www.simplilaw.ca
linkedin.com/in/msjessicahammond
SIMPLILAW
@simplilawbarprep
Help! Why Am I
Reading So Slow?
CONTENTS
05
When to
Actually Worry
About Reading
Speed
The Reality Check
06
ii i
02
03
Reading Pace
Why Bar Prep
Reading
Feels Different
What's Actually
Happening When
You "Read Slow"
04
Practical
Strategies That
Actually Work
01
You're staring at that professional responsibility section for
what feels like hours. Everyone keeps saying "Oh, I reviewed
that section in a day!" Meanwhile, you're still on page 49,
wondering if your brain is broken.
Let's address this challenge head-on: bar exam prep reading
isn't like normal reading. And that "I reviewed it in a day"
person? They probably didn't absorb the info on those pages
as well as they might think they did.
Jess, Founder
of SimpliLaw
Reading Pace
01
READING PACE
ii 1
ii
02
WHY BAR PREP READING
FEELS DIFFERENT
Those legal terms and complex sentences in the bar exam materials aren’t light
reading. While reading, your brain is actually:
Processing new concepts;
Connecting ideas to previous knowledge;
Trying to understand practical applications; and
Converting legal jargon into plain English.
1. Dense Technical Language
2. The Stakes Make It Harder
Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room: bar
exam materials aren’t a brochure that someone hands
out to why while waiting at the crosswalk. This exam
stands between you and your legal career, and
therefore, builds pressure in our minds. As a result,
it’s likely your brain will be:
Hyper-critical of what you're reading;
Second-guessing your understanding; and
Re-reading sentences or paragraphs to make sure
you "got it."
You might even find yourself trying to memorize while you read and the normal
reading flow gets interrupted by anxiety and stress, so it’sno wonder your reading
feels slow.
ii
03
WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING
WHEN YOU "READ SLOW"
1. You're Being Thorough
Processing information deeply;
Making connections between concepts;
Understanding how principles work
together;
Creating lasting comprehension; and
Building a foundation for practice
questions.
And trust us, this is ten times better than reading passively when very little (if any)
information is being absorbed.
So how do you know you’re actively and not passively learning? Look out for these
signs:
You pause to think about examples;
You connect topics;
You question how things work together; and/or
You mentally test your understanding.
ii
04
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES THAT
ACTUALLY WORK
1. Use the Table of Contents First
Before diving into a section, scan the table
of contents for the pages you’ll be reading
and note key subtopics. This will give you a
mental map of what’s ahead and create
"hooks" for your brain to grab onto.
2. Read in Focused Chunks
Instead of marathon sessions (which lead to
burnout more times than not), you can
structure your study sessions by:
Having 25-minute focused reading blocks
Scheduling 5-minute breaks to process
sections you recently read
Doing a quick self-explanation of what you
read
3. Create Topic Maps
As you read:
Jot quick connection notes in your own words
Draw simple arrows between related
concepts
Don't worry about making it look pretty -
make it useful
Download
for more :)
SIMPLILAW