1. Legal Reasoning

The Legal Reasoning section evaluates a candidate's ability to understand legal principles and apply them to hypothetical situations. Extensive prior legal knowledge is generally not required, as passages provide the information needed to answer many questions. Familiarity with basic legal concepts can improve understanding.

Important Topics:

• Law of Torts: Negligence, vicarious liability, defamation, absolute liability and strict liability.
• Law of Contracts: Offer and acceptance, void agreements and breach of contract.
• Criminal Law: Actus reus, mens rea and general exceptions in criminal law.
• Constitutional Law: Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, parliamentary procedures and landmark judgments.
• Current Legal Issues: Recent Supreme Court decisions, new laws and amendments to existing laws.

2. Current Affairs & General Knowledge

This section assesses awareness of important national and international events and the background needed to understand them. Preparation can include news reports, editorials and reliable current-affairs resources.

Main Topics Include:

• National & International Issues: Major treaties, summits such as G20 and BRICS, United Nations developments and government initiatives.
• Legal & Judicial Developments: Important Supreme Court decisions, constitutional amendments and legal developments.
• Governance & Economy: Union Budget, RBI developments, economic indicators and international trade.
• Arts, Culture & History: Significant cultural events, historical developments and important personalities.
• Science & Technology: ISRO missions, artificial intelligence developments and environmental agreements.

3. Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning evaluates the ability to understand arguments, analyse information and draw conclusions from written passages. Questions often test critical thinking rather than memorisation.

Key Areas:

• Critical Thinking: Identifying arguments, premises, conclusions and assumptions.
• Argument Analysis: Finding strengths and weaknesses in arguments, recognising fallacies and evaluating reasoning.
• Inference & Conclusions: Drawing conclusions supported by the information provided in a passage.
• Analytical Reasoning: Comparing information, examining cause-and-effect relationships and identifying connections between statements.

4. English Language

The English Language section measures reading comprehension, the ability to interpret written information and understanding of words in context. Candidates should practise reading passages carefully and identifying the main idea, supporting details and the author's point of view.

Topics Covered:

• Reading Comprehension: Answering questions based on facts, ideas and conclusions derived from a text.
• Author's Attitude & Tone: Identifying whether the author is neutral, critical, supportive, persuasive or expressing a particular viewpoint.
• Vocabulary in Context: Understanding the meanings of words and expressions as used in a passage.
• Grammar in Context: Understanding grammatical expressions and sentence structures through contextual usage.

5. Quantitative Techniques

This section presents numerical information through data sets, caselets, tables and charts. Candidates need to interpret the information and perform calculations using fundamental mathematical concepts generally associated with school-level mathematics.

Key Topics:

• Data Interpretation: Caselets, bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs and data tables.
• Core Arithmetic: Percentages, ratios, proportions, profit and loss, averages, time and work, speed and distance.
• Basic Mensuration & Mathematics: Simple equations and basic formulas for area and volume, where relevant to the prescribed syllabus.

1. Is there negative marking in CLAT?

Yes. Each correct answer carries one mark, and each incorrect answer attracts a penalty of 0.25 marks. No marks are deducted for unanswered questions.

2. Does CLAT include high-school mathematics?

The UG CLAT Quantitative Techniques section focuses on elementary mathematical concepts, including percentages, ratios and data interpretation. Candidates should refer to the official syllabus for the applicable examination year.

3. Are static GK questions asked in CLAT?

The Current Affairs and General Knowledge section uses current-affairs-based material. Relevant background knowledge can help candidates understand the passages and answer related questions. Prepare major events along with their important historical, political, legal and economic context.