Outlining a Course 

Outlining, or making your own summary of a course, helps you understand and use the material in new situations. That's why every law student should outline every law school course. When you outline, you organize, extract, and integrate materials from case briefs and class notes. You synthesize and summarize the material so you can understand the course and prepare for the exam.

Think of "outline" as a verb, not a noun.
The process, not the end product, is what's important. Outline is something you do, not something you have. Do your own outlining. 
 
Have you ever had insights and ideas pop into your head while you were writing a paper? Outlining works the same way. The very process of outlining makes you struggle with the concepts of the course, organize them in your own mind, internalize the substantive law, and understand the law's complexities.

When you outline, you are not turning out an abstract compendium on the law. Rather, you are producing something that is personal to you. Concentrate on your own strengths and weaknesses, what you understand easily and what you are struggling with. For example, in contracts, do you breeze through consideration but bog down in identifying an offer? Then concentrate your outlining time on offer and give consideration less prominence.

Using someone else's outline is not enough.   
(1) Using another's outline is not as active a process as outlining yourself, so you don't understand the course material as well.  Outlining allows you to put together course information in a matter compatible with your own learning style and pre-existing knowledge.

(2) Outlines by others, whether student-written or commercial, don't cover the course you took. Professors change emphases from year to year and don't always cover the same material. Commercial outlines force you to wade through material that wasn't taught in your class.  

(3) Student-written outlines, and commercial outlines not written by law professors, are not reliable sources of law. Even the valedictorian can make mistakes.

Return to top.

There is no "right" form for outlining.  
Don't make the mistake of putting off outlining because you're afraid you'll do it the "wrong" way. If what you put down on paper helps you understand and use the material you learned from reading and class, then it is right for you. The end product of outlining can take many forms:

• a 20-, or 40-, or 100-page document in classic outline format
• a chart or flowchart showing a logical progression through the topic
• a series of headings followed by a lengthy expositions
• a stack of 4 X 6 note cards put into appropriate order
• a huge chart on the wall with circles and arrows.

Do practice problems and outlining concurrently.  
Constantly test your mastery of the material by doing practice problems. If you find that you don't know the law or how to apply it, outline the section over again with your new understanding. By outlining and problem-solving concurrently you will derive the maximum benefit from both.

Start early.   
Begin outlining after you finish the first major topic in the syllabus or chapter in the casebook. Starting early helps you work while the material is still fresh in your mind. It gives you more time to review the material with peers or the professor. And not incidentally, outlining early eases the time crunch near exams.

Gather together the necessary materials.  
Have at a minimum your syllabus, case briefs, casebook, and class notes. You may also want to have a hornbook or other study aids. Try not to start out by using someone else's outline. You'll have a natural tendency just to copy it.

Organize by issues or concepts in logical progression.  
If you are stuck on how to start, you may want to use the casebook's table of contents or the course syllabus as a guide. Be aware, though, that many concepts are taught out of logical order for pedagogical reasons. For example, breach is often taught before duty in a torts class.

It may help to think of the outline as comprised of a series of IRAs (IRAC minus the Conclusion) and sub-IRAs. The major concept is the issue. In outlining contracts, for example, your first major issue is "Has a contract been formed?"  Under this concept, you have sub-issues: Is the agreement supported by consideration?  Did the parties intend to contract?  Must the Statute of Frauds be satisfied?   Each sub-issue may in turn have several sub-issues of its own.

After identifying the concept or issue, state the overall rule as clearly as you can. This may be a statute, a restatement, or a general rule containing elements of the prima facie case.  For example, "A valid contract requires intent to contract, consideration, definiteness of material terms, and compliance with the Statute of Frauds."

Now break the rule into elements. Each element then becomes a mini-IRA.

Use cases and hypotheticals to show the rule in action.   
After giving the applicable rule or definition for each element, analyze it using policy, cases, and hypotheticals. The cases you read and hypotheticals the professor posed in class are illustrations of the rule in action. The more examples you have the better you can understand the rule. Use both clear and ambiguous examples to show the rule in action. When the history and/or policy underlying a rule has been emphasized in class or helps you understand it, include these as well.

Use proper terminology.   
The law is full of terms of art, which you must learn. Use the proper legal terms in your outline, defining them when necessary.

Continue outlining throughout the semester.   
You aren't "done" with a concept just because you've put it on paper. Continue adding, deleting, and moving material until you have mastered it. Check your understanding with professors, peers, and authoritative sources of law, then modify your work accordingly. As an added plus, you'll be better prepared for exams by wrestling with the material throughout the semester.

Remember: In outlining, the process, not the end product, is what counts.  

Return to top.

Go to a printer-friendly copy of this page.

Return to Skills for Success. 

Last updated 2007-08-04