Day 1 and Day 3 are really the same day repeated with 3 essay exams to write in the morning (3 hours to complete all 3) and the topics can be any of the 14 different subjects that were covered during law school. In the afternoon you are required to write a Performance Test in 3 hours. The "PT" is comprised of several fake cases, some letters and other evidence along with instructions to write a brief, memo or some document to a specified party (judge, opposing counsel or perhaps to your client or boss) utilizing the documents given.
Day 2 is a complete change of pace with 100 multiple choice questions in the morning and another 100 questions in the afternoon (once again in 3 hour blocks). The questions are based off of 6 of the basic law school subjects and only deal with Federal rules rather than including California jurisdiction along with Federal. Typically you can narrow down the correct answer to at least two options (of the 4 choices given); this creates a sense of "I have no clue how well I did" on the multiple choice section whereas on the essay portion you can at least argue your view.
The worst part of taking the exam, besides the two months of studying prior, was the waiting to take the test. I took the exam at the convention center in Sacramento and it was filled with several thousand aspiring attorneys all freaked out and on edge. My buddy was sitting near a guy that had Tourette's and would constantly yell out obscenities that sounded like he was yelling "POP" over and over. But never fear, that guy was wearing earplugs so at least he would not be disturbed by the constant clicking of fingers on the keyboard of those around him. The key is to just not freak out, stay focused and put something down on paper.
Results are out on November 18 - 6:00pm and I hope that my pretest assessment was correct, that I was prepared and did all I could to pass.
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