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Special English
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B.B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2012 Jan Examination
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Mumbai
B.B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Special English 2012 Jan Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 1 November 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2012 Jan examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2012 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2012 Jan examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 23 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all Units Compulsorily. (2) One essay type question and one short question from each unit have to be attempted. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Bring out the relevance of Felix Frankfurter's advice to a youngman going into law.[12]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the advice in brief; its relevance under clear heads: a timeless principle; the language of the law (English in the higher courts); legal reasoning; a changing world (imagination); justice for ordinary people (sympathy); a warning against narrow, career-driven study; the five-year law course; the limits of its relevance; a table; your conclusion.
The advice in brief
Felix Frankfurter was a Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1939 to 1962. He once answered a twelve-year-old boy, Paul Claussen, Jr., who wanted to prepare for the law. His advice fits in one paragraph. Forget technical preparation. Be well read. Gain the command of English and the clear thinking that only a liberal education gives. Cultivate the imagination through poetry, painting and music. Widen your feelings through experience gained from others. Forget about your future career. The question is how relevant this advice is to a young person going into law. In my view it is highly relevant, for the reasons below.
1. A principle that does not age
The letter's first line is "No one can be a truly competent lawyer unless he is a cultivated man." Laws change; this principle does not. Every generation of lawyers deals with people, words and arguments. A cultivated person handles all three better. That is why advice written to an American schoolboy still speaks to a law student in India.
2. The language of the law
Frankfurter stresses the capacity to use English "on paper and in speech". For an Indian law student this is directly practical.
Beyond the set text. Under Article 348 of the Constitution, proceedings in the Supreme Court, and in general in the High Courts, are in English until Parliament provides otherwise. Judgments, statutes and pleadings in the higher courts are therefore read and written in English.
A student who reads widely in English writes clearer answers, drafts better plaints and argues more persuasively. Wide reading is the cheapest and surest way to gain that skill.
3. Legal reasoning
He speaks of "the habits of clear thinking which only a truly liberal education can give". Law examinations and practice both test reasoning more than memory. A problem question requires the student to spot the issue, find the rule and apply it. A court argument requires answering the other side point by point. History, philosophy and literature build these habits slowly but surely.
4. A changing world
Frankfurter's call to cultivate the imaginative faculties matters even more today. New questions keep reaching the courts, from the internet and data privacy to the environment. No textbook can prepare a lawyer for every new problem. Imagination lets him see how old principles apply to new facts. It also lets him foresee how a contract or a statute may be misread years later.
5. Justice for ordinary people
He asks the young man to widen and deepen his feelings by experiencing life "vicariously". A lawyer must understand the fears of a poor tenant, an accused person or a worker who has lost his job. Sympathy built through reading makes him a better counsel and, perhaps later, a fairer judge. It also draws young lawyers towards legal aid and public causes.
6. A warning against narrow study
"Forget about your future career." Many students today study only for marks, ranks and placements. They read summaries instead of judgments and avoid anything outside the syllabus. Frankfurter warns against this. A mind narrowed too early becomes the mind of a technician. Breadth first makes later specialisation stronger.
7. The five-year law course
Beyond the set text. India's five-year integrated courses, such as the B.A. LL.B. and the B.B.A. LL.B., combine the study of arts, commerce or management with law. They rest on the belief at the heart of Frankfurter's letter. A lawyer gains from knowing society, economics and language, and not law alone.
The limits of its relevance
The advice is not complete for someone already in law school. A law student must also master technical law, procedure and drafting. Frankfurter's call to "forget" technical preparation was meant for a schoolboy. Its relevance today lies in the balance it suggests: technical skill built on a broad and cultivated mind.
Relevance at a glance
| Frankfurter's advice | Its relevance today |
|---|---|
| "a cultivated man" | A timeless test of competence |
| English "on paper and in speech" | English is the language of the higher courts |
| "habits of clear thinking" | The core of legal reasoning |
| Poetry, painting, music | Imagination for new legal problems |
| Experience gained "vicariously" | Sympathy for clients; legal aid |
| "forget about your future career" | A check on narrow, marks-driven study |
Conclusion. Frankfurter's advice remains highly relevant. Its principle, that only a cultivated person can be a truly competent lawyer, does not change with time or country. Command of English matters in courts where English is the language of proceedings. Clear thinking is the core of legal reasoning, and imagination helps with new problems. Sympathy serves ordinary people seeking justice, and his warning against narrow study is needed more than ever. Read together with the need for technical skill, it is sound guidance for every young person going into law.
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