The CLAT is not just a law entrance exam. It is ‘the law entrance exam’ of the country-the most popular and also the toughest to crack. There are a total of 23 National Law Universities (NLUs) in India, out of which 22 NLUs consider CLAT scores for student intake in their undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The only exception being NLU, Delhi which conducts its own law entrance exam. Many reputed private law schools also consider CLAT scores. By the time you read this, CLAT 2021 will be over. If you are thinking about cracking CLAT 2024, the best time to start your preparation, with one year remaining, is now. However, before you begin your preparation, you need to first acquaint yourself with the CLAT syllabus and exam format.
CLAT Syllabus (Undergraduate)
UG-CLAT will focus on evaluating your comprehension and reasoning abilities. It has been designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for legal education. The Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) would be divided across the following subjects:
- English Language
- Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
- Legal Reasoning
- Logical Reasoning
- Quantitative Techniques
English Language
In the English Language section, you will be provided passages of around 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction or non-fiction writing. The standard of each passage will be such that a 12th standard student should be able to read it in 5 to 7 minutes.
Every passage will be followed by a series of questions that will test your comprehension and language skills, including your abilities to:
- Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage along with any arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage;
- Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage;
- Summarize the passage;
- Compare and contrast the arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage; and
- Understand the meaning of different words or phrases used in the passage.
Current Affairs including General Knowledge
In this section also, you will be provided passages of around 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news reports and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information related to the passage but would not require any additional knowledge of the law outside the passage.
Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will test your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:
- Significant contemporary events from India and around the world;
- Arts & Culture;
- International Affairs; and
- Historical events of continuing significance.
Legal Reasoning
As with the previous two sections, in this section also, there will be passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions, or moral philosophical inquiries. You will not need any prior knowledge of the law. However, you will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary moral or legal issues to apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.
Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:
- Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;
- Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and
- Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.
Logical Reasoning
The Logical Reasoning section will consist of short passages of around 300 words each. Every passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:
- Recognize an argument, its premises, and conclusions;
- Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage;
- Critically analyze patterns of reasoning and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises and evidence;
- Infer what follows from the passage and apply the inferences to new situations;
- Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and assess the effectiveness of arguments.
Quantitative Techniques
This section will include short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial, or diagrammatic representations of numerical information. This will be followed by a series of questions. You will have to derive information from these passages, graphs, or other representations and apply mathematical operations on such information. The questions will require you to:
- Derive, infer, and manipulate numerical information set out in such passages, graphs, or other representations; and
- Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration, and statistical estimation.
CLAT Syllabus and Exam Format
UG-CLAT Question Paper Format
| Maximum Marks | 120 |
| Duration of CLAT | 2 Hours |
| Multiple Choice Questions | 120 questions of one mark each |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 deducted for every wrong answer |
| Subject areas with weightage: | Approximate number of questions: |
| English Language | 22 to 26 questions or roughly 20% of the paper |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 28 to 32 questions or roughly 25% of the paper |
| Legal Reasoning | 28 to 32 questions or roughly 25% of the paper |
| Logical Reasoning | 22 to 26 questions or roughly 20% of the paper |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10 to 14 questions or roughly 10% of the paper |
CLAT Syllabus (Postgraduate)
PG-CLAT will be based on the mandatory subjects of the undergraduate program and include Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Company Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, Environmental Law, and Labour & Industrial Law. The test will test your comprehension abilities.
Objective Section
In this section, you will be provided extracts from primary legal materials such as important court decisions in various fields of law, statutes, or regulations. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate:
- The ability to read and comprehend the issues discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments or viewpoints, set out in the passage;
- Awareness of the issues discussed in the passage, as well as legal issues and facts relating to or arising out of the passage and the judgment and statute from which it has been extracted;
- Summarize the passage; and
- The ability to apply your knowledge of the fields of law discussed in the passage.
PG-CLAT Question Paper Format
| Maximum Marks | 120 |
| Duration of CLAT | 2 Hours |
| Multiple Choice Questions | 120 questions of one mark each |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 deducted for every wrong answer |
Conclusion
To give yourself the best chance to crack CLAT in these times, you should enroll in a good online law coaching center. Manu Law Classes offers a one year programme which can be taken on weekends as well if you are busy with your school studies during the week. The online coaching centre is currently offering 15 days of free trial classes along with resources and content. You can check it out.
You can follow Manu Law Classes YouTube Channel for Law Test Preparation Guide and more knowledge:
Coaching centers can add that extra edge to your preparation because for one, they are experienced, two, they can provide mentorship and three, they can provide the right kind of study material based on the latest syllabus. The CLAT syllabus and exam pattern described in this article are based on CLAT 2024. Ultimately, it’s your choice whether you want to join an online coaching center, and if yes, then which one?
Resources:
- https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/ug-syllabus.html
- https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/ug-question-format.html
- https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/pg-syllabus.html
- https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/pg-question-format.html
