The MEE Pickle: What To Do When You’re Out of Time on the Last Essay

Let’s talk about pickles, and and not just because it’s National Pickle Day.

On the Uniform Bar Exam, the Multistate Essay Examination gives you six essays to answer in one three-hour block. That means you have, on average, 30 minutes to complete each essay, and those six essays make up a significant chunk of your overall UBE score. Thirty percent, in fact. This design assumes you'll pace yourself evenly.

But that's not always what happens.

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Maybe you loved the first question and spent 38 minutes on it. Then 34 on the next one. You tried to make up time in the middle, but by the time you get to the last essay, you glance up only to realize you've got just 10 to 15 minutes left for the final question.

You, my friend, are in a pickle. (See what I did there?)

And that’s when students always ask:

“Is it better to jot down issue-spotting fragments for everything, even if there's little rule or analysis, or should I write as many IRAC-style discussions that I can realistically cover in the time remaining?”

In almost every case, my answer is: It’s better to give a complete, well-structured response on fewer issues than to scatter incomplete thoughts over every possible issue.

Here’s why.

The MEE is a writing and analysis exam, not just an issue checklist

The MEE isn’t just testing whether you can recognize "negligence," "consideration," or "hearsay." It's testing whether you can:

✅ Articulate a clear rule in words.

✅ Apply that rule to specific, messy facts.

✅ Reach a reasoned conclusion.

✅ Do all of that in organized, readable prose under time pressure.

When you panic and try to scribble tiny snippets about every issue (e.g., "negligence – duty, breach, causation, damages, P wins"), you're skipping the parts where most of the points actually live.

Graders can't give you credit for analysis you meant to write but never actually put on the page. A short but complete IRAC on one or two major issues will usually outscore a page of incomplete fragments.

Why Depth Matters

When you’re down to 10 to 15 minutes, a “cover-everything-quickly” strategy is tempting, but it has some big problems:

First, those quick fragments are almost always conclusory. They state a result, like "D is liable," "K is enforceable," without showing the steps. The exam is designed to reward the steps.

Second, you often skip the rule entirely or reduce it to a label: "strict liability" or "offer + acceptance + consideration = K." But the bar exam is explicitly testing whether you can state the law, not just name its category.

Third, bar examiners (and legal employers) care deeply about writing. The MEE is your chance to show you can communicate like a lawyer. Even in 10 to 15 minutes, a short, organized, rule-based paragraph or two looks far more like real legal work than a scattered list of half-thoughts.

And, finally, graders are human. A cohesive mini-essay on a core issue signals, “This person can think, organize, and explain.” That impression matters, especially when they’re reading hundreds of answers.

When You're in a Pickle

But what if you find yourself in a pickle? Now what?

First, accept the reality of the clock. You can’t go back and get those earlier minutes, but you can still earn meaningful points on this last essay with a clear plan.

Step 1: Take 60–90 seconds to scan and prioritize.

Read the fact pattern quickly and identify the central issues the question is built around. Not every sub-issue is equal. Circle or underline the two or three biggest ones.

Step 2: Fully IRAC the most important issue(s).

• Pick one or two major issues and commit to doing them well:

• Write a clear issue sentence: “The first issue is whether…”

• Give a concise rule in your own words.

• Spend most of your time on fact-driven analysis: connect specific facts to each element of the rule.

• End with a direct conclusion, even if it’s “The court is likely to find…”

  
  

If you can do that for even one key issue, you’ve shown the grader what they’re looking for: law, application, and structure.

Step 3: Briefly name the remaining issues in the limited time remaining.

Once you've written one or two complete IRAC discussions on the major issues, then you can use any remaining minutes to quickly identify other obvious issues you didn't have time to fully analyze. The limited time remaining will necessarily require you to keep this short, e.g., a sentence or two that simply names those issues without trying to give full rules or analysis. This shows the grader you saw the rest.

How to Avoid the Pickle

Of course, the ideal move is to avoid the 10-minute crunch in the first place. The good news? That’s something you can train.

When you practice MEEs:

✅ Use real time limits and honor them. If it’s a 30-minute essay, stop at 30 minutes. This teaches you to prioritize instead of drifting.

✅ Pay attention to your start time. If it routinely takes you 8 to 10 minutes just to start typing, work on shortening that warm-up so you’re writing sooner.

✅ Run occasional “short clock” drills. Give yourself only 15 to 20 minutes on a practice essay. Force yourself to pick the top issues and write a tight IRAC. That way, if you do find yourself in a pickle on exam day, it’s not your first time solving that problem.

When you find yourself in a pickle on the bar exam, don’t try to say a tiny bit about everything. Say something meaningful and organized about what matters most. Clear, focused IRAC discussions on a few issues will most likely earn you more points than scattered, incomplete, and rushed thoughts on all of them.