CLATdoscope

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7 months and change. That is the amount of time left to You-Know-What.

This is probably the time of the CLAT year that one begins to hyperventilate, feel swamped by work, feel as if nothing has been accomplished and nothing ever will be. Time seems to be going by too fast and yet everything is at a standstill, preparation and progress trudging on at a snail’s pace. The weather is enunciated by frequent 30 second dance sessions and pity parties where the world is against you.

Stop the frenzy. Breathe. Think. Analyse.

Here are my two cents on the whole shebang, as a CLAT survivor.

For those writing the boards in 2018 as well, the next few weeks are probably the only time where you can dedicate your time towards bettering your CLAT chances. Soon, invariably, your focus on the boards will increase and CLAT will be pushed to the backburner. This can be dangerous. You could lose touch and your hard earned knowledge, proficiency, speed and accuracy could actually deteriorate. Even if your time is majorly concentrated on the board exams, do not completely turn a blind eye to the law entrance exams. Keep working on GK, stay up to date with current events. Solve a mock just for the sake of it or do a set of logic, legal or English questions instead. This is also a great way to take a break from the monotony of studying school subjects.

It is imperative that you take mocks regularly. (Do check out the CLATGyan Test Series, 2018!). However, the key is not to mindlessly and numbly take mocks and forget about it. Analyse the mocks till the cows come home. Go through the mock and the answer key repeatedly until you have gleaned every nugget of information about your performance that you possibly could have. Pin point your strengths and weaknesses, your accuracy rate and speed, your rank and your score. Use this data to create a tailor made action plan. Cross reference the various mocks you did and look for any patterns. Attempt the same mocks over and over to ensure you learn from your mistakes. And don’t keep the answer key in peeking distance, that hasn’t helped anybody. Don’t bend the rules with time either. The online format has only minimised any human error that could give you those precious extra few seconds. If anything the thing could malfunction and reduce the time you have.

It is crucial to solve past years’ papers. Not only does it help when the paper setters repeat the same questions, but it also prepares you to solve papers of any pattern, calmly.

Speaking of calm, do not give in to the panic. Not now and most certainly not from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the second Sunday of May, 2018.

Ensure you keep taking breaks and don’t blow a fuse. This is no time to burn out. Think Emma Watson, not Amanda Bynes.

And it breaks my heart to say this, but this is probably not the best time to get addicted to anything. And yes, I mean those beloved, alluring, television shows. I know the coming episode of Suits in January has everyone on edge, but there will be plenty of time to watch that while you are procrastinating in law school instead of working on your paper that is due the next day. Just kidding, I totally study all the time.

Remember, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to studying for anything, much less an entrance exam as temperamental and sadistic as CLAT. Figure out what works best for you.

Keep working hard, the finish line is in sight, and we at CLATGyan are cheering the hardest.

May the odds be ever in your favour.

Aishwarya Birla
CLAT 2015 – AIR 64
Class of 2020, NALSAR University of Law.

 

23 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Aishwarya. I have just started my preparation. I am confused about the Study material that i should use for clat 2016. please tell me what study material/books (segregated for all the topics plzz) should i refer to to crack it. I am just reading the hindu newspaper. which magazine should i use to cover past month current affairs. my brother says use Pratiyogita Darpan.

    • Hi! This is a list of material I used along with what others have recommended to me.  I strongly recommend consulting your teachers as well as others who have attempted CLAT previously.

      G.K.- The Hindu,  CLATGyan Compendiums, Pratiyogita Darpan, Current Affairs Digest, Pearson, Manorama Year Book and a lot of googling.

      English- Past years papers’, Word Power Made Easy, Wren & Martin, coaching modules and a lot of eclectic reading (newspaper reading also helps here).

      Math- Past years’ papers, coaching modules, and various math reference books for CBSE and ICSE (Class X level).

      Logical Reasoning- Past years’ papers, coaching material and random questions I found online.

      Legal Aptitude- Past years’ papers, coaching material, AP Bhardwaj (beware, solutions are often incorrect).

      So as you can see, past years’ papers were the Holy Grail for me. But definitely do ask around.

      Hope it helps!

      • hi, in
        AP bharadwaj’s book on legal awareness and reasoning i’ ve solved those 1000 mcq on constitution and then realised there were lot of wrong answers, have i got my self into trouble
        ?

        • Hmm as long as you have learnt the right method of solving, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Try and confirming the answers either online (google the question) or with your CLATGyan mentor or with your coaching instructors (if you have any).
          Same with Legal GK, try and find other sources or recheck the given answers.

    • Hi!
      So for English reading the editorial sections of newspapers and solving past years’ papers is extremely helpful.
      Also practise mocks to help with speed and sequencing of questions.
      I hear Wren & Martin is also considered to be of use.
      Most importantly, read a lot, and read everything you deem helpful from novels to articles and magazines.

  2. Thanks! You motivated me a lot! I was seriously procrastinating till now! I haven’t studied a lot. My accuracy is pretty good (if given time 150/200, without studying anything) but my speed is very slow. I am not even able to attempt more than 150 questions and in trying to solve the paper with high speed, I do many stupid mistakes. I just wanted to know, how much time should I be giving to each section ideally. Please reply ASAP!
    Thanks! 

    • Hi! This is a good score, it shows that your knowledge isn’t completely lacking despite your procrastinating. 
      There isn’t any ideal time limit per section. It truly depends on your strengths and weaknesses, your approach, anxiety, scope of scoring etcetera. However, a rough limit could be-
      GK 10 minutes
      English 25 minutes
      Legal Aptitude 40 minutes
      Logical Reasoning 25 minutes
      Math 20 minutes

      Thisnis what I ended up spending. But please do personalise it to your needs.

      I strongly recommend practising as many mocks as possible, strictly adhering to the time limit. 

      Hope it helps 🙂

  3. Hi this is Ankita 
    Actualy last year I gave clat but could not clear this year I am preparing for clat but dont know what if again pattern changes. I am just screwed up with static gk and current affairs also logic and maths. Till the time I solve R.s. Agarwal I am okay but when I give sectional test I am screwed up. Also how do I prepare maths and english because those are the only two sections that I haven’t even touched yet. It would be really great if you could help me thank you.

  4. thank u for motivating at this point of time:)
    but i have completed solving reasoning books but still while answering mocks i get nervous and make mistakes and waste time. All this results in a lot of rush for other sections and hence i score 71/200 in CLAT mock….which is very depressing at this point of time. pl guide  

  5. thank you
    legal is my stron side and i had a good work on for months but when i comes for mocks i cant score more than 30 but when i solve previous years paper i get 42 marks ie in the mocks of prominent coaching institutes i cant get get a good mark but can in previous papers
    WHAT CAN I DO

  6. thank you
    I am not good with error correction and jumbled sentences in english, also my critical reasoning is poor. What should I do to improve?

  7. Its just feels good to see a post from CLATGYAN on such things… It soothes nd calms us .. nd I always think why the post ended It feels amazing to keep reading
    Thanx a lot AISHWARYA !!!

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