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Study Aids

Treatises, hornbooks, outlines, case briefs, and other study materials to help law students achieve academic success.

Introduction

You will find study aids to be valuable tools for class and especially when preparing for finals. There are more than a dozen different series of study guides available from a number of publishers. Study aids come in many different forms: overviews, outlines, checklists, Q&A's, flow charts and flash cards to name a few.

You can find a study aid for nearly every class offered.

Print Study Aids in the Library

The Law Library has most current editions of Study Aids on Reserve for a 2-hour checkout, as well as many of the older editions in the stacks upstairs for longer checkout.

Popular print Study Aids are Nutshells and Hornbooks (also online), the Understanding Series and the Q & A Series (also online), and Examples & Explanations. Ask at the Desk for further recommendations, too.

Study Aid Pro-Tips

  • Don’t get bogged down trying to read all the study aids! Pick ones that suit your purposes and concentrate on those.
  • Just "read what you need."  Sometimes you only need to read a portion of a particular study aid to help you better understand the issues you are studying.  Of course, feel free to read the entire work if it will be helpful.
  • Use the "Virtual Browse" function at the bottom of a catalog entry to view subject-related materials and other related study aids.
  • Can't find a study aid? Ask a reference librarian for help by e-mailing us at lawref@gmu.edu, calling (703) 993-8076, or visiting the Reference Office in Room 146 of the Law Library.