MBE study plan
MBE · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 8 hours per week
Civil Procedure
Map the three bases of subject-matter jurisdiction onto a one-page flowchart drawn from memory
Recite the minimum-contacts test and apply it to six short fact patterns, writing one sentence of reasoning per pattern
Sequence pleadings, pre-answer motions, and amendments on a timeline that shows when relation-back applies
Solve 30 jurisdiction and venue questions, logging each miss with the rule it tested
Your checkpoint
Closed-book jurisdiction flowchart plus a miss log showing at least 65% on the 30-question set
Civil Procedure & Contracts
Diagram joinder, counterclaims, crossclaims, and necessary-party analysis onto a single page
Explain in writing how the Erie analysis chooses between federal and state law across four scenarios
Draft a personal outline of formation (offer, acceptance, consideration) with one worked example per element
Solve 25 Civil Procedure questions untimed, then 25 formation questions paced at 1.8 minutes each
Your checkpoint
Two-page joinder-and-Erie summary plus a timed 25-question formation set scored at 70% or better
Contracts
Build a comparison table separating UCC from common-law rules on formation, statute of frauds, and parol evidence
Work through anticipatory repudiation and the excuse doctrines using five short hypotheticals
Calculate expectation, reliance, and restitution damages for four breach scenarios and state which measure governs each
Solve 40 mixed Contracts questions and rewrite every missed rule in your own words
Your checkpoint
Completed UCC-versus-common-law table plus a 40-question set with all misses converted into rule statements
Evidence
Construct a hearsay decision tree that first separates non-hearsay from exemptions, then routes to exceptions
List the impeachment methods and match each to its foundational requirement
Apply relevance, balancing, and character-evidence limits to eight scenarios
Solve 35 Evidence questions timed and record the rule and the reasoning error behind each miss
Your checkpoint
One-page hearsay tree plus a timed 35-question set at 70% or better with a written miss analysis
Real Property
Diagram the estates ladder from fee simple through life estates and future interests, labeling who holds what
Rank competing claimants in five deed scenarios, one per recording-statute type
Outline landlord-tenant duties, covenants, and the methods of creating easements on a single sheet
Solve 35 Property questions and sort misses into doctrine gaps versus reading errors
Your checkpoint
Estates ladder diagram plus a recording-statute ranking worksheet covering five fact patterns
Constitutional Law
Recite the levels of scrutiny and map each to equal-protection and due-process categories
Summarize the commerce power as a multi-part test with one illustrative example per prong
Outline speech doctrines covering vagueness, overbreadth, prior restraint, and time-place-manner rules
Solve 35 Constitutional Law questions timed and log every doctrine you could not state from memory
Your checkpoint
Scrutiny map plus a timed 35-question set at 70% or better and a list of doctrines needing a second pass
Criminal Law and Procedure & Torts
Distinguish specific-intent from general-intent offenses by listing the mental state required for each offense category
Chart search-and-seizure analysis: standing, the warrant requirement, and the recognized exception categories
Outline negligence's duty, breach, causation, and harm elements and pair each with a tested defense
Solve 40 mixed Criminal Law and Torts questions timed, then rank your five weakest subtopics
Your checkpoint
Search-and-seizure flowchart plus a scored 40-question mixed set with a ranked list of five weakest subtopics
Civil Procedure & Constitutional Law & Contracts & Criminal Law and Procedure & Evidence & Real Property & Torts
Re-solve every question missed in weeks 1 through 7, confirming the rule from memory before moving on
Complete two 100-question mixed timed sets under exam conditions
Rewrite your summary sheets for the three weakest subtopics identified in week 7
Hold a 1.8-minute-per-question pace and log any set where you ran over
Your checkpoint
Two scored 100-question practice exams plus a final one-page sheet of the rules you keep missing
Milestones
Week 2: At least 55 questions completed across Civil Procedure and Contracts with rolling accuracy of 65% or better and no unresolved entry in the miss log
Week 4: Hearsay tree reproduced from memory in under ten minutes and Evidence timed accuracy at 70% or better
Week 6: All seven domains touched at least once and every miss from weeks 1 through 6 rewritten as a rule statement
Week 8: Overall mixed-set accuracy at 70% or better with no single domain below 60% across the final two practice exams