Bar Techniques

Atty.Victoria V. Loanzon
 Familiarity with the Bar
Examinations Syllabi
The 2019 Bar Examinations Syllabi
have been uploaded in the
Supreme Court Website.
Print out a copy of the Syllabi for
each bar subject.
You need not study those topics not
covered by the Syllabi.
Consider the cut-off dates for
jurisprudence and amendments of
laws.
 Familiarity with the Bar
Examinations Syllabi
Use the Syllabi as your Study Guide.
Quickly browse through the topics
covered for each subject.
Make a mental check of the topics you
feel that you can safely say that you
know.
Make an honest assessment if you will
be able to answer the questions where
you need to apply the principle or
concept covered by the topics.
 Familiarity with the Bar
Examinations Syllabi
Mark those topics which are not
familiar to you or which you have
not been able to fully appreciate as
to its application during the course
of your stay in law school.
Rank the topics based on the level of
difficulty.
Focus on the more difficult topics as
your starting point for your review.
 Familiarity with the Bar
Examinations Syllabi
Please take note that in case of
jurisprudence, the syllabi have a cut-off
date.
Do not be misled by this because while
no cut-off dates exist, please take note
that the same principles of law, legal
concepts and relevant provisions of law,
may appear in cases decided by the
Court beyond the cut-off dates
covering jurisprudence.
 Familiarity with the Bar
Examinations Syllabi
The bottom line is that as an examinee,
one must be prepared to confront any
challenge just like a boy scout, a
soldier or an athlete would do.
There is no room to retreat. One must
move forward and feel confident that
you are ready to become a lawyer.
Every law school and every professor
have prepared law students for the
bar examinations.
 Preparing for the
Bar Examinations
As an examinee, you need to know the
coverage per bar subject.
The coverage of the 2019 Bar
Examinations is precisely defined in
the Syllabi for each bar subject that
the Court has issued.
It is important that one limits the
choice of reading materials.
Please do not panic.There is no time
for that.
 Preparing for the
Bar Examinations
Review the notes that you had as a
student.
Do not read too many materials.You
will be overwhelmed.You might even
be confused.
You have very limited time at this
point.
You need to focus.
You need to concentrate on the topics
which you consider as your weak
areas.
 Preparing for the
Bar Examinations
You need to manage your time.
Devote at least six (6) hours a day to
read.
Most review lectures will take up at
least (8) hours per day.
Stay healthy.
Eat when you are hungry.
Sleep when you are sleepy.
Rest when you are weary and tired.
 Preparing for the
Bar Examinations
Limit your social engagements.
Shut off your FB account,Twitter and
Instagram. Your friends will
understand.
Just create a loop which will allow you
to access bar review materials.
Do not panic if you are deluged with
volumes of materials to read. Be
selective.
Eliminate the materials which will not
add any value to your preparation.
 Managing the
Bar Examinations
Passing the Bar Examinations requires a
good appreciation of the basic
principles of law and of relevant
jurisprudence, and more importantly,
sufficient ability to understand and
communicate in the English language.
A sufficient knowledge of the basic
grammar rules is a MUST.
All answers must be written in the
English language.
 Managing the
Bar Examinations
Knowledge of basic grammar rules
and use of appropriate words start
from the examinee's accumulated
experience in communicating in the
English language.
An examinee is expected to use legal
jargon in answering bar questions.
Reading constantly your bar review
materials will help.
 Managing the
Bar Examinations
To successfully pass the bar
examinations, the examinee must
be as precise as possible in his
knowledge of the principles of law,
concepts and jurisprudence. It is
essential that one has the ability to
communicate this knowledge as he
confronts every bar question.
 Adherence to the S.C.
Final Guidelines
1. Prior to the date of the bar
examinations, the Supreme Court
will release the Final Guidelines to
Bar Examinees. One must get a
copy of this Final Guidelines.
2. Every Bar examinee should not
only be familiar but must master
the S.C. Final Guidelines.
3. Observe strictly what is required by
the S.C. Final Guidelines.
 Adherence to the S.C.
Final Guidelines
The Final Guidelines will cover,
among others, the following
matters:
(1). Time when UST gates are open
to admit bar candidates.
(2). Wearing prescribed S.C. issued
Examination Permit upon entry.
(3). Proper attire to be worn by
examinees on all examination
dates.
 Adherence to the S.C.
Final Guidelines
(4). Actual access to designated
examination rooms.
(5). Taking designated seats.
(6). Color of ink allowed to be used.
(7). Food and drinks which can be
brought inside the examination
rooms.
(8). Actual time allocation for each
bar subject.
 Adherence to the S.C.
Final Guidelines
(9). Meal break after the morning
examinations.
(10). Permission to attend to medical
needs during examination days.
(11). Procedure on use of restrooms
during the actual examination
period.
(12). Rules in approaching assigned
proctors for clarifications on
INSTRUCTIONS and
QUESTIONS.
 Reading INSTRUCTIONS
in Answering Bar Questions
1. For each bar subject, the
examinee will find Examination
Instructions on the cover page of
every Questionnaire.
2. Every examinee must read and
examine the Examination
Instructions on the cover page of
the Bar Questionnaires.
 Reading Instructions
in Answering Bar Questions
3. The examinee must ensure that
number of pages as stated in the
Examination Instructions, and the
number of pages in the distributed
Questionnaires are the same.
4.The correct number of Essay
Questions should be in accordance in
the numerical sequence to ensure that
the Questionnaire is accurate and has
no missing or duplicated pages.
 Reading Instructions
in Answering Bar Questions
5.Two booklets shall be used in
answering the bar questions under
the new two-examiner rule. Bar
questions should be answered in the
same order that they are posted in
the Questionnaire.
The exact use of the two booklets will
be made clear in the Examination
Instructions to be distributed on the
date of the examinations.
 Reading Instructions
in Answering Bar Questions
6. After validating the correct number
of bar questions, the bar examinee
should then allocate the time in
answering the questions.The
examination in every bar subject is
for four ( 4) hours and the questions
have been formulated and
estimated to be answerable within
this time.
 Reading Instructions
in Answering Bar Questions
One must, however, provide an
allowance to review his answers.
7. It is best to mark the question/s
which may appear too difficult to
handle at initial reading . Leave the
page blank so you know that you
need to go back to answer this
pending question.
Remember every question begs for an
answer. Do not leave anything
BLANK.This could mean getting a
74% or a 75% average grade.
 Reading Instructions
in Answering Bar Questions
8. After skipping a difficult question,
one must proceed to the
succeeding questions in order not
to waste time.
Remember that it is best to be concise
and yet comprehensive in
answering a bar question.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
1.The examinee must read each
question carefully to fully and
completely comprehend the
question. (Reading it twice is the
best way to fully understand it.)
The key to passing the bar
examinations is one’s ability to spot
the issue.
It is therefore essential to pay
particular attention to the facts
presented in the question.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
2. Direct your attention to the
directive or direction word/s the
question uses. Examples of
direction words are: ARGUE,
COMPARE, CONTRAST, DEFINE,
DECIDE, AND DISTINGUISH.
The answer should respond to what
these directives or direction words
exactly require.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
3.To successfully answer all the
questions in one bar subject, time
allocation and pacing must be strictly
observed. Average time to read and
answer a question would be about 6
minutes for about 35 items.This is
will give one only 30 minutes to
review the answers.
One should note that the bulk of the
examination questions are essay
questions which require more time
to answer.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
4.The secret to getting better scores
to an essay question would be to
present a well-written answer which
specifically provides for a resolution
to the legal problem posed.
The answer must provide for a
conclusion and must be supported
by legal arguments employing a
principle of law, a concept or citing
a relevant jurisprudence.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
5. Do not dilly dally with your answers,
be direct to the point if you know
the exact answer to the question.
Make a quick mental outline or write
on the questionnaire an outline of
your answer.The outline allows you
to present all the pertinent
information in a logical order.
Remember to KISS your answer. Keep
it short and simple.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
6. Follow a template to answer an essay
question.This is suggested:
C – Conclusion:Yes or No
L – Legal Argument
E – Cite the exception to the rule if the
facts will not fall under the general
rule.
A – Apply the relevant principle or
concept of law or pertinent case.
R – Repeat the Conclusion.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
7. Remember to write clearly and
legibly. Use only the prescribed ink:
black, blue or blue-black.
As a rule, five to six words per line
significantly contribute to
readability.
Use no more than 20 words per
sentence. Do not exceed one page
for each question.
You just need to be ACCURATE,
BRIEF and COMPREHENSIVE.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
8. Use transitional words such as FIRST,
SECOND, NEXT, FINALLY, ON THE
OTHER HAND, CONSEQUENTLY,
FURTHERMORE and IN
CONCLUSION.
Make your answer appeal to the
examiner.
9. . Proofread your answers. Look for
mistakes in grammar and
punctuation marks, check for
misspelled or missing words and
omit needless words.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
10. Please be mindful of some technical
rules covering the following aspects:
Margins (Create imaginary lines.)
Handwriting (Improve penmanship.)
Legibility (Answer must be readable.)
Neatness (Avoid too many erasures.
Follow the rule in crossing out
answers.)
Answers must be examiner friendly.
 Some Procedural Tips in
Answering Bar Questions
11. Finally, your answer should not
resort to use of any uncalled name,
nor shall distinguishing or
identifying mark placed in one's test
booklet.
An examinee may be disqualified when
leaving or making a distinguishing or
identifying mark in the exam
booklet.This is classified as
CHEATING.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
The best way to spot the issue to read
carefully each question. Again, it is
suggested that you read the
question twice.
Bar questions may be classified as
objective type or facts-based
questions.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
Objective type questions. which would
require:
(1) Definition of a term, principle or
concept of law;
(2) Enumeration of standards
or elements.
(3) Comparing and contrasting matters
of law or jurisprudence.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
Rules to follow for Objective Type
Questions:
First, you must have a fair
assessment whether you know the
exact answer; or only a part of the
answer; or if you do not know the
answer at all.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
If the question asks for a definition
and YOU KNOW the answer, write
the definition or a paraphrase of
the definition.
Please check if the question requires
you give an illustration or an
example aside from the definition.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
If you are NOT CERTAIN with the
answer, try to provide an
explanation and citing an example
will always be useful. Make an
intelligent guess and state what
you know.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
If you DO NOT THE ANSWER, you
may skip the question in the
meanwhile in the hope that other
items in the questionnaire may
suggest the answer.
If finally, you realize that you cannot
provide the correct answer, write
something based on the root
meaning of the word sought to be
defined.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
For directive type of questions, be
sensitive to what the examiner
wants.
Look at the key words: compare,
distinguish, differentiate, reconcile,
give examples, etc.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions

If an enumeration is required, and

YOU KNOW ALL THE ITEMS,
present either horizontal or vertical
enumeration, using numbers in your
enumeration, to impress the
examiner that you have a complete
answer.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
If YOU DO NOT ALL ITEMS IN THE
ENUMERATION, present the answer
in horizontal form, using letters of the
alphabet in your listing instead of
numbers. This gives a semblance of a
complete answer. Again, you may give
some form of explanation after every
item.
If you resort to this, be mindful of the
time you have allocated for each
number.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions

If YOU DO NOT ANY OF THE ITEMS

IN THE ENUMERATION, just
provide an explanation of what you
perceive is being asked of you.
Remember the rule that you should
never leave any question
unanswered.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
Bar questions may be also facts-based
questions.
Observe the following rules for facts
based questions:
1. In a facts-based question, LOOK AT
THE FINAL SENTENCE WHICH
CONTAINS THE QUESTION and
then carefully read the given facts
with the exact question in mind.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
In past bar examinations, after the
given facts, the examiner’s first
question may be objective in nature.
This will pave the way in answering
the succeeding questions.
As you read the facts, make notes, mark
important dates, names of persons
and to underline words like NOT in
the Questionnaire.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
3. Always make a initial determination,
what is the material issue to address
the question asked.
You must be able to spot the issue.
Watch out for trick questions because
the some extraneous facts to confuse
you. Remember that the Examiner
would like to assess your grasp of the
subject matter.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
3.The manner of how you present your
answer will largely depend on your
mastery of the topic.
If you know the exact answer, you must
say so at the outset. A legal
explanation to support the answer
must ALWAYS be provided.
 Spotting the Issue
If you know partially the answer, the
best option is to state the general
concept or principle involved, with
explanation, then proceed to the
application of the principle to the
facts of the case. You may resort to
contrasting two perceived issues.
You must impress upon the examiner,
you are worthy of admission to the
bar and should always lead with a
statement of what you appears to be
legally sound.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
If you do not know the answer at all,
restate the material facts and make a
statement of what you think needs to
be resolved.
Then, cite a principle or concept which
you think is related to the set of facts.
After this, make a legal conclusion to
end the answer.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
4. Unless you are certain of the case
titles or the specific number of a
provision of law or the Rule under the
Rules of Court, it is best to avoid
citing them.
But if you have a good memory, then
by all means cite the provisions and
the cases as this will reflect your
mastery of the subject matter.
 Spotting the Issue in
Bar Questions
5. Find time to review your answers.
Re-read all your answers but pay
particular attention to the questions
where your answers are not
satisfactory.
You must review your answers for their
substantive aspects.
Maximize the time. This will give you
time to reconsider your answers.
Submit your test booklets when the
bell rings.
Thank you for the kind
attention and
good luck to everyone.