How do I get better at MBE questions?

Asked by: Ken Graham I  |  Last update: December 24, 2023
Score: 4.8/5 (47 votes)

Top 10 Best MBE Tips and Tricks By a Bar Expert who Scored A 180 On The MBE
  1. Memorize the law! ...
  2. Focus on the highly tested topics. ...
  3. Answer questions one by one when you are trying to improve your MBE score. ...
  4. Practice answering MBE questions in a timed setting. ...
  5. Use released bar exam questions.

How can I get faster at MBE questions?

How to answer MBE questions faster (and get them right!)
  1. First, make sure you have the rules memorized. ...
  2. Second, develop a system for quickly jotting out facts. ...
  3. Third, change the order you read the question. ...
  4. Fourth, if you get a really long, convoluted question, skip it.

How to answer MBE questions?

How to Answer an MBE Question
  1. Step one: read the fact pattern, then the call of the question, then STOP. ...
  2. Step two: identify the subject. ...
  3. Step three: identify the legal issue being tested. ...
  4. Step four: state the rule. ...
  5. Step five: answer the question without looking at the answer choices.

How many questions do I need to get correct on the MBE?

If you are aiming for an MBE score of 136-140 (which is a passing MBE score in jurisdictions that require a 272-280 to pass) you should aim for 62%-65%. This means you should get 62-65 questions correct on a 100-question practice test or 124-130 questions correct on a full MBE exam.

What percentage of MBE questions should I be getting right?

The short answer:

If you are aiming for a MBE score of 131-135 (which is a passing score in jurisdictions that require scores of 262-270 to pass), you should aim for 58%-62%. We suggest aiming for at least 60% to be safe.

How to Approach MBE Questions With Jonathan Grossman (Webinar recording)

33 related questions found

Is 60% on the MBE good?

If you are answering about 60-66% correct on the MBE, you are likely in the “safe zone.” A higher score than that is, of course, even better! If you are scoring lower than that, see below for tips. But also, make sure that you work on the written portion of the exam.

What are the hardest MBE subjects?

What Are The Most Highly Tested MBE Topics?
  • Torts: (25 questions)
  • Evidence: (25 questions)
  • Real Property: (25 questions)
  • Contracts and Sales: (25 questions)
  • Civil Procedure (25 questions)
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure: (25 questions)
  • Constitutional Law: (25 questions)

What is the hardest section on MBE?

Nevertheless, many future attorneys who have taken or are currently preparing for the bar exam seem to agree that the following three subjects are the most challenging:
  1. Real Property. ...
  2. Contracts. ...
  3. Civil Procedure.

What is a good MBE score?

You want to aim for a scaled score of at least 140-145 (which is the average score). Ideally, you should want a 150+ scaled score to have confidence to pass the exam. The national average MBE scaled score for the last few exams was: 131.1 6 in Feb. 2023; 140.3 7 in July 2022; 132.6 8 in Feb.

What is the average MBE score?

Average Scores on Multistate Bar Exam Remain Consistent with Previous Years. MADISON, WISCONSIN, September 13, 2022—The national Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) mean scaled score for July 2022 was 140.3, consistent with results from recent years' July administrations.

How do you guess on the MBE?

How To Guess Correctly On The MBE
  1. If two answer choices are the same, there is a good chance they are both incorrect! ...
  2. Identify the subject being tested and analogize the facts to an area of law that you DO know. ...
  3. If you can narrow it down to two answers, go back to the facts. ...
  4. Don't rely on patterns.

How hard is the MBE?

2) The MBE is hard

Most people regard the MBE as the hardest portion of the bar exam. The questions are rarely easy or straightforward. They can be tricky, and sometimes worded in a way that guides you to the wrong answer. The only upside of the MBE is, again, that you know ahead of time what subjects will be tested.

Are MBE questions repeated?

The key to adequately preparing for the MBE is practice! The NCBE doesn't reuse old MBE questions, so there's no use in trying to rely on seeing repeat questions on your bar exam. Instead, focus on taking more time to study highly tested topics and practicing using old MBE questions.

How long should 25 MBE questions take?

Regular timing conditions

So, if you take the bar exam under normal timing conditions, you will have, on average, 1.8 minutes, or 1 minute and 48 seconds, to answer each MBE question. As a goal, try to answer, during your practice, 9 questions every 15 minutes.

How long should each MBE question take?

How much time you should spend on each MBE® question? A good general rule of thumb is that you have roughly 1 minute and 48 seconds per question. This is based on 200 questions in 6 hours, or 1.8 minutes per question.

Is MBE harder than Barbri?

The Barbri invented questions are harder than the real MBE questions. (Real MBE questions are still difficult though.) The Barbri MBE compares you to how others score on the Barbri simulated MBE.

What is the lowest MBE?

MBE Scores

The performance information provided for the MBE is a scaled score which can range from about 40 (low) to 200 (high). MBE scaled scores are calculated by NCBE based on a statistical process known as equating that is commonly used on standardized examinations.

What MBE score is 99th percentile?

Your percentile for the MBE Score is as follows:

A 180 is 99th percentile. A 170 is 98th percentile.

Is the MBE curved?

In most states, anywhere between 130 and 140 should be a passing score on the MBE. Keep in mind that the MBE is curved. For example, you scored a 125 and needed a 135 to pass.

How do you master the MBE?

10 Expert MBE Tips and Tricks
  1. Memorize the law! ...
  2. Focus on the highly tested topics. ...
  3. Answer questions one by one when you are trying to improve your MBE score. ...
  4. Practice answering MBE questions in a timed setting. ...
  5. Use released bar exam questions. ...
  6. When you answer a question incorrectly, write down the law you don't know!

How many MBE questions are not graded?

The MBE consists of 200 multiple-choice questions: 175 scored questions and 25 unscored pretest questions. The pretest questions are indistinguishable from those that are scored, so examinees should answer all questions.

Can you pass the bar with a low MBE score?

While it would be great to ace every potion of your bar exam, you don't necessarily need to get a passing MBE score to pass the bar. Often, students are able to balance out lower MBE scores with higher essays scores. In UBE states, the MBE and essays are weighted equally.

Why are my MBE scores going down?

Take more time to memorize the law.

When your MBE score is getting worse, you might just not know the law well enough. You should be doing more than just reading and re-reading your outlines. You need to be interacting with them in a way that ensures you are able to produce and apply a rule on a whim.

What is the MBE score for 2023?

MADISON, WISCONSIN, March 31, 2023—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced today that the national mean scaled score for the February 2023 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) was 131.1, a decrease of 1.5 points compared to the February 2022 mean of 132.6.