Rule #9

9: Realize the underlying, inherent value in the several learning processes, not being distracted by their superficial, apparent value.

It makes the learning processes more effective.

9.1 Study Group - Actually, the apparent value is not even clear at this point, but if there is an apparent value, it is actually learning something new through group synergy. The real value, though, is just verbalizing the things one has been learning and becoming aware of things that one has learned but may not even be aware of.

9.2 Class - It's not about writing down everything the professor says. Maybe not even writing down much of it at all. Class is about learning to think like a lawyer. It's not necessarily about being vocal, either. Even if the professor is not asking you a question, answer the question presented in your own mind and see how your answer compares with the correct one.

9.3 Reading - Remembering every fact the court opinion presents is the fastest road to the Ecclesiastical "vanity of vanities." Rather, don't just see the court's answer to the legal issue, but see the underlying reasoning of how the judges got there: the statutory interpretation, the analogies included, the policy questions answered. Just "doing" the reading might have been okay to fool your elementary school teacher. And trying to remember every detail you read may have been okay when you actually used to read sci-fi novels recreationally. But that won't do you any good here.

9.4 Outlining - Perhaps, the biggest deception here is that the finished product, the outline itself, is important. Why outline when there are free outlines floating around? Sure, organization of one's notes into comprehendable form is praiseworthy. But the real value is that outlining forces a systematization and rationalization of concepts learned. In law school, knowing isolated and random facts will tend to do more harm than good. The only good comes from synthesis. You know it all, or you don't know anything at all. And outlining can literally give a law student something to live for. With little real and tangible output during the first semester, producing outlines can give one the satisfaction of seeing the product of the academic toil that undisputedly provides constant companionship for the first semester 1L.