Students' Speak: Exam pattern and strategy for CLAT

By: Shalini Shikha

These days many tutorials are available online. So, the ones who are preparing at home can benefit from these available facilities. Creating a link between topics you are preparing with online available materials and tutorials would be of great help.

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted annually for admission to the five-year integrated programme in law (LLB and LLM). The national-level law entrance exam is conducted for admission to the best National Law Universities of India and many other governments and private top-ranking law colleges too. Before the candidate starts preparing, they should know the pattern, syllabus and books.

CLAT Pattern

Aptitude is being tested in CLAT through four sections - General Knowledge, English, Logical Reasoning, and Mathematics. The CLAT pattern has changed, the present pattern is -

• Now CLAT is an offline exam with a total duration of 120 minutes.
• It has four sections with a different number of questions and marks division. Each question is for one mark and 0.25 marks are cut for the incorrect answer.
• English including Comprehension-28-32
• General Knowledge and Current Affairs- 35-39
• Legal Reasoning- 35-39
• Logical Reasoning- 28-32
• Quantitative Techniques-13-17
• Total marks-150
• Total time-120

STRATEGIES

• To be aware of the number of questions and weightage, the first most important step is to get well versed with the CLAT exam, syllabus and pattern. This will help you to devise a strategy to manage your study plan and you will be able to get an idea of approximate time needed for cracking the CLAT.
• For the candidate preparing from home, it’s important for you to identify your strong and weak subjects in the very beginning. Your strategy should be shaped around building up the weak subjects and polishing the strong ones.
• Practice enough of CLAT mocks and sample papers, so that you know your weaker sections on which you need to put extra effort.
• Also practising and solving the mocks and papers will certainly speed your preparation and your ability to solve the questions
• Regular revision is a must.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

English Language

• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin
• English is Easy by Chetananand Singh
• Objective General English by RS Aggarwal
• Barron’s Pocket Guide to Vocabulary

General Knowledge

• Lucent’s General Knowledge
• Manorama Yearbook
• India Yearbook
• Competition Success Review
• Pratiyogita Darpan
• The Hindu Newspaper
• The Indian Express Newspaper
• Hindustan Times
• The Telegraph Newspaper

Legal Aptitude

• Universal’s CLAT Guide
• Legal Awareness and Legal Aptitude by AP Bhardwaj
• LexisNexis Butterworths
• Bare Acts of Indian Constitution
• Logical Reasoning
• Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal
• Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey
• Analytical and Logical Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal

Mathematics

• Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal
• Class 10th NCERT Textbook

These days many tutorials are available online. Also, various coaching institutes offer only mock test packages. So, the ones who are preparing at home can benefit from these available facilities. Creating a link between topics you are preparing with online available materials and tutorials would be of great help. Reading newspapers daily and making a note of news related to the CLAT syllabus is the most essential step.

About the Author:

Shalini Shikha is an artist and a social worker. She is passionate about cooking and exploring various art forms. She loves working outside her comfort zone and socially confined boundaries for girls. She is an Economics post-graduate from BHU, and, to support herself for all her passions, she works in DB Schenker as a Tender & Data Management desk.