Legal Aptitude and Legal Reasoning
IPC vs BNS Chapter Mapping — Remember "OSGH-PC" for major changes: Offences (1-10→1-23), Sexual offences (11→64-78), General exceptions (76-106→24-40), Hurt/Wrongful restraint (319-348→114-127), Property crimes (378-462→303-329), Conspiracy (120A→61).
Contract Essentials Mnemonic: "COAL FC" — Valid contract needs: Consideration, Offer & Acceptance, Agreement, Lawful object, Free Consent, Capacity to contract. All six must be present per Sections 10-30 of Indian Contract Act.
Void vs Voidable: "VVVV" — Void = Void ab initio (never valid); Voidable = Valid until Voided, Victim's choice, Vitiated consent. Void agreements under Section 26-30; voidable contracts under Section 19-19A.
Marital Law Grounds Mnemonic: "ACID CLAD" — Divorce grounds: Adultery, Cruelty, Insanity, Desertion (2 yrs), Conversion, Leprosy, AIDS/VD, Disease (incurable). Applies across Hindu Marriage Act S.13, Special Marriage Act S.27.
Fundamental Rights Articles: "12-35 FRs, 36-51 DPSPs" — FRs always start with "Right to" (14-32 core rights); DPSPs never justiciable. Article 21 is the "mega right" covering life, liberty, privacy, education (added via 86th amendment).
Consumer Rights "SCISSOR" — Six basic rights: Safety, Choice, Information, Seek redress, Service, Opportunity to be heard, Representation. Consumer Protection Act 2019 establishes three-tier redressal: District→State→National Commission.
Legal Maxims Quick Five — *Actus reus* = guilty act; *Mens rea* = guilty mind; *Caveat emptor* = buyer beware; *Res judicata* = matter judged (can't re-litigate); *Nemo judex* = no one can judge their own case.
IPR Types "PCTTG" — Five major types: Patents (20 yrs), Copyright (60 yrs post-death), Trademarks (10 yrs renewable), Trade secrets, Geographical Indications. Patents Act 1970; Copyright Act 1957; Trademarks Act 1999.
Logical and Analytical Reasoning
Blood Relations Gender Trick — Remember: +/- generation matters. Uncle's son = cousin (not nephew). Maternal = mother's side (nana/nani); Paternal = father's side (dada/dadi). Draw a quick family tree for complex problems.
Odd Days Formula — Ordinary year = 1 odd day; Leap year = 2 odd days. Century leap if divisible by 400. For day calculations: 1/1/1 AD = Monday. Odd days mod 7 gives weekday (0=Sun, 1=Mon...6=Sat).
Direction Net Displacement — Track movements as coordinates: North=+Y, South=-Y, East=+X, West=-X. Final displacement = √(X²+Y²). Clockwise turns: N→E→S→W→N. Anti-clockwise reverses this. 45° = diagonal (NE, SW, etc.).
Coding-Decoding Position Values — A=1, Z=26 (forward); A=26, Z=1 (reverse). For +3 cipher: A→D, Z→C (cycle back). Letter-to-number: remember middle letters M=13, N=14 as anchors.
Syllogism Venn Diagrams — All A are B = A inside B; No A are B = separate circles; Some A are B = overlapping. "All+All" follows transitivity; "Some+All" gives "Some" conclusion only.
Seating Arrangement Clock Method — Circular facing center: right = clockwise neighbor; left = anti-clockwise. Linear: extreme left/right are anchors. Always mark fixed positions first, then relative positions.
Data Sufficiency "AD-BCE" — Answer codes: (A) Statement 1 alone; (D) Statement 2 alone; (B) Both needed; (C) Either sufficient; (E) Both insufficient. Test each statement independently first.
General Knowledge with Current Affairs
Latitude Markers "30-60-90 TPC" — Tropic of Cancer = 23.5°N, Passes through 8 Indian states (Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram).
Indian History Dates Anchor: "1857-1947-90" — 1857 Revolt, 1947 Independence = 90 years gap. 1919 Jallianwala, 1929 Lahore Session, 1942 Quit India = decade markers. Use 10-year intervals for anchoring events.
Monsoon Months "JJAS" — June-July-August-September. Southwest monsoon brings 75% of India's rainfall. Retreating (NE) monsoon: October-December affects Tamil Nadu coast. *El Niño* = deficient rainfall; *La Niña* = excess.
Constitutional Amendments Key Numbers — 1st (1951): Land reforms, 9th Schedule; 42nd (1976): "Mini Constitution," added Socialist-Secular; 44th (1978): Removed property as FR; 73rd-74th (1992): Panchayati Raj; 86th (2002): Education as FR.
Major Awards "PBP-RAM" — Bharat Ratna (highest civilian); Padma trio (Vibhushan-Bhushan-Shri); Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (renamed Major Dhyan Chand, sports); Arjuna (sports); Gallantry: Param Vir Chakra-Mahavir-Vir Chakra (descending order).
English
Subject-Verb Agreement "SEIN" — Singular verbs with: Each, Every, -body/-one words (everybody IS), Indefinite pronouns (neither, either), News/mathematics (singular despite 's'). Collective nouns take singular when acting as unit.
Confusing Pairs: Affect/Effect — Affect = Action (verb, "to influence"); Effect = End result (noun, "the consequence"). Exception: *effect* as verb means "to bring about"; *affect* as noun means "emotional state" (psychology).
Apostrophe Rules "Its/It's" — It's = It is/has (contraction); Its = possessive (no apostrophe, like his/hers). Plurals never use apostrophes (1990s, MPs) unless possessive (MP's speech, MPs' speeches).
Para Jumble Strategy — Find opening sentence (introduces topic, no pronouns/connectors); find mandatory pair (pronoun-antecedent, connector logic). Closing sentence = conclusion/future outlook. Eliminate 2-3 wrong options first.
Mathematical Aptitude (5-yr LLB only)
Divisibility Rules Chain — 2: last digit even; 3: digit sum ÷3; 4: last 2 digits ÷4; 5: ends 0/5; 6: divisible by both 2&3; 8: last 3 digits ÷8; 9: digit sum ÷9; 11: alternating digit sum ÷11.
Time-Work Formula: M₁D₁H₁/W₁ = M₂D₂H₂/W₂ — Men, Days, Hours per day, Work done. If A completes in 10 days, B in 15 days, together: 1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6 → 6 days. Efficiency inversely proportional to time.
Speed-Distance: Relative Speed — Same direction: subtract speeds;