With just over 1 week until the February 2010 bar exam, I felt it was a good time to do a book review of one of the best and well-known study guides out there:
Strategies and Tactics for the MBE
Most bar examinees know the 2006 edition with its olive color, but finally a new edition is out, the 2010 edition, and the book is now in two volumes.
Volume 1 is the same format as the old one: 6 chapters (1 for each MBE subject) with practice questions, and a 200-question practice MBE exam in the back.
Volume 2 is approx 300 additional MBE questions.
I was excited to receive the new edition as I believe that the old (2006) edition is still the BEST study guide for the multistate bar exam. However, upon receiving the new edition, I realized that it was very similar to the old 2006 edition. In fact, it was so similar that I felt compelled to get my 2006 copy and compare. Here is what I discovered:
1) The outlines in each chapter (probably the single best part of the book) are IDENTICAL in the 2006 and 2010 editions.
2) The practice questions and answers in each chapter are NEARLY identical in the 2006 and 2010 editions. The only changes were to the style of writing in the new edition so they are more similarly worded to the way the MBE is written now. It’s a subtle difference but they are the same questions.
3) The 200-question practice exam in the back of the book are mostly new questions, however, nearly all of these new questions are straight from the NCBE’s online practice MBE – Called the MBE-OPE 2. The NCBE charges $26 for this test.
As for the 2nd volume, the 300 additional questions, I did not get this book so I cannot comment on it but I suspect it contains some questions from the 2006 edition practice exam that are no longer in the 2010 edition as well as other NCBE released questions.
So, to summarize, the only new area is the practice exam at the back of the book, but you can get the same thing online for $26 per 100-question test (2 available) online at ncbex.org. My recommendation is if you don’t already have the book, by all means get the new edition. But, if you already have the book, there is not much point to buying the new edition unless you want a printed version of the NCBE’s online questions.
One reply on “Book Review – 2010 Edition of Strategies and Tactics for the MBE”
i passed florida the first time but could not get admitted due to charachter and fitness.i have not been rejected so i am taking dc before i get rejected due to their lax admission standards.i only have to take the mee and mpt, my mbe score transferred. i only have 17 days to study , i wish you good luck, i need it.