Unit 2 of English — Paper I (syllabus: Module II — Bacon on judicature, the Apology of Socrates, and Ambedkar’s speeches, read for argument, structure and the language of public reason). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What is the structure of Socrates' defence, and was he rightly convicted?
- How does the cross-examination of Melitus work, and why does a law student learn it?
- What claim does the gadfly image make, and what two facts support it?
- How is The Joy of Reading built, and why is a persuasive essay about books set on a law paper?
- What does jus dicere and not jus dare mean, and why is one foul sentence worse than many foul examples?
- How is Of Judicature organised, and how do you reconcile its account of judicial integrity with lions under the throne?
- Does Gandhi's account of his practice condemn the legal profession or defend it?
- How does Ambedkar define liberty, equality and fraternity, and what is his answer to those who demand independence first?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Plato, Apology, s. the charges, the exordium and the three speeches
- Plato, Apology, s. the cross-examination of the accuser
- Plato, Apology, s. the mission, and the two acts of disobedience
- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, The Joy of Reading, s. the thesis, the five instances and the proposal
- Francis Bacon, Of Judicature, s. the opening principle and the judicial virtues
- Francis Bacon, Of Judicature, s. parties, advocates, clerks and sovereign
- M. K. Gandhi, Some Reminiscences of the Bar, s. the test case and the two closing sentences
- B. R. Ambedkar, Why Indian Labour is Determined to Win the War, s. what Labour wants, and the three objectors