The Common Law Admission Test is indeed considered one of the highly competitive exams in India. Students from all over India compete to enter the prestigious National Law Universities in different parts of the nation. In the past years, it has been observed that the CLAT question papers, even though objective in nature, require students to understand and analyze passages in all the sections to answer further objective questions.
Attempting to answer the questions based on the passages is considered simple yet a bit tricky and confusing for the students. This is because the options given for the objective questions are closely proximate to each other, and the students get confused as to which is the accurate or appropriate answer. Before looking into how to prepare for the exam let us try to understand the weightage of each section of the CLAT question paper.
WEIGHTAGE FOR EACH SECTION
The CLAT question paper can be divided into 5 sections:
- English
- General Knowledge and Current Affairs
- Legal Reasoning
- Logical Reasoning
- Critical Thinking/ Quantitative Exercise
- English – 28 to 32 questions of the CLAT UG question paper are based on English literature, which constitutes about 20 percent of the question paper, this section contains excerpts or passages from novels or articles and the questions would be to test your grammatical knowledge, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
- General Knowledge and Current Affairs – 35 to 39 questions are based on general knowledge and current affairs, which constitutes about 25 percent of the question paper. This section contains passages from recent international and national news articles, news excerpts or editorial content from newspapers and authentic magazines, and passages based on history, geography, science, etc, The questions would be to test your knowledge on recent or contemporary issues as well as your basic general knowledge in various subjects.
- Legal Reasoning – 35 to 39 questions are based on basic legal subjects, which also constitute about 25 percent of the CLAT question paper. This section tests your legal knowledge, and your skill in applying legal principles to situations this includes legal subject areas such as contract law, law of torts, criminal law, etc, It further checks your legal aptitude through passages from landmark or recent judgments.
- Logical Reasoning – This section also constitutes around 20 percent of the CLAT question paper. The passages and the questions under logical reasoning mainly are based on number sequences, pattern recognition, syllogisms, evaluation of arguments, logical fallacies, and analogies.
- Quantitative Techniques – 13 to 17 questions are based on quantitative techniques, it constitutes around 10 percent of your question paper. This section tests your basic mathematical skills which also includes data interpretation.
This weightage and content might slightly vary from year to year, and fun fact at times the passage from the English section might feel like it belongs more in the section of G.K and Current Affairs. The information about the weightage is not to be understood as to take unwanted pressure, but the same should be analyzed to help you strategize your preparation and also to facilitate in your time management.
TIPS TO UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION PAPER
- The first and foremost tip every CLAT aspirant must know is that they should read and understand the question properly. The only objective is not only to finish the exam in 2 hours but also to give accurate answers as there is negative marking as well. We must understand what exactly the question is asking to identify the correct option.
- As mentioned above the weightage of various sections is not just to study for the exam accordingly, but it also helps the students in identifying their strong areas and allocating time in such a manner that they can complete the paper within 2 hours. Students feel that mathematics requires more time, and they keep doing it until they get the answer thinking other sections they have to just read and find answers. But this is not always true. Therefore it is always necessary to manage your time accordingly.
- The options for certain questions would not be directly available in the passage or might even be confusing, eliminate incorrect options to increase your chances of selecting the correct answer. This strategy can help you narrow down the options and make a more informed decision.
- Even though it is easier said than done, it is still a requirement to maintain a calm and composed mind-set to think clearly and make rational decisions. Avoid getting anxious or stressed, as this can cloud your judgment and impede your performance.
- Last but never least as always said, students need not feel dejected that the above-mentioned tips cannot be executed from the first day itself, because it takes effort and practice for any person to perfect themselves. Keep practicing consistently, it will boost your confidence and reduce your stress and pressure in attempting the CLAT exam.