Law is a tough subject to score for most students. As someone who scored 70 in the CA Final Law paper (Awarded for scoring the highest marks in Law in the Eastern Region), let me share with you through this post, some techniques and strategies on how to study Law and score well in CA Final. Read on...
Tareekh par Tareekh!
Law is a time-taking subject. If you want to prepare for an exemption (which ideally should be case), you need to devote somewhere between 100 to 150 hours. However, you will be making a blunder if you want to skip chapters in order to save time. Law is a paper where you will need to play the role of the aggregator and add up marks bit by bit to reach 50+. So selective study is a strict NO.
What to Study?
Firstly, go through the entire text/notes once. I did it from the ICAI publication. You may do it from Munish Bhandari's book, no harm. Highlight important portions to make future revisions easier and quicker.
Next, directly take up question bank and practice sums, marking important questions for revision.
Go for a second revision after completing all the questions.
Now revise all the marked important questions and look up for amendment lectures, if any.
Go through the latest RTP to stay updated with all the amendments.
Go for a third revision, covering everything in detail. Treat it as if you need to sit for the Law exam just the next day.
Solve MTPs, RTPs and PPs to test your learning and preparation.
Division of chapters
Overall we can divide the subject and its chapters into 6 major parts or categories:
Order of Study
Category 1 – First cover these chapters- DIRECTOS, MEETINGS AND KMP
Category 2 – III, C&A, O&M, FOREIGN COMPANY
Category 3 – Residual chapters of Company Law
Category 4 – Security Laws (SEBI and SCRA)
Category 5 – Allied Laws (FEMA, FCRA and IBC)
Category 6 – Allied Laws (residual chapters)
Tools to Study
Now comes the major question - Which study material is the best for studying Law?
Various possible answers to the above question are:
ICAI Study Material
My own handwritten notes
Pankaj Garg book
Munish Bhandari textbook
Munish Bhandari Handbook
Darshan Khare detailed module
Darshan Khare Booster
Siddarth Agarwal Book
Swapnil Patni charts
Other
This is where the students need to exercise caution, and most students go wrong here. You need to understand that there is a difference between selecting the Study Material and selecting the Question Bank. The study material will be used to know the concepts, study in-depth and revise the content, while the question bank will be used to test your preparation, application and understanding. These are two different concepts but what students do is, they use just the Question Bank for concept building and revising the syllabus. This is wrong.
Now what combination should we use? And which one is best?
I know I am not the best person to answer this, because there is a question of personal choice and prior experience. Plus, I am someone who did my prep from the ICAI books. So I am not the best person to be able to judge the books mentioned above. Still, on the basis of my interactions with CA Final students and hearsay, let me tell you what combination seems to be the most preferred for CA Finalists...
There are three popular alternatives:
Munish Bhandari Handbook + Pankaj Garg Scanner
Darshan Khare Booster + Darshan Khare Scanner
Pankaj Garg book + Pankaj Garg Scanner
The most popular choice is the first one - Munish Bhandari Handbook + Pankaj Garg Scanner.
The Approach
Preparation in Law is all about the approach and the mindset. While studying, have the mindset of a lawyer who needs to plead his case the next day before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. Can s/he afford a slip-up? No, right? This will spur you on to study this subject with interest.
These are my two cents on how you can approach your prep for CA Final Law:
Study Law for 2 hours daily. Pick those 2 hours in that part of the day when you can concentrate the best. For me, it was early morning. For many, it is late night. The point is - when you study Law, the mind should be fresh and relaxed.
The best way to study Law is to go Act-wise. Do not jump the Act until you finished off the first one.
Study sections-wise. This way you will be able to memorize the sections also. The best way is to prepare short summarised notes. But ensure to learn a bit of the legal jargon as well. Your answers should reflect professionalism and some use of legal terminology is also expected at the stage of CA Final.
Try to understand the concepts, instead of rote learning. Build an understanding and try to grasp the topic in a way that you can retain it till your exams.
Once you finish reading a particular Act, revise it on a weekly basis to keep things fresh in the memory.
Prepare specially for the case studies. The Paper is becoming more application-based now, with a lot more case studies being asked than theoretical questions.
Never forget to read the amendments from the latest RTP.
Make sure to write at least 2 mock tests and 2 past papers in exam conditions.
Never underestimate the power of theory subjects in CA exams. They can either make you repent heavily, or help you to pass in the first shot.
Conclusion
Scoring good marks in the Law paper is not impossible. It all depends upon how strong your prep is and how you manage the presentation of your answers in the exam hall. After all, it is your answer script which speaks in the exam, and it is all a waste if the best answer is only in your brain and not on the answer script.
More in the Strategy Series:
Thanks for reading:) Please subscribe to the Blog for more such posts.