Outlining....

[Godot]

How do you make your outlines? What do you put in them? How often do you work on them?

Tell me about outlines...I'm a 1L and looking for suggestions of methods that have worked for others.

Thanks!

(Posted this on the Study board but very little traffic there)

[IrishAces]

That's sort of like asking "tell me how to do well in law school."  Your question is too broad to be answered very effectively.  General rule, read the assigned material, take notes in some format that is cognizable to you (focus on law and argument, not facts).  Supplement with a commercial outline to round out your understanding of areas as needed.  Don't waste a ton of time on form (pretty fonts, bolds, italics, arrows) the substance is what matters.   Truth is, it's all about what works best for you in the end.  The only way to know that is to start and figure out what information you need notes on and what information is so intuitive you don't really need a lot of information on it in your outline.  Also, don't just copy huge sections of the UCC or the FRCP into your outline.  They give you the book of those for a reason.

[MidWestLawGril]

I go way overboard on the outlining, I know.  But it worked for me. (top 10% at a mid tier 1)

Here goes
First, I take notes in outline form.  Then everyday I go back and clean up my notes for that day.  About 1 month into the semester, I start building my Long outline. I usually cut and paste from class notes, even though they tell you not to.  Then, about 1 month before tests start I start shortening my outline to about half its size by leaving out some the facts of the case and just shortening how I say things.  2-3 days before the exam, I re-type and shorten my outline and make about 5-6 pages for each class. 

That's how I do it.  I think working on your outlining and reviewing is more important than reading for class, even though I do that too. I know some people who read the cases 3 times before each class, but they were not in the top 10%. You'll spend your time more wisely by reviewing your past classes, not preparing for future ones.