Thanksgiving is over – except maybe the leftovers. Most folks end up with a surfeit of turkey, dressing (stuffing to some of you), sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, succotash, greens, biscuits, cranberry sauce, gravy, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, etc. Your refrigerator's stock may look different depending on your region of the country, culinary tastes, and family traditions. However, leftovers are pretty universal everywhere after the big day.
Some people love the leftovers better than the initial feast! Others groan every time they look at all of the food still waiting to be eaten. Exam study strikes many law students the same way that leftovers are viewed.
For some students, exam study is better than the semester's courses. They are into pulling it all together (yes, you can use that fancy word "synthesizing" that law professors love) and finally understanding what the semester was about. They love the accomplishment of focusing on the main concepts and applying them (finally) to practice questions. For them exam study is a delightful feast of previously unrecognizable and half-baked concepts that now are fully learned and understood. A delicious culinary delight, rather than dreary leftovers! (They do not love exams, mind you; but they love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with their exam review.)
For other students, exam study is a dreaded rehash of an already eaten meal. They have gotten the gist of the course all semester and were fully satisfied with just that – a gist. Now they are being forced to sit down and eat the meal a second time – leftovers that they did not consume the first time: nuances in the law, precise rule statements, specific methodologies to use. They just want the leftovers gone and may try to feed the sweet potato casserole under the table to the dog (messy to say the least). In an effort to avoid the leftovers they do not like, they may go straight for dessert and focus only on the parts they have already mastered or the topics they like most. Some of these students will get up from the table so often during the review process that they never really savor the meal at all.
Both of these types of exam studiers, although different in perspective on the process, are basically cramming the Thanksgiving meal at the end of the semester. Next fall semester, they will enjoy it more if they take small bites throughout the semester, savor it day by day, digest it slowly, and proclaim its tasty merits along the way. Then they will be truly well-fed all semester and be able to eat in moderation at the big meal. They will have the ability to pick and choose from leftovers rather than overeating because they did not get enough nourishment over the semester. They will avoid the heartburn of cramming all of it down at the very end. (Amy Jarmon)
