CLAT Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Papers & Books

This blog article of mine follows from an earlier blog article titled: CLAT 2012 Notification Eligibility Forms and is aimed to provide you the prep materials for CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) – the syllabus, sample papers and books along with a discussion on the CLAT exam pattern.

CLAT Exam Pattern:

The first step while deciding to prepare for CLAT is to know about the pattern of exam – i.e. what are the test sections, how many questions are asked, for what marks and what duration. It is only with this knowledge that you can find which area to put more emphasis compared to others.

CLAT LLB Pattern

The pattern of CLAT 2012 for LLB (i.e. undergraduate) with section-wise marks is as given at right. There are total 200 Objective type questions of worth 200 marks to be answered in 2 hours (i.e. just 36 seconds to answer each question). More weightage has been given to sections GK/Current Affairs & Legal Aptitude (50 each), followed by Logical Reasoning & English  (40 each) and least to Numerical Ability (20 only).

CLAT LLM Pattern

The pattern of CLAT 2012 for LLM (i.e. postgraduate) with section-wise marks is as given at left. There are 100 Objective type questions (each question of 1 mark) and 10 short answer type questions of 10 marks each. Thus the total mark is 200 marks, which has to be answered in 2 hours.

There is no negative marking in CLAT 2012. So attempt all questions.. for the answer of any question you do not know, just make guesses.

CLAT 2012 Exam Syllabus:

Section-wise Syllabus for CLAT 2012 (UG – LLB) is given below:

English including Comprehension:

The English section will test the candidate’s proficiency in English based comprehension passages and grammar. In the comprehension section, candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein etc. The grammar section requires correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, filling of blanks in sentences with appropriate words, etc.

General Knowledge/Current Affairs:

This section will only test students on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between March 2011 and March 2012)

Mathematics:

This section will test candidates only on “elementary” mathematics i.e. maths that is taught up to the class X.

Logical Reasoning:

The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the student’s ability to identify patterns, logical links and rectify illogical arguments. It will include a wide variety of logical reasoning questions such as syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested.

Legal Aptitude:

This section will test students only on “legal aptitude”. Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be “true” in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition might be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others who are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the “truth” of these propositions and answer the questions accordingly.

Candidates will not be tested on any prior knowledge of law or legal concepts. If a technical/legal term is used in the question, that term will be explained in the question itself. For example, if the word patent is used, the meaning of patent (“a legal monopoly granted by the government for certain kinds of inventions”) will also be explained.

Syllabus for CLAT 2012 (PG – LLM) has not been given in the notification but is expected to be same as the one you followed in your graduation course (i.e. in LLB).

CLAT Sample/previous years question papers

After understanding the pattern of exam and knowing the syllabus, naturally you would like to know what type of questions are asked in CLAT tests. I have searched on the net and found some CLAT sample papers – but however I am not sure how much authentic they are.

Therefore your best way to get previous years question papers of CLAT is to order it from CLAT itself – the past 4 years CLAT papers cost you only Rs. 100/= (if you buy it with cash personally) from any of the 14 National law Universities.

You can also order CLAT previous years question papers by post by sending a DD of Rs. 150/- made in favour of “National Law University, Jodhpur CLAT A/C” payable at “Jodhpur (Rajasthan)”. Just send this DD along with a simple request letter containing the information - a) Name, b) Complete Postal Address with pincode, c) Contact Number (Landline & Mobile) and d) Email id. Address to where this letter and DD must be sent is:

The Convenor, Common Law Admission Test, CLAT 2012, National Law University, Jodhpur, NH-65, Nagour Road, Mandore, Jodhpur - 342304 (Rajasthan).

Before these CLAT papers arrives, may be you can test the following sample papers:

From globalshiksha.com:

CLAT 2010 Question Paper

CLAT 2010 Sample Paper 1

CLAT 2010 Sample Paper 2

CLAT 2010 Sample Paper 3

CLAT 2010 Test Paper

CLAT Mathematical Ability Test Papers

CLAT English Sample Paper

From lawexams.in:

Click here to find this CLAT sample paper.

From ClatGuru.com:

You can find some CLAT exam papers in this page.

CLAT Prep Books:

In absence of reliable study material for CLAT on the net you have to depend on books only to prepare for CLAT. I have found following list of CLAT prep book after analyzing feedback from various student forums. 

Buy a guide book which gives you the prep material for all test sections of CLAT. You can also buy books according to your area of specific need i.e. specific to test section of CLAT.

These books are available in most of the bookstores, but you can also order them online by clicking the links below from Flipkart.com which offers huge discounts up to 30%, apart from free shipping/postage in India if the total order exceeds Rs. 200/=. You can choose to pay through Credit Card/Debit Card/Internet Banking. You can also choose to pay through “Cash-on-Delivery” i.e. you pay in cash only when the same is delivered at your doorstep:

CLAT Guide Books: (covers all sections)

TMH CLAT And LLB Entrance Examination: Study Package by A. P Bhardwaj Publisher: TMH
Price: Rs. 475/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 333/=;Discount: Rs. 142/= (30%)
Common Law Adminssion Test (CLAT) Guide by RPH Publisher: RPH
Price: Rs. 345/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 259/=;Discount: Rs. 86/= (25%)

Books for CLAT Solved papers:

CLAT Solved Papers by Universal; Publisher:Universal
Price: Rs. 325/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 264/=;Discount: Rs. 61/= (19%)
Model Test Papers For CLAT & LL.B by A P Bhardwaj
Price: Rs. 320/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 240/=;Discount: Rs. 80/= (25%)

Test Section-wise Prep Books for CLAT:

Legal Aptitude And Legal Reasoning For The CLAT And LLB Examinations by A P Bhardwaj Publisher: Pearson
Price: Rs. 299/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 239/=;Discount: Rs. 60/= (20%)
A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal Publisher: S. Chand
Price: Rs. 80/=; Offer Prce: Rs. 60/=;Discount: Rs. 20/= (25%)

Objective English For Competitive Examinations By Hari Prasad

List Price: Rs.365/=; Offer Price: Rs.274/=; Discount: Rs. 91 (25%)

Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations (Fully Solved) by R. S. Aggarwal Publisher: S. Chand

List Price: Rs. 445, Offer Price: 312, Discount: 133 (30%)

Pearson CONCISE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE MANUAL (2012) by Thorpe; Publisher: Pearson
List Price: Rs.225/=; Offer Price: Rs.169/=; Discount: Rs. 56/= (25%)

Hope with above exam prep materials (i.e. syllabus, sample papers & books) for CLAT you can crack the exam easily. I would be on the look out for more exam resources and would post them here. So keep visiting this blog. Best Wishes!