"There is nothing
that can help a bar examinee most than a constant and intensive study of
the provisions of the various codes and the interpretation and
application thereof by the Supreme Court in its decisions. By study is
meant, that the provisions must be correctly understood and the thought
or words thereof put to memory. After a chapter, for example, has been
studied, the next one should be studied next, and after this, a review
of all that has already been studied re-reviewed, to keep the subject
matter and the provisions fresh in mind."
- Alejo Labrador
- Be consistent in tenses- No time to use flowery words
2. Handwriting- not only legible, must be beautiful- circular, standing- longhand, not slant- spacing between letters- print is discouraged- it is faster to write using longhand
3. Spelling- use simple words- glossary of difficult words- minimum of 15 words per subject
4. Neatness- no erasures or correct erasures- no tracing- YES or NO must be written last- no insertion of words
5. Margins- left right bottom top- picture frame- skip lines between paragraphs- indent paragraphs - make your booklet look like a book- consider left handed students
6. Logic- A = B, B = C, then A = C- hypothetical syllogism- pyramid style (use inverted pyramid if you are not so sure)- state the law- whether or not to state the law
7. Style or FormatPyramid- conclusion- legal basis- application
8. Conclusion- must be responsive to the question- in case of subquestions: if similar law, no need to restate
9. Legal Basis- under the Civil Code...- in the landmark case of ...- it is a settled principle of law
10. Application- here- in this case
11. Special Cases- enumeration- distinction- objectiveRule: if there is no instruction to explain, still explain. Impossible to answer (writ of amparo)
12. Other considerations- ballprint, ink, color- concise, longhand, print- folding page (avoid)- left handed- sweaty palms- others, 1 page or 2 pages numbering
