DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE OF EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

In order to assist applicants in preparing for the written portion of Maryland Bar Examinations, the State Board of Law Examiners provides the following materials:

PDF reproductions of each session of the Board’s Written Test beginning with the July 2014 General Bar Examination. (Please note that essay questions for General Bar Examinations prior to July 2014 are reproduced within the text of the Representative Good Answer document for each exam session.)
PDF reproductions of the Extracts provided for each session of the General Bar Examination. The extracts provide selected materials from the Maryland Rules or other articles of the Annotated Code of Maryland which are intended to assist the examinee in answering one or more of the essay questions.
Two (2) representative good answers for each Maryland essay question since 1998 and two (2) representative good answers from each Multistate Performance Test question given since 2007. The Representative Good Answers are provided to illustrate how actual examinees responded to the Maryland essay questions and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). The Representative Good Answers are not “average” passing answers nor are they necessarily “perfect” answers. Instead, they are responses which, in the Board’s view, are successful answers written by applicants who passed the Maryland General Bar Examination. These answers are reproduced without any changes or corrections by the Board, other than to spelling, font and line spacing for ease of reading.
The Board’s Analysis for each Maryland General Bar Examination essay question from 1998 to February 2015, when the Board, by policy ceased to release this document. The Board’s Analysis consists of a discussion of the principal legal and factual issues raised by each question on the Maryland general bar essay test. It is prepared by the Board. The Board’s Analysis is not a model answer, nor is it an exhaustive listing of all possible legal issues suggested by the facts of the question.
PDF reproductions of each Maryland Out-of-State Attorney (OSA) Examination beginning with the July 2014 OSA Examination. (Please note that questions for OSA Exams prior to July 2014 are reproduced within the text of the Board’s Analysis document for each exam session.)
The Board’s Analysis for each Maryland Out-of-State Attorney (OSA) Examination question from 1998 to February 2015 when, by policy, the Board ceased to release this document. The Board’s Analysis consists of a discussion of the principal legal and factual issues raised by each question on the Maryland OSA Exam. It is prepared by the Board. The Board’s Analysis is not a model answer, nor is it an exhaustive listing of all possible legal issues suggested by the facts of the question.
Two (2) representative good answers for each Maryland Out-of-State Attorney Exam since February 2016. The Representative Good Answers are provided to illustrate how actual examinees responded to the Maryland Out-of-State Attorneys’ Bar Examination. The Representative Good Answers are not “average” passing answers nor are they necessarily “perfect” answers. Instead, these are the two (2) highest scoring overall exam responses for this session. These answers are transcribed from the hand-written answer books without any changes or corrections by the Board, other than to spelling and formatting for ease of reading.

Exam Questions & Answers