It seems that some of the core law classes have personalities. That is, they have a distinct prevailing mindset on how to approach the law. For me, part of the preparation for each exam went beyond the actual material, and getting into character for the exam.
For Contracts, the key word is objectivity. You deal with subjective issues such as the 'meeting of the minds', but in the end we look for objective manifestations of intent.
For Criminal Law, there was a degree of creativity. How can you make certain charges fit, how can you rationalize lesser included charges, and generally how you can charge as high as possible.
For Torts, the theme is being reasonable, as almost every test is from the perspective of “the reasonable man.”