A lawyer has to be logical at every point. This is why CLAT has a Logical Reasoning section carrying 40 marks for you to answer! Logic is something that you cannot learn overnight but it can surely be acquired through more and more practice.
Logical reasoning in CLAT has a large number of different elements to test your aptitude. You should understand that conceptual clarity is necessary for you to fetch marks in this section.
Once you start CLAT preparation you will find various types of questions which you will have come across previously in Olympiads and other aptitude tests you might have taken. However more likely than not you will find certain question types which are new and quite challenging.
In case you find any question to be particularly difficult or confusing, do not hesitate to consult a member of the faculty.
There is no need to think that just because you are finding it difficult to answer a question from the logical reasoning section that you are illogical. You have to keep in mind that CLAT will pose tricky questions. In case of these questions your concept is the only thing that can help you.
Your job is to find out the best way to navigate through the paper in the shortest possible time.
If the experience of the past few years is to be considered you will find that the Logical Reasoning section is often the most time consuming section in both CLAT and AILET. As CLAT 2015 showed, there is no fixed question pattern for Logical Reasoning. As such there is no specified difficulty level for this section.
This means that it is futile on your part to bear any expectations regarding the type of questions when you sit down to attempt your CLAT paper.
At the same time you must realize that there is no scope for you to skip a specific portion of the material supplied to you for CLAT.
The material provided to you shall attempt to cover as many aspects of Logical Reasoning as possible. However you have to supplement your learning through regular practice and doubt clearing.
One thing that can help you in sharpening your logical reasoning skills is solving Sudoku and various different puzzles. You should ideally time these activities so that you get a rough idea about how fast you are being able to think.
An advice in this respect would be to start by attempting the Beginner level puzzles, gradually moving to the Intermediate and finally the Difficult or Expert levels.
Two things that CLAT basically attempts to examine are i) your ability to discern patterns from within a large amount of data and ii) to identify logical elements of the matter provided.
Fairing well in both these respects is possible through thorough understanding and attention to detail. You must acknowledge that the scope of Logical Reasoning is vast and can be tackled only through specific strategies which you must develop through the course of your preparation.
Usually most of the Logical Reasoning questions can be solved in a number of ways. Your purpose is to identify the quickest way to attempt each question.
The question lies with regard to how you identify the quickest way to solve a problem. The answer can only come from you after you have gone through a rigorous routine of practicing papers and attempting mocks. Each person finds comfort and speed in a different method.
Remember that CLAT is an objective test. This means that you do not have to show your working on paper. So if you have an unconventional way that will get you the correct answer in a short period of time, go ahead with it!
There are some basic topics which you must study for CLAT Logical Reasoning section.
- Analytical Reasoning: It tests how you are able to utilize the data provided to answer questions. This is different from reading comprehension because the answers are not expressly provided in the text and have to be worked out logically.
- Critical Reasoning: It tests how you can objectively consider a given text and identify specific elements from it. It examines your ability to derive the core meaning of the text and make necessary changes to it as specified.
- Assumption
- Inference
- Strengthening and weakening arguments
- Identifying the method of argument
- Identifying flaws in the argument
- Identifying issues of contention
- Introducing a paradox
- Providing parallel reasoning
- Recognizing the principle
- Evaluating arguments
- Number and Alphabet Series
- Coding-Decoding
- Blood Relations
- Deductive Knowledge-Syllogisms
- Directions
- Clocks
- Calendars
- Deriving conclusions from statements
- Identifying assumptions from statements
- Consistency of Logic
- Strong and Weak Arguments
- Assertion and Reason
- Cause of Action
- Logical Extension of arguments
Remember that this is not a definitive list but only meant for the purpose of guiding you in your preparation. In case you come across new types of questions feel free to get back to us with your doubts.