Tips to crack CLAT examination

According to Arvind Mantry, Centre director, TIME, Chennai, “CLAT is conducted every year for admissions into the five-year integrated LLB course of the prestigious National Law Universities in India. This course is for Class 12 appearing/passed students. A student can also take AILET, SET, IPU-CET, UET (For BHULaw), LSAT for admission in the five-year integrated programme of other reputed colleges.” 

Over the years, the number of students appearing for CLAT has witnessed a steady rise. “About 45,000 law aspirants applied for the CLAT 2017, from across 20 cities in the country. This year, the number will may be around 50,000,” says Mantry. 

CLAT opens the doors to 18 National Law Universities in India, including the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru; National Academy of Legal Study and Research (NALSAR); University of Law, Hyderabad; National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur, etc. Mantry says the break-up of the question paper is logical.  

“The CLAT examination comprises of 200 multiple-choice questions, bringing the total score to 200 marks. Each right answer will carry 1 mark, while every wrong answer will result in a negative scoring of 0.25. The paper will be divided into five subject areas. 

English comprehension and logical reasoning will carry 40 marks each. General knowledge and legal aptitude carry 50 marks each. Elementary Mathematics will consist of 20 marks. Students will be allotted two hours to complete the examination,” he says. 

The CLAT is open to anybody looking to pursue a career in law “There is no upper-age limit for CLAT as the Supreme Court of India has stayed the notification of the Bar Council of India which had put an age-cap on the five-year and three-year LLB courses, including the revised notification which increased the age limit. 

With regard to the minimum marks in qualifying examination (Class 12), the candidates must have secured 45 per cent, in case of candidates belonging to unreserved /OBC /specially-abled persons (SAP) and other categories, and 40 per cent marks in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories,” adds Arvind Mantry.

Candidates who are appearing in the qualifying examination in March/April 2017 are also eligible for appearing in CLAT-2017 online examination. However, they will be required to produce an evidence of their passing the qualifying examination at the time of admission, failing which, they will lose their right to be considered for admission. 

While preparing for CLAT, students must first ensure that they get a complete understanding of the basic concepts. They need to build s strong case in significant topics. Students must then go through the appropriate study material and try to solve the examples (without looking into the solutions) and then refer to the solutions to compare their approach. 

They must solve all the test papers, working under a time limit and must focus on identifying any weaknesses in their preparation and take necessary steps to overcome those. Lastly, students should take adequate number of mock CLATs. The analysis will help them in evaluating themselves when compared to others.