Ten Mistakes That Cost Law Entrance Aspirants Marks

Written and reviewed by Shubham Jain, BA LL.B., LL.M. · UILS, Panjab University alumnus · founder with 15+ years of teaching · Jury Law Academy, founded in 2016.

Sep 19, 2026

Quick answer: The most damaging mistakes are unreviewed mock tests, too many sources, memorising current affairs without context, ignoring negative marking, and starting new material in the final month. Each has a simple correction.

The ten mistakes

  1. Taking tests without review. Fix: spend as long on review as on the test.
  2. Collecting too many books. Fix: one source per area, revised repeatedly.
  3. Memorising current affairs lists. Fix: note the story, not the fact.
  4. Ignoring negative marking. Fix: attempt only what you can justify or partly eliminate.
  5. Using real-world law in principle-based questions. Fix: apply the printed principle strictly.
  6. Reading passages twice out of anxiety. Fix: one steady pass with active tracking.
  7. Leaving the weakest section untouched. Fix: allocate a fixed daily slot to it.
  8. No time caps in the exam. Fix: write caps on the rough sheet at the start.
  9. Starting new topics in the last month. Fix: revise only personal notes.
  10. Skipping sleep before the exam. Fix: taper effort in the final three days.

How to use this list

Mark the three mistakes you are actually making. Correct one each week. Fixing three repeated errors usually moves a score more than adding another hundred hours of unstructured study.

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common law entrance preparation mistake?

Taking tests without reviewing them. Score improvement comes from error analysis, not from test volume.

Is using too many books a problem?

Yes. Multiple sources on the same topic delay revision and create the illusion of progress.

Why do scores stay flat despite hard work?

Usually because the same error type repeats and is never named and corrected.

Is guessing a mistake?

Random guessing is, in a paper with negative marking. Guessing after eliminating two options is usually acceptable.