Why?

Wednesday, August 8, 2012, 15:00

By : Anindita Mukherjee

Hello! It feels good to write for CLAT Gyan! The reason why I haven’t for so long (Mind you, it was a tough task; I belong to the class of people that generally likes blabbering.) is that I really haven’t any Gyan to give when it comes to CLAT. My CLAT preparation was, as per all that you’re being asked to do, grossly inadequate.

“Why this article, then?”

Well, because with high tension preparation for one test that does, to some degree, mould the path that one’s life takes comes an inevitable questioning of oneself and one’s abilities. I distinctly remember feeling like an absolute git when I just didn’t arrive at the same answers as were held to be correct, be it in logical reasoning or legal reasoning.

So, this little post; just to tell you that everyone ends up with some skewed logic for something at some point in time. It’s alright. If you think off track more often than not, it’s still alright! If you find that an explanation to a question doesn’t conform to what’s going on in your head, ASK. I know that sounds obvious on first reading, but often one finds that you read an explanation knowing that it’s probably right so you try to conform to that explanation. Unless you get what you’re thinking cleared (and you never know, sometimes you may be right and the explanation wrong) you’re not going to remember what the logical approach to some sort of problem is. Question the given answer, even if they say that it’s the right answer.

The same goes with English. A comprehension passage is necessarily subjective. If everyone understood the same thing from a sentence, literature would be so darned boring. So if you understand something from a passage while the ‘right’ answer is ‘different’: question!

It works with GK too… Don’t learn up facts, learn stories. It’s easier that way. When you come across some fact that you think is important, look it up. Then look up things that have a direct correlation to it. Then things that have a direct correlation to the new facts that you come across. Do it until you’re convinced that even if you forget the fact itself, various different connections will cause you to be able to pick out right answers during that crucial test. For example: The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is Baroness Catherine Ashton. This was a question in CLAT 2010. Some might have known in because they’d read this fact. I could answer it because, while reading about the European Union, I stumbled upon the Lisbon Treaty which linked me to the newly established post of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy which further told me that the post was occupied by Baroness Ashton. Did I remember all of this during the exam? No. All I did remember was that the person occupying the post had short hair. Would that matter in case of a man where it’s all too normal? No. So it must be a woman occupied position. There was only one option that named a woman. Tadaa! So, you see, random things count!

Please don’t be disheartened if you’re not arriving at the right answers! Question the answer, and stop only when you’re convinced. This might sound horribly didactic, but please don’t even dream of mugging up for CLAT. If you painstakingly understand everything that you’re doing, and it may seem like a horrible idea because it takes a lot of time, it IS going to help you. Especially, if you do Torts well for legal reasoning, you’ll notice that one subject in your first semester becomes that much easier! Look! Post CLAT perks, already!

With that heartening bit of news, I shall bid you adieu.

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17 Responses to “Why?”

sabika said on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 17:37

the real problem is that when i finish reading about some high and mighty name and try to remember it, it just slips from the mind after some days which is what makes g.k. soo difficult…

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PigOnWings said on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 17:51

Haha! I totally get where you’re coming from. Three things that help (and they’re mentioned in the introductory article on GK, if I’m not mistaken):
1. Make weird/funny/relevant connections. I’ll give you one example. Do you know what the Malimath Committee was set up to do? I tried learning it up: “Malimath Committee: Reforms of Criminal Justice System”… It really didn’t work.
Now I’ll remember the Malimath committee forever. The connection being: Reforms in the Indian Criminal justice system are as likely as a ‘mali’ (gardener) doing math. It’s a stupid connection (and a cynical one) but it helps me remember. Try things like this.
2. Discuss with friends.
3. Revise. And don’t think that you’ll revise once the night before the test and it’ll work. Revisit what you’ve studied at regular intervals and you’ll remember. =)

Besta luck!

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Prayank Jain Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:33 AM
mm….mali doing math!!

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Sidhant Chandalia said on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 19:14

And you say you dont have gyan to give! Amazing and refreshing post.

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Vishal Tripathi said on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 19:39

@Anindita: Thanks for summing all that up in a wonderful post! I think I know exactly what you mean
Thanks again!

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PigOnWings said on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 20:24

Sidhant and Vishal, thank you!

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Paaras said on Thursday, November 25, 2010, 10:45

Why do you call yourself ‘PigOnWings’ ? O_o
:p

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PigOnWings said on Thursday, November 25, 2010, 11:01

Hehe, it’s one of those silly idosyncrasies.
I like pigs, and I like the idea of them flying (making the impossible possible…yah di dah).
Hence, the name. =D

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De San said on Thursday, November 25, 2010, 19:42

Ninni on fire……….Go Ninni

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Paaras said on Saturday, November 27, 2010, 5:39

Naaice. :p

And yeah, the post, brilliant.

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Aj said on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 12:20

Such a nice post.
And it’s actually full of real Gyan.

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Pragalbh said on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 12:37

Loved it. :)
For GK ”…don’t learn up facts, learn stories.” – This method, in truth, is easier!

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Ankita Reply:
December 20th, 2011 at 10:28 PM
really, last year it seemed horrendous to me but now when I am learning it as stories I love to say “I feel good”.

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Prayank Jain said on Friday, December 23, 2011, 5:35

This post was based on truth and reality
not everyone gets the answers right
thanks for the motivation :-}

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VATSLA SINGH said on Thursday, August 9, 2012, 13:41

GIRL…..THE TRICKS AS SUCH WORK WITH CLAT ONLY….

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Shreya said on Thursday, August 9, 2012, 20:28

I am new to this site, I was waiting to catch a new fresh article and yours, was just what I needed.!
Also, i totally agree with your opinions on it.
Gk can’t be mugged up, you know half of the things which I am able to answer are just because I ended up reading them in some or the other magazine.
The other half, well end up digging deep into the story and come out with more facts then what I was asked.
It is time consuming but it feels so good that you know so much about things and well a lawyer needs to know more then he /she is asked of.
Thank you anindita.
I am sure, I’ll come across more such interesting articles and learn up more such things:)

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ilma said on Friday, August 10, 2012, 21:29

guys study as hard as possible and as much as possible…dont leave any thing…even in gk study all the static as well as current…dont take any chance,wen it coms to clat…ol d bst n dont wait for last moment,put ur heart n soul 2 studiz nw…

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