CLAT PG is one of India’s most acclaimed legal examinations for admission to the one-year PG course at various National Law Universities. With over 10,000 applicants taking this test in 2023, the degree of competitiveness of the exam is steadily rising with each passing year.
The CLAT PG exam is held every year to admit eligible candidates to the LLM program offered by the 22 participating NLUs, and only the top 5% of the total candidates are selected for various national law schools, so a student must have the correct strategy toward the exam and its preparation in order to be on this list. As a result, it is vital to plan for the test strategically.
Read this post to get acquainted with some interesting tips to clear CLAT PG 2024!
The CLAT Consortium expects students to be well-versed in a variety of critical disciplines covered in law school. To have an advantage over others, a student must understand the legal intricacies and provisions of important law disciplines such as constitutional law, corporate law, the criminal procedure code, jurisprudence, and so on. With almost one year before the test, students must make the most of their time and study well for this particular exam.
When preparing for CLAT PG 2024, the following recommendations should be followed:
- Dissecting the syllabus : Understanding the syllabus is the first and most critical step in studying for any test. The CLAT PG syllabus is available on the Consortium’s official website, so anyone planning to take the exam in 2023 should compile a list of all the key courses that will be assessed.
- Review the past years’ papers: Because the new pattern has only been recently introduced, knowledge of the previous year’s question paper is required. Knowing the previously asked patterns, themes, and problems is essential for creating a roadmap regarding your preparation strategy. You will quickly determine the weight of each topic and can then plan accordingly. Here’s an estimate of the weightage of various topics based on previous years’ questions:
- 6-7 Constitutional Amendments
- 4-5 Criminal Law Passages
- Several passages of jurisprudence
- Several passages from international law
- 1-2 Passages Concerning the Environment
- Torts/company law/tax law/labor laws/IPR, etc.: 1-2 passages
- Any other recently mentioned legislation JJ/POCSO/Passages 0–2
- Check your basics: All applicants should go over their basic concepts in all areas of law, such as jurisprudence, torts, contracts, family law, constitutional law, criminal law, and so on before moving on to giving more time for topics in which they’re weaker.
- Keep up with current affairs: Candidates are encouraged to stay up to speed on all legal happenings in the nation, such as the delivery of judgements, the passing of legislation, or the changing of laws, among other things.
- Cover important cases: You should begin reading and noting down the decisions once you have a firm grasp on the theory. You should be able to differentiate between which cases are important to be remembered and which aren’t. Ideally, you should complete all of the landmark decisions from the previous year.
- Read, re-read and revise: No amount of studying will be productive unless time is spent reviewing and understanding what has previously been taught and read. You should also allot time to re-read and revise key concepts.
- Increase your reading speed : Because the entire test is based on comprehension and includes long passages, candidates must develop a reading habit to improve their reading speed. Mock Exams are used to practise for exams. Mock exams must be taken by all students anytime they have the chance to examine and improve their speed, knowledge, and performance.
- Note-taking: Candidates should develop the practise of taking notes on landmark and current judgements, writing down all relevant information such as the bench strength, the legislation in question, the problems involved, the precedents mentioned, and the court’s judgement.
- Mocks based on the most recent pattern: It is critical to practise mocks based on the most current pattern. Mocks provide a much-needed competitive edge to the preparation. Taking a mock test based on the pattern yields a score, which builds confidence while also helping you see the areas of concern.
To prepare for the LLM CLAT entrance tests, you can read the following books:
- Ascent’s Law Guide for LLM Entrance Exam by Ashok Jain
- LLM Solved Papers by Singhal Law Publications
- Handbook for LLM Entrance Exam by Singhal Law Publications
- Gaurav Mehta’s The Universal Guide to LLM Entrance Exam
- P.M. Bakshi’s Indian Constitution
- Law of Torts by R.K. Bangia
- PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law
- I.P. Massey, Administrative Law
What should I (or shouldn’t I) study?
It is often assumed that CLAT PG is totally judgment-based. However, If you closely examine past year’s exams, you will see that, although the questions are drawn from recent decisions, on average, 4-5 questions in the passage are wholly act-based. Now you must select if you want to answer those 4–5 questions or follow the instances.
You should be acquainted with the basics of the following subjects as well as the back of your right hand :
- Constitution of India
- Indian Penal Code
- Code of Criminal Procedure
- The Indian Contract Act
- Hindu Law and Muslim Personal Law
- Indian Evidence Act
If you finish this much along with the books I have mentioned above, you will have a really solid foundation, and this is when you should begin trying mocks. In a moderate mock, you will easily score 65-70.
All the best!