From Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams, by Richard Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul (Carolina Academic Press 1999). 

Tip #1: Exam preparation takes all semester

• Regular class attendance is crucial to exam performance
• The better your preparation for class, the more you’ll get out of class

Tip #2: Focus your exam study on your class notes

• Most professors test what they teach
• Your class notes can help you predict questions likely to appear on the exam

Tip #3: Prepare your own outline of the course

• Law exams test rule application, not memorization
• Commercial outlines are a poor substitute
• Outlines prepared by other students are only marginally better

Tip #4: Review the professor's old exams

• Go over old exams with a study group as often as possible
• Simulate the exam experience at least once

Tip #5: Consider what questions you would ask

• Identify the major issues covered in class, and the main points the professor made about them
• Look for important cases pointing in opposite directions
• Identify underlying conflicts, trends, and limits

Tip #6: Carefully read the exam instructions and follow them to the letter

• If you have a question about the instructions, ask

Tip #7: Read each question carefully, and answer the question asked

• Read each question at least twice
• Avoid the "information dump" and don't B.S.

Tip #8: Organize and outline before writing your answer

• Outlining keeps you focused on the main ideas
• Outlining helps you think sequentially

Tip #9: Provide the reader with a brief roadmap

• Create a strong first impression
• Organize your own thoughts at the beginning and the end

Tip #10: Explain your reasoning

• Explain the facts underlying your assumptions and conclusions
• Explain to show what you're thinking
• Explain to help your analysis

Tip #11: Draw conclusions when they're called for

• Explain why you chose the result you did, and also why you rejected alternatives

Tip #12: Argue both sides

• Consider each person's perspective
• Seize on contradictory facts and tensions in the law

Tip #13: Stick to the facts and circumstances presented

• Don't create new facts
• Don't write treatises about the law

Tip #14: Remember who your "judge" is

• Follow your professor's advice
• Look for course themes

Tip #15: Watch time/credit allocations

• When you're out of time on a question, force yourself to move on
• When you must, provide an outline in lieu of a complete answer

Tip #16: Don't regurgitate legal rules and principles unless your professor wants you to

• You get credit for applying hte law, not regurgitating it
• An ounce of analysis is worth a pound of law

Tip #17: Don't repeat the facts

• Use the facts to support your points
• You get credit for analysing the facts, not for copying them

Tip #18: Don't be conclusory

• Be wary of conclusory terms like "it is obvious that" or "clearly"
• Don't say what, say why
• Always anticipate counter arguments

Tip #19: Avois disquisitions on topics outside the course

• Know your topics well, and use your syllabus as a guide
• You can't afford to waste time

Tip #20: Don't leave your common sense at the door

• If rote application of a rule would lead to an absurd result, question the application
• Distinguish what the law "is" from what the law "ought to be"