The patent bar exam is the biggest step in your journey to becoming a patent attorney or patent agent. In many cases, it will also be the last step you need to take to begin your career. Before taking the patent bar examination, you want to be prepared and brimming to the top with all the right information.
The patent bar is a difficult exam. There are bright sides to the exam, like the fact that it’s all multiple choice questions and that you’re allowed to have the MPEP manual by your side while testing. This should help alleviate some of that stress on your shoulders.
However, your test time is limited, and shuffling through the MPEP for an answer will eat up your valuable time. You’ll want to answer as many questions as possible without using the MPEP.
So, what can you do to be prepared? Of course, it is more than simply guessing multiple-choice questions, you need to be prepared as possible. These tips will have you prepared and give you the positive mindset you need.
Have a Plan of Action Ready
Having a plan of action will help keep you organized while you’re studying. You’ll want to create a structured study plan that you can stick to regardless of any distractions.
Do you study better at night or in the morning? Do you have to study around a work schedule? Make sure your study schedule is what works best for you so you can optimize your learning and studying skills.
You should also create a study plan on what you’re going to study and when you’re going to study it. You want to be making sure you’re studying the most important patent cases and the important patent laws.
Set goals for yourself but make sure they’re realistic. Set a goal of how many pages you’re going to read that day or what information you want to have absorbed by the end of a study session. This gives you something specific to focus on.
It helps to ease your mind if on the day of the exam—you know exactly what office building you need to go to and what room you’ll need to report to. This will help maintain the organization you’ve been relying on. If you’re running around and not sure where to go, you’ll stress yourself out.
Take a Study Course
You don’t want to go into the exam blindly. The best way to be prepared for the patent bar examination is to take a study course that caters specifically to the patent bar exam. There are live courses you can take but that’s not your only choice when looking for a patent review course.
We have been offering an independent study review course for over a decade that’s helped prepare countless students to pass the exam. We offer you all the tools and the information that you need to pass the patent bar exam.
Through an independent course like ours, you can study with the aid of your laptop (or even your smartphone) wherever you are. Our interactive course allows you to remember what you’ve learned so you can use the information when you need it.
Study with a Friend or a Group
Adding a study group to your study mix can be extremely beneficial to your learning, especially if you’re a social butterfly. You won’t get lonely during all those hours of studying.
This also gives you a support system to lean on. You’re all taking the patent bar, so all of you will know and understand the pressure the exam will have on you. You can prepare notes, discuss study techniques, and you can even have someone to talk to if you start stressing out over the exam. It’s possible to find someone online to lean on, even if there’s no one near you geographically.
Everyone learns differently and everyone studies differently. All of our brains are unique in the way we remember, think, and perceive information. Studying in a group will open you up to new ways to study and to retain the information you need for the exam.
Study before Bed
Believe it or not, studying before bed can help you retain new information better than studying any other time of the day. It used to be a myth we all relied on the night before a big test in high school. Now there’s science and numerous studies to back it up.
During sleep, our brains create new neurological pathways to help retain the information we absorbed before bed. The cortex of our brain remains active while we’re catching some sleep.
Speaking of sleep, you need a healthy night of sleep before the exam. If you stay up all night studying, chances are you’ll be drained right when you walk into the exam room. You’ll be forgetful, you’ll be sleepy, and your concentration (and your confidence) will drop. And you need to be at your top performance level to handle the 6-hour exam where difficult questions will be thrown your way throughout the entire day. So don’t skip out on sleep the night before.
Bonus Tips
- Practice tests are a fantastic asset when studying for an exam. They let you know where you’re at with your studying and what you need to focus on.
- Do you love music? Music (without lyrics) has been known to help study nights run smoother and help you remember all the information you’re feeding your brain.
- A healthy breakfast before the exam will boost your energy levels, reduce any test anxiety, and boost your confidence.
Conclusion
Studying to become a patent attorney or patent agent doesn’t have to mentally exhaust you. There are instrumental tips you can use to optimize how you retain information, what you retain, and how to use that information to not only pass your exam but to continue to use the information you learned throughout your patent law career.