MEMORANDUM

RE: 2020 Instructions – Please read carefully

Introduction

This document contains instructions on compiling our index. Please read them carefully.

If you have questions while completing your assignment, please contact Gurvir Sangha on
Facebook here or at gurvir.sangha@mail.utoronto.ca.

Your page/chart assignments can be found >>> here <<<

The Dropbox folder can be found >>> here <<<

Materials

This Dropbox folder contains:

1. A copy of this memo;
2. the 2019 indices (page sorted) we will be updating;
3. the charts we will be updating; and
4. miscellaneous documents (e.g. Adil’s materials and old exam questions [which may be
substantively outdated]).

Please update the section of the index that corresponds to your page/chart assignment.
You will edit the content of the index. Please do not deviate from the format used, except as
indicated below. This means keeping the font, style, vocabulary, etc. the same. This will make
collation easier when everyone has finished. The 2019 memo heavily emphasizes this point.
Please, DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THE FORMAT.

Unlike 2019, someone is now responsible for each chart. This means that you can focus
solely on your assignment as indicated. However, your page assignment may reference a chart
in the “Section” column, which is the third column in each index. You may wish to speak with
the person responsible for that chart to ensure that you are both on the same page.

Please note: The Solicitor’s and Barrister’s materials contain certain topics that are identical in
content but have different pagination. These include the Rules of Professional Conduct and
Bylaws. Accordingly, we will index these sections using the Solicitor’s materials pagination.
Unlike past years, we do not have to discard our study materials after an exam. You may reuse
these materials for the Barrister’s exam. Please do not attempt to use the Solicitor’s index to
search the Barrister’s materials.

The Professional Responsibility topic also appears on both exams, but the pagination is the
same in both material sets. This section will also only have one index.

Deadline, submitting your materials, and file name formatting

The deadline to submit your assignment is Monday, May 25 at 6:00PM EST. This will give me a
few days to compile the materials and have them to you before the end of the month. This will
give you at least five weeks’ of time with the completed indices before the exams, which is
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consistent with past years. It is my hope that this deadline is fair in light of the general state of
affairs. Your assignment should not take more than a half a day or so.

There is a Team Leader for each topic. They are listed in the page assignment document. I have
also put a contact information document in Dropbox. Please e-mail your completed chart/index
to your team leader in word format (preferably .docx). This will allow for edits (if necessary) and
collation.

Please save your file titled as follows:

Solicitor/Barrister – Subject – Last Name – First Name

For example: if I completed materials for the Civil Litigation topic in the Barrister materials, my
file name would be: Barrister - Civil Litigation – Sangha - Gurvir.

How to Complete Your Page Assignment

You are assigned a set of pages in a topic from either set of materials. I have tried as fairly as I
possibly can to assign no more than ten pages per person. I appreciate that some topics or
sections may have slightly denser content. This variance should not materially extend the time
required to update your assignment.

You are welcome to swap assignments with someone if they are willing and you are dissatisfied
with your assignment. Your Team Leader and I will not facilitate this process for you. Please let
us know if you do switch with someone.

Your task involves updating the content assigned to you and adding as you see appropriate.
The best practice in indexing is to ensure that your index has an abundance of keywords. People
may think about the same question in different ways, so it is important to have multiple
references pointing towards a similar direction. This means that you can add keywords if you
think the index is missing them.

Before reading further, please note that considerations may apply to those indexing certain
topics, such as Professional Responsibility, Rules of Professional Conduct, and Bylaws, as well
as those editing charts. Please ensure that you read all instructions that are relevant to you.

i. Updating your index section

 You update a section of one of the indices or charts in the Dropbox folder. The Dropbox can
be found here. These files are saved as Word documents. Download a copy and you’re
your completed section to your Team Leader with the file name formatted as explained
above. Please do not convert, delete, or edit these documents.

 Do not worry if a page number is blank: That line of the index will become a heading
once the index is sorted alphabetically at the end. Skip them.

 Your objective is two-fold: (1) Update the page numbers and section numbers that
coincide with existing keywords; and (2) Add in new keywords you think are needed.

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Begin on the first page of your assigned reading. As you read, compare the materials to the
keywords listed in the index. Update page (column 2) and section (column 3) numbers as
needed. If you feel additional keywords are needed in that section, add them by inserting a row
above or below as appropriate (right click in the table > insert).

Please also ensure that you indicate whether the keyword reference appears on the left (L) or
right (R) side of the page. This may also require an update. Please keep all formatting the
same and use similar vocabulary.

Remember: Overlap is good in an index. For example, a question may refer to a “dog” or a
“canine”, so it is good to have index lines for each. Consider the ways in which different people
think about the same topic area and add keywords accordingly. Err on the side of adding words.
As an example, a good index would have the following because there is no way to know how an
exam question will be worded or what term will stand out to you:

Young Offender – Murder

Young Offender – Murder – Penalties

Young Offender – Murder – Maximum Penalty

Youth – Murder – Penalties

If keyword references span multiple sides of a page or multiple pages, note this in the same way
as indicated in the index (e.g. 123(L-R) or 123(LR), depending on the index; and 123(L) -124(R)).

Some materials include charts or figures that summarize certain statutes (e.g. the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act in the Criminal section). These will not be broken into left-right
columns. Follow the style in the index. This may require that you indicate if the keyword reference
appears near the top (T), middle (M), or bottom (B) of the page, or that you may need to
indicate that the reference appears in the “Preamble” of a statute. When in doubt, follow the
format of the index.

If you find a keyword reference in the index that no longer appears in the materials, you may
remove it. There could be a case or statute that has become irrelevant. However, err on the side
of keeping things in if you are in doubt. Make sure that the keyword reference is not actually there
with different wording.

Some keyword boxes include statutory or case law references. Please update these accordingly,
and add in any other statutory or case law references you think would be useful.

ii. Highlighting your assignment before submission

IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you highlight all sections of the index that cover your
assigned readings – all columns, all rows – even if you did not make any changes to them.
This will allow us to know what portion of the index to copy into the updated master indices.

iii. Addendum material

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The LSO may distribute addendum material from time to time, but no sooner than two days
before an exam. You are responsible for updating changes for your assigned reading
content. We will think of an alternative if these materials are issued after the indices are
distributed.

iv. Indexing Professional Responsibility

This topic includes references to the Rules of Professional Conduct. These references will be
found in the text of the Professional Responsibility section. They are important on the exam.

This index has references to the Rules in two locations: (1) in the keyword box, alongside the
corresponding keyword reference; and (2) stand-alone Rule references, which will be located in
the “R” section of the index once it is alphabetized.

In addition to following the steps above, please also ensure to update references to the Rules,
and add in additional references as needed (remember, the more triggers, the better). This will
require two sets of updates/additions:

1. An update to or addition of the Rule reference in the keyword box.

2. An update to or addition of the stand-alone Rule reference.
3. Because both types of references will be drawn from the same page of the materials,
they should be in close proximity to each other in the version of the index you have been
sent. If you can’t find the stand-alone Rule reference, ensure that it has not gotten lost
elsewhere by performing a “control-find” for that Rule. If you still can’t find it, add it in
where necessary.

v. Indexing the Rules of Professional Conduct or Bylaws

First, please recall that we are indexing both the Rules and the Bylaws sections according
to pagination in the Solicitor’s materials.

The formatting for the Rules index is slightly different from the other indices:

4. Instead of referring to the (L) and (R) side of pages, your index must indicate whether the
keyword reference appears on the top (T), middle (M), or bottom (B) of the page. These
pages are not split into left-right columns.

5. Instead of section numbers, the third column in your index contains a reference to the
appropriate Rule. You will also notice numbers in square brackets (e.g. 3.4[1]). The
number in square brackets refers to the accompanying commentary. Please maintain this
style and update all references to Rules and commentary where necessary.

vi. Updating Charts

Charts were assigned to people indexing fewer pages than others or no page assignments at all.
Your task is to update the page numbers within your chart. Send D’Arcy your updated chart when
completed. You are welcome to make substantive edits to the charts as you deem appropriate.