How to Prepare for CLAT?

The CLAT exam was designed specifically to measure the academic skills needed for Legal education, and the test contains several question formats unique to the CLAT exam. At a minimum, you should be familiar with the test format and question formats before you sit for the test.  Because the CLAT exam is a timed exam, you should practice answering test questions not only to better understand the question formats and skills they require, but also to help you learn to pace yourself so you can finish each section when you sit for the exam.

Because the exam measures reasoning rather than subject matter knowledge, you most likely will not find it helpful to memorize facts. You do not need to study advanced English vocabulary or legal maxim or mathematical concepts, but you should be sure your grasp of legal language so that you can interpret the questions and apply the logic. Likewise, you do not need to study advanced vocabulary words, but you should have a firm understanding of basic English vocabulary and grammar for reading, writing and reasoning.

1.1               CLAT Exam Format

The CLAT exam consists of five sections. The test generally starts with English section, but as such there is no fixed order of the section. So far, CLAT has not been conducted with a jumbled section as well.  The format is mentioned below:

Total Marks	200
Total number of multiple-choice questions of one mark each	200
Duration of examination	Two Hours
Subject areas with weightage:
English including Comprehension	40 Marks
General Knowledge/ Current Affairs	50 Marks
Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability)	20 Marks
Legal Aptitude	50 Marks
Logical Reasoning	40 Marks

Note: There shall be a system of Negative Marking wherein 0.25 mark will be deducted for each of the wrong answers to multiple choice questions.

1.2               General Test-Taking Suggestions

Specific test taking strategies for individual question types are presented later in each material. The following are the general suggestions to help you perform your best on the test.

1.       Use your time wisely.

Although the CLAT exam stresses on accuracy- due to negative marking introduced from 2013- it is important to use your time wisely. On average, you will have 0.60minutes i.e., 36 seconds for each question. But actually the exam is not so fast as we imagined. In general, students attempt 140-150 questions in two hours with differing pace. The pace for GK section may very high, in which you may complete the entire section in less than 10 minutes! While in legal section, you generally take 1-1.5 minutes per question. For couple of questions, you may require more than 2-3 minutes per question.  Therefore, use your time wisely  and vary your speed depending upon the questions at hand.

2.       Read all test directions carefully.

The directions explain exactly what is required to answer each question type. If you read hastily, you may miss important instructions and lower your score.

3.       Read each question carefully and thoroughly.

Before you answer a question, determine exactly what is being asked then select the best choice. Never skim a question or possible answer; skimming may cause you to miss important information or nuances.

4.       Do not spend too much time on any one question.

If you do not know the correct answer, or if the question is too time-consuming, try to eliminate choices you know are wrong, select the best of the remaining answer choices, and move on to the next question. Not completing the paper and randomly guessing answers to questions at the end can significantly lower your score. As long as you have seen most of the questions, you will not be in a position to justify time spent on a particular question. There may be easier questions available at the end of the test. So focus on your speed and read all your questions.