Consistency is the Key Ingredient behind Success

Saumya Singh, Rank 1 CLAT & AILET 2019

Priya Jindal

Saumya Singh who has secured Rank 1 in Common Law Admission Test 2019 and AILET 2019– shares his strategy with readers of Employment News. Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national level entrance exam conducted to provide admission to candidates in UG and PG law programs offered at National Law Universities (NLUs) and other colleges/ universities accepting exam scores. Saumya has achieved this feat in his first attempt. Priya Jindal of Delhi Knowledge Track spoke to him to know about his strategy, exam pattern and other topics that could be useful to the aspirants preparing for these two prestigious law exams of our country.

1. Congratulations for your outstanding performance in CLAT as well as All India Law Entrance Test AILET Examination! What was first your reaction upon knowing your Rank in the exam?

I was both surprised and exhilarated at knowing my ranks in the exams. Based on my performance I'd expected a rank in the top 10 but getting the 1st rank was a pleasant surprise!

1. Saumya could you please share your CLAT strategy in brief?

I started preparation in 11th and took the exam with 12th. I gave the subjects proportionate time based on my strengths and weaknesses. I took mocks regularly and these helped me analyse my strengths and weaknesses and improve my time management. I did not leave the preparation for the boards for the end and prepared for them with CLAT throughout the year.

1. How CLAT is different from AILET and how did you manage to prepare for both examinations?

The syllabus for both is not different. However, the paper patterns and the kinds of questions asked make the exams different. I believe that a student who has a relative advantage in English and Logical Reasoning will find it easier to get a good rank in CLAT. On the other hand, AILET is dependant more on one's confidence and presence of mind. I took mocks for both to get used to the pattern and prepared factual science for AILET.

1. Saumya, both your father and mother are academician and they teach Geography in University, so who motivated you to persue Law?

My father has always had an interest in, and a good knowledge of, law. Besides, it was my mother who motivated me to pursue law because of the opportunity it entails to work for one's community and my own interest in Political Science and other law related stuff.

1. Please tell us the schedule you followed during your examination.

On school days I used to give time to both preparation for the boards and CLAT. Besides reading the newspaper and doing GK and vocab daily, I focused on revision and working on my weaknesses. On weekends I mainly used to revise GK.

1. Saumya, Legal Aptitude and Current Affairs part cover 50-50 marks each, so did you gave extra time for practicing Legal Aptitude and Current Affairs part?

Focusing on these 2 sections is very important as they carry the most marks. Besides, the legal reasoning section acts as a tie breaker in case 2 candidates have the same marks.

For legal reasoning, I referred to the material provided by my coaching, past year papers and mocks to get adequate practice. My focus was on knowing the concept behind each question so that I could answer even tricky questions.

I devoted the most time of my preparation to GK. I did current affairs from 6 sources which included the newspaper, GKTODAY, studyiq, a monthly magazine and the material provided by Law Prep. I revised current affairs regularly. For static GK I referred to the book by Tarun Goyal.

1. Did you appear for any entrance examination earlier? If yes, please share those details?

I appeared for SLAT 2019 conducted by Symbiosis. I got 135 marks out of 150 in it.

1. Did you take mock tests and sample papers - how extensively did you practise with the help of these? Do you think practising from the previous year papers help and how?

I took around 80 mock tests at Law Prep. I gave mocks every week, and almost every day towards the end of my preparation. I think mocks help as one is able to practice 200 questions, get better at time management and know one's strengths and weaknesses. I used to devote 1-2 hours to analysing those mocks and trying to find ways to improve.

Practicing from previous year papers does help a lot. One gets an idea of what exactly is asked in CLAT and even though CLAT is very unpredictable, one is able to structure his preparation and cover the more important topics first. Also, as CLAT 2019 showed us, sometimes questions from the past papers are repeated.

1. Could you please tell us the text books and reference books that you followed, please also mention the other offline and online resources.

For GK, I read The Hindu newspaper regularly. I also referred to GKToday and StudyIQ. Besides these I read the magazine, Competition in focus and the material provided by Law Prep.

For Logical Reasoning I referred to the material provided by Law Prep and the book by RS Aggarwal for important topics. For Critical Reasoning I referred to the book by MK Pandey.

For Legal Reasoning I relied on the material provided by Law Prep, which included class notes, class tests and mock tests. Previous Year Papers also helped.

For English Vocabulary I referred to the 2 books by Norman Lewis (Word Power Made Easy and 30 days to a Faster Vocabulary). I used to refer to word lists for GRE regularly which helped me learn new words and revise existing ones. I used to maintain registers for vocabulary and updated them daily. For Grammar I referred to the book English is Easy besides the material provided by law prep. Reading the newspaper helped a lot.

For maths I relied on the material provided by my coaching and online sources wherever needed.

1. What do you think are the key factors behind your stupendous success?

I think my main strength has always been consistency. Right from Day 1 I prepared as if CLAT 2018 were my CLAT. I was able to keep up the momentum till the end and that's what helped me achieve this rank.

Besides, I was able to deal with the pressure on the exam day. A cool mind helps one give his best.

1. How did you manage your time and remain stress free during the preparation?

Even though most of my time went to preparation, I used to take breaks in between my study sessions. I used to talk to my family, go on walks, play badminton or listen to music. I think taking breaks is important to rejuvenate one's mind.

1. What is your future plan - judicial service or legal service or any other service, please elaborate on that.

As of now I plan to get into the Judiciary as a Judge of the Supreme Court but I'm receptive to other opportunities as well.

(Priya Jindal is founder Director of knowledge start up 'Delhi Knowledge Track'. She can be reached at priyarjindal@ gmail.com.)

Views expressed are personal.