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The MPT template.

The performance test is open-book: everything you need is in the packet. It's worth 20% of a UBE score — two 90-minute tasks — and it tests lawyering, not memorization. The MPT walkthrough is the full tutorial.

Know the packet

  • The task memo — read it FIRST. It tells you exactly what to produce (memo, brief, letter, contract provision) and for whom.
  • The file — the facts: client interviews, pleadings, correspondence. Facts live here; mark every fact you'll use.
  • The library — the law: cases, statutes, rules. You don't need to know any of it in advance — but you must read it all.

The 90-minute budget (our synthesis)

MoveTimeWhat you're doing
1. Task memo5 minRead twice. Write the deliverable, audience, and questions-to-answer at the top of your page.
2. Skim file + library15 minFast first pass: what facts exist, what law exists. Don't brief cases yet.
3. Read closely + outline25 minExtract rules (elements, factors, tests) into a rule chart; match facts to elements; outline the deliverable with headings.
4. Draft40 minWrite to the outline. Headings mirror the task memo's questions. Cite the library; apply the file's facts.
5. Review5 minDid you answer every question in the task memo? Is the tone right for the audience?

Drafting rules

  • Follow the task memo's format. If it asks for an objective memo, don't write a persuasive brief. Format compliance is scored.
  • Headings = the questions asked. Organize the answer around what the assigning attorney asked, in the order asked.
  • Rule, then application. State each rule from the library (cite it), then apply the file's facts to each element.
  • Address weaknesses. If the facts cut against your client on an element, say so and distinguish — graders reward candor.
  • Finish. A complete draft with thin analysis beats a brilliant half-draft. When the clock hits the last 10 minutes, write conclusions for everything.

Our read: the MPT rewards organization under time pressure more than legal brilliance. The students who fail it usually fail the reading plan — they brief every case like law school instead of extracting only the rules the task memo's questions require. Read the questions first, then read for answers to those questions only.

MPT format (2 tasks, 90 minutes each, ~20% of the UBE score; all needed law provided in the materials) per the NCBE as described at ncbex.org. Timing and method are our synthesis.