny advantages isn't costless for the rest of the class. We have to suffer through your irrelevance, not get to topics that the professor might genuinely deem more helpful, waste precious class time, and generally browse the Internet while you monopolize the time I paid about $100/hour for, if my math is correct.
So no one is saying you can't ask stupid questions. We're saying go ask them at office hours, or, better yet, send an email, so the professor isn't forced to awkwardly deal with you in his office.
The idea that Max isn't "doing something useful with his time" when you're the ones wasting ours with your classroom obnoxiousness is what would, in earlier Yiddish dictionaries, be properly defined as "chutzpah." But I'll just define it as being an asshole.
Such venom...now who is over-reacting! You've directed your invective against this one person, assuming that the writer above is the one constantly asking these supposedly "stupid" questions. Wasn't Max saying that he was making fun of law classes in general, as a collective? I think it's rather unfair to presume that (a) the writer is in any of your classes (b) that s/he is actually asking these questions and (c) s/he is responsible for all the time wasted in class. It's a group effort after all. You need to cool off dude...
8:07: Chill out. It seems like you need some counseling. Sorry if people wasted your money ($100/hr) by asking questions. But I hear that the Tang Centre offers a discounted group therapy rate, just in case you're interested.
Not asking questions. Asking stupid questions. (Max provides a helpful list.) Surely you learned the difference after the first month of 1L year?
On the other hand, as my Mama always said, "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people." (Clues perhaps to my venom.)
OK, I'm going to go back to petting puppies and recycling my newspapers.
8:48--give me a break, like YOU'VE never asked a ditzy question in your whole life (and it isn't over yet)? Now that's really STUPID. Good call about petting puppies and recycling...your time is better spent there.
I hate to break it to you 8:48, but yo momma was wrong. Also, please don't go back to petting puppies. If I was your puppy, I wouldn't want you to pet me...
Things are getting pretty mean-spirited on N&B.
Ah, the trusty old, "If you did anything remotely similar once in your life, you have no right to criticize people who repeatedly and flagrantly do the same thing" chestnut. Guilty as charged! Roast that nut, baby.
Actually, I tried to calculate my total class participation for the semester. All told, over four lecture-style classes, I believe I asked a total of three questions, and made twenty comments. That's not too bad, right?
But here's the thing: the last week of the semester is like Shomer Shabbos. Shabbos, gunnie, is the 3L's day of rest. I don't drive a car, I don't fucking ride in a car, I don't ask long hypotheticals, I don't fish for little hints, I don't turn on the oven, and I sure as shit don't fucking waste everyone's time with my test-taking needs!!
That's all, dude.
what-the-hell-ever, 9:43. i asked an exam question last semester and got the prof to say that nearly an entire unit wouldn't be on the exam. several people (including the people as judicious about saying anything in class as you purport yourself to be) came up and thanked me for having the nerve to do it and for -gasp!- saving their time! when you serve clients, or work in your job this summer or next year, are you going to feel "stupid" asking for clarification as far as what's expected of you? you're in for some unfortunately rude awakenings in the workplace, dude.
Boy, this thread escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
Anyhow, I really meant this post as just a funny diversion. But it seems like you can't post anything without being called a patronizing asshole, and then anonymous commenters start going at each other's throats. I just don't get it. In reading the original post, it does come off as more smug than I intended. I'm sorry about that, but instead of bad-mouthing me, why not just offer your own opinion?
This really is a pretty trifling post...it just really shouldn't lead to calling people stupid or making generalization about the height of one's horse. Hopefully Tom will put up a post soon and then everyone can pile on him and forget about this thread.
Now children, we can all be friends, even you anonymous posters.
(1) people do in fact ask really stupid questions sometimes.
(2) I have been one of those people (MVH actually said to me "well, since I just answered that, I'll assume you couldn't quite grasp what I had to say")
(3) I constantly try not to be one of those people in the future.
Isn't that a fairly simple view on life?
Forget this nasty argument. I'm gonna have me a White Russian! Thanks for the idea whoever.
How much, if any, of this discussion was based on Bankruptcy class today?
Another possibility: Intro to IP.
Max, making fun of people who get worked up over final exams the week before final exams, when everyone is getting worked up about them, is not funny.
Can we go back to gossiping about the Trustafarian/Hastings scandal? Or will Arme... I mean Chairman Mao censor us?
Actually, it's a genius strategy. The people like Max who don't freak out think this blog is funny, thereby --> do better.
The people wigged out get more wigged out, thereby --> do worse.
The relaxed rise, the neurotic fall. Brilliant!
Although, I don't see why Armen can't open the blog for non-witch-hunt, levity-only comments to atleast get to 400. I mean, come on, 400! They just made a movie about that number, for Christ's sake! (Or something close to it.)
This is all pretty hilarious. I'm so glad I've reached a point where I just flat don't care (actually, I reached that point last year, but who's counting?).
I think the point of this is to just calm the hell down, especially about exam insecurities. Remember what you did last semester during exam time, and learn from it. Read your notes, go through your outline(if you actually still make one), and just try and learn the material. If you study something that's not on the exam, worst case scenario is that you've spent some time learning something. I'm just sayin'.
Response to some commenters.
BTW, an inquisitive idiot who's not asking questions in class but defending said questions is still an inquisitive idiot.
I'm with Max and Matt on this one. People do often ask obscure questions during review classes -- questions that serve no purpose other than wasting everyone's time.
But then again, if you waited until the review session to ask your contracts prof what “consideration” is, you're getting a P.
Oops, fixed link
Hmmmm....I wonder who 10:53 could possibly be talking about in Intro to IP??? (Assuming 10:53 is in it this semester)
I mean, I just cannot figure it out! (please note this is sarcasm)
Oh, and I second the nomination to re-open the trust/hastings thread. I'd like to get it to 400, too.
Okay, this takes the cake on DB exam behavior. I turn in my first take-home this morning, and this afternoon I start getting emails from the prof, replying to students with questions about the exam. They were stupid questions, of course -- nothing that couldn't be figured from the page one instructions -- but here's the best one: "Is the word limit per exam question, or per every single sub-part of the exam?" (The way the exam was structured, this was the equivalent of asking if you could write 35,000 words instead of 7,000.)
Honey, do not doubt this: no one wants to read 35,000 words of your shit. AND STOP EMAILING THE PROF DURING EXAM PERIOD, because I'M DONE.
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