Touch all Bases

When you have several elements or factors for a test, make sure that you mention them all. No matter how blindingly obvious it is that one element is satisfied, MAKE NOTE OF IT ON THE EXAM!!!!!!

Remember this: you do not get any points for what you don’t put on the exam. Of course, outline dumping doesn’t help either.

Here is a brief example with everybody’s favorite tort: negligence. The elements: Duty, Breach, Causation, Damages. Suppose that the essay exam is about a patient who lost feeling in his arm after having knee surgery.

The most blindingly obvious part of the analysis is that the doctor has a higher standard of duty. It is so blindingly obvious that some people do not mention it because they think they do not need to do so.

It might just net you a maximum of one point to note that “the Defendant has a higher duty of care, and that duty is ____, because the defendant is a doctor.” However, that is ONE POINT!

This isn’t some foo-foo, touchy feely essay exam where everybody gets an “A for effort.” Your grade is ruthlessly compared to all other students based on a harsh curve. That one point can be the difference between a high letter grade and an average letter grade. Believe me, I know full well.