How to Prepare for CLAT 2026 without Coaching - Important Books, Strategy & Tips
Common Law Admission Test 2026 ( CLAT )
Counselling - 5 Feb '26
Preparing for CLAT 2026 without coaching? Check out important books, strategies and tips to ace the CLAT exam without coaching here.
Everybody who is appearing for the CLAT exam feels that joining a coaching institute is only a way out to crack the CLAT entrance exam. Coaching institutes are good at selling the idea that coaching is necessary to crack law entrance exams. However, that is far from the truth. Candidates without any professional coaching can also crack the CLAT exam 2026 with flying colors. However, for the same, candidates need to adopt a well-planned and well-thought-out CLAT preparation strategy. Apart from this, it is also extremely important for candidates to be completely dedicated and consistent with their CLAT preparation 2026.
Also Read: How to prepare for CLAT in 6 months: Tips, Tricks & Study Plan for CLAT 2026
In this article, we have provided all the tips and tricks required to prepare for CLAT 2026 without coaching along with important books, previous year question papers, past years’ topper tips and more.
Explore colleges based on CLAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
- How to prepare for CLAT 2026 without coaching?
- Section-wise preparation tips & best books to crack CLAT 2026 without coaching
- How to prepare for CLAT without coaching: Topper Tips
How to prepare for CLAT 2026 without coaching?
Check out some important CLAT preparation tips 2026 to ace the law entrance exam without joining coaching below:
- Start early: The first and foremost step towards effective CLAT preparation is starting early with the studies. Starting early with preparation helps finish the CLAT syllabus in time, which further gives ample time to practice previous years’ question papers and mock tests. Therefore, do not wait for the last two-three months, start with CLAT preparation now.
- Make a study plan: To ace CLAT 2026, it is important to plan your studies well. For the same, candidates are advised to make weekly and monthly time-tables, containing details on which subjects and topics to study and how much to study. Candidates should focus on studying seven to eight hours a day with breaks of one hour after every two hours of study. The breaks should be utilized for rejuvenation by listening to songs, watching videos, taking rest, etc. Remember, to score well in CLAT, it is important to keep calm for which constant breaks in between studies are important.
- Revise: Revision is important to retain the already studied topics in mind for a longer duration of time. For the same, candidates are advised to keep five days for study and two days for revision in the weekly timetable.
- Practice: Practicing previous years’ CLAT question papers and mock tests is the key to cracking the national-level law entrance exam. While candidates should keep practicing questions for different sections during their regular course of study, past year question papers, CLAT 2026 Sample papers and CLAT mock tests should be attempted after they are over with the CLAT syllabus.
- Strengthen weaker areas: During CLAT preparation, there are times when candidates realise in which topics and subjects they are weak. In such cases, extra effort should be laid on strengthening the weak areas for the exam by going through the basics again and discussing the topic(s) with fellow aspirants and mentors, if any. Candidates can also find online videos to clear their basics for topics in which they need more clarity.
Section-wise preparation tips & best books to crack CLAT 2026 without coaching
Check out some of the section-wise preparation tips and important books to ace the law entrance exam without coaching below:
Explore more Law exams with upcoming dates
30 Jan '26
1 Nov '25 - 31 Jan '26
4 Feb '26
15 Dec '25 - 16 Feb '26
27 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
28 Jan '26 - 22 Mar '26
15 Nov '25 - 23 Mar '26
25 Mar '26 - 30 Mar '26
| CLAT Sections |
Important Books |
Preparation Tips |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also Read: Important topics to study from CLAT 2026 syllabus
How to prepare for CLAT without coaching: Topper Tips
One of the best ways to prepare for CLAT 2026 without coaching is by looking up to the past years’ exam toppers and their preparation strategies. Check out CLAT preparation tips from past year toppers below to know how to clear CLAT in first attempt:
- Plan your preparation in two parts – first six months should be focused on the preparation of weaker sections and the next six months for the preparation of all sections
- Prepare a subject-wise time-table for everyday
- Stick to the time table and stretch yourself to cover a wide range of topics
- Study at least three subjects a day including the subjects you are weak in
- To attain speed in the exam, practice as many CLAT question papers as possible
- Take as many CLAT mock tests as you can
- Analyse your mocks and work on your weaknesses
- Don't let a bad mock exam demoralise you
She has over 10 years of experience in the education and publishing sectors. She specialises in exam coverage and content creation. At Shiksha, she writes, analyses, and presents information for students preparing f
Read Full BioNews & Updates
Explore Other Exams
4 Feb '26 | AILET Third Provisional Merit ... |
5 May '26 | AILET Fourth Provisional Merit... |
8 Jun '25 | LSAT India 2025 May Session Re... |
May '25 | LSAT India 2025 May Exam |
Feb '26 | ULSAT 2026 Admit Card |
20 Jan '26 | ULSAT 2026 Applications (3-yea... |
Apr '26 | RULET 2026 Application Process |
May '26 | RULET 2026 Correction Window |
8 Jan '26 - 13 Feb '26 | MH CET Law 2026 Application (f... |
9 Jan '26 - 14 Feb '26 | MH CET Law 2026 Application (f... |
Jul '23 | LFAT 2023 Declaration of Resul... |
1 Jun '23 - 7 Jun '23 | LFAT 2023 Reserved Exam Dates |
Feb '26 | ACLAT Exam 2026 |
1 Oct '25 | ACLAT 2025 Application |
Mar '26 | PU UGLAW 2026 online registrat... |
Apr '26 | PU UGLAW 2026 last date of fee... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 days ago
The GNLU Silvassa CLAT Cutoff 2026 was released for round 2 for B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) and Master of Law (LL.M.) programme. The cutoff was released for various categories under both the All India and Home State quotas.
The NLU Silvassa CLAT Cutoff 2026 for round 2 was 1264 for BA LLB (Hons) course and 1
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The NLU Sonipat CLAT Cutoff 2026 is out for round 2 for various categories under both the All India and Home State quota candidates. The cutoff was released for admission to the B.A. LL.B and Master of Legislative Laws (LL.M.) courses.
For the LLM course, the General AI category cutoff was 2349 in r
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The NLU Shimla CLAT Cutoff 2026 has been released for round 2 for multiple categories under both the All India and Home State quota. The cutoff was out in the form of opening and closing ranks.
For the General HS category, the cutoff was 11211 for the B.A LL.B (Hons.) course, and 16167 for B.B.A.LL.
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The NLU Jabalpur CLAT Cutoff 2026 was released for round 2 for admission to BA LLB (Hons) and LLM courses. The cutoff was released for all categories under the All India and Home State quota.
For the General AI category, the round 2 cutoff for BA LLB (Hons) course was 1789. For LLM courses, it was
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The NLU Assam CLAT Cutoff 2026 has been released for admission to the LL.M. LL.B. (Hons.) and LLM courses for round 2. The cutoff was released for various categories under both the All India and Home State quotas.
For the OBC AI category, the cutoff ranged from 2430 to 3669, wherein the LLM course a
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
NLU Assam CLAT Cutoff 2026 has been released till round 2 for admission to BA LLB (Hons) and LLM courses for various categories under both the All India and Home State quota.
For the SC AI category, the round closing ranks ranged between 4884 and 11777, for the LLM and BA LLB (Hons) courses, respect
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
NLU Assam CLAT Cutoff 2026 has been released till round 2 for admission to BA LLB (Hons) and LLM courses for various categories under both the All India and Home State quota.
For the SC AI category, the round closing ranks ranged between 4884 and 11777, for the LLM and BA LLB (Hons) courses, respect
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
The NLU Assam CLAT Cutoff 2026 was released for admission to BA LLB (Hons) and LLM courses. The cutoff was released in the form of opening and closing ranks for both the All India and Home State quota till round 2.
For the SC AI category, the round cutoff ranged between 11777 and 4884 for the BA LLB
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
NLU Aurangabad CLAT Cutoff 2026 was released for admission to the BBA LLB (Hons), LLM and BA LLB (Hons) courses for various categories under the All India and Home State quota.
For the PWD HS category, the BA LLB (Hons) course had a cutoff of 42450 in round 2. To know more details, students can clic
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
The MNLU Nagpur LLM Cutoff 2026 was released for various categories under the All India quota till round 2 as of now. Further rounds are expected to be released soon.
In the meantime, according to the General AI category cutoff in round 2, the LLM course and its various specialisations had a cutoff
N
Contributor-Level 10
CLAT Notifications
The CLAT Topper List will be released along with the CLAT 2026 Result. It must be noted that the admission to the NLU will be given based on the preference choosen by the candidate while filling the application form.