Methods of study: lectures, textbooks, the case method and technical terms
Legal Methods · Unit III · Topic 9 of 14 · 5 min read
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Cases checked to exist. Read the judgment before quoting a holding.
Every case cited here has been checked to exist — the citation resolves and names the right parties. The propositions attributed to each case have not been verified line by line against the judgment. Case names link through to the full judgment: read it before quoting a holding in an examination answer, and never carry a proposition from notes into court on trust.
1. The lecture method
In the lecture method the teacher presents a topic in an organised way to a class. It is the oldest and still the main method of legal teaching in India.
How the student benefits:
- Structure. The lecturer selects and orders a large subject, showing what matters and how the parts connect — something a beginner cannot do alone.
- Currency. A lecture can include the latest amendments and judgments, which a printed textbook may not have (the change from the IPC to the BNS, for example).
- Explanation. Difficult concepts are explained with examples and questions, and doubts can be cleared on the spot.
- Guidance to sources. The lecturer points to the leading cases, statutes and reading.
- Discipline and exam orientation. Regular attendance keeps pace with the syllabus.
Limits: the student is passive; the pace suits the average listener; notes taken in haste are incomplete; a lecture cannot cover every detail. Lectures should therefore be prepared for by reading in advance and followed up by reading after.
Taking lecture notes. Do not try to write everything. Record the headings, the definitions, the names and citations of cases and sections, and the lecturer’s examples. Revise and complete the notes the same day from the textbook.
2. Textbooks
A textbook is a systematic account of a branch of law by an author who has studied the statutes and cases. Examples a first-year student meets: Salmond on Jurisprudence, Pollock and Mulla on contract, Ratanlal and Dhirajlal on torts and criminal law, M.P. Jain on constitutional law.
Significance:
- It gives the complete picture of the subject, in detail and at the reader’s own pace.
- It collects and arranges the cases and sections, saving the time of finding them.
- It explains principles and their reasons, and often criticises the law, which helps in essay answers.
- It can be re-read for revision and consulted as a reference.
- Authoritative textbooks are cited in court as persuasive secondary sources.
Limits: textbooks go out of date; they can be too detailed for a beginner; and they are not the law. A student must check the statute and the judgment itself.
How to read a textbook (Glanville Williams’s advice in substance): read the chapter quickly first for its outline; then read it slowly with the bare Act open beside you; look up the leading cases; make your own summary in your own words; and return to it before the exam. Reading with a pen in hand is better than reading passively.
3. Lectures and textbooks compared
| Lecture | Textbook |
|---|---|
| Selective; shows what matters | Comprehensive; gives detail |
| Can be current to the day | Current only to its edition |
| Doubts can be raised | No interaction |
| Fixed pace | Student’s own pace, can be re-read |
| Notes may be incomplete | Permanent, accurate text |
The conclusion of the June 2025 question: the two are complementary, not alternatives. The lecture gives direction and the textbook gives depth. A student who relies only on lecture notes learns too little; one who relies only on a textbook may miss what is current and what is important.
4. Other methods of study
- Case method. Introduced at Harvard by Christopher Columbus Langdell in the 1870s: students learn principles by reading and analysing decided cases, usually through questioning in class (the Socratic method). It trains legal reasoning but is slow.
- Problem method. Students are given hypothetical facts and must identify the issues and apply the law. It is the method of the examination problem (see the Unit V note on answering examinations).
- Seminar and tutorial. Small-group discussion of papers prepared by students.
- Clinical method. Moot courts, legal aid clinics, court visits and internships, required in the LL.B. curriculum by the Bar Council of India.
- Self-study and group study. Reading reports, journals and online databases; discussing with classmates.
5. Technical terms
Law has its own vocabulary, and much of the first year is learning it. Words may be ordinary English with a special legal meaning (“consideration”, “possession”, “negligence”), terms of art (“easement”, “estoppel”), or Latin maxims.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ratio decidendi | The reason for the decision; the binding part of a judgment |
| Obiter dictum | A remark by the way; not binding |
| Stare decisis | Stand by what has been decided |
| Audi alteram partem | Hear the other side |
| Nemo judex in causa sua | No one should be a judge in his own cause |
| Ubi jus ibi remedium | Where there is a right there is a remedy |
| Ignorantia juris non excusat | Ignorance of law is no excuse |
| Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea | The act is not guilty unless the mind is guilty |
| Volenti non fit injuria | No injury to one who consents |
| Res judicata | A matter already decided cannot be re-litigated |
| Per incuriam | Decided in ignorance of a binding authority |
| Ultra vires | Beyond the powers |
How to learn them: keep a glossary notebook; use a legal dictionary (Black’s Law Dictionary, Ramanatha Aiyar’s Law Lexicon); note the statutory definition clause where one exists (section 2 of most Acts), since a statutory definition overrides the ordinary meaning; and use the term correctly in your own answers.
How this is examined
The lecture-and-textbook question is set almost every year. Give the benefits and limits of each, the comparison table and the “complementary” conclusion. For the “lecture method” note, define it, give four benefits and two limits, and how to take notes. Technical terms are rarely set alone but make an answer on methods of study complete.
Now try the real questions: Legal Methods past question papers.