The Consortium of NLU conducts the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) every year for undergraduate and postgraduate law courses. CLAT is a gateway to 22 NLUs in India for undergraduate and postgraduate law courses and is considered as one of the most prestigious law entrance exams in India for the five-year integrated law course of BA LLB. As per the changed pattern of CLAT 2020, it is more passage-based and hence too lengthy and very time-consuming. The total number of questions in the exam according to the new pattern is 150, and the time given to complete the exam is 2 hours, i.e., 120 minutes. The exam is usually conducted in an offline mode but due the pandemic situation the exam was conducted in an online mode in exam centres.
The exam pattern provides all details related to the test modalities of any exam, so before getting started with the preparation of any exam, you must know the pattern of that exam.
Key Highlights:
- Total number of questions: 150
- Time given: 2:00 hours, i.e., 120 minutes.
- Total marks: 150
- Marking scheme: +1 for each correct attempt and -0.25 for each wrong attempt.
- Sections: There are five sections: Logical Reasoning, English, Legal Reasoning, General knowledge and Current Affairs, and Quantitative Techniques.
- Test type: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) based
- Number of choices in each question: 4
- Medium: English Language.
Analysis per Section:
1. English
- Number of questions: 28-32 questions
- Weightage of the section: about 20% of the paper
- Maximum marks: 28- 32, as per the number of questions
In this section, you are provided with passages of about 450 words each. The passages are of present or historical significance, based on fiction and non-fiction writing. The level of passage is such that a student in the 12th standard may be able to read it in about 5-7 minutes.
There are a series of questions given after each passage that test your comprehension and language skills. You have to read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, and draw inferences and conclusions based on it. You have to compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints given in the passage, and understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.
2. Current Affairs and General Knowledge
- Number of questions: 35-39 questions
- Weightage of the section: about 25% of the paper
- Maximum marks: 35-39, as per the number of questions.
In this section, you are provided with passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be driven by news or journalistic sources, and other non-fiction writing. The questions generally include an examination of legal facts discussed in or related to the passage, and you do not require any prior knowledge of the law of the passage.
There are a series of questions given after each passage that test your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge. You should have knowledge of ongoing events of significance in India and the world, and of topics related to arts and culture, international affairs and historical events of present significance.
3. Legal Reasoning
- Number of questions: 35- 39 questions
- Weightage of the section: about 25% of the paper
- Maximum marks: 35- 39, as per the number of questions
The passages will be of about 450 words each, related to factual situations related to legal affairs, public policy, or moral philosophical inquiries. You will not require any previous knowledge of the law. You will only need to apply general principles that are given related to the factual scenarios given in passages that relate to general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues.
The series of questions given after each passage will require you to identify and infer the principles set out in the passage and apply them to various factual situations. You will need to understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various factual situations.
4. Quantitative Techniques
- Number of questions: 13-17 questions
- Weightage of the section: about 10% of the paper
- Maximum marks: 13-17, as per the number of questions.
Following a series of questions, this section will include precise sets of facts, textual, graphic, pictorial, or diagrammatic representations of mathematical information. You will be required to infer and manipulate numerical information provided in the given representations and apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on them to topics such as measurement, ratios and proportions, basic algebra, and statistical estimation.
5. Logical Reasoning
- Number of questions: 28- 32 questions
- Weightage of the section: about 20% of the paper
- Maximum marks: 28- 32, as per the number of questions
This section includes a series of small passages of about 300 words each. There are a series of questions given after each passage, for which you have to read and recognize an argument, its evidence and conclusions, and critically analyse patterns of reasoning. You have to infer the information from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations, and also draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence.
Overall, the exam will be passage-based, making the paper very lengthy and you may find it difficult to complete it, as it will be very time-consuming. But you do not need in-depth knowledge of the topics, which makes the difficulty level moderate. Students with a basic understanding of the topic and good reasoning skills with a blend of time management could easily crack the exam by qualifying for the cut-off.
Frequenlty Asked Questions
Yes, there is a provision for negative marking in the CLAT exam. Typically, for each incorrect answer, a fraction of marks is deducted as per the marking scheme specified in the exam notification.
Yes, there have been changes in the CLAT exam pattern in recent years. Earlier, CLAT had a paper-based (offline) mode, but it has transitioned to a computer-based (online) mode. Additionally, the number of questions, sections, and time duration have been modified over time.
The CLAT exam is typically conducted once a year. However, there have been instances of the exam being rescheduled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances
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