AR Bar study plan
AR Bar · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 8 hours per week
Civil Procedure & Arkansas-Specific Law and Procedure
Outline Arkansas civil procedure rules on pleadings, service, and venue from the state rules, mapping each to its federal counterpart
Draft a one-page comparison chart of Arkansas vs. federal deadlines for motions and discovery responses
Work 30 civil procedure multiple-choice questions and log every missed rule with a one-line correction
Recite the elements of personal jurisdiction and subject-matter jurisdiction from memory in writing
Your checkpoint
Completed Arkansas-vs-federal civil procedure comparison chart plus a 30-question error log
Civil Procedure & Arkansas-Specific Law and Procedure
Write a timed 30-minute essay answer on a civil procedure issue involving joinder or preclusion
Summarize Arkansas appellate deadlines and the preservation rules for post-trial motions
Drill 25 questions on discovery, summary judgment, and claim preclusion
Self-grade the essay against a checklist of required elements and rewrite the weakest paragraph
Your checkpoint
One graded timed essay with a rewritten weakest paragraph
Constitutional Law & Arkansas-Specific Law and Procedure
Outline levels of scrutiny and identify the trigger for each in a single reference sheet
Analyze Arkansas constitutional provisions on search, seizure, and individual rights alongside the federal Bill of Rights
Answer 30 constitutional law questions and categorize misses by doctrine
Write a timed 25-minute essay on due process or equal protection
Your checkpoint
Scrutiny reference sheet plus a categorized 30-question constitutional error log
Contracts & Torts
Build a formation-and-defenses checklist for contracts covering offer, acceptance, consideration, and Statute of Frauds
Outline the elements of negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability in a single comparative table
Work 40 mixed contracts and torts questions, tagging each by doctrinal category
Draft a timed 30-minute torts essay on causation and damages
Your checkpoint
Contracts formation checklist and torts elements table, both complete and self-tested
Criminal Law and Procedure & Evidence
Map Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure rules and their Arkansas analogs into one outline
List every hearsay exclusion and exception with a one-line trigger for each
Answer 40 mixed criminal procedure and evidence questions
Explain in writing the difference between relevance, character evidence, and impeachment
Your checkpoint
Hearsay exception trigger list and a 40-question combined error log
Real Property & Business Associations
Outline estates in land, recording acts, and landlord-tenant duties with Arkansas recording statute specifics
Diagram the agency, partnership, and LLC liability rules in a one-page flowchart
Answer 30 real property and business associations questions
Write a timed 25-minute essay on a recording-act priority dispute
Your checkpoint
Recording-act priority flowchart plus one graded property essay
Family Law & Trusts and Estates
Outline Arkansas grounds for divorce, property division, and child custody standards
Build a wills-and-trusts chart covering intestacy, will formalities, and trust creation
Answer 30 family law and trusts/estates questions with a focus on Arkansas-specific rules
Draft a timed 25-minute essay on will validity or trust administration
Your checkpoint
Arkansas family law and wills/trusts outline with a graded essay attached
Arkansas-Specific Law and Procedure & Legal Writing and Multistate Performance Test
Complete two full-length timed MPT simulations and self-grade against the rubric
Review every error log from weeks 1-7 and rewrite each missed rule as a flashcard
Take a timed 100-question mixed practice set spanning all domains
Rehearse Arkansas-specific rules by writing them out from memory without notes
Your checkpoint
Two graded MPT simulations plus a consolidated flashcard deck covering all logged errors
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 65% on a 30-question civil procedure set and submit one graded essay
Week 4: Complete contracts and torts outlines and score at least 65% on a 40-question mixed set
Week 6: Complete all doctrine outlines for domains 1-8 and score at least 70% on a 50-question cumulative set
Week 8: Score at least 70% on the 100-question mixed set and earn a passing self-grade on both MPT simulations