Speak: 5 steps to CLAT 2020 preparation

By: Teresa Dhar

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) will be conducted on May 10. This national-level exam is conducted every year to give admission to students in 21 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India along with 43 other private law institutes. The number of students participating and the level of the exam makes it challenging.

So, for those preparing to appear for CLAT 2020, now would be a crucial time. Here’s a five-step strategy that will help you carefully prepare for each section in the exam:

Top Scoring Topics of CLAT 2020

       1. English language: In this section of the UG-CLAT 2020, you will be provided passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing and would be of a standard that a Class 12th student may be able to read in about 5-7 minutes. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your comprehension and language skills. So, here’s what your strategy for this section should be:

• Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage,
• Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage,
• Summarise the passage,
• Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage, and
• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.

      2. Current affairs & general knowledge: In this section, you will be provided passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed in or related to the passage, but would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge. Some of the scoring topics here are:

• Contemporary events of significance from India and the world,
• Arts and culture,
• International affairs, and
• Historical events of continuing significance.

      3. Legal reasoning: In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical inquiries. You will not require any prior knowledge of law. You will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues to better apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.
Each passage would be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

• Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage,
• Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and,
• Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.

     4. Logical reasoning: The logical reasoning section of the UG-CLAT 2020 will include a series of short passages of about 300 words each. Each passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:

• Recognise an argument, its premises and conclusions,
• Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage,
• Critically analyse patterns of reasoning, and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence,
• Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations, and
• Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

     5. Quantitative techniques: The quantitative techniques section of the UG-CLAT 2020 will include short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions. You will be required to derive information from such passages, graphs, or other representations, and apply mathematical operations on such information.

The questions will require you to:

• Derive, infer, and manipulate numerical information set out in such passages, graphs, or other representations, and
• Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation.

CLAT 2020 Revision Approach

The CLAT consortium intends to give a peek to this year’s paper format publishing various preparatory materials for the UG-CLAT 2020, including:

• Guides to the question paper and sample questions
• Model question papers
• Instructional materials and exercises for each of the subjects that the UG-CLAT 2020 comprises

There is no such particular strategy to prepare for such a competitive examination. If one is preparing or intends to prepare for it and has a lot of time – say at least two years before they appear for the exam, is to take CLAT, they can take up subject-wise-subject and focus on any chapter. Taking mock tests, as many as possible, is the Gospel Act. A must-do for all students, be it someone preparing two years or two weeks prior. Especially in the last month before CLAT, solving mock tests and clarifying last-minute doubts are of utmost importance. Ultimately, the topics or subjects that give you jitters are to be revised thoroughly for the last time. Until then, keep taking mocks and trace your improvement through the marks.

About the Author:

Teresa Dhar is a third-year student pursuing BA LLB from Chanakya National Law University.