Above the Law (of all places) has some good advice for 1Ls. I agree with at least eight out of ten.
Although i don’t exactly disagree, I would have put #8 and especially #10 differently. #8’s “Read. Think. Then ask.” doesn’t quite fit how I run a classroom–I see part of my job as going outside the readings and trying to ask questions the either require applying them to something new, or extending them in some way. In other words, the answer isn’t always in the book–the “think” part may be more important sometimes. As for #10, I’m all for ‘engaging with professors (although the author seems to mean more ‘psych out’ than ‘engage’?), but the secret to doing well on exams that seems to elude a lot of people is ….. “Read the directions, read the question, answer the question being asked, not the one you wished was asked. Be as specific as possible. Illustrate your replies with (brief, summary) examples or citations drawn from the readings whenever possible.)”