CLAT is one of the most popular law exam conducted by the consortium of NLUs for admission to the top National Law Universities (NLUs) and to other law colleges. Preparing for the CLAT exam can be tiring and even overwhelming for aspirants, and so to not go through this turmoil again, a common question students ask is - “How to clear the CLAT exam in first attempt?”
While there is no guarantee that a high amount of preparation will help you crack the exam in first attempt, a detailed and proper strategy can surely help and go a long way. The first thing anyone should know here is that, to crack this law exam in first attempt, a dedicated 6-8 months of preparation is required. However, if you do not have that much time, your focus should be mock tests, important questions, and previous year question papers.
This article aims to provide the students with a guided and detailed strategy on how to clear the CLAT exam in first attempt. This includes a daily timetable, some effective tips to get through the difficult parts, and a few simple tricks on how to solve the tough questions.
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Understanding the CLAT exam pattern and syllabus
The first and foremost thing to clear CLAT in your first attempt is to understand the CLAT exam pattern along with the CLAT syllabus. The CLAT exam is held in December every year, and the same pattern is followed each year, unless otherwise. Check the CLAT exam pattern and syllabus below.
CLAT Exam Pattern LLB
Section | Numbers of Questions | Marks | Weightage |
English Language | 22-26 | 22-26 | 20% |
Current Affairs including General Knowledge | 28-32 | 28-32 | 25% |
Legal Reasoning | 28-32 | 28-32 | 25% |
Logical Reasoning | 22-26 | 22-26 | 20% |
Quantitative Techniques | 10-14 | 22-26 | 10% |
Total | 120 | 120 | 100% |
CLAT LLM Exam Pattern
The CLAT LLM paper consists of questions from constitutional law and other branches of law. The detailed CLAT PG exam pattern has been given below.
Sections | Number of Questions | Marks |
Constitutional law | 120 | 120 |
Other branches of law such as administrative law, law of contract, jurisprudence torts, family law, criminal law, company law, property law, public international law, tax law, environmental law, labour and industrial law. | ||
Total | 120 | 120 |
CLAT (LLB) UG Syllabus
Subjects | Topics Covered |
CLAT English Syllabus | Passages, Reading, Comprehension, Inference, and Conclusion, Summary, Vocabulary, etc. |
CLAT General Knowledge Syllabus | Contemporary Events of National and International Significance, Art and Culture, International Affairs, Historical Events of significance |
CLAT Legal Reasoning Syllabus | Rules and Passages of Law, Application of the rules and passages, etc. |
CLAT Logical Reasoning Syllabus | Argument - Premise and Conclusion, Inference, Relationships and Analogies, Contradictions and Equivalence, etc. |
CLAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus | Basic Algebra, Mensuration, Statistical Estimation, Graphs, Numerical Information, Ratio and Proportion etc. |
CLAT (LLM) PG Syllabus
Subjects | Topics Covered |
Constitutional Law | Subject-wise and Judicial Power; Constitution of India: Framing, Doctrine, Executive Power; Constitutional Rights; Freedom Rights |
Criminal Law | Elements of Crime, Group Liability, Abetment, Criminal Conspiracy, Exceptions, Attempt to Commit Offences, Offences Against Public Tranquility, Offences against Body |
Torts | Classification of Torts, Trespass, Nuisance, Defamation, Liability for Misstatements, Negligence |
International Law | Origin and Development of International Law and Bodies, International Law of Sea, Air, Land, Overview of International Law |
Intellectual Property Rights | Nature, Definition and Scope of IPR, Trademarks Act 1999, Patents Act 1970, Copyright Act 1957, IPR in International Perspective |
Preparing a proper time-table and preparation strategy
Now that you have understood the CLAT exam pattern and syllabus, the second step towards cracking this at first attempt is to have a defined strategy and a proper daily routine so that all topics are covered, and you have sufficient time to relax and ease your mind as well. Check below a time table that can help in the preparation. Please note that this is not rigid, and can be changed as per your requirements.
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Topic | Preferred Time Allotment |
Reading Newspaper | 1.5 hours |
Topics from Error Log | 1 hour |
Vocabulary (High-frequency words, Regular Newspaper reading) | 45 mins |
Current Legal Knowledge | 45 mins |
Mathematics | 1.5 hours |
GMAT Official Guide | 1.5 hour |
Revising today's topics and preparing for tomorrow's topics | 2 hours |
Puzzles/Analytical Reasoning | 30 mins |
Passages & Grammar | 1.5 hours |
Revision for the day and planning for the next day | 1.5 hours |
Practice Mock Tests | Twice a Week |
CLAT Mock Tests | Once in a week |
Understanding the difficulty level and questions asked
The next step is to have a thorough understanding on the difficulty level of each section along with the type of questions being asked. Check out the table below to get an understanding.
Section | Passage Length & Count | Passage Sources | Question Difficulty | Question Types |
English Language | Passages of about 450 words each; around six passages | Contemporary or historically significant sources of fictional and non-fictional writing; may include technical and scientific topics without requiring prior knowledge | Class 12 level | Comprehension and fact-based questions, summarization questions to identify the main point, compare and contrast type questions, grammar and vocabulary-based questions |
Legal Reasoning | Passages of about 450 words each; around eight passages | Fact situations, legal matters, public policy issues, and moral or philosophical enquiries; material from news articles, books, or specially created passages | General awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues without requiring prior legal knowledge | Questions to identify and apply legal principles, analyze the impact of changes in principles or facts, and predict possible outcomes on varied scenarios |
Current Affairs (including GK) | Passages of about 450 words each; around seven passages | News articles, journalistic sources, and non-fiction writing | Tests both fact-based knowledge and depth of understanding of events and issues of importance | Questions on missing information, causes and consequences of events, personalities and events linked to the passage, awards and recognitions, judgments and laws, historical context of recent events, and related global events |
Logical Reasoning | Short passages of about 300 words each | Opinion and editorial sections of newspapers and magazines, essays on moral philosophy, and passages created specifically for CLAT | Moderate level, application of reasoning | Critical reasoning questions and topics from the older format including blood relations, family trees, number series, alphabet series, logic games, and syllogisms |
Quantitative Techniques | 13–17 questions based on short sets | Textual, pictorial, diagrammatic representations, graphs, and histograms, some derived from sources like the Reserve Bank of India, mostly created for CLAT | Class 10 level, logic-based rather than formula-based | Questions on data interpretation, numerical reasoning from graphs and tables, and logic-heavy quantitative problems |
Download CLAT previous year question papers PDF here
How to Score 25+ Marks in English?
If you wish to score more than 25 marks in the English section, follow the guidelines given below while preparing for CLAT.
- Focus on enhancing your grammar and vocabulary
- Try not to study all topics in one go. Rather, study 2-3 topics a day and revise them daily
- Reading newspapers daily, preferably the Hindu, is a must
- In the grammar section, you must correct the given sentences' errors
- Work on grasping ability as it has to be high. This will improve only with daily practice
- Try and form different types of sentences from the new words you learned in a day
- Get familiar with sentence formation and word usage
- Learn at least 10-12 newantonyms and synonymsa day.
- Start practicing with small passages followed by lengthy ones
How to score 30+ marks in legal reasoning to crack CLAT 2026 in the first attempt?
Candidates need to score more than 30 in this section to crack CLAT in the first attempt. Here bring you the plan to crack the exam as per the experts.
- Try to learn and understand the legal principles and jargon in a quick way
- Understand how to apply the facts in the situations and arguments
- Try to practice short-cut techniques
- Try and understand the concepts. Do not go cramming
- Work on your reading speed. Having a good reading speed is very important to crack this section
- Practice previous years' CLAT question papers
- Read law magazine to get more legal perspective on issues
How to Score 30+ Marks in General Knowledge to crack CLAT 2026 in the first attempt?
The GK section carries a total 25 per cent weightage in the CLAT exam. Read below the best practices to follow to score well in GK section.
- You must be aware of the Daily Current Affairs in the area of the Economy, the Indian Constitution, Awards, sports, etc.
- Inculcate habit of reading the newspaper on a daily basis
- Static GK is also a part of the syllabus, but most of the questions are asked on the basis of the current affairs
- Try and read about various legal events and issues of the past
- Prepare your own notes. This will help you during your revision time
- Do not cram events. Try and understand why something happened and idea behind it
- Refer to as many Magazines, Newspapers, E-Newspapers, Blogs, etc., possible to be more aware of all the happenings worldwide
- Must watch news channels for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour per day
How to score 25+ marks in Logical Reasoning to crack CLAT 2026 in First Attempt?
As per the newCLAT exam pattern, there will be around 28-30 questions asked in the logical reasoning section.
- Your time to answer the logical reasoning question plays an important part to crack this section
- Topics like blood relations, directions, number series, deriving conclusions, etc. are more important so play more attention
- Go through several statements, arguments, and solutions
- Solve CLAT Mock Tests as many as possible
- Do sit with a timer every time you solve a mock test and try to finish all the questions in the given time
- GMAT guides play the most valuable resource
- Try not to spend more than 25 minutes solving this section
- Try to spend your free time in solving puzzles and games that demand logic
How to Score Good Marks in Maths to crack CLAT 2026 in first attempt?
The quantitative or maths sections hold a total weightage of 20 marks and generally, the questions asked are of an elementary standard.
- Get your fundamentals clear
- Check all relevant topics and try and have a clear understanding of each concept
- Memorize tables up to 20 and squares up to 30 regularly
- Practice important formulas daily
- Try an attempt as many questions from the CLAT previous year's papers to enhance your speed
- There is a time limit on the exam. Therefore, time management is of extreme importance
Join a CLAT Coaching Institute or Use Online Apps
The most preferred way to crack the CLAT exam is to join a coaching institute and start your preparation. The major benefit of using an online app or coaching institute is that they provide you with all the relevant CLAT study material like PYQs, Mock Tests, CLAT Sample Papers, and even books. Check out the 16 most used apps for CLAT preparation
