There are many law students who never create an outline and they swear by it. I’m not one of them. I cannot get the many “rules” implanted into my brain without outlining. It also gives me a feeling of control over the material.

I finished my outline over the weekend in preparation for my final. The beast came in at 23 pages. But I love my beast.

I’ve learned a few things about outlining in hindsight:

  1. Outline as you go. Don’t save up your outlining to the last minute. Fortunately, I learned this lesson before my midterm and I kept mine up to date as much as humanly possible.
  2. Create very short summaries of each case. Just a brief recitation of the facts and the rule. I did not do this and I wish I did. Next class.
  3. Take very specific notes when the professor discusses a rule in class. I appreciated my “mini outlines” in my notes.
  4. Try to use your own wording wherever possible.
  5. If a particular section of the outline boggles the mind, break it down into flashcards. The entire outline does not need flashcards – just the sections that are chock full of too much information. For this outline, I’ve created cards for the categories of comparative fault, assumption of risk, and multiple tortfeasors.
  6. Plan on refining your outline constantly. What was outlined last week may be better stated the following week.

I have been spoiled in this class. Our professor gives us a visual outline for the entire course. It’s been very helpful and I have used it liberally in my own outline (changing to my wording of course to ease understanding). I will miss my professor’s outline immensely.

There are outlines all over the internet generously proffered by other students. Never, ever use them as your own outline. The main reason is their outlines are geared to their professors. However, I have reviewed a few of them and found little nuggets of information. Also, reading someone else’s perspective helps me play with the rules in my head and aids my analysis.

Formatting is “to each his own”. I’ve seen posts from 1Ls in discussion boards begging for someone to tell them how to organize their outline. There is no one right way. Whatever works best for each individual. I use Word to organize mine, but even then, I’ll modify the style a bit to suit my needs.

Go forth and Outline!