CLAT Analysis - 2009

The Common Law Admission Test or CLAT-2009 was conducted by NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. This was the second CLAT exam; the first was conducted by the NLSIU, Bangalore, last year. CLAT-2009 was organized by NALSAR on behalf of the 11 participating National Law Universities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Gandhinagar, Raipur, Patna, Lucknow, Patiala and Cochin.

A total of 1102 seats (subject to reservations), in their 5-year integrated LL.B. course, have been offered by these 11 National Law Universities to students who have passed or have appeared in the 12th standard exam this year. The CLAT is conducted by participating law schools on a rotational basis and the 2010 exam will be conducted by National Law Institute University, Bhopal
The test was held on 31st May 2209 and was taken by over 13,000 students in 16 cities across the country. A total of 13,588 students applied for CLAT-2009 exam. This is a significant increase over last year’s figure; the number of applicants for the Under Graduate programme, in 2008, was 11,304.
The question paper was on expected lines and in keeping with the announcement made by the CLAT committee. Crack CLAT Tutorials students would have been comfortable, as the pattern of questions in the paper was similar to that presented in the online mocks administered a week before the exam. The paper had five sections covering five test-areas. As had been announced, there were no legal reasoning questions in the legal aptitude section. Most of the questions were on general legal knowledge.

Comprehensive analysis of the examination.

Section-Wise Analysis

A. English

This section was quite easy. Questions of reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary formed this section of the paper. The Comprehension passage and 10 questions in it were easy.
Vocabulary questions included synonyms, antonyms, Latin terms, idioms and phrases and spelling corrections.
The grammar questions tested ability with sentence correction, appropriate use of prepositions, etc.

B. G.K.

The GK section, with 50 questions, had the most marks (50 out of 200) among the sections. Except for a few questions, most were easy or moderate to answer. Current Affairs including international affairs, prizes and awards, economy and planning and cinema (Yes, questions about Chak De India, Dileep Kumar, Shekhar Kapoor, Yash Chopra, etc.!) formed the majority of the GK paper. There were very few questions on static GK, i.e., history, geography, general science etc. International affairs and the United Nations, however, remained a favorite with the paper-setters.

C. Mathematics

This section was also a cakewalk for most of the students. All the 20 questions were from the area of elementary mathematics as announced by CLAT committee. These were percentages, profit and loss, ratio, averages, time and work, time and distance, etc.

D. Logical Reasoning

This section was a little challenging for the students. It provided a judicious mix of analytical and logical reasoning questions, as well as questions on mathematics based reasoning. There were questions on logical reasoning like inference, assumptions, course of action, strengthening and weakening of arguments, etc. However, critical reasoning questions, which were expected by the students who saw the CLAT-2008 paper, were not seen. There were questions on analogies, number series and arrangement in order of ascending probability. Five questions were based on blood-relations. All areas were well covered in Crack CLAT Tutorials study material, class handouts and mock tests.

E. Legal Aptitude

This part of the paper could also be adjudged as ‘easy to moderate’. As legal reasoning questions were absent, legal GK questions formed the bulk of the paper with some questions also on the constitution and our polity. The main areas from where questions were asked were: Important laws of India, Constitution and polity ,Legal terms and concepts, Important commissions and committees, Important Cases.