How Study & Prepare for the MPT

What You’ll Learn:

• Our 3-Step Study Approach for the MPT
• How to Practice for the MPT
• What Materials to Use for MPT Practice
• How to use MPT Sample Answers when Studying
• How to use MPT Point Sheets to Grade Yourself
• When to Review MPT Summaries

Studying for the MPT is very different than studying for other sections of the bar exam.  Even though there is no law to memorize, the MPT requires an effective study plan to cover all the possibilities of what tasks could be tested… and that means A LOT of practice.

So, what’s the best way to prepare for the MPT without getting overwhelmed? 

We believe that examinees should follow this simple 3-step strategy:

Step # 1:  Learn How the MPT Works

Step # 2:  Review a few MPT Questions… to Make Sense of the Materials

Step # 3:  Practice, Practice, Practice… Review & Writing MPT’s under Exam-Type Conditions

Teaching you how the MPT works is the purpose of this guide!  It was created it to give you a thorough understanding of the MPT, how you will be tested, and what is required to do well. 

To set that foundation, read this guide in its entirety… it will provide the knowledge you will build on in Steps 2 and 3 of our strategy.

Learning about the MPT is not enough.  You need to take it further and start working with real MPT questions.  That is why the next step is to review a few MPT’s to get a good sense of the materials typically contained in the File & Library. 

The top three MPT question types are:

• Objective Memorandum
• Persuasive Brief
• Persuasive/Demand Letter

Reviewing 1 MPT question for each of the Task types above is a good place to start your MPT review.  It will show you what to expect for most MPT questions, but without the stress of jumping in and having to compose full answers immediately (it’s more of a passive exercise to get your feet wet).

To start, read through the following questions on your first 1 to 2 days of MPT review.

For each, you should read the MPT Question (File & Library), Point Sheet, and Sample Answer.

At this stage, timing yourself and writing out a full answer is not recommended.  For right now, the goal is to become familiar with how typical MPT questions are structured, getting comfortable reviewing the File & Library, and seeing what types of documents you’ll be given to complete the assignment.

After gaining some familiarity with MPT questions, now your MPT Practice really starts! 

To begin this step, we have provided an overview of the MPT practice materials to use.  Then, below we breakdown exactly how to practice for the MPT.

There are four primary items to use for MPT practice:

• MPT Questions – Questions from MPT past exams, which will be the cornerstone of your practice.
• Sample MPT Answers – You can use either Released Examinee Answers or Model Answers for practice. Released Examinee Answers are actual MPT answers written by examinees that received a high or above average score.  These answers are released by some MPT jurisdictions (see Chapter 8 on where to find these).  Model Answers are perfect MPT answers, normally written by commercial bar review companies or tutors.
• MPT Point Sheets – Point Sheets describe the factual and legal points for each MPT question, and outline the possible issues and points that might be addressed by an examinee. MPT Point Sheets are released by the NCBE, and are provided to the user jurisdictions to assist in grading the examination.¹⁵
• MPT Summaries – The NCBE also releases one-paragraph summaries of recent MPT’s, which include a brief description of the MPT task, context, and contents of the File & Library for each MPT question.

In the next section, we will explain how to use each to prepare for the exam.

MPT Practice Breakdown

Practice makes perfect, and to really hone your MPT skills you need to do two things:

1. Write Full MPT Answers, and
2. Perform MPT Outlining Exercises.

Both are essential for learning how to review the File & Library efficiently, organize your outline, and draft a passing MPT answer.

It goes without saying that the more time you set aside for review and practice, the more prepared you will be on exam day.

1. MPT Writing Practice

You MUST practice writing full answers to do well on the MPT. 

We know it’s painful and most don’t want to do it, but try to set aside time to write at least 1 MPT per Task area (objective memo, persuasive brief, etc.).  Ideally, you should write even more than that, especially if you’re struggling.

When choosing which MPT’s to write full answers, you should use the most recent MPT questions for each Task area. 

For each practice MPT question, follow the approach below.

MPT Writing Practice Approach:

1. Read the MPT question & draft your answer (complete within 90-minutes).
2. Review the corresponding Sample MPT Answer, and compare it to your answer.
3. Review the corresponding MPT Point Sheet, and grade your answer.

Complete each practice MPT question under timed “test like” conditions.  This will help prepare you for the time pressures of the actual exam.  In the beginning, don’t worry if you can’t finish an MPT in 90-minitues… that’s completely normal.  In the beginning, focus on completing the MPT.  Then, with more practice, try to bring your time down.

Make the best of your MPT practice, and don’t cut corners.  You should always take the time to properly review and grade each answer you write.  Quality over quantity is paramount here.

Remember, writing full MPT’s is in addition to other practice exercises (see below).  This may seem like overkill, but we commonly hear examinees fail because they didn’t write enough practice MPT’s in exam-type conditions.

2. MPT Outlining Practice

Outlining past MPT questions is a quick and effective way to practice.

In an ideal world, it makes sense to write as many past MPT’s as possible.  With that practice, you would become adept at identifying what the bar examiners are testing and looking for in an answer, and quicker at drafting the assignment in the allotted time.  However, writing full answers to countless MPT’s is just not possible given the limited time you have to study (especially while preparing for the MBE & essay sections).

To streamline the review process, it’s smart to outline MPT answers (instead of a writing a full answer).  This way you can go through many more MPT’s, and achieve a similar result.

MPT Outline Practice Approach:

1. Read the MPT question, plus make a short Outline of items that you would include in your answer (try to complete within 45-minutes).
2. Review the corresponding Sample MPT Answer, and compare it to your answer.
3. Review the corresponding MPT Point Sheet, and grade your answer.

*Your outline should include the points/issues, rules of law, relevant facts, legal analysis, and headings (if applicable).

For this exercise, set a timer for 45-minutes specifically for reading the File & Library and outlining your answer (to simulate “exam type” conditions).  If you need slightly more time, that’s okay because your outline in this case should be more detailed than the one you would create when writing a full answer… but try to stay as close to 45-minutes as you can.

We recommend working through past MPT questions in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest).  Reviewing per Task area starting with the most recent performance tests allows you to stay current with what the bar examiners are looking for in an answer (as this has the potential to change over time).

Using this outline approach allows you to efficiently work through many more MPT’s.  

Always remember, that MPT Outlining Practice is in addition to writing full MPT answers.  Thus, leave a few MPT’s per Task type (the most recent ones) that you’ll write full answers for, and then outline as many of the remaining MPT questions as possible to avoid overlap.

3. Review MPT Summaries – Extra BONUS Review!

Reading MPT summaries is another way to quickly become familiar with MPT questions, the tasks assigned in the past, and to learn what materials were provided in the File & Library.

Keep in mind, that reading summaries is NOT a replacement for writing or outlining MPT questions.  We consider it an “extra bonus” way to prepare for the MPT, and should only be used after your writing and outlining practice is finished.

It may be a good idea, a few days before the exam, to read the MPT Summaries for any past MPT that you did not practice to keep yourself fresh.  If you feel up to it, you could even read the summaries for MPT’s that you previously practiced for even more “extra bonus” review!