CLAT 2018: What to Expect : The Tribune India

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CLAT 2018: What to Expect

CLAT 2018 has already thrown surprises by changing its interface twice within a span of 10 days, just two weeks before the exam! Initially, the demo test provided to help students acquaint themselves with the changed interface didn’t have any tabs to select sections. Tabs were introduced, as a down, just a week before CLAT. Many aspirants have been left baffled, while dreading what lies in store for them on May 13.

CLAT 2018: What to Expect

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CLAT 2018 has already thrown surprises by changing its interface twice within a span of 10 days, just two weeks before the exam! Initially, the demo test provided to help students acquaint themselves with the changed interface didn’t have any tabs to select sections. Tabs were introduced, as a drop down, just a week before CLAT. Many aspirants have been left baffled, while dreading what lies in store for them on May 13.

What you can expect in CLAT 2018?

CLAT is divided into five sections. Following the instructions the CLAT Office has shared with the registered students via email on May 11, 2018, the order of the sections is expected to be somewhat like the one mentioned below:

1. Verbal Ability (English): VA section comprises 40 questions. As per the trend of the last few years, one must expect questions from reading-comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. For the last two years, this section has been largely dominated by vocabulary-based questions, with just one passage for reading-comprehension. One can also expect a few reasoning-based questions. This section, usually,can be completed quickly, with the saved time utilized in other areas.

2.General Knowledge and Current Affairs: This section, in the past three years, has been dominated by Current Affairs. The questions have been largely from events reported around the months of November to April. Also, being an online test, CLAT allows those who are setting the paper to add a few last-moment surprises (as evident in 2016 and 2017, when questions were asked based on events 2-3 days prior to the exam). The ideal strategy for this section is to avoid devoting too much time to it; and, when in doubt, mark for review, and move on.

3. Logical Reasoning: For the past 3-4 years, this section has been largely focused on Analytical Reasoning. One can always expect a few tricky areas. Practice is the key to crack this section. One must avoid getting into the trap of wasting time on lengthy questions.

4. Mathematics: This is the section most law aspirants fear. However, the questions are fairly easy, covering Elementary Mathematics. Of late, questions from Arithmetic havebeen predominant.One must attempt the easy questions first; and not spend more than 15 minutes on this section, under any circumstance.

5. Legal Aptitude: This is the tie-breaker section, it plays a vital role in deciding the ranks, and thus the allotment of NLUs. For the past two years, there has been a mix of Legal Knowledge and Legal Reasoning questions, with Legal Reasoning accounting for 35 of the 50 questions. For the past two years, maximum number of questions has been asked from The Law of Contracts. However, areas like Law of Crimes, Constitution, and Torts are also important.

Last-Minute Tips

  • Always attempt first the section you are most comfortable with.
  • Gauge the difficulty level of the paper in the first two minutes; don’t rush through.
  • Solve the questions that you know, leave out the ones you don’t. When in doubt, mark for review; and move on.
  • Most importantly, enjoy the exam, instead of worrying about it. Remember, any surprises, if any, will be for all, and not just you.

Fast Facts

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is scheduled on May 13, 2018. CLAT is the gateway to 19 National Law Universities and certain private law schools, like Nirma University, UPES Dehradun, NMIMS Mumbai, etc. With new NLUs (like the one in Jabalpur) being announced, it is expected that these NLUs too will accept CLAT score at a later stage for admissions.

With CLAT being conducted on a rotation basis by the NLUs, the exam has been extremely unpredictable. Unlike other major law entrances, CLAT is a computer-based test; thus requiring aspirants to change their approach, and have the ability to manoeuvre quickly through the paper.

—  Inputs by Amitendra Kumar, Mentor, Career Launcher

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