Stop Second-Guessing Yourself!

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Bar applicants often second guess themselves on MBE questions, and choose the wrong answer over the right answer they picked originally. It’s important to recognize this pattern and interrupt it.

Make note of how often you pick the right answer and then second-guess yourself and choose the wrong answer, and figure out whether this is a big problem for you.

If it is, make a pact with yourself that you will only change an answer if you can articulate a reason (in IRAC format) why you are changing it. This means that you can’t change an answer just because you think another answer choice looks prettier, or the question must not be as simple as it seems. You can only change an answer if you missed something, or forgot something, the first time.

Sometimes people will change their answers because they think they have too many of one answer choice in a row. The bar examiners aren’t thinking about whether there are three “B”s in a row, or whether there are patterns created by the answer choices. There are actually multiple MBE booklets with the questions in different orders to prevent cheating. So, there are bound to be some weird patterns. (That also means don’t be freaked out if the person next to you is turning the pages at a different speed than you are.)

Remember to trust yourself and trust the process.