UNDERGRAD COURSES

Not sure what courses to take in your final undergrad year before you begin law school. Consider taking public speaking and writing courses.

Your gut reaction to that suggestion may be "That's crazy. I hate public speaking and writing, and I want an easy, not hard final year."

Despite that reaction, put aside your preconceived notions for a moment and consider that writing is the most important skill for law school success. It does not make a difference how long you study in law school and how well you know the law, if you cannot write well your grades will not reflect your knowledge.

One of the most common complaints of law students, especially first-year law students, concerns their grades. This complaint often stems from one thing: students inability to write clear, concise, and precise answers.

To develop strong writing skills you often need to work with professors who possess such skills. Consider taking upper level writing classes that focus on composition or expository writing. Also, consider taking journalism classes such as editorial writing.

The importance of these courses is that you get the opportunity to work with a professor who will care about whether the message you are writing is delivered clearly and effectively. This is the focus of writing in law school and in the professional world, and usually not the focus in most undergraduate courses where professors are more concerned with whether the information is correct than if it is written well. The online law school prep course offered on this website focuses specifically on developing writing skills.

Public speaking courses are also important because they help you develop the ability to speak well and confidently. I am not talking only about speaking confidently in front of a group of people, but also in one-on-one situations such as when you are networking or interviewing for a job.

In our society, everyone makes uninformed snap judgments on other people's intelligence and abilities based on brief first impressions. Without the ability to speak well, other people's judgments of you will not be as positive as they should be, and if those judgments of you are not positive you will not be considered for jobs and positions that you are surely qualified for.

Other related articles on this website include Choosing a Law School and Online Law Schools-One Important Question.

Good luck in law school!

Michael Santana
michael.santana@lawboost.com

If you have any questions or comments about this article, or want to write your own article about the pre-law or law school process, feel free to contact me.