The Consortium of National Law Universities has described the CLAT exam pattern for the candidates to be acquainted with the sections, types of questions and the exam difficulty level. The exam pattern provides all the details about the CLAT Test modalities. In 2020, the CLAT exam pattern saw a significant change due to the COVID spread. The number of questions in the exam were reduced from 200 to 150, and the consortium introduced comprehension-based questions.

It is noted that the paper pattern is like the last year, which means the UG question paper will have 120 questions while the PG paper will have 120 questions. The total time duration of the exam is 2 hours i.e., 120 minutes for both CLAT-UG and CLAT-PG programs.

Knowing the pattern will give you a fair idea about the exam structure, marking scheme, number of sections, type of questions, and more.

This article shall guide you through the detailed information about the CLAT Exam pattern for both UG and PG programs.

CLAT-UG Exam Pattern

In the CLAT UG exam, you will be tested on English, GK, Logical Reasoning, Legal Aptitude, and Quantitative Ability.

.  The CLAT question paper will have passages followed by a series of questions except for the quantitative section.

.  In the quant section, the questions are based on graphs, pictorial representation, a set of facts, etc. You must derive the answers from the given data.

.  The difficulty level of the Common Law Admission Test for UG programs will be of class 12.

Download FREE Study Material for CLAT by CLATATHON

CLAT-UG : Types of Question in UG/ LLB Exam

All the questions in CLAT-UG will be passage type. Each passage will be of around 450-500 words followed by 5/6 multiple-choice Questions with 4-5 options.

. MCQ type questions will be asked in CLAT UG exam.

.  The passages from logical reasoning and quantitative aptitude will be graphs, values, and factual information based on which candidates will have to select the correct option.

.  In CLAT UG exam reading skills are very important, therefore, candidates will be required to work on their reading skills to score high in the exam.

.  The Legal Aptitude section examines your interest level as well as your knowledge of Law.

 

Nomenclature

Details

Medium of CLAT exam

English

Mode of CLAT

Offline - Pen and Paper

Duration of CLAT

2 hours

Type of Questions in CLAT

MCQ

Total Number of Questions

120

Marking Scheme in CLAT

  • Total Marks: 120
  • Marks for Correct Answer: 1
  • Negative Marking: 0.25

Total No. of Subjects/ Sections

  • English Language
  • Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
  • Legal Reasoning
  • Logical Reasoning
  • Quantitative Techniques

 

Read more: Important Topics for CLAT

CLAT-UG Exam Pattern: Section-wise Weightage

Check out the table below to know the number of questions asked from each section in the CLAT-UG.

 

Subject

   Number of questions   

   Percentage weightage   

English Language

24-26 questions

20%

Current Affairs, including General Knowledge

28-30 questions

23%

Legal Reasoning

32-34 questions

27%

Logical Reasoning

24-26 questions

20%

Quantitative Techniques

12-14 questions

10%

 

 

 

CLAT-PG : Exam Pattern

The LLM is a postgraduate degree course conducted for the duration of one year. In the CLAT-PG, the questions are based on the Constitution Law, Contracts Law, Law of Torts, etc for the CLAT-UG program.

Check out the table below to know the detailed CLAT paper pattern for the PG program.

while in CLAT PG, you are tested Constitution Law and other law subjects

Mode

Offline

Medium of CLAT exam

English

Mode of CLAT

Offline - Pen and Paper

Duration of CLAT

2 hours

Type of Questions in CLAT

MCQ

Total Number of Questions

120

Marking Scheme in CLAT

Total Marks: 120

   Marks for Correct Answer: 1   

Negative Marking: 0.25

Total No. of Subjects/ Sections

Constitutional Law

Other Law Subjects

 

CLAT Exam Pattern: Topic-wise Weightage for PG

The below table explains the detailed CLAT PG exam pattern for the LLM course, and the number of questions asked from each topic in the exam.

Subjects

   Number of MCQ questions    

  Marks  

Constitutional Law

60

60

Other Law Subjects include Contracts Law, Law of Torts,

    Criminal Law, International Law, IPR, and Jurisprudence    

60

60

Total

120

120

 

CLAT Marking Scheme

- As per the CLAT exam pattern, you will be awarded +1 mark for each correctly answered question.

- 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrongly answered question.

- No marks will be awarded or deducted for unanswered questions.

Response

Marks

Correct Answer

   + 1 Marks   

Incorrect Answer

0.25 Marks

   Unanswered/ Unattempted Question   

No Marks

 

CLAT Exam Pattern : Important Points

  • CLAT exam pattern has been revised in 2024 where the total number of questions had been reduced to 120 from 150 for UG exam. Candidates can expect CNLU to conduct CLAT 2025/26 on the same guidelines.

  • Other than the Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques sections, the remaining sections will have reading comprehension based MCQ questions.

  • In the case of QA and LR, the questions will be asked in the passage format, but the passage will have facts and values.

  • Candidates planning to prepare for the exam can refer to the Class 10 to 12 syllabus while preparing as the questions will be based on the basic concepts studied in those standards.

FAQ's

Q. What changes have been introduced in CLAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. CLAT consortium lowered the amount of CLAT UG questions from 200 to 150 in comparison to the previous year. The descriptive portion had been deleted from CLAT PG, and the number of questions was lowered from 150 to 120.

Q. Based on CLAT exam pattern, will the paper have descriptive questions along with MCQ-type questions?

Ans. As of now, there are no reports of CLAT having descriptive questions. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the essay-type questions had been removed from the paper.

Q. What is the difference between CLAT exam pattern of UG and PG exams?

Ans. CLAT exam pattern is the same for UG and PG exams in case of mode of exam, type of questions, etc. The only difference is that the UG paper will have 150 questions and the PG paper will have 120 questions.

Q. Does CLAT Exam Pattern change every year?

Ans. No, CLAT Exam Pattern usually remains the same. However, if there are new changes the conducting body will be announcing them online on their official website.

Q. How can a candidate practice for the upcoming examination based on the new CLAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. Candidates can take practice examinations given by the consortium, as well as solve CLAT sample papers, which will aid in their preparation for the online CLAT. The sample papers and mock examinations will be extremely beneficial because they simulate the format of the actual Common Law Admission Test.

Q. What should I do to prepare for CLAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. Some ways candidates can prepare for CLAT Exam Pattern as prescribed are.

  • Question paper and sample questions;

  • Model question papers; and

  • Instructional exam materials and exercises for each section

Q. Has the Legal Aptitude section been removed from the CLAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. No, the legal aptitude section has not been removed as part of the CLAT Exam Pattern. The section has had its name changed to ‘Legal Reasoning’.

Q. What is the negative marking as per CLAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. CLAT has a negative marking of 0.25 for each incorrect answer. Each correct answer has a mark of 1 mark.