The latest CLAT exam pattern provides us with details like exam structure, section-wise marks distribution, no. of questions in each section and much more. These details provide you with a blueprint of the CLAT exam.
The CLAT exam pattern is available on the Consortium’s official website for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It was released in August 2022 along with the CLAT 2023 official notification.
CLAT EXAM PATTERN
The CLAT aspirants must know the CLAT exam pattern well. The details shared in the CLAT 2023 official notification must be read carefully. It will help you envision how the actual exam would be.
CLAT Exam Pattern: No of Questions
The CLAT UG and CLAT PG exams have different numbers of questions. CLAT Undergraduate exam will include 150 questions in all & CLAT postgraduate exam will have 120 questions.
CLAT Exam Pattern: Exam Duration
The CLAT exam is a timed test administered to candidates to judge whether or not they are fit to pursue legal studies. The candidates must complete their CLAT UG exam in 120 minutes, i.e. 2 hours. The time limit for the CLAT PG exam is the same as the CLAT UG exam, i.e. 120 minutes (2 hours). No extra time is provided.
CLAT Exam Pattern: Total Marks
The maximum obtained marks for both exams differ as the number of questions varies in CLAT UG and CLAT PG exams. The maximum score for the CLAT UG exam could be 150, and for the CLAT PG exam, it is 120 marks.
| CLAT exam | Maximum Marks Obtained |
| CLAT UG Exam | 150 marks |
| CLAT PG Exam | 120 marks |
CLAT Exam Pattern: Marking Scheme
The CLAT exam is considered challenging as it has a component of negative marking. The practice aims to discourage the guessing of answers. The marking scheme includes a deduction of 0.25 marks for every incorrect response. For every correct response, 1 mark is awarded to the candidate. Since unattempted questions are not marked, the candidates are advised to leave the question unattempted instead of making guesses. Guessing the answer increases the scope for negative marking, thereby decreasing your CLAT score.
| Questions | Marks |
| Correct Response | +1 mark |
| Incorrect Response | -0.25 mark |
| Unattempted | 0 mark |
CLAT Exam Pattern: Total number of sections
CLAT UG exam has 5 sections in total. These sections are English Language, Current Affairs, including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Technique.
CLAT PG exam has only 2 sections. The first is Constitutional Law, and the second includes other laws like Criminal Law, Property law, Jurisprudence, Company Law and much more.
CLAT Exam Pattern: Passage Difficulty Level and the Word Limit
The CLAT syllabus is vast as the focus is not on the knowledge but the skills and aptitude of the candidates. Due to the vast syllabus, it might get difficult for the candidate to organise their preparations for the exam. Therefore the Consortium has informed the candidates about the difficulty level of the passages included in each section. The word limit of the passages in each section is also mentioned.
| S. No. | Sections | Word Limit of the passages | Difficulty Level |
| 1. | English Language | 450 words | 12th |
| 2. | Legal Reasoning | 450 words | 12th |
| 3. | Logical Reasoning | 300 words | 12th |
| 4. | Current Affairs | 450 words | 12th |
| 5. | Quantitative Technique | No prescribed word limit | 10th |
CLAT Exam Pattern: Section-wise marks and questions distribution
The Consortium has provided the section-wise marks and questions distribution for CLAT UG and CLAT PG exams. The distribution is as follows:
For CLAT UG Exam
| S.No. | Sections | Questions
(approx.) |
CLAT total marks | Weightage |
| 1 | English including Comprehension | 28-32 | 28-32 | 20% |
| 2 | General Knowledge and Current Affairs | 35-39 | 32-35 | 25% |
| 3 | Legal Reasoning | 35-39 | 35-39 | 25% |
| 4 | Logical Reasoning | 28-32 | 28-32 | 20% |
| 5 | Quantitative Techniques | 13-17 | 13-17 | 10% |
| TOTAL | 150 | 150 | 100% |
For CLAT PG Exam
| S. No. | Sections | Questions
(approx.) |
Marks |
|
|
Constitutional Law | 60 | 60 |
|
|
Other Law | 60 | 60 |
| Total | 120 | 120 |
CLAT Exam Pattern: Mode and Medium
Both the CLAT exams, i.e. CLAT UG and CLAT PG, will be conducted in pen and paper mode. The candidates will be assigned a test centre to administer the test. The medium of the exams will be English.
CLAT Exam Pattern: Question Structure
The CLAT exam follows a slightly different method of questioning. Unlike other objective-type exams, the questions are not listed in a sequence. Instead, reading passages are given. The candidates are expected to read and comprehend the Passage. A set of questions follows each Passage. The candidates answer the questions using the understanding built after reading the Passage. Therefore the question type is Passage-based MCQs.
Other important details about CLAT 2023
- The CLAT 2023 exam is scheduled on 18 December 2022.
- The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) is the conducting body of the exam.
- The exam will be conducted from 2:00 PM till 4:00 PM. However, the timings might change if the need arises.
- The CLAT exam only aims at assessing the aptitude and reasoning skills of the aspirants. Therefore they are not required to possess any prior knowledge of the law.
All CLAT aspirants must know the essential details shared in the article. It will help you get a better insight into the actual exam.
