Question Re: Reading Casebooks

[be10dwn]

I think you may have to wait till a certain number of posts.  I just started seeing it.  I never came to this side of the fence cuz it is usually pretty dead, but it has picked up.

[lyrarain]

I've been making notes in the book when I get time, if the hypos seem tricky, but not if they're stupid. The amount of time it takes to do all the reading has been wearing down on my sleep, so I've switched to reading the notes first in my books that have good notes, since that helps me whiz through the case better, and I skim the E&E for the confusing ones before I do that section in the case book. sometimes I take more notes from E&E than my casebook, because they lay things out more plainly there. It's kind of a bummer though, because it seems I can either get to class having done all this reading and be bored while everyone else tries to get a handle on things, or I can lay off the careful studying and feel a little panicky in class. I guess we find the balance eventually...

[S|]

It's kind of a bummer though, because it seems I can either get to class having done all this reading and be bored while everyone else tries to get a handle on things, or I can lay off the careful studying and feel a little panicky in class. I guess we find the balance eventually...

In my experience it's more of the former than the latter. It may seem like a waste of time to be really prepared for class, but instead of struggling, you're refining your knowledge; in that respect I think it's worth it.

[eray01]

It's kind of a bummer though, because it seems I can either get to class having done all this reading and be bored while everyone else tries to get a handle on things, or I can lay off the careful studying and feel a little panicky in class. I guess we find the balance eventually...

In my experience it's more of the former than the latter. It may seem like a waste of time to be really prepared for class, but instead of struggling, you're refining your knowledge; in that respect I think it's worth it.

I agree. Class just helps to shore things up. I think that's really the purpose of class in the world of "gotta teach yourself." I get tired of sitting in Civ Pro listening to people ask questions like, "Do the rules say anything about . . .?" You were required to buy a copy of the rules. Look it up yourself. I wish the prof would say that sometimes. This prof in particular answers to many questions that students could easily find out on their own if they put a little effort into it. She looks frustrated by those questions too, but she doesn't do anything about it.

[kristin1644]

I definitely read the notes following the cases. As for problems and questions in the book, I'll usually give them a glance, but there are no answers given so even if I do them I won't know if I'm right--so what's the point?  Also, some of the questions and problems are hard to answer until the professor has lectured on the subject, and by then I'm on to the next night's assignment...

[Coregram]

Reading the notes are usually important.  Sometimes they note exceptions to the rule in the case or describe minority state positions.  Or they show different facts that the general rule in the case applied or didn't apply to.  Certainly not as important as the cases, but they help flesh out the rules illustrated in the cases.

As for the questions, I have had a couple of professors who took question problem/hypos out of the case book, changed a few facts, and used the questions on the exam.  Also, there's no reason why you can't ask the professor ( or their teaching assistant if they have one, or your classmates/study group) to review your answer to see if it is a good analysis of the issues in the question.  So I'd advise taking a stab at them as well.