Transcript for:
Essential Tips for Law School Recitation

in this episode i'll give pointers on  how to better handle logical recitation   the recitation begins now hi i'm dean rod vera i'm a law school dean  for university of kolokan city and i've been   a law professor for the last 11 years in this  channel i make videos for legal commentaries   and law school advice please do me a favor  and like share and subscribe it does help my   channel grow let's begin law school is three  fourths recitation and one half reading cases   wait that just mess up my math well that's what  law school does it messes your brain that's one   of the symptoms of the condition called law school  student in the philippine setting law school is   giving recitation and quizzes and  midterms and final exams about 90   of the dog professors give a socratic type of  recitation and it'll be 120 for the first year   there again i messed up my math every law school  professor will have their own style of recitation   there is no one solution for all dog professors  professors have their own style of recitation   their own skill and their own length low  professors have a unique way of giving   their recitation some are hard some are easy  and for me i give it lionel richie's style   all night long stay until then i'll give you  the ultimate bonus tip for law school recitation   tip number one do not avoid eye contact  when you're in class try not to look nervous   or trying to get unnoticed or trying to make  yourself invisible to law professors when   professors see that they will think that you  are unprepared and they might pounce on you   i'm not saying perfect all professors do that  but nevertheless you want to prevent something   like that to happen if you consistently  look nervous in your law school classes   that leave an impression on the school professors  professors want to see confidence in students also   by giving an impression or showing that you are  interested in the class in his lectures or even   when other people are reciting professor will  see that you are interested in learning the law   second tip when you're called recitation and you  stand up stand up straight slouching or standing   in a wrong or weird way will give an impression  to the professors that you are unprepared   professors have a mindset that they are training  future lawyers you have to realize out there in   the real legal or lawyer world judges will  judge you clients or potential clients will   also judge you by showing that you are slouching  or not standing up with confidence a judge might   think that you're unprepared or clients think that  you don't have the confidence to take their case   professors want their students to excel in law  school law professors always want their students   to look worthy and confident that brings up the  reputation of the law school and it trickles down   to the reputation of the law professor by showing  a good postural recitation it shows that you are   at the very least prepared stop fidgeting your  arms it's just a stand up straight and maintain   a good posture maybe hands in the pocket or don't  ever cross your arms you want to appear that you   are talking to professor and you know what  you're talking about tip number three answer   the professor's question and not your own question  this is simple answer directly the question don't   answer any other question if you give an answer  like a politician the professors will know and   sense that you don't know what you're talking  about or you're not listening at all listen to   the question first before answering then answer  it directly don't explain unless you're asked to   by doing so you're leaving an opening professor  to pounce on you also the professor will tear you   apart for answering the wrong question tip number  four donuts do not begin your answer by in my   opinion or i think or i believe professors want  answers based on the law and the jurisprudence   or the cases that you read by beginning with  in my opinion i believe i think you are giving   the impression or you're telling the professor  your own thoughts on the matter or the question   they don't want that they want to know that if you  read the lesson the answers are there whether it's   in the book in the cases or in his past lectures  you must understand that this is not high school   or college high school teachers or college  professors don't eat cut glass with hot sauce   law professors have that as a midnight snack after  napping on notebooks that used to be owned by law   students who quit tip number five avoid saying  um uh well this is an absolute no-no or maybe a   never-never by beginning your answer that way it  shows that you actually never study or you don't   know what you're talking about it'll also tell  professors that you're about to guess the answer   that shows lack of confidence and lack of  preparation for that day law professors have this   unwritten responsibility to weed out students who  they think will not be able to survive or at least   pass the bar most law schools are under pressure  to bring up their bar percentage they do that   by selecting students into the senior year  knowing that they will eventually pass the bar   that is why you see that there's a high mortality  rate in law schools because of that some may not   survive some may not take it some students maybe  were asked to leave because they didn't reach the   quoted grades this one will be hard to take if  you're not ready and you're called recitation   tell the professor that you are not ready at  least you're being honest pretending to know   the answer pretend to be prepared it's actually  worse for your reputation i know it'll be hard   but take that 5 or 70 for that recitation and  then make it up at the next recitation maybe   volunteer the next time or a week a week later the  professors will appreciate honesty and sincerity   by telling them you're not prepared it may be  embarrassing but just remember all the students   know what you're going through and they won't  take it against you some may be even be impressed   because you're being brave and courageous  to the law professor here's my bonus tip   study by studying well and efficiently you assure  the professor that you are prepared and remember   some professors have backup questions they'll ask  you the why question why did the courts say that   way or why the law is written that way this  is where studying will prepare you remember   law school classes with recitation maybe  five to six days a week for 18 weeks   a semester and that's twice a year studying for a  station on the first year will be very very hard   it's like fingernails on a chalkboard   studying for restoration in the senior year will  be like that piece of cake that you rejected   and now you feel like a winner it'll make you feel  good about yourself i hope these tips would better   prepare yourself for recitation there is no one  solution that fits all recitation but with these   tips i just gave i hope that the recitation be  made easier for you during your law school career   at the end of this video you will see a link  to all of my other videos on law school advice   i made videos on how to read the case how to  make a case digest and how to survive law school   i wish you the best of luck in your law school  career i hope to see you in court someday   and when you pass the bar again i invite you to  like share and subscribe the best thing about it   is free and if you do it you'll have one year  of luck after you pass the bar again after you   pass the bar this is dean rodberg saying it's not  what you know it's what they don't know goodbye