Critical Reasoning Detailed Syllbus

CLAT Critical / Logical Reasoning Format

Critical reasoning is the process of thinking critically about something in order to form a judgement or reach a conclusion. It involves analysing and evaluating evidence and arguments in order to decide whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes neither. Critical reasoning skills are important in many aspects of life, from everyday decision-making to academic study. CLAT tests you on this skill extensively so taht you can critically read and analyse just like a future lawyer is expected to =)

Check out the sectional mark allocation below:

This is approximately 20% of the exam

Types of questions

The passages are acpproximately 300 words long with 4 - 5 accompanying questions that will evaluate your critical reading of the situation

The section will broadly test you on

• Your ability to identify arguments and its related premises to draw accurate conclusions or the main point of the author

• Ability to critically analyse patterns of reasoning, assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence

• Infer a continuation for the passage and apply these inferences to another scenario

• Draw relationships and analogies,

• Identify Flaws In Reasoning and assess the effectiveness of arguments

• Strengthen | Weaken an author's position
• Identify assumptions and other evaluating techniques used by the author to make his argument etc. etc.

Click Here To Check Out Sample Questions - You'll Love Our Flips

Detailed Critical Reasoning Syllabus and Topics*

*Arranged based on Priority

Source of Passages

The passages can be extracted from Current Affairs scenarios or classic arguments from History, Sociology, Political Science, Literature and other academic pursuits and opinions of great minds. These can include editorials and conundrums from the legal diaspora too. Generally, the passages are from the liberal arts and can be extracted from literally anywhere. As long as there is an argument made, along with an opinion offered, critical reasoning comes into play.

Here's a list of topics where CLAT Critical Reasoning Passages are extracted from..

Architecture Anthropology Art  Archaeology Dance  Economics Ethics

Education Literature  Geography Music  History Philosophy

Linguistics Popular Culture  Political Science Religion 

Population   Psychology  Theater  Sociology 

Types of questions

A student will be asked to read a 450 word passage, extract the main principles listed and answer some application based questions on the passage.

Each passage can have 5 - 6 accompanying applications

Critical Reasoning (High) 🚀

Assumptions: Assumptions are unstated ideas that are necessary for the argument to be valid. 

Conclusions: Conclusions are the main point that the argument is trying to prove.

Strengthen/Weaken Arguments: Strengthening and weakening arguments are methods of testing the validity of the argument by making it stronger or weaker.

Inferences: Inferences are ideas that are not stated explicitly in the argument, but can be drawn from the information given. 

Boldface: Boldface questions ask about specific parts of the argument. 

Evaluating and Argument: Evaluating an argument is judging how strong or weak the argument is. 

Identifying Flaws In Reasoning: Identifying flaws in reasoning is finding errors in the way that the argument is structured.

Verbal Reasoning (Mid)

• Statement Assumptions
• Statement Conclusions
• Arguments
• Degree of Truth and Falsity
• Para Jumbles
• Logical Connectives
• Syllogisms
• Courses of Action

Analytical Reasoning (Low)

• Logic Games
• Number and Letter Series
• Coding Decoding
• Clocks and Calendars
• Logical Venn Diagrams
• Binary Logic
• Conclusion

Hope this overview helped. If you've got any further questions and you want to start your coaching sessions with top level mentors to crack the CLAT, we're looking forward to connect =)