As with anything in law school, outlining is personal to you! But, here are 5 tips for outlining that work for me!

1. Follow the syllabus as a guide.

        When I started to make my first law school outline, I had no idea where to start. There is so much information that needs to be compiled, it can be very overwhelming. After looking around for advice, I found that many people use the syllabus as a guide. 

For me, that looks like breaking down my outline into the modules or sections that my professor used. For example, in my Constitutional Law outline, I have a big section for enumerated powers with subsections for each power (commerce power, taxing and spending, etc.)

2. Section things off by topic and start with just the overall general rule.

 I like to begin each section by giving the broadest/bare bones overview. From there, I go into more details and nuances. 

3. You don’t need full case briefs. 

I prefer to include just enough information about the case to spark my memory. For me, that is the rule from the case and around one sentence of facts. While the rule is the most important, don’t overlook the facts! In my experience, professors often pull fact patterns from cases we’ve gone over to use on the exam. In those moments, it’s super helpful to be able to remember how a court ruled when presented with the same facts. 

4. Try your best to put things in your own words. 

It’s easy to copy and paste from your professor’s slides or from the text of the book, but putting things in your own words makes a huge difference. Especially when you’re dealing with old cases, writing the rule in a way that makes sense to you helps you solidify it in your mind. Yes, this will take a little more time than copying and pasting, but it will help you so much when the exam comes. 

5. Don’t worry about making it look pretty.

 For some people, making their outline look good is helpful to them! But for me, trying to make my outline look good was a lost cause. I found that all I need is to get the information out in a clear and concise way. On my outlines, standard Arial font and bullet points work just fine!

Lastly, try to enjoy the process as much as you can! Outlining is time-consuming, so let yourself enjoy it, whether that’s listening to music or playing a TV show quietly in the background. 

I hope these tips help you! They definitely helped me when sitting down to outline 1L year! Good luck with your finals!

– Mia Colanero is a 2L KU Law Student Ambassador from Overland Park, Kansas