Common-Law Admission Test or CLAT is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities for candidates who wish to admission into the undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes offered by various universities and colleges across India.
The exam is reputed to be one of the most difficult examinations to crack. Over 60,000 candidates appear for the exam each year, and only 5 percent of them all get admission into the reputed NLUs.
Being tougher than any other examination, the preparation for CLAT has to be hard, and it requires a lot of hard work, effort, and retention power. Therefore, one needs a lot of patience and technique to prepare for the exam.
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CLAT EXAM PATTERN
The exam pattern for CLAT involves questions on five major subjects or areas:
- English Language
- Quantitative Techniques
- Current Affairs including General Knowledge
- Logical Reasoning
- Legal Reasoning
The exam marking scheme is such that +1 is awarded for each correct answer, and 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer. Therefore, the only way to escape a major loss of marks is by prepping hard.
Fundamental strategies to prepare for GK
The concept of questions has largely changed while the pattern has changed significantly, as per the NLU conventions in CLAT 2020.
- The GK section is analytical and difficult in that one has to keep themselves updated with every latest and past news.
- The NLUs now seek those candidates who are good readers and great thinkers.
- The candidates need to delve deep into a particular piece of news, note down its static concerns, and revise them.
- A mere reading of the national and international news is of no help given the upcoming drastic changes in the concept of questions.
- Analysis of every piece of news is significant now more than ever. The boons and banes, the future concerns, the cause and effect of the news piece are important.
Fundamental strategies to prepare for Legal Reasoning
- The passages can be both from the contemporary issues of law and the static aspects of the law.
- The questions on contemporary issues can range from the latest to around five years older. Therefore, candidates are advised to be well aware of the latest legal happenings and the crucial judgments.
- The questions can come from legal principles and simple reasoning, and thus, it is advised not to take simple reasoning lightly.
- Make it a habit to read newspapers and legal notes daily as it would bear two-fold results in that it would enhance your reading speed and feed to your legal knowledge.
Fundamental strategies to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude
- Candidates are advised to continue revising and preparing through online mock tests and sample papers.
- Continuous practicing would help an in-depth understanding of the topic and enhance the unit conversion, speed, and accuracy.
Fundamental strategies to prepare for Logical Reasoning
- Make it a habit to read newspapers, particularly The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, and Indian Express, since most articles are taken from them.
- Enhance the reading speed to avoid taking too much in solving a question.
Fundamental strategies to prepare for the English Language
- Read the editorial sections of the newspapers.
- Increase the reading speed and enhance your grammar knowledge to excel in this section.
- Practice RTCs as much as possible.
CLAT preparation at home
During Covid-19, it is majorly difficult for aspiring candidates to go out and study at the coaching centres. Therefore, it is advised and feasible to prepare for the CLAT exam at home.
- Prepare a schedule that involves practice and revision of all subjects daily.
- Start your preparation early to avoid lagging.
- Move from practicing simple questions to complex ones rather than doing otherwise.
- Read extensively.
- Find websites that provide coaching online.
- Solve as many mock papers and sample tests as possible.
- Find out which approach improves your efficiency at scoring marks.
- Apply an effective time strategy to devote equal time to every subject.
- Find out which medium serves you the best, watching videos or reading, or the morning or night study sessions.
Check section-wise CLAT Preparation Strategy 2021 at https://www.shiksha.com/law/clat-exam-preparation
