Quick hot-take from coaching bar takers: most people don't fail essays because they don't know the law — they fail because they misread the call of the question and spot the wrong issues.

The fix that's worked over and over with students: read the fact pattern 3 times, each with a different job.

Pass 1 — Just read for the story. Don't take notes. Get the characters and the timeline straight.

Pass 2 — Read the call of the question FIRST, then reread the facts hunting only for triggers tied to that call. Every fact that seems oddly specific ("he verbally agreed," "she mailed the letter three days later") is there on purpose. Circle it.

Pass 3 — Read once more purely to sequence your issues in the order the grader's rubric will expect (usually the order the facts raise them).

Most self-studiers skip straight to writing after one read and miss half the issues buried in throwaway sentences. Three passes feels slow under time pressure at first, but it's the single biggest score jump I've seen in students who adopt it — because a perfect rule statement on the wrong issue still gets zero points.

Anyone else teaching a different issue-spotting method that's worked for your students? Curious what else is out there.