In this section of the UG-CLAT 2020, you will be provided passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing, and would be of a standard that a 12th standard student may be able to read in about 5-7 minutes.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your comprehension and language skills, including your abilities to:

• Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage;


• Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage;


• Summarise the passage;


• Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage; and


• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage

In this section, you will be provided passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed in or related to the passage, but would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:

• Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;


• Arts and culture;


• International affairs; and


• Historical events of continuing significance.

In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. You will not require any prior knowledge of law. You will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues to better apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.

Each passage would be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

• Recognize an argument, its premises and conclusions;


• Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage;


• Critically analyse patterns of reasoning, and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence;


• Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations;


• Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

The Consortium published various preparatory materials for the UG-CLAT 2020, including:

• Guides to the question paper and sample questions;


• Model question papers; and


• Instructional materials and exercises for each of the subjects that the UG-CLAT 2020 comprises.

The Consortium provided candidates who have successfully completed their application to the UG-CLAT 2020 access to a learning platform where you may access the preparatory materials described above, as well as your scores on various exercises and model question papers.

In addition, you should develop your capacity to read and understand bodies of text, ensure you stay abreast of news and current affairs by regularly reading quality newspapers and periodicals, and improve your speed of answering questions on quantitative techniques by practising with materials such as 10th standard mathematics textbooks.

• Maximum Marks : 150


• Duration of CLAT 2020 Exam : 02:00 Hours


• Multiple-Choice Questions : 150 questions of one mark each


• Negative Marking : 0.25 Mark for each wrong answer

How to approach questions in the Current Affairs including General Knowledge section of the UG CLAT 2020

• Questions intended to test depth of understanding of issues and events of significance,rather than mere fact- or trivia-based superficial knowledge.


• While the focus is on more recent and current events, questions may test you on historical information related to such events and significance, in order to better gauge your understanding of the causes of such current events.


• Questions may also relate to matters associated with the events mentioned in the passage - for a passage about a natural calamity for example, you may face questions not only about that natural calamity, but similar events in other parts of the world.


• Make sure you read the entire passage before you attempt the questions - while the answers to some questions may seem apparent to you, you would be able to pick up valuable clues about the answers to other questions by ensuring you read the entire passage first.


• Don’t worry about whether you will remember all the elements of the passage when you come to the questions - the idea is not to test your ability to memorise the passage and answer questions that test your recollection - but do make sure you have a good idea of the overall theme or point of focus of the passage, as this may help jog your memory about any related information you may have read or come across in your preparations.


• In line with the overall theme of the UG CLAT 2020, the focus is on comprehension, and your ability to understand and decode the information set out in the passage. While you may not be asked vocabulary questions in this section of the paper, you may be asked the meaning of certain statements made in the passage, insofar as they relate to information associated with such statements - for example, a passage relating to cyclones may ask you what the difference is between a cyclone, typhoon, and hurricane.


• As with all the other sections of the UG CLAT 2020, make sure you pay close attention to the wording of the questions - the question setters may be examining your ability to read and follow text closely, and so, may frame questions in a negative manner (e.g., Which of the following is not an example of x?) or may use a double negative as well (e.g., Instead of asking which of the following is an efficient way to do x, the question may be framed as: Which of the following is not an inefficient way to do x.)

• The best way to prepare for this section of the UG CLAT 2020 is to have a long-term habit of reading a good set of newspapers and periodicals; in particular, it would help to read the editorial and opinion sections of newspapers and periodicals, as these often provide historical, associated, and ancillary information related to the main subject discussed in the piece. Now that you have an idea of what sources the question setters typically refer to from the introductory video, try and read through similar sources on a regular basis.


• If you have not developed a long-term habit of reading newspapers and periodicals, all is not lost! Now that many good sources of news and information are also available online, you can also visit their websites, and go through their archive of editorial and opinion pieces. In this way, you can try and catch up for some lost time.


• It may not be possible for you to read all the information covered in this section of the UG CLAT 2020 in the time you have. A good way to try and address this is to form a small group of people with whom you can discuss the topics and areas that are covered in this section. That way, you can not only take the advantage of the fact that other people may have covered the topics you have not been able to, you will also be able to dive into greater depth by questioning each other about each topic, so as to ensure you know more about that topic than you may otherwise have been able to.


• It may not be possible for you to read all the information covered in this section of the UG CLAT 2020 in the time you have. A good way to try and address this is to form a small group of people with whom you can discuss the topics and areas that are covered in this section. That way, you can not only take the advantage of the fact that other people may have covered the topics you have not been able to, you will also be able to dive into greater depth by questioning each other about each topic, so as to ensure you know more about that topic than you may otherwise have been able to.