I Want to Believe, But I Need Evidence
The X-Files is coming back. And while a new generation of FBI agents may soon be investigating unexplained phenomena, one of the show's most recognizable phrases offers a valuable lesson for students preparing for the bar exam:
"I Want to Believe."
Those four words appeared on the famous UFO poster hanging in Fox Mulder's office. They also captured the fundamental tension between the show's two main characters. Mulder was willing to believe in extraordinary explanations. His partner, Dana Scully, demanded evidence.
That tension should sound familiar to anyone who has worked through a bar exam question.
Believing Isn't Enough
When preparing for the bar exam, students often tell me they think an answer is correct. Sometimes they recognize a legal concept. Sometimes a particular answer choice just sounds right. And sometimes they remember encountering a similar question during their bar review course.
But when I ask them to explain why their answer is correct, they struggle.
That's the difference between believing an answer is correct and being able to demonstrate that it is correct.
Consider a multiple-choice question involving hearsay. A student recognizes that a statement was made during a stressful event and immediately selects the answer suggesting that the excited utterance exception applies.
But did the declarant actually experience or observe a startling event? Was the statement related to that event? Was the declarant still under the stress of excitement when making the statement?
Without examining those requirements and the relevant facts, the student is doing little more than guessing with confidence.
And confidence, standing alone, doesn't earn points on the bar exam.
Think Like Scully
Scully didn't necessarily reject Mulder's theories because they were impossible. She wanted evidence supporting his conclusions.
Bar exam students should approach questions with the same discipline.
When answering a multiple-choice question, don't simply ask whether an answer sounds correct. Ask what legal rule supports it, which facts satisfy that rule, and whether another answer choice better accounts for the facts.
The same principle applies to essays.
Students sometimes state the correct rule and reach the correct conclusion but provide very little analysis connecting the two. They assume the examiner will recognize why the conclusion follows.
But the examiner shouldn't have to make that connection for you.
Your job is to explain how the relevant facts satisfy—or fail to satisfy—the requirements of the governing legal rule. When reasonable arguments exist on both sides, acknowledge and evaluate them.
In other words, show your work.
The Truth Is Out There
Mulder wanted to believe. Scully wanted proof. Together, they made a pretty effective team.
Successful bar exam answers require the discipline to distinguish what seems right from what the law and facts actually support.
✅ Find the rule.
✅ Examine the facts.
✅ Test your reasoning.
✅ Support your conclusion.
After all, the truth may be out there, but on the bar exam, you need to explain how you found it.
