Typos: Don’t Give the Grader a Reason to Doubt You

I was scrolling today and saw a CNN Underscored headline about down jackets. It was clearly supposed to say something like, "We tested 13 down jackets to find the warmest winners."

But the headline said "warmest winers."

Source: www.cnn.com

Yes, I know what they meant. Winner. Not winer.

Still, that one missing letter changed how I read the entire piece.

Because here’s what immediately happened in my brain: If something as simple as a headline wasn’t proofread, what else in the article might be rushed, sloppy, or inaccurate?

That reaction is normal. Readers don’t just read words. They evaluate accuracy and credibility.

And that brings us to bar exam writing.

On the bar exam, your grader is a reader. A busy one. A tired one. Sometimes one who is reading their 100th essay of the day.

If your response contains obvious typos, misspellings, or careless errors, you risk triggering the same thought process: "If Applicant 375621 didn’t pay attention to this, what else did they miss?"

Even when the grader knows what you meant, you have just given them a reason to read your work with skepticism instead of confidence.

You don't want your grader hunting for mistakes. You want your grader hunting for points.

That means your goal isn’t "perfect writing." Your goal is clean, credible writing that gives the reader no excuse to doubt you.

So, before you move on from any essay or MPT response, take 60 seconds to proofread your answer:

1. Scan for obvious misspellings (especially legal terms and party names).

2. Confirm you wrote what you meant (not what your fingers typed).

3. Clean up your first line and your headings, because that’s where the grader’s eyes land first.

That one-minute scan won’t turn a weak answer into a great answer. But it can prevent a solid answer from feeling sloppy.

And on a timed exam, that’s a winner (not a "winer").