This Is How I Secured AIR 3 In CLAT: A Realistic Prep Strategy

CLAT or the Common Law Admission Test is an entrance exam for admission into 22 National Law Universities. I scored an All India Rank 3 in the 2021 exam and I am sharing with you a short prep guide based on my experience, which began with enrolling at Heritage Experience Learning, a coaching institute to help me prepare for the exam.

To Start Off

I suggest you attempt the sample papers and past papers (especially the ones for 2020 and 2021). These are available on the official website. Doing this will give you an idea of the questions that are usually asked in the final CLAT examination.

English

The English section mostly contains comprehension-based questions. To go through the questions (not the options) before reading the passage is a good technique. Then, you can read the passage with the questions in mind. While speed is important, it is quite useless if you don’t understand what you read. Avoid re-reading, so read carefully.

I prepared by solving comprehension questions from SAT and GMAT. I suggest you focus on these. Grammar isn’t of much significance for the exam. Having a good vocabulary is useful. You master the language by reading Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. Reading the book might be difficult in the weeks leading to the exam. Not to worry, you can discern the meaning of the words asked from the context in which they are used in the paragraph.

General Knowledge (GK)

This section requires an understanding of the significant events reported in the press in recent months. You can avoid insignificant information found in many compendiums available online. Static GK isolated from current events is not important for the exam.

To illustrate, the exam would not expect you to remember all the parts of the Constitution. However, you might be asked which part of the Constitution is devoted to “Official Language” in light of the recent debates on ‘national’ language.

Skipping the passage and answering the questions directly can save time. Most often, the answers to the questions are not in the passage.

I made it a habit to read The Hindu and the ‘Explained’ section present in the Indian Express app. Only news of national and global significance is relevant. Feel free to ignore partisan political news and celebrity gossip. Editorials of newspapers can provide an understanding of the topics of contemporary importance. Read them with an inquisitive mind and try to learn more about the issues covered. Feel free to use Wikipedia.

The monthly compendiums from my coaching institute were very useful for the prep. Try to remember the important days of the month, new policies announced by the government, national level awards etc. I suggest against using yearbooks since they are often outdated by the time of the exam. Moreover, I would advise against using too many resources.

Legal Reasoning

In this section, apply the principles provided in the passage to various fact situations. Stick to the principles provided and do not bring in your previous knowledge. However, you might need to know a few legal terms to understand the passage.

My preparation for this section was restricted to solving mock papers from earlier CLAT exams. While solving the questions, write down why you chose an answer and eliminated the rest.

Logical Reasoning

This section contains passage-based Critical Reasoning questions. CLAT does not focus on analytical reasoning as it did previously. Read up on what this is. The GMAT Official Guide can introduce you to the concept of critical reasoning. I relied on the questions in this book for my preparation. While answering the question, write down why you chose to eliminate the options you did. If you get the answer wrong, read the explanation provided.

Quantitative Aptitude

Brush up on basic math concepts you learned till 10th grade including percentage, average, speed, ratio, proportions and area. I focussed on data interpretation questions available online. These require you to solve problems based on numerical information set out in passages, graphs, tables, etc.

Mock Tests

I did regular mock tests, almost daily before the exam. Time yourself while you take them and complete the entire test. Reasoning out where you went wrong is as important as doing the test itself.

Attempt the different sections in a set order. When the time allotted for a particular section runs out, skip to the next one. You may come back to it in the end. The strategy I followed is:

1. GK (about 5 mins.)

2. English (20-25 mins.)

3. Quantitative Aptitude (about 10 mins.)

4. Legal Reasoning (30 mins.)

5. Logical Reasoning (20-25 mins.)

Eliminating options and narrowing down to the answer is a great technique.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a memory focused exam. It is critical that you keep your head cool.

Best of luck!