Judge: Bar exam format tougher

The new multiple choice question (MCQ) format in the Bar Exams can be difficult, said Judge Meinrado Paredes, who also teaches law at the University of San Carlos and the University of Cebu.

He said law graduates who took mock bar exams in both schools got low scores in MCQ, which requires precision in the knowledge of law.

“There are answers that are closely related,”  he said.

Paredes gave these tips to bar examinees: “Don’t panic. Just be calm. Don’t spend much time on one question.” Also, it helps to pray.

Paredes said the new format would make it easier for examiners to check papers and faster for exam results to be released since checking will be automated.

What makes MCQ difficult to answer, said Earl Bonachita, president of the Cebu chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), is “the thin line between the choices.”

During their  time, Bonachita said bar examinees could expand their answers because they were dealing with essay questions.

“Now, I think it would be very difficult for examinees. On my part, I don’t know if I would be able to make it given this (MCQ) type of exam,” he said.

“I would like them (examinees) to pray hard. We are nearest to God when we took the Bar,” Bonachita said.

In a report published in its website, the Supreme Court said MCQ is used  to “specifically measure the candidate’s knowledge of and ability to recall the laws, doctrines, and principles that every new lawyer needs in his practice.

It said the questions will also  assess the candidate’s understanding of the meaning and significance of those same laws and principles as they apply to specific situations.

Since this is the first time the new format will be used, the SC said answers to essay questions will be corrected irrespective of the results of their multiple choice questions examinations.

The results will be known  known ahead because the answers will be checked electronically. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol