Six Steps for an A? Or Seven?

Two exams down, three to go. I had my second oral exam today. This time it lasted about 15 minutes. If my grades transferred back to U of I, I'd be annoyed with the administration of these exams. There's just no way a ten or fifteen minute conversation can accurately reflect an entire semester's worth of nuanced analysis and synthesis, especially when most of the questions start with "what do you think of..." or "how do you feel about... ." If all you want is my opinion, then I'm going to stop studying altogether. I take pride in my bullshitting skills, and if bullshit is all you want, I'll be happy to oblige. As it is, my grades don't transfer, so it doesn't matter. All I have to do is pass, and pass I did.

Speaking of grades, I can't resist linking to this. It won't be funny to non-law students and/or normal people, but I find it hilarious. I can't even tell you how many conversations I had with fellow 1L's my first year about grading and how it's done. And we definitely had long debates over whether the "bottom-up" approach is superior to the "top-down" approach.

In case you're curious, I'm personally a fan of the bottom-up approach, as the thickest and longest exams should fall to the bottom. While many dismiss long-winded exams as nothing more than mere vomit-on-a-page, I disagree. All exams are garbage, and verbal diarrhea is clearly better than no shit at all.

Regardless, it's good to see another professor injecting a little life and humor into the legal academy. While the venerable BW&V may think otherwise, there are at least some things funny about law school.