The One-Page Primer for CLAT Preparation

Subjects

• English including comprehension- 40 marks
• General knowledge and current affairs – 50 marks
• Elementary mathematics – 20 marks
• Legal aptitude – 50 marks
• Logical reasoning – 40 marks

Visit the official website of CLAT for the syllabus.

English

• Refer “English Grammar and Composition” by Wren and Martin.
• Read the editorial section of newspapers daily.
• Practice reading text at faster speeds, eg: Evelyn Woods technique etc.
• Analyze the pattern from past year questions and practice your weak points.
• Solve 2 comprehensions and 1 practice paper daily.

General Knowledge

• It carries the most marks and takes the least amount of time to attempt.
• If you don’t know an answer, don’t ponder and move on.
• Read one newspaper daily in detail. eg: The Statesman, The Indian Express or The Hindu
• Watch the news for half an hour in the evening on Doordarshan or Rajya Sabha Tv.
• Refer one yearbook for static. eg: Penguin or Manorama.
• Subscribe to a monthly current affairs magazine and read it religiously, eg: Arihant Competition in Focus.

Elementary Mathematics

• Despite being the easiest subject on the paper, it is the most feared.
• Don’t spend too much time on modules but solve all past year papers several times.
• Spend one hour a day on it.
• Do not spend more than a minute or minute and a half on a question.
• Learn to get to the answer using tricks rather than lengthy process.
• Invest time practising more problems from past year papers, mocks, modules every day.

Legal Aptitude

• Read theory ONLY from the modules.
• Do NOT read bare acts, there is no need to go deep into the law.
• Solve questions from past year papers and mocks to know the pattern.
• It has the highest marks and only a finite number of questions, two hours a day for 3-4 months is enough to deal with every possible question.
• Trust your gut and go with the first answer you think is right.

Logical Reasoning

• The key to scoring well is solving as many questions as you can daily.
• There should be no element of surprise in the paper, you must have attempted every type of question in your preparation.
• Solve questions for 1 hour every day and 2 hours on a weekend from Universal’s logical reasoning for CLAT.
• Try to grasp the pattern of questions that repeat themselves from the past year papers.
• Attempt this section with a fresh mind, either first or second.

Key points to remember

• There is a negative marking of 0.25 for every wrong answer.
• The paper is a multiple choice objective type paper.
• There are 200 questions of 1 mark each.
• The duration of the exam is 2 hours.

Here is our database of CLAT preparation tips.