Washington and Lee University Research Guides: Bar Exam Resources Guide: MBE

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Other Notaries on W&L's campus are listed online.

One common element of the bar exam from jurisdiction to jurisdiction is the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The MBE is administered in every jurisdiction except Louisiana and Puerto Rico.

Content and Scoring of the Exam

The MBE consists of 200 multiple-choice questions administered during two three-hour examination periods on the last Wednesday in February and the last Wednesday in July each year. For the MBE's scope of coverage, see the MBE Subject Matter Outline.

Additional details regarding the structure of the exam and tested subjects are available on the NCBE’s MBE Preparation page.

According to the NCBE, “[t]he purpose of the MBE is to assess the extent to which an examinee can apply fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns.”

Study Resources for the MBE

The Law Library contains a special Bar Success Collection of resources to help you prepare for the bar exam. This collection is located in the Main Reading Room on Level 3A.

The Library also has eBook collections that can assist you in studying:

Below is a sampling of the print and electronic resources available from the Law Library:

Bar Exam MBE Flashcards by Kaplan Bar Review
Call Number: KF388 .K37 2022
ISBN: 9781506288505
Publication Date: 2022
Prep for the MBE on-the-go with 700 essential flashcards to help you master the material and score higher on Test Day. Kaplan's Bar Exam Flashcards MBE provides expert coverage of the terms, definitions, and concepts on the test. 700 detailed flashcards: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts. Each MBE flashcard features exam-style questions for realistic review. All cards are aligned with the content outlines from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Mastering Multiple Choice for Federal Civil Procedure MBE Bar Prep and 1L Exam Prep by Steven Baicker-McKee; William M. Janssen
ISBN: 9781636593364
Publication Date: 2022
Online access available through West Academic. Need a little practice with multiple choice questions in federal civil procedure? Your solution has arrived. You must buy this book if: A. You are studying for your Bar Exam's MBE multiple choice test, and are more than just a little freaked out by how broadly Civil Procedure can be tested; B. You are in law school, enrolled in a Civil Procedure course, and you are exasperated trying to master the countless nuances of Civil Procedure; C. You want a resource that helps coach you in improving multiple choice exam performance, with strategies, realistic questions, answers, and detailed explanations; D. All of the above.
A Short and Happy Guide to Conquering the MBE by Don Doernberg; Cynthia Pope
ISBN: 9781647088378
Publication Date: 2021
Online access available through West Academic. The Multistate Bar Exam is intimidating because it covers a wide array of subjects and because it is all multiple-choice questions. If you feel overwhelmed by all the subjects and the nuances of them and have never liked multiple-choice questions, particularly in law school, then this book is precisely what you need.
Strategies and Tactics for the MBE by Kimm Alayne Walton; Steven Emanuel
Call Number: KF303 .W345 2020
ISBN: 9781543805727
Publication Date: 2020
The Seventh Edition of Strategies & Tactics for the MBE has been carefully revised by Steve Emanuel and is full of up-to-date advice on how to analyze Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) questions in all MBE subject areas (Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property with Future Interests, and Torts). Steve Emanuel--author of the Emanuel Law Outlines and CrunchTime books in the MBE-subject areas--has passed the bar exam in several states (including New York and California) and worked with law students to prepare them for taking the MBE.
Strategies and Tactics for the MBE 2 by Steven L. Emanuel
Call Number: KF303 .E46 2013
ISBN: 9781454809937
Publication Date: 2013
A comprehensive resource created in the successful style of Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, Strategies and Tactics for the MBE 2 provides 300 additional questions to help you prepare for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)! Success on the MBE can often influence whether you pass or fail the Bar Exam. It is important to understand the issues of law tested on the exam and to learn how the exam questions are written to test your understanding of the law. With its comprehensive explanations of why one answer choice is the best answer and why the other choices are not, Strategies and Tactics for the MBE 2 helps you gain the ability to select the best answer choice with certainty.

If you’re looking to purchase additional resources yourself:

The NCBE provides you with some sample test questions online.
When you register for a Bar Review course they will provide you with multiple simulated MBE exams.
The NCBE has a list of MBE study aids in their online store.

Jurisdictions Administering the MBE

(last updated Feb. 22, 2024)