The CLAT paper has a section on Maths consisting of 20 marks. With the system of 1 mark per question, it means the paper has 20 maths questions. Compared to other sections, this is the smallest in the paper with only 10% weight in the paper. There exists a phobia among aspirants that this section is tough to score and that Mathematics is NOT their cup of tea.
This is largely related to the assumption that lawyers do not need maths for their work and therefore it should not even be a part of the examination. While there may be criticism or support to this statement, it is no reason to completely leave out preparation for a section of the paper.
The maths paper is perhaps the easiest of all the sections in the paper. With a fixed number of chapters, fixed type of questions and no need to solve the question in detail, it gets easy to score. However, many candidates give up their preparation with an assumption that they are not good at it and it costs them in the paper. 20 marks can take you from GNLU to NLSIU in a jiffy when the results come out.
Syllabus
- Number system
- HCF and LCM
- Approximation
- Ratio and proportion
- Logarithm
- Profit and Loss
- Interest Calculation
- Areas and Volumes
- Roots
- Decimals and Fractions
- Surds and Indices
- Average
- Discounts
This list is not exhaustive, there may be additional topics for the exam.
As the list suggests, there are 13 topics, even if we invest one whole day to one topic, the whole syllabus gets covered in a fortnight. There is absolutely nothing daunting about this section. Similar to logical reasoning, all maths asks is a constant practice.
How to prepare for Maths?
There is no secret to being efficient in maths. The good old ‘practice makes a man perfect’ applies in this section. There are a few things which can be included in the preparation regime to make it more efficient.
- Modules: This goes without saying but before you jump to any other method of preparation, you must be thorough with your modules. The module has chapters which come frequently in the CLAT examination. A complete sweep of the module will give you the basic foundation you need.
- Practice/Mock/Past Papers: This is very important for the maths section. While a good amount of practice is done by modules, these give you a taste of the level of questions that come in the exam. It also helps you develop a sense of the pattern of questions. It is important that you don’t get surprised by the questions in the examination.
- Reference Books: The reference books offer another set of practice but the real reason is the multiple ways they offer to solve the question. Since the paper is MCQ, there is no need to show your work.
- Youtube: There are several youtube channels that provide tips and tricks to solve maths questions. A few of them are dedicated to the CLAT exam. It is advised that once a week, you visit such pages.
- Formulae: Learn all the important formulae as you practice the chapters, it will save your time in the examination.
Do not spend more than 15 minutes on this section. There is no point going at a question for several minutes because not only will you waste time, the probability of getting it right also decreases.
Books to refer
- R.S Aggarwal Quantitative Aptitude
- Handbook of Mathematics by Arihant Publication
Read our one-page primer on CLAT preparation here.