CLAT (PG) LLM: Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern, Books and More
The Common Law Admission Test is popular among undergrads, we say this because there are 50K+ aspirants every year.
This test also has a PG version to allow admissions into the LLM Courses of the National Law Universities.
Earlier, the course used to be on 2 years, in recent years, almost all major universities have switched to the 1 year LLM format. The competition has seen a steep rise, with nearly 5000 aspirants a few years back to 10K+ last year.
Although, there are many students who take the exam for PSU jobs and have no intention of joining a university.
The registration ends in 3 days so click here and register.
Eligibility for CLAT LLM Exam
- An LL.B Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of Fifty percent (50%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories and Forty-Five percent (45%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
- Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in April/May 2020 are also eligible to apply.
- No upper age limit is prescribed for appearing in CLAT 2020.
Syllabus for CLAT LLM
- Constitutional Law
- Jurisprudence,
- Administrative Law,
- Law of Contract,
- Torts,
- Family Law,
- Criminal Law,
See this video by Finology Legal on CLAT LLM Preparation.
The pattern of CLAT LLM Exam
- The first section would include 100 objective-type questions carrying 1 mark each. There shall be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
- The second section would require candidates to write 2 descriptive essays.
- Candidates who secure 40% (35% in case of SC, ST, and PWD) marks in the objective section will qualify for the evaluation of their answers in the descriptive section.
- Maximum Marks: 150
- Duration of CLAT-2019 Exam: 02:00 Hours
- Multiple-Choice Questions: 100 questions of one mark each
- Subjective Questions: 50 Marks (Two Essay type questions each of 25 Marks, 800 words per essay) on the topics of law and contemporary issues.
- Negative Marking: 0.25 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer
Books for CLAT LLM Exam
The exam has two major subjects, Jurisprudence and the Constitution. They combined account for more than half of the total marks in the paper.
Please go through the bare acts first and then the books.
Constitution: There are many good books for this section but since there are other subjects and one cannot simply crack the exam on this section alone, it is advised to limit the number of books to a maximum of two.
We suggest referring to V.N Shukla and J.N Pandey. While there are other books available, the required syllabus is accurately covered in these two.
Jurisprudence: The most important part is to remember what every jurist said, which books they wrote and the various schools. Jurisprudence is a complex subject for many and therefore referring to Paranjpe will make it slightly easier. However, for a second reference book, you may utilise Mani Tripathi.
For all the other subjects of the exam, refer to the bare act first then move to the books. Basic books will suffice, for eg: Torts: Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, Avtar Singh for Contracts etc.
Our Advice
Focus on Case Laws: Case laws are VERY important in CLAT LLM Entrance Exam. Sometimes, not just the judgement but even the name of the dissenting judge in a particular judgement is asked. You need to be thorough with all the major case laws from the past two years and other landmark judgements.
Bare Acts: Do not underestimate bare acts. A book helps but it is empirical that you go through all the bare acts religiously. If you skip the bare acts, it WILL affect your score. Books are secondary, primary preparation is the bare acts.
Make Notes: It is not possible to revise all that information that you will have to process for this exam. Therefore, make a set of notes, while you study, just for the purpose of revision. It should include all the case laws in bullet points with just enough information to ring a bell.
Past Year Papers: Always follow the past year papers, they will give you an idea about the theory papers very accurately. The type of essays they ask you to write, the type of questions they ask. Do not go there blindsided, analyse all past year papers.
Frame your way: It doesn’t matter what your college prof. or senior told you, there is no single way to ace this test. It is very difficult and different as compared to the UG paper. It tests the five years of law school knowledge that you have gathered.
In case you weren’t attentive, we suggest you take a year to prepare and therefore start in the fifth year itself. It is not like CLAT UG, three months may get you into any NLU but definitely not into a good one.
Discussions help: Try to have a small group of people with whom you can discuss the case laws and recent amendments. It will help you in two ways, 1. freshen your mind with some social interaction, 2. Oral discussions can easily be recalled in an exam.
Practice: We cannot emphasize enough on it. Practice is key. Subscribe to mocks and solve as much mocks as you can. Unlike CLAT UG, your 5 years of law school is about this paper so, with practice, all that knowledge will come back to you.
If you have any queries or want to discuss something, reach us at aditya.anand@lawctopus.com
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Aditya Anand
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