February and July 2016 Florida Bar Exam
I. Florida Bar Exam Test Dates
A. When and Where is the February Exam?
B. When and Where is the July Exam?
II. Part A (The Florida Portion)
A. Purpose of the Florida Portion
B. How is Part A Tested?
C. Time Allotment and Raw Points
D. What Subjects are Tested on the Florida Portion?
E. What is the Tested Format for the Florida Subjects?
1. Essay Subjects
2. Multiple-Choice Subjects
3. Variable Subjects
III. Part B (The MBE)
A. The MBE’s Purpose
B. When and How is the MBE Tested?
C. Time Allotments and Raw Scores
D. What Subjects are on the MBE?
IV. Passing Score Requirements
V. Additional Resources
I. Florida Bar Exam Test Dates
A. When and Where is the February 2016 Exam?
The February 2016 Florida Bar Exam is tested on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 23-24, 2016. Part A, the Florida portion, is tested on Tuesday the 23rd; Part B, the MBE, is tested on Wednesday the 24th. The exam is held at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 South Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida. [1]
B. When and Where is the July 2016 Exam?
The July 2016 Florida Bar Exam is tested on July 26-27, 2016, Tuesday and Wednesday, at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 South Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida. Part A, the Florida portion, is tested on Tuesday, July 26th; Part B, the MBE, is tested on Wednesday, July 27th. You can find detailed information such as arrival and exam session times on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners website (“Exam Information”). [2]
II. Part A—The Florida Portion
A. Purpose of the Florida Portion
According to the Florida Supreme Court, the purpose of the General Florida Bar Exam is threefold. The exam tests an applicant’s ability (1) to “reason logically,” (2) to “accurately analyze the problem presented,” and (3) to “demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of law and their application.” [3]
As you are studying for the exam, keep in mind the exam’s purpose. Be prepared to show the examiners that you:
(1) have a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of law,
(2) can accurately analyze the questions presented,
(3) know how to apply the law to the facts of the specific question, and
(4) can logically reason to reach a conclusion.
Part A is comprised of two sessions—the Tuesday morning essay session and the Tuesday afternoon multiple-choice session. The morning session consists of three hours answering 3 essay questions; the afternoon session consists of three hours answering 100 multiple-choice questions. Part A tests an applicant’s knowledge of both federal law and Florida law. When federal law differs from Florida law, be sure to answer all questions pursuant to Florida law. [4]
C. Time Allotment and Raw Points
You are allotted one-hour to answer each essay question. Each essay is worth 100 points for a total possible raw essay score of 300 points. As for the 100 multiple-choice questions, you are allotted 1.8 minutes to answer each question. The total raw score available on the multiple-choice section is 90 points. This is because 10 of the questions are “experimental” and do not count toward your total score. The total raw points available on Part A are 390 — 300 points on the essay section and 90 points on the multiple-choice section. [5]
D. What Subjects are Tested on the Florida Portion?
Pursuant to the rules of the Florida Supreme Court:
“Part A will consist of 6 one-hour segments. One segment will include the subject of Florida Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.330, 2.420, 2.505 and 2.515. The remaining 5 segments, each of which will include no more than 3 subjects, will be selected from the following subjects including their equitable aspects:
1. Florida Constitutional Law;
2. Federal Constitutional Law;
3. Business Entities;
4. Wills and Administration of Estates;
5. Trusts;
6. Real Property;
7. Evidence;
8. Torts;
9. Criminal Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and Juvenile Delinquency;
10. Contracts;
11. Articles 3 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code;
l2. Family Law and Dependency;
13. Chapter 4, Rules of Professional Conduct of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar;
14. Chapter 5, Rules Regulating Trust Accounts of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; and
15. Professionalism.” [6]
The above testable subjects seem relatively easy until you recognize that the list is not as simple as it appears. Technically, each subject is a stand-alone subject which means that an applicant needs to study each subject independently of the accompanying subject. Let us revise the above list of testable subjects so you can see what we mean:
1. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure;
2. Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure;
3. Florida Rules of Judicial Administration §§ 2.330, 2.420, 2.505 and 2.515;
4. Florida Constitutional Law;
5. Federal Constitutional Law;
6. Business Entities (Partnerships & Agency);
7. Business Entities (Corporations);
8. Wills and Administration of Estates;
9. Trusts;
10. Real Property;
11. Evidence;
12. Torts;
13. Criminal Law;
14. Constitutional Criminal Procedure;
15. Juvenile Delinquency;
16. Contracts;
17. Article 3 (Negotiable Instruments) Uniform Commercial Code;
18. Article 9 (Secured Transactions) Uniform Commercial Code;
l9. Family Law;
20. Dependency;
21. Chapter 4, Rules of Professional Conduct of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar;
22. Chapter 5, Rules Regulating Trust Accounts of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; and
23. Professionalism.
This is how the list of subjects could actually appear because each subject is a stand-alone subject for which an applicant must study and know the black letter law. In this manner, for the Florida portion alone, we just went from approximately 15 testable subjects to 23 testable subjects.
E. What is the Tested Format for the Florida Subjects?
The format in which the subjects are tested varies at the discretion of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Prior to the 2015 Florida Bar Exam, in our view, the examiners were somewhat consistent with their testing format. Recently, however, the examiners have become seemingly less predictable. [7]
Nevertheless, we can still see patterns of subject-matter testing format. For instance, when tested, Trusts is almost always questioned in essay format, whereas Business Entities is almost always questioned in multiple-choice format. Following this line of reasoning, we have set forth which subjects are most commonly tested in essay format and which ones are tested in multiple-choice format. It goes without saying, but just as a reminder, in order to pass Part A of the Florida Bar Exam, you must know the black letter law for all of the potentially tested subject areas.
The following subjects have generally been tested in essay format since July 2003. To see the approximate number of times a particular subject has been tested in essay format, see our 13-Year Essay Graph. [8]
a. Florida Constitutional Law
b. Federal Constitutional Law *
c. Constitutional Criminal Procedure *
c. Professionalism [Ethics] *
d. Real Property
e. Family Law
f. Dependency
g. Contracts
h. Torts
i. Trusts
j. Criminal Law *
k. Juvenile Delinquency
l. UCC 3 Negotiable Instruments *
m. UCC 9 Secured Transactions *
n. Chapter 4, Rules of Professional Conduct (see Ethics (MC/Essay)) *
o. Chapter 5, Rules Regulating Trust Accounts (see Ethics (MC/Essay))
* Subject was tested on the Feb 2016 exam
The following subjects have generally been tested in multiple-choice format since at least July 2012. [9]
a. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure †^*
b. Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure †^*
c. Florida Rules of Judicial Admin §§ 2.330, 2.420, 2.505, 2.515 †^*
d. Business Entities ^*
e. Evidence ^*
f. Wills & Administration of Estates ^
g. Professionalism [Ethics] (MC/Essay)
h. Rules of Professional Conduct, Chapter 4 (MC/Essay)
i. Rules Regulating Trust Accounts, Chapter 5 (MC/Essay)
† Required Subjects on every exam
^ Heavily tested in MC format
* Subject was tested on the July 2015 exam
Note: The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration §§ 2.330, 2.420, 2.505, and 2.515 are required subjects on every Florida Bar Exam. These subjects are usually tested in Florida multiple-choice format. It is a good idea to know the three required subjects because, rest-assured, they will be on the exam!
In February 2013, four new subjects were added to the list of Florida’s testable subjects. Thus far only two of those subjects have been directly tested—UCC 3 and UCC 9. There is a good possibility that one of the remaining new subjects will be tested on the February and/or July 2016 Florida Bar Exam. The remaining new subjects that have not been directly tested are:
a. Dependency Law—part of Family Law
b. Juvenile Delinquency—part of Criminal Law & Criminal Constitutional Procedure
III. Part B—The MBE
According to the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), “the 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.”[10] In other words, the purpose of the MBE is to test your knowledge of the black-letter law, your ability to analyze a given fact pattern, and your ability to apply the black-letter law to the given fact pattern.
B. When and How is the MBE Tested?
The MBE, Part B of the Florida Bar Exam, is tested on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, and Wednesday, July 27, 2016. [11] It consists of three hours answering 100 multiple-choice questions in the morning, and three hours answering 100 multiple-choice questions in the afternoon. [12]
C. Time Allotment and Raw Points
There are a total of 200 MBE questions, giving you 1.8 minutes to answer each question. Since the MBE tests your knowledge of federal law, when you are taking the MBE, forget everything you know about the Florida law distinctions and answer all questions pursuant to federal law. Only 190 of the 200 questions count toward your total raw score. This is because 10 questions are “experimental (‘pretest’).” [13] To pass the MBE, an applicant should aim to answer at least 65% of the 190 scored questions correctly.
D. What Subjects are Tested on the MBE?
Caveat: This section of the MBE has changed for the 2017 MBE. Please read our 2017 MBE Section for important updated information.
Beginning February 2015, Civil Procedure was added to the list of tested MBE subjects. This means that the MBE now contains seven main subject areas that an applicant needs to know in order to pass the MBE. Below is a list of the MBE tested subjects. The number in parenthesis indicates the number of scored questions for that particular subject. [14]
1. Torts (27 Q)
2. Contracts (28 Q)
3. Civil Procedure (27 Q)
4. Criminal Law & Procedure (27 Q)
5. Constitutional Law (27 Q)
6. Real Property (27 Q)
7. Evidence (27 Q)
The NCBE provides examinees with an excellent subject matter outline that details the above tested subjects and their respective subtopics. Many examinees mistakenly overlook the value of the NCBE’s outline, but, if you really want to hone-in on the tested MBE subjects, do yourself a favor and take time to read the 2016 MBE Subject Matter Outline.
IV. Florida Bar Exam Passing Score Requirements
To pass the General Florida Bar Exam, an applicant “must attain a minimum scaled score of 136 points or above on both Parts A and B under the Individual Method, and an average scaled score of 136 or above under the Overall Method.” [15]
When we were preparing our July 2013 Florida Bar Exam information, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners website stated that to pass Part A, an applicant must have an average essay score of at least 45 points and answer at least 55% of the multiple-choice questions correctly. [16] However, for the February and July 2016 exam, the bar examiners simply state that “an average scaled score of 136 or better” is required to pass the exam (“Overall Method”). [17]
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners published a “Virtual Tour of the Florida Bar Exam” in hopes of making your 2016 bar exam experience less stressful. They also published a “Study Guide” containing past essay questions and sample multiple-choice questions. As previously stated, the NCBE published an MBE 2016 Subject Matter Outline which gives examinees valuable MBE information. We also posted a Florida court jurisdiction flowchart page and a Florida Rules and Statutes page in case you need them.
Comments
If you have a comment on this Post, please use our Forum Page. Prior to contacting us for bar exam related questions, please read our FAQ Page to see if your inquiry has already been answered. Thank you kindly and best regards for success on the 2016 FL Bar Exam.
Posts/Pages of Interest
1. Feb & July 2017 FL Bar Exam
2. Dependency Law Nutshell
3. FL Bar Exam Review Videos
4. Bar Exam Writing Tips
5. Torts Essay Checklist
Article Sources:
1. Fla. Bd Bar Examiners (“Exam Information”)
2. Id.
3. Rule 4-21, Rules of the Fla. Sup. Ct.
4. Supra “Exam Information”
5. See, e.g., July 2015 Raw Scores
6. Supra Rule 4-22
7. See, e.g., FL Bar Exam Tested Subjects (“Tested Subjects”)
8. See also, Essay Questions & Selected Answers 2003-2016
9. Supra Tested Subjects
10. See, e.g., Preparing for the MBE
11. NCBE Test Dates
12. Supra Preparing for the MBE
13. Id.
14. Id.
15. Rule 4-26.2
16. See, e.g., July 2013 FL Bar Exam
17. Supra Rule 4-26.2; see also supra “Examination Procedure”
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