Tips for attempting Quantitative Techniques Section CLAT 2020
By: Nishi Mallika
Tips for attempting Quantitative Techniques Section CLAT 2020
Let’s talk about how to approach the quantitative section of CLAT. I hope everyone is familiar with the no. of questions in different sections. But for reference, the paper format is highlighted for better understanding of the approach.
Maximum Marks: 150 (150 Multiple choice questions carrying 1 mark each with ¼ i.e., 0.25 negative marking for each wrong answer)
Duration of the CLAT exam: 2.00 hours i.e., 120 minutes.
Subject wise weightage(tentative):
- English Language: roughly 20% of the paper i.e., almost 30 questions
- Current Affairs, including General Knowledge: roughly 25% of the paper i.e., almost 37 questions
- Legal Reasoning: roughly 25% of the paper i.e., almost 37 questions
- Logical Reasoning: roughly 20% of the paper i.e., almost 30 questions
- Quantitative Techniques: roughly 10% of the paper i.e., almost 15 questions
The Consortium of NLUs haven’t defined a particular subject wise number of questions but the rough estimate has been given hence an approximate number of questions are mentioned above and they may vary by +2 or -2 in actual CLAT exam.
Strategy
Now as per previous year trends for a decent NLU one should score at least 70% i.e., 105 marks and if a candidate wants to play it safer then targeting 75-80% i.e., 120 marks is much more reasonable but obviously difficult to achieve.
Let’s assume that you want to score a decent 110-112 to secure a safe spot in the first round itself. For that score, you will need at least 70% questions in all the sections and 75-80% questions in your strongest section.
For a different candidate, different subjects will be strong points but what is your particular strong subject is something that you need to find out and focus on.
Make sure you nail your 2 strongest subjects.
Time Allocation
Now as per the above strategy and no. of questions, you will need to do time allocation. Ideally, one question should take one minute including 2 to 3 minutes extra involved in reading the passages and because negative marking will be done hence you can afford to attempt all the questions.
For particularly Quant section if you go with the above strategy then a minimum attempt would be 11 to 12 questions in not more than 15 minutes. With 15 questions in hand, one would expect 3 sets of 5 questions or 4 set or 5 set with 3 questions each.
Any combination can be expected but it’s not necessary that you can attempt all the sets. Being optimistic is good and might attempt all the sets but a candidate must manage his/her expectation as per the potential.
Also, as in the mock paper of the sections were pre-arranged in the order mentioned above i.e., English-Current affairs-Legal Reasoning-Logical Reasoning and lastly Quantitative Techniques, and once a section has been submitted you cannot go back and redo it hence time division in the beginning and 2 minutes buffer for each section review is a must.
This may change as per students feedback but more or so similar pattern is expected in the exam hence keep in mind the strategizing and time allocation part and give a mock(released on the official website on 17th July 2020) beforehand 2-3 times to familiarize yourself with the interface.
Now how to decide which set to opt for solving first and which one to leave for last?
Editor’s Note: The changes were made and section navigation as well as revisiting sections has been allowed in the mocks.
Set an order
Never and I repeat never just dive in to solve a set be it any subject, always make a habit of scanning the sets first, decide which one is easy for you to solve first, and give a hierarchy number to sets.
Know which one to solve initially and which one to go for at the end so that you never lose on the easily solvable set. Trust me loosing on a super easy set is most disheartening. If you have time in hand then only read the leftover set completely otherwise move on to your next subject.
Learn to let go of some questions
One question in a set might be difficult or you are not familiar with any particular concept but you know other questions of the set.
At that time your mind will play the trick that it is an easy set, just one question, just give 2 more minutes to it and then go for next set, but don’t fall for that one question because that one question can take as much time as solving two different easy questions that don’t even require that much effort and stress.
One week before exams just revise basics theory articles and tips for different concepts and relax. Whatever preparation you have done till then will automatically come in handy at the end, stressing and messing it up is a bad move.
Accuracy is the key
Also for all the subjects mark or note down extra sets that you might give an attempt if time is left in your hands but mark only when you are sure that the answer is right. ACCURACY is the key in MCQ papers where negative marking is involved.
Attempting 120 with 20 wrong questions is disadvantageous than attempting 110 with only 2-3 wrong.
Folks remember the saying greed is your biggest enemy. Always try to mark as many right answers than focusing on marking more wrong answers. You can follow the above order for all the subjects and practice the strategy on mock papers.
Note: If the order of sections or subjects is given then allocate time wisely and follow the rule of marking set order or if the subject sequence is not given (which is highly unlikely) you must plan which subject to solve first and then next and next.
[Different candidates follow different strategies like some wants to start easy subjects or easy sets and go for unfamiliar tough ones at a later stage, some follow the vice a versa approach. As per me both of them works but it depends on your speed and practice hence try both the approaches in mock papers and decide for yourself which one suits you the best.]
Summarising above suggestion three important pointers:
- Strategise and allocate your time as per your strengths and weaknesses.
- Scan the paper and decide question set order
- Focus on accuracy
In the end, it’s your chessboard, your game, how you plan to win it is in your hands.
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Aditya Anand
Contributing author
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