The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a centralized national-level entrance examination in India, established in 2008, for admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate law programs across National Law Universities (NLUs). Prior to its inception, each NLU conducted its own entrance exam, leading to significant challenges for aspirants, including scheduling conflicts and increased stress.
CLAT 2025 D-Day Plan By Rajneesh Singh
In over two decades of teaching students for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and other entrance exams, I have seen some of the most brilliant of minds fumble on the day of the exam. It often has nothing to do with being unprepared or not having the skills, but the final day just went poorly. Even the best of us can be thrown off track by a poorly administered exam day or unforeseen distractions.
That’s why having a structured and planned out D Day is extremely important. Stay to a schedule rather than playing catch up in the last minute and avoid anything that will take your focus or pull you off track for the day. More than anything else, it’s your mental clarity, and when you have a calm and well prepared mind, you know you’ll always perform at your peak. As essential, don’t overthink it. You’ve worked the grind, you’ve sharpened your skills all of it leading up to this. It’s time to move these efforts and make them effective.
At the end of this article, I would share a plan on how you too can go through your exam day without falling apart. In this article, I write about how to get the best out of your CLAT D day. Right from practicing tricks to mental preparedness, CLAT time management strategies to everything I may have left out.
Setting the right mindset
So much is going to stem from your mindset. An example I have seen is that the kids who still remain calm, confident and less anxious on the exam day often perform much better than those who do get anxious. That is why your preparation is just as important as your mental state. Trust your preparation first and foremost. Months, maybe years, you’ve spent refining your skills. Don’t believe in self doubt and remember you have followed the process and put in some real hard work, believe the process and believe the hard work that you had put in. But instead, remind yourself of your strengths and remember to execute your plan. It’s normal to have pre exam anxiety, but learning how to control it is what makes all the difference.
In the final hours before the exam it is best to avoid overburdening yourself; to stay calm. And this is definitely not the time for cramming more information or fretting over topics you aren’t sure of. Consider, just trust me, spending your energy relaxed and mentally composed. Get proper rest and have a clear routine for the day before so you don’t burn out. Don’t forget: your physical and mental health tend to go hand in hand. Drink plenty of liquids, eat light nutritious meals, and avoid anything that might physically irritate you. A healthy mind and body will keep you sharp, and performing on your game when it matters most.
The morning of the exam
How you start your exam day is going to set the mood for everything that occurs after. Your best defense against unnecessary stress? A calm, structured morning. Always start with a good night’s sleep. This cannot be emphasised enough. Revising late on can backfire as you will end up emotionally and physically exhausted. Double check all the essentials before leaving to exam center. Without admit card and ID prove you won’t be allowed even to enter. They are non negotiable items. And a transparent water bottle, an analogue watch, black or blue ball point pens. The night before, make a checklist so you don’t get into a last minute panic.
Come to the exam centre early. Try to be there at least an hour before the reporting time. Punctuality saves the injuries of rushing and last minute changes. It leaves you with ample time to familiarise yourself with the halls, your exam hall in particular, and mentally settle down. Don’t forget, last minute rush can take away your focus. So try to keep your mornings calm, simple and organized. Being familiar with the workings of the calculator prepares you mentally for the actual exam, and this small effort will make sure you walk into the exam hall with a head full of positive thoughts and ready to give your best.
Stay calm and composed during the exam
During the exam, when the exam begins, your peace could be out of place by you rather than the exam people. When we let a tough question rattle them, we crush students’ confidence and precious time they could’ve been using for something else. Keep in mind that your biggest strength in the hall is your composure. Flagging difficult questions for review seems to be one golden strategy. Don’t spend all your time on a single question. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile. If something feels too challenging or too time consuming, skip it. Mark for later review and come back after you’ve done some easier questions. Plus, this saves time but keeps you in motion!
Nope, skip and returns isn’t about surrender; it’s about plan. If you spend too much time on one question it can throw you off your timing and thus detriment your performance on the rest of the paper as well. Then tackle the trickier ones after you’ve built your confidence from tackling what you already know. A place to pause some seconds if you are overwhelmed. Close your eyes for one moment and take a deep breath and reset your focus.
Remember, as well, one tough question or one tough section does not make your whole paper. And if you feel that something is hard, then don’t allow that to take away your confidence. Keep moving forward. Believe that your preparation for the rest of the exam will allow you to get through the next one, and that once you have a clean slate, the difficult question might not be so tough either. This will help you get the best out of your CLAT exam.
Avoid common pitfalls
The students, even the most well prepared can get trapped in the exam. Through the years, I’ve also seen some predictable mistakes—some avoidable—keep deserving candidates from performing well. Overthinking is one of the biggest mistakes. An Author’s Note ends with analysis, but spending too much time on a singular question can hurt how much time you have devoted to time management.
The second error at their lvel is shouting down the easy questions in the pursuit of the hard ones. You don’t want to overlook the low hanging fruit — easy marks — while trying to solve the hardest questions. Strike a balance: Try and maximise your score by first securing what’s easy on the paper, then working on the harder elements. Tricky or ambiguous questions will have traps, beware. Questions set by exam setters are often designed to test your patience and precision. Check each question, but particularly if it looks confusing at first. Don’t jump to conclusions, but don’t rush to your answer – clarity is key.
Lastly, trust your instincts. Another common mistake is second guessing yourself, and changing answers unnecessarily. If you come to a conclusion after careful thinking, then be accepting of it, unless there’s a really good reason to change. Take note of these pitfalls, so you can avoid losing marks that shouldn’t be lost.
Do not write on the question paper
In the past, CLAT has been forcing students not to write on the question paper. During this year’s CLAT, this became a hot topic of discussion, as the Consortium notified students about this rule just three days before the exam. CLAT has had thousands of emails from students requiring the withdrawal of this rule. Until recently, invigilation wasn’t that strict about this, and CLAT takers carried home question papers. I agree with the mandate of CLAT Consortium in this regard, they are not only right but also have good intentions and a very clear vision in it. Underlining is not good habit because there is law students have to read a lot in the long run and in lots of situations underlining is not an option. Writing on the question paper adds the possibility of the question paper being exchanged between candidates, and they share answers. Even though the sets are not the same and hence the cheat does not exchange OMR sheets, cheating can still be made possible when OMR sheets are exchanged with the questions. Rough sheets for necessary calculations are already provided.
I believe that it could have spared CLAT from making this rule one of the highlights just three days before the exam, which gave enormous cause for unnecessary panic. In a survey I ran it was surprising to me that 95% of students underline passage texts a lot, 4% underline somewhat little, and 1% do not underline at all. The habit is formed at the school from childhood. The problem has also been caused by past CLAT invigilation practices as the rule was never appropriately implemented. By virtue of previous experiences, therefore, there is a pseudo image created by the takers of CLAT that they can write on their question paper.
Requesting CLAT to have an allowance for underlining as suchppers are used to it so much that banning it now might impact their psychology. CLAT can later quite clearly and emphatically talk about this rule from next year. At the right time, the Consortium must work to dispel this false notion. However, I agree that CLAT has a very nice step with this (which will definitely help students in their law school journey), and will prevent unfair means to be used.
If the Consortium does not reconsider, students must adapt to this rule. These are some practical steps:
- Candidates must understand that underlining has no connection to any tangible benefits. It is merely a psychological habit that has developed over time. In fact, underlining often leads to unnecessarily reading almost every word. CLAT takers should work towards disabusing themselves of this false notion.
- To address this issue, candidates may move their pen while reading but without actually writing anything.
- Students may also practice this technique through sectional tests to build confidence.
- For marking answers, candidates can initially place a dot on the OMR sheet and later darken the ovals completely. OMR sheets are scanned three times using varying intensities of light. The final scan can detect even the faintest marks, but the first scan is the primary one. In case of any discrepancy, the results are checked manually. However, if any other oval is marked significantly, candidates may receive negative marks for marking multiple options. The CLAT Consortium has been improving this system every year.
- While solving questions, many candidates cross out obviously incorrect options to narrow down the choices. Instead of using ink for this purpose, candidates should consider alternative methods, such as placing objects like a pencil, an extra pen, the cap of a pen, or an eraser on the expected wrong options.
- Candidates should accept and adapt to this rule positively. They should view it as a challenge and work on finding effective solutions.
- For candidates who underline to reduce anxiety, they can use rough sheets to scribble while reading instead.
Post-exam advice
After the exam is over, it’s critical that you remain positive. Doing too much analysis of your performance or worrying about questions you think you might have answered incorrectly won’t change what you can accomplish. Rather than being pessimistic over how the project turned out, concentrate on the effort you’ve expended and the knowledge you’ve gained from your actions. Don’t leave momentum for exam preparation for those who are preparing for other exams. It could be another entrance test or even your upcoming board exams, be focused. Now use the confidence to fire you up for your preparation for what’s next. Every test is building on the road to your bigger goals.
To all aspirants, here’s a message from me: You have already worked hard and done your best. Trust yourself and the effort that you’ve put in. CLAT is a big mile marker, but it is only a piece of the overall journey. You will have a lot opportunity in life and success comes to people who are resilient and focused. Follow the plan you set for yourself and don’t question those decisions. Have faith in the process, because you’ve worked hard for this and it’s finally your time to believe in yourself. Lastly, the exam does not define who you are, what you’ve done, or where you’re going – it’s only a test of your skills at the moment.
Finally, always aim high. Stay on course with your vision, what you have to offer in performance and keep progressing. Whatever happens know that this is the beginning of a bright future. Keep on being positive, keep on being determined, and never let go of your goals. All the best!
Rajneesh Singh is the Founder and Chief Mentor of CLAT Essentials.
