How to prepare for CLAT without coaching

How to prepare for CLAT without coaching- A Complete guide

Preparing for CLAT without coaching has always been one of the things in mind of CLAT aspirants since years. After the Covid-19 pandemic the preparation of entrance exams like CLAT became a necessity rather than a choice for lot of students.

So now, a lot of students look for preparation straight from their Home rather than going to a coaching institute.

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Here in this Article, you will get to know all the important things that you need to know and students will learn how to prepare for CLAT preparation without coaching. Also, along with CLAT this article will also help you in your preparation for other Law Entrance Examinations after 12th like SLAT, MAH LLB 5 yrs CET, AILET, LSAT India, BHU BA LLB Entrance Test and more.

The Steps that a student must follow for CLAT preparation without coaching are as follows:

Gather all relevant information about CLAT: This is the first and foremost important step for your preparation. Gather all relevant information regarding CLAT like Latest exam pattern, Syllabus, relevant topics, Books, Exam Timeline  and more.

The CLAT Exam Pattern  is important to read for every student who wishes to appear for it. The CLAT Exam Pattern  gives a clear idea to the student about the type of questions, exam duration exam language and various other important details about the examination.

The CLAT Exam Pattern  also helps in the planning of preparation for the examination and successfully clearing the same.

The CLAT Exam Pattern  in brief:

CLAT  Subject Wise Weightage:

CLAT  Marking Criteria:

CLAT Syllabus & Important Topics

The CLAT  would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge, though prior knowledge occasionally may be useful to respond to questions in the Current Affairs section.

The CLAT  shall be a 2-hour test, with 150 multiple-choice questions carrying 1 mark each. There shall be negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. These questions would be divided across the following 5 subjects:

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

English Language

In this section of the CLAT , you will be provided passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing, and would be of a standard that a 12th standard student may be able to read in about 5-7 minutes.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your comprehension and language skills, including your abilities to:

Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage;

• Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage;
• Summarise the passage;
• Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage; and
• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.

Current Affairs Including General Knowledge

In this section, you will be provided passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed in or related to the passage, but would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:

• Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;
• Arts and culture;
• International affairs; and
• Historical events of continuing significance.

Legal Reasoning

In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. You will not require any prior knowledge of law. You will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues to better apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.

Each passage would be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

• Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;
• Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and
• Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.

Logical Reasoning

The Logical Reasoning section of the CLAT  will include a series of short passages of about 300 words each. Each passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:

• Recognize an argument, its premises and conclusions;
• Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage;
• Critically analyse patterns of reasoning, and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence;
• Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations;
• Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

Quantitative Techniques

The Quantitative Techniques section of the CLAT  will include short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions. You will be required to derive information from such passages, graphs, or other representations, and apply mathematical operations on such information.

The questions will require you to:

• Derive, infer, and manipulate numerical information set out in such passages, graphs, or other representations; and
• Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation.

Get the Best Books and Study Material: Having the right set of Books and preparation material is one of the most important requirements for cracking any entrance exam like CLAT which has such high competition. Here are some of the important books that you can refer for CLAT preparation at your Home and School for all the 5 sections- English, Logical Reasoning, Legal Aptitude, GK & Current Affairs and Quantitative Aptitude respectively.

Best Books for English: English is one of the Key sections of CLAT having one of the highest weightages by marks and one cannot think of getting a good rank in CLAT without scoring well in this section so below are some of the Important Books that one can refer. Overall, it has 20% weightage.

Also, please note that to increase one’s vocabulary and fast reading it is always advisable to have a regular habit of reading Newspapers or blogs etc so that in CLAT you can quickly read and understand the passages and solve the questions. This helps students not just in the English section but in other sections as well.

Below are the Best Books for English Section in CLAT as recommended by various Past year Toppers and Experts:

Best books for Logical Reasoning : Logical Reasoning has a total weightage of 20% marks in CLAT. It is also one of the important sections which one can score well if there has been good amount of practice. Time is also saved by students who have done enough practice of good questions.

Some of the Best Books for CLAT Preparation for Logical Reasoning as suggested by Past Toppers and Experts are as follows:

Best books for Quantitative Techniques:  Although this section has a 10% weightage in CLAT but having said that please understand that in an examination like CLAT even 0.25 marks can fluctuate the rank by some margin. So, to get a good rank one must prepare well for this section as well.

Some of the Books recommended by past CLAT and AILET toppers and experts are as follows:

Best books for Legal Reasoning: One of the most important section in CLAT is Legal Aptitude or Legal Reasoning having 25% weightage. It is one of the most unique sections as well since this is something which a student has not studied till now in their school curriculum and is completely new. Although you don’t need to study the Law Sections etc in very much depth but CLAT does check a student’s aptitude to understand and apply the Legal logics to check their future capability as a lawyer.

Some of the Books recommended for Legal Aptitude in CLAT preparation by Toppers and Experts are as follows:

Best books for General knowledge & Current Affairs:

While preparing for the General Knowledge section of CLAT there are some things that a student must practice on a regular basis as this is the most crucial section of the examination. Because one can score well in this section if they have good general knowledge and also can save a lot of time for other sections as the General Knowledge section saves a lot of time as well if you know the answers and have known about those events already.

Some of the Important books that a student can refer for CLAT General Knowledge Section are:

“For GK – reading the newspaper is an absolute must do –preferably either the Indian Express or Hindu.” mentioned by Debajyoti Das - Co-Founder at Legal Sapiens and Legal Aptitude Faculty at GradeUP

Also please note that to excel in the General Knowledge section no book will help you score excellent in it but you will have to develop a habit of reading good English newspapers on a daily and weekly basis, read them analyse the topics and discuss among peers to score better. This is also one of the important reasons why students join a coaching Institute as these are regular exercises that are followed there. So, if you are studying on your own at home you also need to develop and practice this habit on a regular basis.

Reading Newspapers Regularly: This will not just help you in the GK and Current Affairs section but overall, you will also develop a good fast reading habit of passages which will also help you in sections like Logical Reasoning, English and Legal Aptitude.

Important Newspapers that a student must read regularly would be The Hindu and Indian Express.

Reading newspapers daily is a habit that keeps us informed about world politics and current affairs. It is also a reliable source to expand your English vocabulary.

“Newspaper is an absolute must! It helps polish up English speed. It helps in the GK section and it helps in the Legal section which is almost entirely current affairs based. In my opinion not reading the newspaper makes it impossible to clear the CLAT with a top rank (NOT difficult to clear – IMPOSSIBLE to clear!)” mentioned by Debajyoti Das - Co-Founder at Legal Sapiens and Legal Aptitude Faculty at GradeUP

“The best way to prepare for this section of the UG CLAT is to have a long-term habit of reading a good set of newspapers and periodicals. Many good sources of news and information are also available online; aspirants can also visit their websites, and go through their archive of editorial and opinion pieces.” mentioned by Mr Rajendra Khadav, Director of Crack CLAT Tutorials

Follow all monthly Current Affairs: It will always be good for a student preparing for CLAT to subscribe to some weekly or monthly current affairs newsletters etc so that in CLAT they can score really well, current affairs are also very dynamic in nature as they are constantly changing. Owing to this importance and dynamic nature, current affairs is a section that is present in every competitive exam. This is to test a student's ability to be abreast of what is happening in the world. This section in CLAT contains maximum number of questions and holds highest weightage in the exam.

Current Affairs and GK Quiz:  Make a habit of regularly participating in Current Affairs and GK Quizzes for CLAT preparation. You can do the same by following some of the Telegram Groups and Channels for Free and also on other social media websites.

Attempt the Best Mock Tests and analyse your performance regularly: Giving the Right Mock Tests at the Right Time and in the Right amount is the key to success for your CLAT Preparation. It’s always good to analyse your Preparation regularly and know your stand among competition at regular intervals as this is a Competitive examination and the best way to do the same is to check your performance in popular mock tests that are available online. This is one of the major reasons why students join coaching institutes.

Here are some of the major Mock Tests available online which have been referred by some past year toppers and have delivered good results recently.

Some of the Most Popular Mock Tests available for CLAT as recommended by experts for best Results are as follows:

     CLAT Mock Test Series by Career Launcher (CL)

     CLAT Mock Test Series by Legal Edge (LE)

           CLAT Mock Test Series by Lawpreptutorial

     CLAT Mock Test Series by Gradeup  

     CLAT Mock Test Series by Grad.hitbullseye

    CLAT Mock Test Series by Crack CLAT  

     CLAT Mock Test Series by Clatgyan

“The mocks are the most important part of your CLAT preparations. Take the mocks very seriously and after taking mocks, spend one-two hours analysing them (very important). Do a section-wise analysis and make sure none of your weaknesses goes unnoticed.” mentioned by Aprajita AIR I CLAT 2020

“After attempting each and every mock student need to check each and every question of that mock, where he or she made mistake, why that mistake and what shall be their strategy in next mock. Student also needs to keep an eye on time management.” mentioned by Ms. Suhasini Kashyap- Academic Head Career Launcher LST

“Mock tests are extremely important. Start taking some in 11th grade itself if you start your prep at that time and when in the final year of prep, one mock every week and one mock everyday two months before the exam will be of help.” mentioned by Anhad Kaur – AIR I AILET 2020 & AIR 7 CLAT 2020

Solve Past year Papers:

This is a very useful strategy for candidates preparing for CLAT without coaching. Solving CLAT papers from the previous years will provide the candidates with an idea about the pattern of questions asked in the examination and also help them improve their time-management skills.

This has always been recommended by past year Toppers as well as Coaching Institutes and other CLAT experts.

Please Find below the CLAT Past Year Papers that you can download for free:

 CLAT 2020 Question Paper

 CLAT 2019 Question Paper

 CLAT 2018 Question Paper

 CLAT 2017 Question Paper

 CLAT 2016 Question Paper

 CLAT 2015 Question Paper

To Download more CLAT Past Year Papers Click Here

“Past year papers are not only important, rather I believe that they are perhaps the MOST important part of the entire preparation. The most common mistake that people do is to start looking at past year papers only after the passage of a few months of preparation” mentioned by Debajyoti Das - Co-Founder at Legal Sapiens and Legal Aptitude Faculty at GradeUP

“Solving previous years’ papers and sample papers would help enhance their speed and time management skills. They will also be acquainted to the paper structure.” mentioned by Mr Rajendra Khadav, Director of Crack CLAT Tutorials

Make Proper Schedule and Time Table:

You’re are on your way to becoming part of the judicial system of India, so I suggest don’t play jolly LLB on repeat, cause that’s not going to help you in crossing the hurdles, like common entrance admission test, or CLAT. So, coaching? Nah! Yeah, it’s a nation-wide test but it’s not written in the broacher of CLAT that you would require to spend thousands on coaching, the basic need is preparation in the right direction, and we are here to correct your compass towards true north:

Time Table: those guys won’t test you how good a lawyer you’re, they’ll test whether or not you have the potential to become a good lawyer in the future; so, there are certain skill which you’ve to be good at, like reasoning, representation, etc., unfortunately, there is not an option to you in case of language, so, if somehow you feel uncomfortable in English, please improve it! And if you’ve decided that being a law student is all you want, then design your time table in such a way that before you go to sleep you find yourself closer to your dream, and remember time table must move as you do, not a static one which is followed from a previous year topper, because a thing which might work for someone else might not work for you.

Proper Revision before the examination is a must to seal your seat in the Top NLUs or National Law Universities in CLAT.

Get your hand on to practice: If you feel as a convergent thinking guy who believes the answer must lie in that four option CLAT is not for you, answers will come out if you think on diverge scale, so, from now on not just read a fact, and believe it’ll be true, instead try finding the reason why that happened, cause when you’ll develop that thinking of how things go on, then you’ll never find yourself stuck in a situation. And please don’t keep your skills in your mind keep on practicing what you know, which certainly will the pillars for your knowledge.

Revision and mocks: When you feel like you are gaining skills but how are they going to affect your performance or feel underconfident about yourself in the paper, try doing mock tests. And second, the important thing is revision when there is just about one month left, you should focus on practicing the things you already, both these things will help in building that powerful pillar of confidence that you require on the final day.

Take out time for self and relaxation:

Now, you know how to build your skills and to being confident about them, but both of these things won’t work if you are not enjoying the process, so remember to enjoy it cause it’s just a test. Especially in these challenging times when mental health is of prime importance, one must take care of their mental health on priority.

Please remember a Student with a positive frame of mind and who is in a good mental state will perform better in the examination than a student who is not in the right state of mind on the day of the Examination. So keep yourself happy and positive by whatever means possible.

“There might be times when your mock scores are not up to your expectations, find a genuine reason behind it and work on it so that you don’t repeat your mistakes. Just remain devoted, dedicated, and determined because these three Ds will help you get into your dream college. In the process, don’t beat yourself up or mentally torture yourself also don’t put your life on hold, take some time out to what you like, play games, watch movies, listen to songs, talk about the problems you are facing with your family and friends and *chill*” mentioned by Aprajita AIR I CLAT 2020

Here are some of the videos that you can watch for making a Preparation Strategy for CLAT:

https://youtu.be/_jcKpmcOx1I

https://youtu.be/r5oujV2lkF0

https://youtu.be/R4DjhkDoBsg

https://youtu.be/OGjZAGRq2dg

https://youtu.be/_jcKpmcOx1I

https://youtu.be/RrGaHNHjl2c

https://youtu.be/bpArZ2slTIA

https://youtu.be/YWtsLNIsl1I

*Please Note: Although in the above article we have tried our best in including everything regarding CLAT Preparation without Coaching. Still, if you find anything above that might not be true or if there is something that is missing and should have been included etc. Please share your suggestions at [email protected] so that we can include all the important things and it helps every CLAT aspirant of our country.