I've gone through about half of the PMBR blue book now, having completed the red book (which seems to be right at the 50/day pace). I've done better in the blue book, but the answer is pretty easy - most of the questions are either identical or only slightly different than comparable ones in the red book. So, it's pretty obvious that PMBR's tactic in telling you to do the red book first, and then the blue book is so you feel better about yourself when you get more right. I guess that's fine. But I see it as pretty lazy that they are recycling their own questions when they advertise to be the "multistate specialist."
Further, their express warranty on the inside cover of the red book that "students will receive entirely different multistate questions during the administration of the PMBR 3-day and 6-day 'Early Bird' Workshops" is entirely false, since I've seen every question from the 6-day workbook in the red or blue book. I can only assume that many of the questions from the 3-day will also be repeats. I've even seen some of the same questions in different sections (which again is fine, but reeks of laziness).
Perhaps the most ironic of questions I have come across (other than the ones that are patently wrong), is one I found in the evidence section that conflicts with PMBR's own logic. For a number of reasons, I am pretty sure that the blue book answer is correct.
For those fellow MBE-haters, take a look at Evidence question 149 in the red book, and then look at Evidence question 87 in the blue book. I see the conflicting answers as irreconcilable. So what if there has never been any accidents on that machine, or intersection, or whatever before? That would never be admissible. The red book's answer is just nonsense, and the fact they point to some Utah case in the 50s as support should tell you that they simply couldn't explain it otherwise. I think the correct answer to the red book is C, but only because D is less correct if that makes sense. The blue book answer is correct.
If anyone wants to dispute my conclusion or can in fact reconcile the two questions, I will gladly post your comments. If I'm wrong, great - better now than in three weeks. Or if you've come across some blatantly wrong ones, maybe we should start a list.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
I see through PMBR's tactics - the differences between the blue and red books
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Also, given that the PMBR lawsuit suggests that PMBR erroneously copied the answer key (while seemingly getting the fact pattern right), I am more inclined to believe that my guess is at least in the right ballpark and I would hope that I would get it right on the real thing: "As with a number of PMBE questions, the answer key here is incorrect, further undermining Mr. Feinberg’s claims that he derived his questions independently from authoritative legal sources."
Took the 3day and there were qs from the red book. Haven't touched the blue book (or even completed the red book) but I'm sure there are qs from there too.
And yes, it infuriates me when an answer choice doesn't make sense or conflicts with my regular bar course. Whose law am i supposed to follow?~?!? (I am told by both "we are not going to research what they were thinking when they wrote the questions. The choice is ultimately up to you.")
Yeah, I've noticed a couple times where the PMBR conflicts with the regular bar course materials. For things that are distinctly not common law, I think you just have to recognize the difference and if you forget and put your state's rule, hopefully 50% of the rest of us do the same thing so they just award the point for both answers or scrap the question (or, if the state rule is right, that works too). In the end, I would go with what your bar instructor taught or what is in the Conviser mini-review.
Update: After going over my practice exam today I'd definitely agree about going with your bar course should conflicts arise. The books are out of date, the simulated exam answers update some of their info (of course by making you get the q wrong and telling you the opposite of what they told you in the book - eh as long as they update, right?). Hope that's helpful =)
question 81 in the red book and question 95 in the blue book (both property) are nearly identical questions with opposite answers. if you look at their explanation in the blue book it says that the answer that is right in the red book is wrong for the same reason that it says the answer in the red book is right. very confusing... i've lost all confidence in pmbr and have pretty much used barbri for the past two or three weeks. they are about the same (sometimes barbri is wrong also, but not as much).
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