The bar exam is a cued recall test, which means anyone serious about passing it should be using narrative visualization and heuristic-associative methods in their self-pedagocic process. Mindmaps, flashcards and other non-structured methods should be avoided because they are inefficient compared to other methods of learning that are based on our biological foundations. This seminar was given at Brooklyn Law School on the 29th of May 2018 and it may be freely used with reference to the author. For comments and queries you may reach out to alexander.puutio@gmail.com.

1. ADVANCED MEMORIZATION
SKILLS FOR BEATINGTHE NEW
YORK BAR
May 29 2018
T. Alexander Puutio
LL.B., LL.M., LL.M. (Brooklyn Law School ‘16-, Fordham ’17) B.Sc. Econ-, Phd. Law-

2. At the end of this session you will
know that bar exam is a cued recall
test in which you can excel by using
narrative visualization, associative
heuristics and intense refresh-rate
methods.

3. I.THE BAR EXAM ISA
CUED RECALLEXAM,
NOTAN IQTEST

4. What the bar exam is not about
• While highly correlated with
intelligence and mental
acuity, the bar exam is not
an IQ test
• It does not test your capacity
to identify patterns, acquire
and apply new, obscure
rules, etc.

5. What passing the bar is about
• The bar exam test your ability to
recall based on explicit cues, and it
identify the most correct answer
through limited application
• In addition, the bar exam is a cued
recall exam that tests you on
explicitly listed subjects for which a
wealth of study materials exist
• As a result, anyone can pass the
bar when they use the tools that
are most effective for cued recall

6. Really, anyone?
ABSOLUTELY.
We all have immediate access to the ingredients needed for effective
memorization (visualization, association and familiarity) and all of us
can improve how we memorize in a matter of hours by guiding
ourselves in the learning process through “self-pedagogics”.

7. II.APRIMER ON SELF-
PEDAGOGICS

8. Who is in charge?
Learning is not something that happens
to you, it is something you do to
yourself, often with the help of others.

9. Self-pedagogics 1.01
Self-pedagogics toolkit covers all
direct and indirect methods
• Mnemonics
• Practice
• Compensation strategies
• Planning, evaluating
• Emotions
• Social

10. Outcomes we want to achieve
To improve your chances at passing the bar, you need to teach yourself
how to:
I. Consciously recall and associate information; and
ii. Apply it correctly to the facts at hand
Declare (the applicable rule is)
Recall and associate (the applicable rule is in question is – and it states that - )
Apply (the applicable rule is in question is – and it states that -,
accordingly)

11. Outcomes we want to achieve (con’t)
In addition, the exam format plays in our favor.
Essays contain lengthy preambles that set the scene, and often refer
explicitly to specific legal issues.
Multiple choices have both a preamble and the correct answer in view.

12. III. SPECIFIC METHODS
THATWORK WELLINTHE
BAR EXAM CONTEXT

13. What works for cued recall tests
Cued recall test favor associative methods.
What works poorly:
i. Loose, and unconnected learning that is not applied when learnt. E.g.
formulas.
ii. Rote learning with few “entry points” (what letter comes after H?)
What works better:
i. Narratives (easy to apply, incorporates acronyms)
ii. Visualization (FORGET MINDMAPS)
iii. Intensive refresh-rate methods that amp up right before the test
iv. Other mnemonics

14. Narratives: How social narrative influences
memorability of facts
Our brains have evolved in social contexts where agency
modifies otherwise unhelpful facts.
Easiest way to make socially useless information stick is to
give it some narrative.
Example:
Fact 1:
The Queen
Fact 2:
The King died two weeks later

15. Narratives: How social narrative influences
memorability of facts (continued)
Fact 1:
The Queen of Italy died on May 1st 1818
Fact 2:
The King of Spain, with whom the Queen had an affair, died on May 14th 1818 out of
heartbreak after hearing the news
How to apply this to the bar exam?
Narrative works well where rules concern actions.
Use narrative to tie in unfamiliar, counter-intuitive disconnected and arbitrary rules with action-
consequence models that evoke emotions.
E.g. Tying quasi-contracts, unjust enrichment and voidability of contracts into one situation.
When Quasimodo heard he would not be paid his salary he jumped into the
void out of despair.

16. Another narrative example
Here is how you could easily tie in the Attractive Nuisance doctrine, Adverse Possession and Conversion which all have
some linkages to property.
The narrative:
Oprah once said on TV that a child usually rebels yearly, unless restrained by a dipping them in the ocean.
Components:
Attractive nuisance (capitals-to-sentences method)
ARTIFICIAL- CONDITION- UNREASONABLE- RISK- YOUTH- UTILITY- RISK-CONVERSION
Conversion (capitals-to-acronym method)
DOMINION-INTENT-POSSESSION - DIP
Adverse possession (capitals-to-acronym method)
OPEN CONTINUOUS EXCLUSIVE ACTUAL NOTORIIOUS – OCEAN
Time required:
5-10 minutes, once you know what you want to remember

17. Visualization
All of us are experts in locational imaging and
arranging/analyzing spatial information for a simple reason –
without these skills our forbearers died off.
In case you need proof of your visualization capabilities:
Close your eyes and imagine the room you sleep in now. What is on the right hand side
of your bed? Which rooms are connected to your bedroom?
Depending on the difficulty of the material and need for
retention, there are two main methods you will want to
consider,
i. action-agent-object trios (cases, header-level information)
and
ii. roman rooms, memory castles (heavy-duty)

18. Visualization: Action-Agent-Object trios
This method can be used with narratives, on their own or in connection with memory
castles. However, it is more heavy duty and requires some preparation. You will also
want to reuse your actions, agents and objects.
Example:
The Miami Cop rushed to buy cheap cars
Components:
Miami Cop – an acronym on admissible evidence
MOTIVE; IDENTITY; ABSENCE OF MISTAKE OR ACCIDENT; INTENT; COMMON PLAN OR SCHEME; OPPORTUNITY;
PREPARATION
Rushing to buy - a circumstance where something is acceptable as an exception
Cheap – an acronym on exceptions to warrant requirements
CONSENT; HOT PURSUIT; EXIGENT; AUTO; PLAIN VIEW; SEARCH INCIDENT TO LAWFUL ARREST

19. Making roman rooms and memory castles
work for the bar exam
1. Only use these when the information can’t be handled by easier
methods (chunking, abbreviations or acronyms)
2. Take 5-10 mins to collect a meaningful assemblage of information,
connected or disconnected
3. Divide the information into discrete units that have unique features
4. Aggrandize, pervert and “clownify” these units into something
memorable (the constitution, in the hands of a naked George
Washington riding an eagle)
5. For rooms, create interactions and narratives to capture the spirit of the
case in emotions, context and implications as well as information (serial
recall)
6. For castles, create trails where objects wait for you to find them (free
recall)

20. Mind maps – its time to ditch them
Yes, mind maps work – however so does rote learning. They are
grossly inefficient for serious learning and should be used only
to assemble information for further processing.
Mind maps employ the visual system similarly to the rote
learning of a “virtual” abacus, without the benefit of universal
applicability. In two repeated words: GROSSLY INEFFICIENT.
Never has there been a homo sapiens that roamed the earth
encoding information in a 2D format, connected with carefully
crafted lines of various color, orientation and width.

21. Time your peak right on exam day
Cued recall tests are suckers
for associative information.
The more you have
available at the time of the
exam the better.
Do not fade out by starting
too early, too hard and
exhausting yourself.
Don’t overpace yourself
either but rather, time
yourself so that you peak at
the exam day.

22. Sustaining your peaks – refresh-rate methods
and the importance of constant maintenance
The bar exam covers more information than anyone can hope
to effectively recall for extended periods of time.
Sustaining peak recall requires constant maintenance of what
you have learnt.
The solution to the hockey-stick dilemma: always be
refreshing. Each page, each hour, each day.

23. A self-similar study schedule
First phase Second phase Final prep
Acquisition 90% Acquisition 50% Acquisition 1%
Maintenance 10% Maintenance 50% Maintenance 99%
First hour Second hour Final half-hour
Acquisition 90% Acquisition 50% Acquisition 1%
Maintenance 10% Maintenance 50% Maintenance 99%
An effective
study-plan is
simple and
self-similar.
Timescale: whole study period
Timescale: each 2,5hr day

24. And then comes all the rest of mnemonics
For everything else in life there are:
• Acronyms
• Abbreviation
• Synonyms
• Rhymes, keywords and trigger-terms
• Chunking
• Rote learning

25. THANK YOU
alexander.puutio@gmail.com