Remember to Capitalize Names on the Bar Exam
- Tommy Sangchompuphen
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
We live in a world where celebrities like billie eilish sometimes stylize their names in lowercase for artistic effect. But there is no such option on the bar exam when it comes to names.
When you are drafting a response on the bar exam—particularly on the Multistate Performance Test—capitalizing names properly is not a stylistic choice.
It's a professional necessity.
State boards—like the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, for example—have noted publicly that while graders do not directly deduct points for issues like capitalization, your writing is being reviewed by human examiners who are looking for evidence that you are ready to enter the profession. Sloppy presentation, including failing to capitalize names, can subconsciously signal to an examiner that you lack attention to detail.
In law practice, failing to capitalize a party’s name in a court filing or a client’s name in a letter signals disrespect and a lack of professionalism. The same is true on your MPT.
The MPT Tests Your Ability to Act Like a Lawyer
The MPT is not a law school exam. It is a lawyer task exam.
When you write a memo, brief, or letter on the MPT, you are expected to present your work in a manner consistent with what a licensed attorney would submit to a supervising attorney or court. This means:
✅ Using headings correctly.
✅ Writing in clear, organized paragraphs.
✅ Using professional tone and formatting.
✅ Capitalizing party names, client names, and proper nouns.
If the file states, “Our client, Ms. Johnson, was injured when she fell,” you should not write, “our client, ms. johnson, was injured when she fell.” Doing so breaks the illusion that you are writing a real lawyer document.
The MPT is already challenging due to time pressure. The last thing you want is to give the examiner any reason to question your professionalism or your readiness to practice. Good writing is clear, direct, and clean. Proper capitalization helps your examiner read your response efficiently and focus on your legal analysis rather than your formatting.
