Starting Right Off
Welcome to USC Law. The purpose of the Academic Support Program is to help you succeed in law school and beyond. General information about the Academic Support Program is available online at Academic Support Program.
For many students law school presents a variety of challenges, not the least of which are learning new vocabulary and forms of analysis, in a context where the methods you have previously used for academic success may no longer be appropriate or sufficient. Studying law is often as much about asking questions as it is about providing answers. To quote one popular law school guide, "Many of your law professors will not spend much time communicating clear legal rules, except to question them. The law student's lot is to live with uncertainty, and that can be unsettling." (See Law School Without Fear by Shapo and Shapo.) There are no shortcuts around the uncertainty that is inherent in the first-year of studying law. There are, however, some strategies that are better than others.
Our best guidance for starting off right in law school is the following:
- Follow the advice your instructors provide regarding preparing for their specific courses and approaches they recommend.
- Complete the assigned reading in advance of each class. Do not fall behind in the assigned reading. As you complete the assigned reading, try to anticipate the questions your faculty will ask about the cases.
- Attend class regularly and volunteer to participate in class discussion. Pay attention when other students are participating. Try to answer the questions silently to yourself; analyze the answer you hear other students providing.
- After each class, go over the material you read before class and the issues that were discussed in class. Synthesize the materials to identify the issues and rules. Use your synthesis of the materials to try to anticipate the next set of issues or line of questions.
- Approach your faculty outside of class when you have questions. If something is unclear to you, speak to your faculty or use reference materials in the library to clarify the issue before you move on to the next set of issues.
- Find like-minded students to meet with outside of class to discuss class materials (both before and after class sessions). If you find that other students are seeing things in the materials that you are missing, take advantage of the resources highlighted on these pages to improve your ability to master the material.
- Review the links in the left-side column on this page for other helpful guidance; in particular, consider the information provided in Resources and Links.
- Maintain balance in your life. Law school requires long hours and hard work. Make sure you also take some time for exercise and relaxation.
- Read the material online at What's Going On In Class?
If you have questions about these suggestions, please feel free to contact Ms. Gabriela Ryan or Ms. Rosemary La Puma.
Looking for more? You might find these links of interest.
