How do the Mock Tests help? – Pallavi Panigrahi Answers! (Rank 2 – CLAT 2012)

So it’s that time of the year when those preparing for CLAT 2017 and the paraphernalia of other entrance law exams will be wondering what they ought to do to get an added advantage over their competitors. It’s been months since the preparations have begun (Hasn’t it?) and now it’s time to give the much needed push! So what should you do to get that edge over the thousands others who are vying for a seat in the top law colleges of the country? What will help you ascertain whether you are preparing in the right direction? What will help you determine your preparedness to attempt an actual entrance paper? The answer to all these questions is one – MOCK TESTS!

So what exactly are mock tests?

Well, they are supposed to be simulations of the original entrance exams and consist of questions according to the pattern of the said exam. The questions are set to a particular time limit and are meant to be solved within that time limit.

Why should you appear for mock exams?

From the time you start preparing for CLAT and the other entrance exams, the focus is on how much you can learn in a given time period. However, it is important to realize that learning and remembering things serves no purpose if you don’t practice enough! And the best way to practice is solve as many papers as possible. Solving question papers within the stipulated time limit gives you an idea about what to expect in the actual exam. It also gives you the much needed feedback about the efficacy of your preparations. Thus, frequent mocks (one in a week or in two weeks depending on your level of preparation) are a must in this stage of the preparation.

How should you approach the mock exams?

There are two kinds of mocks that you can appear for- Online and Manual. Though practicality favors online tests considering the constraints of time and space, I would strongly recommend you to appear for as many manual mocks (the kind that CLATGyan provides you with) as possible. These provide you with near perfect practice as the conditions for appearing for these mocks and the original exams are the same. Basically, in the manual mocks, you will be provided with the question paper and an OMR sheet. The OMR sheet will have four or five bubbles per question, one for each option. You have to color the bubble which you think corresponds to the right option. One of the most common mistakes committed during marking the OMR sheets is that people tend to mark the answers in the question paper with the intention to color the bubbles at the last. However, this strategy has the potential of going horribly wrong if you run out of time! Hence, the best and most effective strategy to answer these tests is to color the bubbles as you solve the questions.

That said, there are certain other important aspects of mock tests that need to be kept in mind while appearing for them.

Various coaching institutes have their own versions of mock tests. Along with the tests, they also claim to provide a list of your national ranking. These rankings, however fancy they sound, don’t deserve any importance. No, not even for self-evaluation. I have come across people who used to score brilliantly in these mock tests and who didn’t do well in the main exam. Conversely, there are people who were not even close to the desired level in the mocks and yet got through the best law colleges in the country. It has to be kept in mind that the primary utility of the mock exams is to test your knowledge and to figure out the sections that need more work so that you can pay special emphasis to these sections in order to improve your score.

So study hard, study smart and do appear for the mock tests! As they say, if 20 % of your preparation is what you know, 80 % is what you have practiced!

Happy Mocking! 😛

Pallavi.