Library Guides: Academic Success: General Advice

JDEdge by AccessLex

JDEdge by AccessLex provides law school preparation and critical skills-building to incoming law students. Through webinars, video lectures, and interactive online lessons, incoming law students acquire critical skills such as reading and briefing cases, engaging in class, note-taking, effective post-class strategies, strategic studying, and so much more.

Register for JDEdge using your Buckeyemail email address and select "The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law" as your law school.

JDEdge by AccessLex

Online Toolkits

Books and E-Books

In the Collection

The ABCs of Law School: Diary of a First Year Student by Teresa Power
Spoiler Alert: Law school can be overwhelming and stressful. The good news? You're not alone. The ABCs of Law School shares all of the inside tips and tricks you need to survive and thrive, direct from someone who has been there, done that, and succeeded.
Open Book: The Inside Track to Law School Success by Barry Friedman; John C. P. Goldberg
Open Book: The Inside Track to Law School Success gives students an inside look at law school by explaining how, despite appearances to the contrary, classes connect to exams and exams connect to the practice of law.
What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction to the Study of Law by Tracey E. George; Suzanna Sherry
With the aim of decreasing students' anxiety and increasing their chances of achieving academic success, What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know prepares students to get through their first year of law school. This guide features insights into how and why law school classes work the way they do and the tools and techniques to better understand the substance of the first-year courses.

LexisNexis Digital Library

Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School by Ruta Stropus; Charlotte Taylor
This popular book helps students make the transition from their undergraduate experience to law school learning. Unlike other "introduction to law school" texts, Bridging the Gap offers a different approach by explaining the how, what, and why of law, providing students with the context necessary to understand why law school is taught in a certain manner.
The Gunner's Guide to Law School by Marc Silverman
This study aid explains that success in law school does not require any special skill or genius. This comprehensive guide provides reliable frameworks (backed by cognitive neuroscience) to navigate everything from reading assignments, classes, taking exams, and getting on law review--all the way through succeeding as an associate in a law firm.
Hard-Nosed Advice from a Cranky Law Professor by Austen L. Parrish; Cristina C. Knolton; Lisa C. Dennis
Hard-Nosed Advice from a Cranky Professor's practical, hands-on approach to learning helps students master the most essential skills needed in law school, including briefing cases, outlining, taking exams, meeting professor expectations, and many more.
Starting Off Right in Law School by Carolyn Nygren
Law school is different from other graduate schools. Students will be confronted by an entirely new vocabulary and unique and demanding educational methods. This book is designed to give these students a head start, both by introducing them to the fundamentals of the legal process and by helping them acquire the study skills necessary for success.
Succeeding in Law School by Herbert Ramy
In the third edition of Succeeding in Law School, Professor Ramy continues his mission of demystifying the law school experience. In addition to essential chapters on topics like course outlining, legal writing, and exam preparation, this edition includes multiple new exercises so that students can self-assess in order to improve their analytical abilities.

West Academic Study Aid Collection

1L of a Ride by Andrew McClurg
1L of a Ride provides a candid, comprehensive roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school’s crucial first year. Told in an accessible first-person voice, this book covers top student fears, the Socratic method, effective class participation, top habits of successful students, essential study techniques, and much more.
A Short and Happy Guide to Being a Law Student by Paula Franzese
This Short & Happy Guide is a must-read whenever worry or doubt creep in. Learn how to be your best in and out of class, how to succeed on exams, how to cope with stress, and how to create value in everything you do.
A Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student by Alex Ruskell
This book gives law students weekly checklists explaining the skills necessary to successfully navigate their first year of law school. Each chapter provides a checklist of things to do that week, such as briefing cases, going over notes, outlining classes, or doing practice questions. It also includes a bank of over 100 short, medium, and long practice questions in six first year subjects.

Academic Success