In this guide
A large share of CLAT English passages are opinion pieces: an editorial, an essay, a columnist making a case. They look easy because the language is modern and the topic is familiar. They are where many marks are lost, because the questions are not about the topic. They are about the argument: what the author claims, what they concede, and what they reject.
If you can map an argument in the time it takes to read it, most questions answer themselves.
The parts of an argument
| Part | What it does | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | What the author wants you to accept | "The real problem is…", "Cities should…" |
| Reasons and evidence | Why you should accept it | "because", "since", examples, data |
| Counter-view | A view the author sets out, usually to answer | "Some argue…", "Critics say…", "It is often claimed…" |
| Concession | Granting part of the other side | "Admittedly", "It is true that…", "There is some truth in this" |
| Pivot | Where the author's own view returns | "But", "Yet", "Still", "However" |
| Qualification | Limits on the claim | "None of this means…", "at least", "in most cases" |
The concession and the pivot are where questions cluster. A candidate who misses the "But" after a concession will mistake the counter-view for the author's view, and then the main idea, the tone and the "author would agree" questions all go wrong together.
A method that fits the clock
- Find the claim. It is often in the first or last paragraph, or right after the first "but".
- Mark the other side. Put a small bracket around any view the author reports but does not hold.
- Note the concession. What does the author grant? This protects you from extreme options later.
- Write a one-line map before the questions: "Claim: X. Because Y. Grants Z. Rejects W."
That last step takes fifteen seconds and saves far more.
An original argument passage
Every few years, a city somewhere announces that its buses will be free, and the idea is greeted as if it were obviously good. Free buses, supporters say, will pull people out of cars, clear the roads and help the poor. It is an attractive picture, and parts of it are true. Fares do deter some riders, and for a household on a tight budget, the daily cost of travel is not small.
But the picture leaves out the question riders themselves ask first: will the bus come? A commuter who waits forty minutes for a bus that may arrive full is not hoping for a lower fare. They are hoping for a better service. If fares disappear and no buses are added, the new riders may well be people who used to walk or cycle short distances rather than people who used to drive. The roads would stay as crowded as before, and the buses would become more crowded than before.
There is also the question of money. Fares pay for part of the running cost of most bus systems. Remove them and the gap must be filled from the city budget, which also has to pay for schools, drains and hospitals. A service that depends on each year's budget is easily starved of the new buses it needs.
None of this is an argument for high fares. Discounts for students, older people and low-income households put help where it is needed, at a fraction of the cost of making every journey free. The first rupee a city spends on buses should buy frequency and reliability. Once people can trust the bus, a lower fare will bring many more of them on board.
The map: Claim: spend first on frequent, reliable buses, and use targeted discounts rather than free fares for all. Because: riders value reliability first; free fares without more buses may draw walkers, not drivers; fares fund the service. Grants: fares do deter some riders. Rejects: free buses as an obvious good. Qualifies: not an argument for high fares.
Worked questions
Q1. The author's main claim is that:
(a) cities should raise bus fares
(b) free buses have no benefits
(c) cities should spend first on frequent, reliable service and use targeted discounts rather than free fares for all
(d) bus services should be handed to private companies
Answer: (c). It combines the pivot in paragraph two and the conclusion in paragraph four.
- (a) is contradicted: "None of this is an argument for high fares."
- (b) is too extreme. The author grants that fares deter some riders.
- (d) is outside the passage.
Q2. The sentence "Fares do deter some riders, and for a household on a tight budget, the daily cost of travel is not small" serves to:
(a) concede part of the opposing view
(b) state the author's main conclusion
(c) offer evidence that the author later fails to answer
(d) give a statistic in support of free buses
Answer: (a). It follows "parts of it are true" and comes before the "But" that opens paragraph two.
- (b) The conclusion is about frequency and reliability, not fares deterring riders.
- (c) The author does answer it, with targeted discounts.
- (d) There is no statistic here.
Q3. The author's argument assumes that:
(a) city budgets never grow
(b) every commuter owns a car
(c) no city has ever made buses free
(d) unreliable service is a major reason people do not take the bus
Answer: (d). The whole case for spending on frequency depends on it. If reliability did not matter to riders, better service would not bring them on board.
- (a) is too strong. The author only says the budget has competing demands.
- (b) is contradicted by the mention of people who walk or cycle.
- (c) is irrelevant; the argument does not depend on history.
Q4. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author's argument?
(a) Students welcome fare discounts.
(b) In a city that made buses free without adding any buses, car traffic fell sharply and the buses did not become overcrowded.
(c) Many cities already offer fare discounts to older people.
(d) Some bus drivers support free fares.
Answer: (b). The author predicts that free fares without extra buses would draw walkers, not drivers, and overcrowd the buses. This evidence shows the opposite.
- (a) and (c) are consistent with the author's own proposal.
- (d) is an opinion, not evidence about outcomes.
Q5. The author would most likely agree that:
(a) fares should be the same for every passenger
(b) free travel should never be offered to anyone
(c) a city with buses every five minutes might gain many riders by cutting fares
(d) crowded buses are a sign of a successful policy
Answer: (c). "Once people can trust the bus, a lower fare will bring many more of them on board."
- (a) contradicts the support for targeted discounts.
- (b) is too extreme; the author objects to free fares for all as a first step, not to all fare relief.
- (d) contradicts the worry about buses becoming "more crowded than before".
Q6. The tone of the passage is best described as:
(a) scathing
(b) indifferent
(c) enthusiastic
(d) measured and argumentative
Answer: (d). The author takes a clear position but grants the other side's valid points.
- (a) is too harsh for an author who says "parts of it are true".
- (b) does not fit a passage that argues a case.
- (c) The author is sceptical of the popular idea, not excited by anything.
Common traps
- Reported view as author's view. "Supporters say" and "critics argue" are not the author speaking.
- Ignoring the qualification. "None of this is an argument for high fares" rules out several tempting options.
- Extreme paraphrase. "The author opposes free buses" is close; "the author thinks free buses are useless" is not.
- Outside opinion. Your own view on free transport does not matter. Only the author's does.
Practice set
Some argue that homework should be abolished in primary school because it adds stress without improving learning. There is some truth in this: long worksheets often do little good. But short, playful tasks, such as reading with a parent or measuring things at home, can link school to family life. The problem is not homework itself but homework of the wrong kind.
P1. The author's conclusion is that:
(a) homework should be abolished in primary school
(b) the kind of homework matters more than whether it is set
(c) worksheets are the most useful kind of homework
(d) parents should take over teaching at home
P2. "There is some truth in this" functions as:
(a) the author's main claim
(b) a complete rejection of the opposing view
(c) a partial concession to the opposing view
(d) evidence for abolishing homework
P3. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author's argument?
(a) Many parents dislike homework.
(b) Long worksheets are common in primary schools.
(c) Some teachers set no homework at all.
(d) Children given short reading tasks with a parent read better, without reporting more stress.
Answers
- (b). "The problem is not homework itself but homework of the wrong kind." (a) is the view the author answers. (c) is contradicted: worksheets "do little good". (d) goes beyond the passage.
- (c). The author grants part of the other side before the "But". It is not the claim (a), not a rejection (b), and the author does not use it to support abolition (d).
- (d). It shows the right kind of homework helps without adding stress, which is exactly the author's point. (a) supports the other side, if anything. (b) and (c) describe practice, not outcomes.
What to do next
- For your next five opinion passages, write the one-line map before answering.
- Circle every concession and pivot word in one editorial a day for a week.
- Logical Reasoning uses the same skills; see arguments: premises and conclusions and strengthening and weakening.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Consortium of National Law Universities website .
Get the next CLAT guide by email
New guides every week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.