The ethics questions seem to have more of a gotcha! pattern to them. By this I mean that the Model Answer begins by citing an ethical rule that governs situations of the type presented by the question, but then turns to another sub-section, sometimes of another rule entirely, to undercut the general rule and lead to a different conclusion.

Answers for other areas of the law can follow this pattern, too, but I see it most often with the ethics questions.

Another explanation I have considered is that the ethics rules are a brief set of rules and the test writers figure that it is fair to demand that test takers know every jot and tittle of the written rules, something that would be unfair in other areas of the law spanning a larger set of rules.

PS. If anyone reading this is planning on taking the exam in the future, I can't miss the opportunity to mention that I am starting a tutoring service on the bar exam. I think that I have learned a thing or two about the exam that I can impart to help raise your score.