Students’ Speak: Top tips to prepare for CLAT 2020

By: Diwakar Goel

Personally, I would encourage everyone to study at home only. Just keep your pace, work hard, work smart. Solving the previous years is very very important, says Diwakar Goel.

The rise in scope of law in the country, many students aspire to crack Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and make it to the top National Law Universities (NLUs). With the change in pattern this year, the exam will evaluate an aspirant’s comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities.

English Language	28-32 questions, 20% of the paper
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge	35-39 questions, 25% of the paper
Legal Reasoning	35-39 questions, 25% of the paper
Logical Reasoning	28-32 questions,  20% of the paper
Quantitative Techniques	13-17 questions, 10% of the paper

To prepare for CLAT you can take coaching. The best time to start with coaching would be from Class 12 or a crash course which is usually three months before the exams. CLAT can also be prepared by studying at home. One needs to invest 8-10 hrs of efficient studying per-day if they are preparing in the last few months and by himself. There are some widely recommended books for CLAT preparation:

English and Comprehension	Merriam Webster and Word Power made Easy
GK and current affairs	The Hindu/gktoday.in/Manorama’s yearbook
Mathematics	RS Aggrawal’s Quantitative Aptitude
Legal Reasoning and Legal Aptitude	Have an Idea of Constitution of India and Indian Penal Code, general principles of law of Torts and Law of Contracts. Prepare Legal Maxims by downloading the app from Playstore or any website.
Logical Reasoning	R S Aggrawal

The candidates can also use the help of Arihant’s comprehensive CLAT preparation books or buy coaching material.

Going through the pattern and sample questions that have been uploaded on the CLAT website is not difficult. The number of questions have been reduced from 200 to 150. The questions are primarily based on comprehension only and thus improving reading speed is very important. Again, there are many apps available like spreeder which help in improving reading and comprehension speed. If your reading speed is slow, you can lag behind the whole exam and would not be able to complete the exam. The sample question paper uploaded on the CLAT website is just a piece of cake and one wouldn’t agree that all the bulky books are really needed.

Personally, I would encourage everyone to study at home only. Just keep your pace, work hard, work smart. Solving the previous years is very very important. Since the pattern has changed so much, it is important to solve the last year question paper, attempt the sample paper uploaded online. Just by doing this one will observe that the difficulty of the exam has been drastically reduced and therefore cutoff can reach skyhigh.

Nevertheless, one should believe in oneself, and prepare with a relaxed mind. Do not rush at things, and try to understand the things patiently. This will reduce stress and help in understanding things.

About the Author:

Diwakar Goel is a fifth-year BA LLB student at University School of Law and Legal Studies of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. He writes and guides students planning to pursue law.