CLAT EXAM – THE EASY GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS 

CLAT is an entrance exam for admission to the National Law Universities in India. It is the gateway to your dream university. The exam is considered one of the toughest tests in India. Keeping that in mind, we thought that we would compile a handy yet comprehensive guide for students who are thinking about beginning their career in legal fields by appearing in the CLAT exam.

The article aims to answer the questions revolving around the following topics:

• What is CLAT?
• What is the CLAT exam syllabus for UG and PG?
• What is the CLAT exam eligibility for UG and PG?
• What is the fee?
• What is the current exam pattern for CLAT?
• Previous year’s question paper for CLAT
• How do I apply for CLAT?
• How to crack this exam?
• CLAT Highlights

So, without further ado, let’s begin with answering our questions.

The first question which is probably going to pop into any newbie’s mind and make her/him spend a considerable amount of time on the internet browsing about is:

WHAT IS CLAT? Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam Pattern, and CLAT Exam DATE (Revised)

• CLAT is a test of a student’s aptitude and reasoning abilities. The CLAT exam in full form is the Common Law Admission Test.

• Is it a national-level entrance exam? –YES

• Is it for both conducted for the admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programs? -YES

• Who organizes CLAT? -Consortium of National Law Universities. It organizes CLAT which is a Law entrance exam for 22 National Law universities. (NLUs)

Now that we have understood what is CLAT. Let’s understand what is the CLAT exam Syllabus.

 WHAT IS THE SYLLABUS FOR UG-CLAT?

The UG-CLAT focuses on evaluating the comprehension, and reasoning skills of candidates. It is intended to test the aptitude that is necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge. So, CLAT does not test the prior knowledge of a student. One need not go through the laws, bare act(s) mindlessly when UG-CLAT comes into question. Your prior knowledge may be useful in the current affairs section, though.

• The number of questions asked in UG-CLAT? – 150 multiple-choice questions.

• The number of marks each question carries? -Each question carries one mark.

• The number of hours given to complete the Exam? -2 hours

• Is there going to be any negative marking? -Yes, 0.25 marks for every wrong answer marked.

150 questions would be divided across the following 5 subjects in the CLAT question paper:

• English Language
• Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
• Legal Reasoning
• Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative Techniques

WHAT IS THE SYLLABUS OF CLAT (PG)?

• The PG-CLAT features an assessment that focuses on the comprehension abilities of the students.

• The number of questions asked in PG-CLAT? -120 Objective Type Questions.

• The number of sections in PG-CLAT? -One section.

• The number of marks each question carries? -Each question carries one mark.

• What is the time allotted to complete the paper? -120 minutes

• Is there going to be any negative marking? -Yes, 0.25 marks for every wrong answer marked.

• 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.

WHAT IS THE ELIGIBILITY OF UG-CLAT? – All you need to know about CLAT eligibility criteria

• Clat exam age limit: There will be no upper age limit for UG Programme in CLAT 2022
• As regards the minimum percentage of marks in the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2 or an equivalent examination), the candidates must have secured:
  a) Forty-five percent (45%) marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General / OBC / PWD / NRI / PIO / OCI categories.
  b) Forty Percent (40%) marks or equivalent in the case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
• The result of the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2) shall be submitted by the candidate at the time of admission failing which the candidate shall be ineligible for admission to the Course.
•  In case of equal marks, the break of tie shall be by the following procedure and order:
  a) Higher marks in the component/section on legal aptitude in the CLAT exam;
  b) Higher age;
  c) Computerized draw of lots.

WHAT IS THE ELIGIBILITY FOR PG-CLAT?

• An LL.B Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of Fifty percent (50%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories and Forty-Five percent (45%) of marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
•  No upper age limit is prescribed for appearing in CLAT.
•  Tie Breaker Rule: In case of equal marks, the break of the tie shall be by the following procedure and order as under:
  a) Higher age;
  b) Computerised draw of lots.

WHAT IS THE FEE FOR CLAT (UG)?

•  Application fees can be paid online only.
• Application fee for General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI candidates: Rs.4,000/-.
•  Application fee for SC/ST/BPL category candidates: Rs.3,500/-.
• The cost of previous years’ question papers is Rs.500/-.
• The candidates themselves will have to bear the bank transaction charges for remitting the fee online. The actual bank transaction charges will be displayed on the payment gateway page after candidates choose the mode of payment.
• Application Fees are non-refundable.

WHAT IS THE CLAT EXAM PATTERN OF UG-CLAT CURRENTLY?

WHAT IS THE CURRENT EXAM PATTERN OF CLAT (PG)?

Constitutional Law
Other areas of law such as 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.

PREVIOUS YEAR’S QUESTION PAPER FOR CLASS

• Click on the link below to download the CLAT exam question paper and CLAT answer key

CLAT UG 2021 Question Paper with Answer Key.pdf

HOW TO APPLY FOR UG-CLAT?

• The CLAT 2022 examination will be held in OFFLINE mode.
• The applications have to be submitted ONLINE only from consortiumofnlus. ac. on the website.
• The candidates are first required to register themselves on the website by using a personal mobile number and e-mail Id.
• Upon registration, an OTP will be sent to the registered mobile number for validation. Once the mobile number is validated, candidates can log in using the registered mobile number and the password provided at the time of registration.

✓ THINGS TO BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE APPLYING FOR UG-CLAT:

• Once the application for CLAT is submitted and paid, the candidate cannot change the program, category, and BPL field.
• Updates to the CLAT application form will not be entertained after the closure date.
• The candidates are required to read the instructions carefully and furnish correct and authentic information. In case the information provided at any stage of the  CLAT application, examination, and admission process are found to be false or incorrect or if there is any discrepancy or mismatch between the information furnished by the candidate at the relevant section and the certificates/documents produced at the time of admission, the provisional admission offered to the candidate shall stand canceled with immediate effect without assigning any further reason and the candidate shall stand disqualified from being considered for further admission to the NLUs by the CLAT Consortium Office.
• In the event of unforeseen incidents resulting in the cancellation of a CLAT Test city or CLAT center, or an insufficient or extra number of candidates opting to appear from a particular Test Centre, the Convenor, CLAT reserves the right to cancel such a City/Centre and shift the applicant to another City/Centre.
• If a candidate has filled in more than one online application form, the candidate’s last online application form only will be considered. In such cases, the application fee for the previous application forms will not be refunded.

HOW TO APPLY FOR PG-CLAT?

• The CLAT 2022 examination will be held in OFFLINE mode.
• The applications have to be submitted ONLINE only from consortiumofnlus.ac.on the website.

✓  THINGS TO BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE APPLYING FOR PG-CLAT

1. Once the application is submitted and paid, the candidate cannot change the program, category, and BPL field.
2. Updates to the application form will not be entertained after the closure date.
3. The candidates must read the instructions carefully and furnish correct and authentic information. In case the information furnished at any stage of the application, examination, and admission process is found to be false or incorrect or if there is any discrepancy or mismatch between the information furnished by the candidate at the relevant section and the certificates/documents produced at the time of admission, the provisional admission offered to the candidate shall stand canceled with immediate effect without assigning any further reason and the candidate shall stand disqualified from being considered for further admission to the NLUs by the CLAT Consortium Office.
4. In the event of unforeseen incidents resulting in the cancellation of a Test city or center, or an insufficient or extra number of candidates opting to appear from a particular Test Centre, the Convenor, CLAT reserves the right to cancel such a City/Centre and shift the applicant to another City/Centre.

5. If a candidate has filled in more than one online CLAT application form, the candidate’s last online application form only will be considered. In such cases, the application fee for the previous application forms will not be refunded.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR UG-CLAT?

According to the official website of the Consortium Of NLUs, The Consortium plans to publish various preparatory materials for the UG-CLAT, including:

1. Guides to the question paper and sample questions;
2. model question papers; and
3. Instructional materials and exercises for each of the subjects that the UG-CLAT comprises.
4. The Consortium will also provide candidates who have completed their application to the UG-CLAT access to a learning platform where you may access the preparatory materials described above, as well as your scores on various exercises and model question papers.
5. The Consortium also advises the student to develop the capacity to read and understand bodies of text, ensure to stay abreast of news and current affairs by regularly reading quality newspapers and periodicals, and improve the speed of answering questions on quantitative techniques by practicing with materials such as the 10th standard mathematics textbooks of any recognized board.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PG-CLAT?

As part of preparations for the PG-CLAT, according to the consortium, a CLAT applicant should:

Read and refresh their knowledge of important judgments, and try to discern various issues discussed in such judgments;
Refresh the knowledge of important constitutional and legislative provisions, particularly those that may have been discussed in recent judgments; it would also be useful to ensure that they are aware of historical case law and amendments related to such provisions so that they have a more complete awareness of such provisions and the issues related to them.

• CLAT HIGHLIGHTS

What is the CLAT exam 2022 date?

CLAT 2022 exam date is 19th June 2022

Nothing should come between you and your dream NLU. Not even, the slightest amount of misinformation CLAT exam. This guide was made with the same motive in mind and was intended to satiate the common CLAT doubts of a student. We hope that we were able to answer most of the questions.