50 Tips for Taking Paralegal Certification Exams

Studying for a test is always hard. To make your life a little easier, we've compiled a list of 50 handy tips to help you prepare for your paralegal certification exam. Good luck!

Know Yourself

  1. Rank the subjects on your exam. Determine which ones are going to be most difficult for you.
  2. Spend more time studying the subjects that are going to be more difficult.
  3. Figure out your best study time. For instance, if you typically stay up late, don't try to study early in the morning.
  4. Set goals for yourself before you study. Perhaps there is a set amount of material that you want to cover in each study session, or a specific amount of time that you want to spend studying. Reward yourself for your work (e.g. listening to music, eating a small bit of chocolate, taking a walk, etc.).
  5. Vary the subjects you study so you don't get bored or burnt out.
  6. Don't study too much too fast. You can only learn so much so quickly. Establish a reasonable study schedule—maybe 30 minutes to one hour per day for several weeks before the exam.
  7. Don't procrastinate. You can't study a lot of information quickly and expect to remember it.
  8. When you are studying, minimize all possible distractions. Don't multitask. Turn off the TV. Ask your partner or a friend to watch the kids.
  9. Pay attention while you are reading your study materials. Sure, you can scan your eyes over the page, but if you don't remember what you read then you're just wasting time.
  10. Summarize the information you've been studying. You could write a summary paragraph or tell a friend what you've been working on.
  11. If you have distracting thoughts floating through your brain while you study, jot them down on a pad of paper and deal with them later.
  12. Every so often stop and check in with yourself. Do you remember what you've been studying?
  13. Quit studying if you're tired or can't concentrate.
  14. Remember to take some time for yourself. Relax and connect with friends and family. This will help keep you from burning out.

    15. Organize Your Knowledge

  15. Try to relate what you are studying to things from your personal life, from your job experience, from the media, from your classes … whatever. You are more likely to remember things when they are related to something.
  16. Note the similarities and differences between events and ideas. This will create associations between ideas, which will help you remember things when being tested.
  17. When you read about something abstract, try to relate it to something concrete. Relate principles to case studies. Create your own examples if necessary.
  18. Use memory tricks to help you learn. For example, many children learn the order of the planets from the sun by using the silly phrase: “My very educated mother just served us nachos” (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune).
  19. Learning things through rehearsal—repeating information over and over to yourself—is inefficient and rarely effective. Plus, if you do manage to remember this information, you usually won't remember it for very long. So don't do it. Remember, you are taking this exam to prove to employers that you are a great employee. You don't want to ruin that image by forgetting everything on the exam once you actually get to work.
  20. Periodically review information that you've already studied. This will help keep it “fresh” in your mind. It's even better if you can relate this information to information that you've learned more recently.
  21. You might confuse yourself if you study two similar subjects, like Spanish and Italian, back to back. You are more likely to keep information straight if you study subjects that are relatively different, like Spanish and Chinese, back to back.

    22. Learn As Much As You Can about the Exam and the Subjects

  22. Check with the paralegal association to make sure that there have been no changes to the structure of the exam. Sometimes it takes a while for organizations to update their websites.
  23. Search online for any updates to federal law or procedure.
  24. Take self-study courses available on the Internet, like the courses available through NALA. Self-study courses cover the American legal justice system, civil litigation, contracts, ethics, judgment and legal analysis, legal research, real estate, and written communications.
  25. Take a live web-based study program. NALA offers courses on the following subjects: the American legal system, basic business organizations, civil litigation, ethics, legal research, and written communications. The National Federation of Paralegal Associations offers a seven-week online review course that ends with a mock exam.
  26. Find out if any of the courses are provided in MP3 format. This is great for studying while commuting or at the gym.
  27. Take an in-person exam program, if one is available. NALA offers a CLA/CP short course each fall. NALA also offers an Essential Skills exam prep course during their annual convention. Sections are available in: written communications, judgment and legal analysis, the American legal system, and legal research. The National Association of Legal Secretaries offers an Advanced Legal Training Course.
  28. Take a mock exam. The National Federation of Paralegal Associations offers a 100-question mock exam that will help you identify areas of strength and weakness.

    29. Gather Resources

  29. Gather your study materials. For the National Association of Legal Assistants' exam, this includes: the CLA Review Manual, 2nd Edition by Virginia Koerselman; The CLA/CP Study Guide and Mock Examination, 4th Edition written by NALA members; the NALA Manual for Paralegals, 5th Edition written by NALA members; Strunk and White's The Elements of Style (for the communications section); and A Uniform System of Citation, by the Harvard Law Review Association (for the legal research section). The National Federation of Paralegal Association's exam uses the PACE Study Manual, 5th Edition. The National Association of Legal Secretaries uses the Basic Manual for the Lawyer's Assistant, 10th Edition; the Advanced Manual for the Lawyer's Assistant, 9th Edition; and West's Paralegal Today: The Legal Team at Work, 4th Edition.
  30. Join a study group. This will help structure your study and will make you more accountable. Check out NALA-affiliated associations for groups in your area.

    31. Familiarize Yourself with Logistics and Procedures

  31. Familiarize yourself with the process of the exam: the order in which the sections will be administered, the amount of time involved, procedural information, etc. Knowing as much as you can about what to expect will help you stay relaxed.
  32. Know exactly where your testing center is located. Consider going to the location in advance so that you are familiar with the route, how long it will take to get there, and other logistics (e.g. bus stops, parking, etc.). You don't want to be flustered by logistics the day of the exam.
  33. If you have to cancel your exam, contact the headquarters of the organization as soon as possible.

    34. The Night Before the Exam

  34. Rest up the night before the exam. You probably won't be able to cram a lot of information into your head the night before and still remember it the next day. So just relax.
  35. Don't Panic. It will be fine. You have put a lot of work into this.

    36. The Day of the Exam

  36. Dress professionally, yet comfortably for the exam. It's hard to think coherently when you are constrained by your clothes.
  37. Turn off your cell phone once you get to the exam room.
  38. If you want a five-, 10-, or 15-minute warning before the exam is over, tell the proctor ahead of time.
  39. Take lots of pens and sharp #2 pencils with erasers.
  40. Don't get excited and start the exam early. Doing that can get you disqualified.
  41. Again, don't panic.

    42. During the Exam

  42. Before answering a question, read the entire question and all of the possible answer choices. This might seem silly, but a lot of people skim over the question, think they have the answer, and then answer incorrectly because they miss key words.
  43. Look out for words like “NOT” and “EXCEPT” which can change the meaning of a question.
  44. Answer all the questions you know first. Then go back and tackle the ones that were more confusing.
  45. Guess if you have to, but try to narrow down your options first. A 50-50 shot is better than a wild shot in the dark.
  46. If you need to erase an answer on a computerized answer sheet, make sure you erase it thoroughly.
  47. Remember to stay relaxed on essay portions, and make sure your handwriting is legible. You don't want to lose points because the scorer can't read your handwriting.
  48. Read essay questions thoroughly and understand them before you try to answer them.
  49. Try to be as concise as possible on essay questions. The people who are grading the essays can get tired and cranky when reading lots of unnecessary words.
  50. After you've answered all of the questions you know, go back and see if the information you gathered or remembered when answering those questions helps you to answer the more confusing questions.

 

Article Resources:

The CLA Exam…General Information about the CLA/CP Examination Process
The National Association of Legal Secretaries, Certification
The National Federation of Paralegal's Associations
Where to Study/How to Study

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