Experts’ Speak: How to score well in CLAT in last-month preparation

By: Abhishek Vikram

There are a lot of aspirants who fail in taking the right approach and do the things unplanned. Therefore, they are not able to perform well in their exam due to low self-confidence. Hence, it is important to follow the right approach and plan the preparation for the exam to make it fruitful, even if you have very less time.

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a reputed examination to take admission into the National Law Universities of India (NLUs), which are 21 in number. Most of the time for preparation has already passed, but you can still ace the exam even if you have started late if you follow a planned approach towards the examination. Here are a few points that shall help you out.

CLAT Study Material

One of the most important steps in CLAT preparation is the selection of the correct study material. Since a lot of study material is available both online as well as offline, the aspirants find it difficult to make the correct choice for CLAT study material. Here, we have provided a list of the best books for CLAT recommended by various experts in the domain.

Besides these books, the aspirants can look out for various notes as provided by different institutions. However, the best approach as told by experts is to make short notes by yourself for a better understanding of the basic concepts.

CLAT Examination Structure

CLAT 2020 Examination will be of two hours and shall be conducted in pen and paper mode. The total number of questions in the exam for undergraduate level shall be 150, carrying 1 mark each, and for the postgraduate level shall be 102, with 100 questions carrying 1 mark each and 2 questions of subjective nature carrying 25 marks each.

There shall be a penalty of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in case of objective type questions in both undergraduate and postgraduate level examinations. The subjective questions in the postgraduate level examinations shall be evaluated only after the aspirant scores the cut-off marks in the objective section.

The undergraduate-level examination will have questions from five different sections, i.e. General Knowledge, Legal Aptitude, General English, Mathematics, and Logical Reasoning. The General Knowledge and Legal Aptitude sections have 25% weightage each in the examination, whereas General English and Logical Reasoning have 20% weightage each. Mathematics will have 10% weightage in the examination.

CLAT High Scoring Topics

As mentioned by most of the successful candidates and also by many experts, you need to focus on some of the high scoring topics to improve your score. These topics are such that they are easy to score and still have a high weightage in their respective sections. To score good marks in CLAT 2020, you need to put in maximum efforts and practice a variety of questions on those topics, which have been mentioned below:

General English

• Comprehension
• Antonyms and Synonyms
• Detection of Errors
• Vocabulary and Grammar

General Knowledge

• Current affairs of the last year
• Legal terms used in recent times

Legal Aptitude

• Contract Laws
• Constitutional Laws
• Criminal Laws
• Family Laws
• Intellectual Property Laws

Logical Reasoning

• Venn Diagrams
• Blood Relations
• Directions
• Assumptions and Conclusions

Mathematics

• Time and Work
• Speed, Time, and Distance
• Percentage
• Ratio and Proportion

CLAT Study Plan

There are a lot of aspirants who fail in taking the right approach and do the things unplanned. Therefore, they are not able to perform well in their exam due to low self-confidence. Hence, it is important to follow the right approach and plan the preparation for the exam to make it fruitful, even if you have very less time. The following tips shall be helpful to you in deducing the right approach:

• The aspirants should never believe that they possess superhuman abilities. Since the syllabus is vast, they have to have a realistic approach to the exam.
• Cover up the topics of high weightage and master them before moving on to the ones with low weightage.
• Set realistic goals for every day, and try to solve weekly mock tests (at least) to analyse your abilities.
• Speed is important, and so is accuracy. Therefore, make sure to maintain both of them while solving questions.

CLAT Self-Evaluation

Mock papers and sample papers are important to be solved since they provide the aspirants with an exam-like environment before the real exam. By not taking mock tests, the aspirants lose any chances of self-improvement that they might have before the real exam. Therefore, it is important to solve sample papers during the preparation of CLAT and take mock tests periodically. The aspirants should also make sure to evaluate their performance and improve it gradually in the tests.

CLAT Last Week Tips & Tricks

The last week of any examination is the most crucial part of the preparation. If the aspirants lose their focus in the last week of their preparation, they might get unexpected results in a negative manner. Hence, the last week of the preparation should be spent more or less the same way as the other weeks. Here are some tips and tricks which shall be beneficial for the aspirants:

• Practice is important. Hence, don't lose the habit of solving questions.
• Revision is also an important aspect; therefore, revise regularly and thoroughly.
• Don't pick up a new topic from scratch. It will only increase the stress levels, not knowledge.
• Don't burn the midnight oil. Study during the day and sleep well at night.
• Don't let anyone else's preparation strategy affect you. Everyone is different and has a different way of grasping things.

About the Author:

Abhishek Vikram is an alumnus of the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, pursuing B.Com LL.B. He has a keen interest in Indian History & Polity. In his free time, he likes to read books and watch movies.