Introduction to Reading in Law School

1. Introduction to Reading in Law School Ante-Law School Camp session 3: Energize & Monitor

2. Reading in the Legal Domain • What differentiates Experts from Novices? • Experts engage in the following behaviors: • Working with Speed • “Chunking” • Problem-Solving • Elevating Above the Minutiae • Self-Awareness

3. Reading Strategies • There are several types of reading strategies employed by readers of varying competency • Default Strategies (novice readers spend too much time here) • decoding, structural annotations, highlighting, paraphrasing, strictly linear progression • Problematizing Strategies • readers solving problems within the text; ask self questions, make predictions, and hypothesize about the developing meaning • Rhetorical Strategies (expert readers spend most of their time here) • evaluation of the text and relating the text to personal experiences

4. Mastering Reading in a Law School Casebook • Engage with Energy • Monitor Your Reading and Read for the Main Idea • Always (Always!) Read with a Purpose • Get Oriented and Own Your Prior Knowledge and Experience • There’s More to the “Five Ws” (Who, What, When, Where and Why) Than Meets the Eye • Evaluate What You’re Reading: Your Ideas Matter • Review, Rephrase, Record

5. Engage with Energy • It is more difficult for a novice to do things than an expert • Not just the lack of knowledge but a different expenditure of energy occurs when an expert does something compared to when a novice does that same task • Domain knowledge changes the size of the pieces that your short term memory can manipulate • The bigger the piece of the information needed to manipulate the fewer pieces to move around • A fully developed schemata means it takes fewer steps to access the appropriate knowledge • “Reading is intellectual weight-lifting.”

6. Cultivating Energy • Fostering and maintaining personal wellness is crucial to keeping the energy levels necessary for law school success • Create a “Life Plan” to refer to for those times you feel you’re getting off track or worn down • Surround yourself with loved ones, regularly • Sleep like you should (~8 hours a night) • Eat healthfully • Exercise • Take care of your spirit

7. Preflight Assessment • Energy Assessment (see p. 66) • If you don’t have enough energy to read well, spend your time on a less demanding study task and come back when you have the right amount of energy • Emotional Assessment • Am I dealing with anything that is likely to interfere with my reading? • Mechanical Assessment • Do I have everything I need to complete my reading?

8. Chapter 5 Exercises #5 – When your energy drops, what can you do to raise your energy that will not hurt your health in the long run? #6 – What type of exercise program can you participate in at least twice a week throughout this semester?

9. Monitoring • Time is a finite resource • Be intentional but flexible • Anticipate • Recalibrate • Don’t abandon your common sense at the door • Be aware of contextual cues • Different materials require different speeds and level of attention • Be true to yourself • Remember that reading is a solitary social activity • Read for the main idea

10. CompuServe Incorporated v. Cyber Promotions, Inc.

11. Resources • Michael Hunter Schwartz, Expert Learning for Law Students • Ruth Ann McKinney, Reading Like a Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies for Reading Law Like an Expert • Leah M. Christensen, “The Paradox of Legal Expertise: A Study of Experts and Novices Reading the Law,” 2008 B.Y.U. Educ. & L.J. 53. • Leah M. Christensen, “Legal Reading and Success in Law School: An Empirical Study,” 30 Seattle U. L. Rev. 603 (2007). • Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading.