⚖️ Bar Exam Mastery: Part 2
From Structure to Substance: Knowing What to Study
In Part 1 of the Bar Exam Mastery – California Edition series, we mapped the structure of the California Bar Exam—how the essays, the Performance Test, and the MBE divide your total score.
Now that you know how the test is built, the next question is what it actually tests.
The California Bar Exam covers more subjects than any other state exam, but not all subjects carry the same scoring weight. Roughly two-thirds to seventy percent of your total points come from the seven national MBE subjects, about 12–14 percent from the Performance Test, roughly 6 percent from Professional Responsibility, and the remaining 10–15 percent from California-specific subjects that rotate each administration.
This is where efficient preparation begins—knowing what deserves your attention and what can be studied in proportion to its impact.
The Core MBE Subjects
The MBE subjects form the foundation of the California Bar Exam. They’re tested twice—once in the 200-question multiple-choice section and again in two or three of the essay questions.
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts (and Sales under UCC Article 2)
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence
- Real Property
- Torts
Together, these subjects make up about 65–70 % of your total score, making them the highest-yield area of the entire exam.
And here’s the truth: you don’t learn the law by reading outlines.
You learn it by doing questions, reading explanations, and seeing how the rules operate in context.
Outlines organize information—but they don’t train instinct. Every rule that earns points on the exam is learned through practice: answering, missing, and correcting questions until recognition becomes automatic.
To master these subjects, take two complementary approaches.
First: Massive Amounts of Practice Questions
Start with the MBE.
Complete thousands of questions—slowly and deliberately at first.
Do five at a time, or even one at a time, and review the answer immediately.
Read the full explanation. Understand why the correct choice works and, just as importantly, why the others fail.
Work this way for your first 1,000 questions.
This early phase builds recognition and reasoning. The more patterns you see, the faster your rule recall develops.
For high-quality MBE questions and explanations, use UWorld or AdaptiBar.
Both simulate NCBE logic and provide the detailed feedback that turns raw practice into rule understanding.
Second: Massive Amounts of Essays
If MBE questions teach precision, essays teach structure.
Both test the same law—the MBE tests nuances of the rule, the essays test core concepts and logical organization.
The best way to learn essay law is through short IRAC drills.
Take one issue—negligence, offer and acceptance, or hearsay—and write a concise, one-paragraph IRAC focused on that single point.
These drills build analytical muscle memory.
They can be found directly in Brieflex.ai, which provides targeted, rule-based essay exercises designed to mirror MBE-style repetition—but for writing.
Think of it this way: UWorld and AdaptiBar train the MBE; Brieflex trains the essays.
Together, they cover every skill California actually tests: recognition, recall, and analysis under time.
If you follow this two-part approach—thousands of MBE questions and consistent IRAC drills—you’ll have effectively covered 60 to 70 percent of the entire exam.
The Performance Test (PT)
The Performance Test (PT) is worth 200 raw points, or about 14 percent of your total score. It measures whether you can complete a professional legal task using provided materials—not how much law you’ve memorized.
On the PT, you’re given:
- a File of facts, correspondence, and exhibits,
- a Library of statutes and cases, and
- an Assignment Memo telling you exactly what to produce—usually a memorandum, brief, or client letter.
Your job is simple: follow directions, stay organized, and finish the task.
The PT rewards structure and compliance, not creativity.
To be fully prepared, complete 4 to 5 full PTs under timed conditions before exam day:
- 2 to 3 persuasive tasks (briefs, motions, arguments)
- 2 to 3 objective tasks (memos, reports, analyses)
Work across formats—letters, internal memos, briefs—so you can handle anything on exam day.
Each PT should be written in 90 minutes under strict timing.
Afterward, review your work against the State Bar’s sample answer.
Remember: the sample answers aren’t perfect—they’re examples of passing work. Use them to check structure and completeness, not style.
If you complete 4–5 PTs in both objective and persuasive formats, you’ve mastered another 14 percent of the exam with a skill that rewards precision and process.
Professional Responsibility and California Subjects
At this point, you’ve covered most of the California Bar Exam.
Roughly 60–70 percent of your total score comes from the MBE subjects.
Another 14 percent comes from the Performance Test.
That leaves only 15–25 percent for California-specific subjects—and within that slice, Professional Responsibility alone accounts for roughly 6 percent.
The rest—Community Property, Wills, Trusts, Corporations, Agency, Partnership, and Remedies—together make up about 12 percent of the exam, spread across two essays worth roughly 6 percent each.
Professional Responsibility – ≈6 Percent of the Exam
Professional Responsibility appears on nearly every California Bar Exam—sometimes as a standalone essay, sometimes as a crossover with Evidence or Community Property.
It draws from:
- the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct,
- the California Rules of Professional Conduct, and
- the California Business & Professions Code.
Common issues include conflicts of interest, confidentiality, client funds, advertising, fees, and duties of candor.
To master this subject, fully write out three to five Professional Responsibility essays from past California Bar Exams under timed conditions. Focus on structure, issue spotting, and accurate rule use.
Then, reinforce your understanding by drilling Brieflex’s Professional Responsibility hypotheticals and rule-statement exercises until you can recall every major duty and exception automatically.
Together, those two steps—past essay practice and Brieflex rule repetition—cover every way the Bar tests Professional Responsibility.
The Remaining California Subjects – ≈12 Percent of the Exam
Once Professional Responsibility is accounted for, the final 12 percent of the exam comes from two California-specific essays, each worth about 6 percent of your total score.
These essays are drawn from the rotating set of state-only topics:
- Community Property
- Wills and Trusts
- Corporations, Agency, and Partnership
- Remedies
Either of these essays may be a crossover, such as Community Property + Professional Responsibility, Contracts + Remedies, or Corporations + Agency.
While this final segment is the smallest portion of the exam, it’s still important. The goal isn’t depth—it’s coverage. Learn the core rules, recognize common issue patterns, and know how to organize your IRAC efficiently.
Conclusion
You now know exactly what’s tested and how much each part is worth.
- MBE Subjects: 60–70 %
- Performance Test: 14 %
- Professional Responsibility: 6 %
- California-Specific Subjects: 12 % (two essays at ≈6 % each)
Nearly three-quarters of the California Bar Exam is built on national MBE subjects tested across both multiple-choice and essay formats. The PT adds a 14 % skills component. Professional Responsibility is the most consistent single topic. The remaining California-specific essays rotate, small but predictable. Once you grasp this breakdown, your study priorities become obvious: depth and repetition for the MBE, structured practice for the PT, steady familiarity with PR, and efficient coverage for the rest. This is your map. You now know what matters most—and where every point on the California Bar Exam comes from.
Next in the series:
Part 3 – How to Crush Essays: Writing Clear, Concise, High-Scoring Answers, where we break down how California graders evaluate essays and how to write the kind of answers that earn points every time.
