How to prepare for CLAT 2024 – Strategy Plan to Crack the Exam

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a nationwide examination administered by the National Law Universities (NLUs) for admittance to undergrad and postgrad law programmes at India’s academic institutions. To prepare for CLAT, the test is conducted annually, typically in the month of May, and is a pen and paper-based test. The exam measures a student’s understanding of English, General Awareness and Current Events, Arithmetic Aptitude, Law Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability.

The CLAT UG (Undergraduate) is for admission to the five-year integrated LLB program, while the CLAT PG (Postgraduate) is for admission to the LLM program. The test is conducted in multiple languages, such as English, Hindi, and some regional languages.

prepare for CLAT

Exam Pattern and prepare for CLAT-2024

The CLAT Exam Pattern 2024 for UG and PG exams has been The Consortium of NLUs published it on its online webpage. Regarding the year 2024, there aren’t any new modifications to the CLAT Exam Pattern. The Consortium of NLUs published it on its online webpage. Regarding the year 2024, there aren’t any new modifications to the CLAT Exam Pattern.

The exam is conducted for a duration of 2 hours, and the questions in the CLAT Question Paper are MCQ-based questions based on comprehension.

Candidates receive one point for each viable response and 0.25 point one per incorrect answer.

The UG question paper is divided into 5 sections and consists of 150 questions in total pertaining to the following disciplines:

English Language, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.

The weightage of each section in the UG exam is different and is as follows:

  • (20%) English Linguistic
  • Current Events (25%)
  • (25%) Legal Argument
  • (20%) Rational Analysis
  • Numerical Approaches (10%).

CLAT Syllabus 2024 for UG exams-

English Language: Vocabulary and Grammar

Current Affairs: Politics, awards, and honors, climate, etc., of India and the world, and Static General Knowledge

Legal Reasoning: Awareness related to current legal and moral issues.

Logical Reasoning: Inferences, Cause & Effect, Relationships, Analogies, Syllogism, Premise & Conclusion.

Quantitative Techniques: Ratio and Proportion, Basic Algebra, Mensuration, and Statistical Estimation

The CLAT PG Exam is an offline examination that is conducted in a pen-and-paper format.

The Question Paper for PG Exam will consist of 120 questions that will be divided into two sections: Constitutional Law- 60 questions and Other Law- 60 questions.

In terms of the grading system, right answers receive one mark, while incorrect responses receive -0.25 marks for each erroneous answer.

Syllabus to prepare for CLAT 2024 for PG Exam-

Administration Law, Contracts, Tort law, Family Law, Criminal Procedure, Patent Law, Corporate Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, and Environment Law, Labor & Industry Law.

Who can take CLAT-2024?

Nationality:
  • Candidates must be nationals of India.
  • NRI aspirants are also qualified to apply for the test.
  • NRI may directly reach participating institutions to establish admission procedures for overseas candidates.
Age Criteria:
  • Age Limit: There will be no higher age limit to apply for CLAT 2024
  • Eligibility Test for Graduate Course (UG): Candidates must have a high school/middle school diploma or an equivalent qualification from an approved board from the 10+2 education system.
  • Minimum score: Candidates must obtain at least 45% of the overall score; if they are in the SC/ST category, they must obtain at least 40%.
  • Candidates who have appeared: Students who take the qualifying test in March/April 2024 are also eligible to apply. During admission, these applicants must show documentation of passing the qualifying exam.
  • Postgraduate (PG) programme Eligibility Exam: Candidates must have a 5-year Bachelor’s of Laws degree or an integrated Bachelor of Law degree from an approved institution, as defined by the participating universities.
  • Minimum Score: Applicants must get a minimum of 50% (45% for candidates from SC/ST groups). Candidates who have appeared: Candidates who take the qualifying test in April/May 2024 are also eligible to apply.
  • Candidates who have taken extra tests may apply as well, but they must pass the additional test and provide confirmation of exam eligibility.

CLAT-2024 Preparation Tips

Plan the syllabus carefully, focusing on easier topics that are more likely to be asked.

Examples of such topics include-

  • United Nations Bodies (GK), Significant Awards (Current Affairs), Legal Maxims (Legal Aptitude), Criminal Law questions (Legal Aptitude), Navigation Problems (Logical Reasoning), Blood
  • Relations (Logical Reasoning), Differential and Proportion (Mathematics), Percents (Mathematics), Cloze Test (English), and Idiomatic expressions and Phrases (English) General Knowledge or Current Affairs: It is not necessary or practical to study from UPSC-level books or all NCERT textbooks of Class VI to X; instead, consider signing up for a good coaching program.
  • Logical Reasoning: If a certain topic is hard to study or understand, it may be better to skip it and focus on easy and high-scoring topics.
  • Mathematics: focus on traditional favorites such as Time, Speed & Distance, Time & Work, and Ratio & proportion, rather than getting worried about new topics that are likely to be only a few questions in the exam.
  • English: Reading Comprehension is important, but don’t neglect easy marks that can be scored in Idioms & Phrases.
  • The topics mentioned above are from the point of view where if needed, your focus should shift to the more important areas of study. This, in no way, insinuates that you should not go into thorough studying of all the topics.
  • Utilize remaining time efficiently by dedicating as much time as possible to hard work and efficient studies.
  • The CLAT exam is all about time management and speed. You must be a quick analyzer and responder if you want to complete the exam in time. Here, taking a mock test, self-testing, and working on a timed schedule can be your saviors. Some top private Universities also provide admission in law like GHRU.

Conclusion

The CLAT exam is a big achievement for aspiring law students all over India because if a good rank is secured, it can help them get admission to one of India’s finest chain of law institutions, i.e., the NLUs. Once you manage to get a good rank, it’s smooth sailing from there on.

It is a commonly believed faith or rather a fact that NLUs produce corporate lawyers. This, however, is not true in any scenario because once you get into it, you can navigate your own path as a lawyer. You must visit GHRU University and try this mock test endlessly to increase your preparation level.