Faculty of Law

(University of Delhi)
*****

How to Write Answers in LL.B. Exams

Writing answers in LL.B. examination law papers is quite different from

other traditional subjects. Although, students who have belonged to
Humanities background feel little discomfort in writing a law paper, but
the situation has been extremely tricky for students who have belonged
to science and commerce backgrounds and are now studying law. To
attempt an answer of a legal problem or an IPC provision related
question, it requires a mature, analytical approach and a balanced
attitude. The content of the answer must reflect fair expression of the
students and the examiner expects a reasonable thinking from the
examinees. The most costly mistake an examinee can make is—failure to
understand the question and his inability to organise the answer well.
Hence, first of all, read the question paper carefully, at least 2-3 times. It
is true that there is no universal scheme of writing a legal answer as
each and every law paper requires a different approach, but the
examinee can score good marks if he follows the right method while
attempting a law paper. The method is simple, as the student needs to
do justice with the exam, for eg. in Jurisprudence paper, the examinee
must give detailed historical background and his analysis should be
based on some recognised legal theories, work of jurists and
international covenants, etc. He should avoid submitting unfounded
and baseless analysis while submitting arguments in Jurisprudence
paper, because the examiner can easily sense that the examinee is trying
to dodge the examiner and has not studied judiciously. Further, the
approach of the Jurisprudence paper can’t be implemented in
Constitutional Law paper; since, in Constitutional Law, the examinee
must have sound knowledge of the History of the Indian Constitution
and earlier developments before the promulgation of the Constitution of
India in 1950. Similarly, the Law of Crimes (Indian Penal Code) and IPR,
Taxation Law or International Law papers require altogether a different
writing approach. In LL.B. course, each and every lecture of the
professor is important, missing out any lecture means a serious loss of
vastly useful information, which can be valued greatly during the
examination. The professor/examiner expects that the students would
write the answer as per the lecture delivered in the class, there are many
references of cases, incidents, amendments, judgment, etc. which are
discussed with the students. The examinee must mention this
information while writing their answer and the same is crucial and the
key to score good marks.

Most important points, that need to be kept in mind before the

examination.

1. First of all read, all the instructions, direction and malpractices rules
of the examination carefully. The examinee must ensure full
adherence of the said instructions.

2. Students must fill all information in the main answer sheet and also
fill all information in supplementary sheet (loose sheets) too.

3. In DU Law examination, most of the questions are problem-based

questions, hence, it is expected that the student would attempt the
answer—giving solution to the problem with appropriate
application of legal provision(s). Hence, the student must be 100%
sure before saying Yes or No, at the beginning of writing the answer.

4. The content of the answer is very important. So, while attempting a

question, the candidate must write the answer in at least in 10 pages
 (detailed answer) of 20 marks question. In 10 marks question, ideally
the examiner expect 4-5 pages of answer with relevant content.

5. The detailed answer of 20 marks question must have standard

methods and content of the answer, comprised of: (a) Introduction
(b) Definitional aspects (c) Legal Provision (d) Reference of Cases
and their analysis (e) Comparison (if asked) (f) Conclusion or
Opinion. How to follow this method, the detailed information appended
herein.

6. Student must refrain from writing answer with giving extra gaps in
the answer sheet, leaving blank pages, leaving extra space from the
top and bottom of the answer sheet to show maximum written
pages. The examiner is not impressed by these kinds of dirty tactics
to impress or by showing the bogus claim that the examinee has
filled maximum sheets, because, at the end of the day, your content
matters, not how much you write but what you have wrote. In
simple language-quality does matter, not quantity.

7. Write question number carefully i.e. “Answer of Q. No. 6”—in Bold

and Readable manner before starting your answer.

8. Do not make any mistake of repeating your answer with another

answer, it has been observed that many students again submit the
content of previous answer in the another answer, it would cost you
badly in the evaluation.

9. Avoid marks begging- it would cost you in the evaluation, it has

been observed that students beg marks and submit their prayer to
the examiner seeking at least passing marks.

10. Try to give your answer systematically and in well organised

manner- Every answer must begin with a new page. For eg., If an
answer is finished at middle of the page, don’t start your answer
 immediately from next few lines but leave that lower portion blank
and start your answer from the next page.

11. Some bright and attentive students attempt answers systematically

that too following the serial number of questions i.e. They start
attempting question paper in this way- Answer of Q. No. 1, Answer
of Q. No. 2, Answer of Q. No. 3, Answer of Q. No. 4, Answer of Q.
No. 5. These students generally score high marks. We encourage
students to follow this method.

12. Organise your time while writing the answer in such a way that you
must have time at least 15-20 minutes for re-looking the answers at
the end. This is very important.

13. Writing answer with good analytical skills mostly refers to having a
good command over English, hence, your answer must be free from
all grammatical errors and bad sentence structures. Please try to
write simple sentences and give answer at least in good and
readable writing. No doubt that students get extra credit for neat
and clean hand writing.

14. Check your seat before taking over it, and ensure no objectionable
material is found in your possession or on your seat.

15. Never argue with the Invigilator Staff/Teaching Staff on

examination duty and always behave politely, if any heated
argument ensues during the examination, it would cost you dearly
and/or may debar you from the examination.

16. Examinee must avoid highlighting the answer with different colour
highlighters, the heading and main points can be underlined with
your writing pen i.e. Blue Ball Pen/Blue Gel Pen. The massive use of
highlighter just makes your answer sheet more colourful and flashy
that might lead to reduced weightage from the eyes of the examiner.
17. It has also been observed that sometimes an examinee writes only
Part A of the Question 1 and Part B at the end of the answer sheet or
with another question. This causes unnecessary confusion to the
examiner while evaluation of the answer sheet, therefore, such kind
of mindlessness must be refrained from by the students. Please
ensure that you attempt both Part A and B at the same place and
with continuity.

The Strategy of Writing an Answer

A. Introduction- Start your answer writing with the introduction. In

this introduction, the student should mention the brief overview or
significance of the provision, etc. The students can even start their
answer by stating about the core issue of the problem. The student
can also mention quotes of leading legal/history/economist scholars
i.e. Bentham, Austin, John Lock, Amartya Sen, Prabhat Patnaik or
Roscoe Pound etc., in order to justify his/her answer.

B. Definitional aspects- In this part, after your introduction, the

examinee must give definitions of the important words, provision(s),
and historical references of some legal subjects. For eg. How to
define-Human Rights, hence, first of all, examinee should give the
definition of “Rights”, then trace the historical background of the
concept of Human Rights. The examinee can quote some references
of leading Books, Legal Authors, Thinkers, Jurists in this part of their
answer.

C. Legal Provision(s)- Try and always mention the relevant section(s),

article(s) and clause(s) in your answer and make this a habit. The
student must explain the provision(s) in length; please remember
that the examiner is not expecting the ditto definition of the legal
provision, but the student must explain the provision(s) in his/her
 own language. Please ensure that explanation and definition must be
correct and legally sound. Do not ask anybody regarding the
importance of remembering a section. If you make it a habit now, it
will cost you at the end of examination and you won’t finish your
paper well in time.

D. Reference of Cases- Substantiate your answer with relevant case

law decided by the Supreme Court or the High Court. While
submitting the case law, your factual analysis is very important and
and which is also the key to successful lawyering, hence your
answer must reflect what has been asked in the question or what is
the core issue of the problem. For eg. If you are attempting Section
125 of the Cr.P.C—Maintenance law for wife and dependents, you
must give examples of leading cases in your answer and justify your
answer with your sociological understanding as to why the
maintenance of wife, children and age old dependent parents is
important. Remember, in 20 marks question, the examiner expects at
least 4-5 case analysis in the answer, so case study and analysis are
very important.

E. How to Analyse the Cases- Examiner never asks for the whole story
of a case, but relevant facts of the case should be added in the
answer. Whenever you wish to discuss any case law in the answer,
please follow this method:

1. Case title must be accurate, mentioning the citation(s) would

be good but is not mandatory.

2. Fact of the case in a nutshell.

3. Core issue of the case-brief analysis.

4. What the court held-detailed analysis.

 5. Analysis of the judgment(s)—on what grounds the court
held—section(s), provision(s) and what were the main
issue(s) of the debate/arguments.

6. Bright and attentive students sometimes mention the name

of the Judge who held this case and also submit the pro and
counter arguments of both the lawyers, the examiner gives
extra credits for such nicely crafted answers.

7. Again, never forget your question, what has been asked, so

always link your case analysis with the core issue of the
question.

F. Conclusion or Opinion or Concluding Remarks- Your answer must

end with your conclusion or your own opinion. Please remember
that your opinion or conclusion must be based on sound legal
principles. There is no room for biased and prejudiced opinion or
thoughts. The final conclusion must be accurate, fair and reasonable
and it should not exhibit lack of basic understanding of the
examinee.

G. In problem based questions- In some problem based question the

answer must not be in ‘Yes or No’, unless you are 100% sure about
the problem. Always try to submit your opinion giving justification/
decision of some case laws. First mention the relevant provision and
show in your answer how you reached the conclusion. For eg. at the
end, conclude your answer in the following manner: “On the basis
of above discussion we can conclude that as per the Section-125 of
Cr.P.C, the true object of the provision is to ensure caring of the
vulnerable and the helpless.”

H. Comparative Analysis Answer- In all comparative analysis

answers, draft your answer with two sections or parts i.e. Part A and
Part B and understand the comparison of the issues, segregate the
 similarities and dissimilarities, arrange your arguments to
substantiate your answer and submit your answer while mentioning
the Constitutional provision(s) and Jurisprudence references. Finally,
establish your basis of comparison and submit the arguments as to
why your answer is justified.

If students really want to excel in the law examination, they must

understand that law is a dynamic subject and it changes according to the
changes in our society, hence, the students of law must be conscious
about day to day happenings in our society as well as the judicial arena.
Law students must also have good knowledge and deep understanding
of the very ethos of India, i.e. Indian Federalism, Centre-State Relations,
Development of Human Rights in India, Multi-culturalism, National
Integration, Secularism, History of Indian Constitution and Constitution
Making Process, Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties, India’s
Foreign Policy, India’s Relation with SAARC Nations, etc.

Being an academician of this reputed institution, i.e. Campus Law

Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, it is my utmost priority that
this institution will be a great centre of legal education in India, which
will be admired for its academic excellence, innovative research in the
legal sphere and co-curricular pursuits that will be a model for many
other institutions of this kind.

Good luck to all.

Dr Narender Nagarwal
Assistant Professor
Campus Law Centre
Faculty of Law, University of Delhi