Michael Angel Mapiles REFLECT: Making of Case Digests

1. Describe how you prepared and your process (a) before making the digest, (b) during making
the digest, and (c) after making the digest (during recitations, when the quality of the case
digests were tested).

Before making a case digest, I will first read the full case which I got in Lawphil or in ESCRA.
During reading the full case, I firstly searching or looking for the issue/s, and what is the case all about.
Then, I will find out what is the legal dispute and the contention of both parties. After reading all the
legal dispute and issue/s, I will proceed on reading the resulting legal rules and the reasoning of the
court. While reading the full case, I am putting highlights on the important events of the facts, the
issue/s, and the court decisions.
After reading the full case and putting hightlights, I am going to start writing my case digest by
copying first the case title with procedural posture. Then I will rephrase the highlighted facts of the
case in my own words, so that I can fully understand the case using simple words which I will use
during recitations. I will also think and create an issue which is relevant to our main topic. In making or
writing the rulings of the cour, I will just get the important reasoning and resulting legal rules of the
court and their disposition over the case.
After making my case digest, I will read everything that I wrote, I will memorize important
rules and events of the facts and understand fully the case. And also, I am going to check the quality of
my case digest if it is complete or not using the “Categories of a Case Digest”.
During recitations, the quality of my case digest is being tested. If all the questions of the
professor are being answered in my case digest, it means to say, my case digest is very complete.
But most of the time during recitations, my case digest is not complete that's why couldn't answer the
questions being asked to me.
But because of my Legal Writing subject and ofcourse to my very hard working professor. My
skills in writing case digest are being developed and became better.

2. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest), how will you rate yourself on
the following:
Michael Angel Mapiles REFLECT: Making of Case Digests

a. on effort and motivation

6 - I feel lack of effort and motivation sometimes in reading cases and making case
digest. I need to put more effort doing my case digest and have some motivations on doing it.

b. on time spent reading the cases

8 - I am spending more time reading assigned case.

c. on time spent digesting the cases

7 – Sometimes, I am just reading the case without digesting it.

d. on determining the legal dispute

9 – This is one of my favorite part in making case digest.

e. on determining the relevant facts

7 - Sometimes I feel like my facts of the case our irrelevant to our topic in a particular
subject.

f. on determining resulting legal rules

6 – Sometimes, I am getting bored finding the resulting legal rules.

g. on performance during recitations (if called)

5 – Most of the time, my mind gets blocked and forgetting some of the important events
and rulings of the court.

h. over-all quality/goodness of case digests

7 – When I am a first timer on making a case digest, I will scale myself 1, but because of
Legal Writing I can scale myself now higher.

3. What are your areas of strength? What are your areas of improvement and how do you intend
to improve in those areas?
My areas of strenght is on how to get facts which are relevant to our topic.
Michael Angel Mapiles REFLECT: Making of Case Digests
I have to Improve skills on how to get the proper Issue/s which is relevant to our topic and also
getting the rulings which is needed to the given issue/s.

4. Was this activity or lesson on Making a Good Case Digest helpful? How? What did you learn?
It is very helpful most specially for us, freshmen, because at first, we really do not have
an idea about “Making a Good Case Digest”. I/we learned the proper way of making a case
digest because of the ten given categories of making a good case digest.

5. Are you looking forward to making more case digests? Why or why not?
Yes, because making more case digest makes me improved in making a proper or good
case digest. And case digest is also important during our recitations.

6. Other reflections, realizations, comments, if any.

I am getting more confidence on making my case digest because of this subject (Legal
Writing) and specially because of our very hard working Professor.