The Consortium of NLUs administers the Common Law Admission Test or CLAT. The exam is conducted once every year in December. Earlier, the exam was administered in May, but due to various reasons, the shift has been implemented. Thousands of aspirants appear for the CLAT exam. Before beginning their preparation, candidates must be fully informed of all pertinent information and specifics.
The Consortium’s official website posts an official notification with details on the CLAT exam, including the CLAT exam duration, the CLAT eligibility requirements, and other information. But the official announcement is yet to be released. However, we can foresee the exam format and syllabus by examining the previous year’s exams. To learn more about the CLAT exam pattern and begin their preparations, students do not have to wait for the official notification. This article can give candidates a good overview of the CLAT exam format and other crucial information.
Overview CLAT exam
| S.No. | Particulars | Details |
| 1. | Name of the Examination | Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) |
| 2. | Conducting Body | The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) |
| 3. | Exam Level | National Level |
| 4. | Purpose | Admission to undergraduate courses in law.Admission to postgraduate courses in law.PSUs recruitments. |
| 5. | Medium | English |
| 6. | Frequency | Once a Year |
| 7. | Duration | 120 Minutes, i.e. 2 Hours |
| 8. | Mode | Pen and Paper |
| 9. | Total no. of questions | CLAT UG- 150 QuestionsCLAT PG- 120 Questions |
| 10. | Maximum Marks | CLAT UG- 150 MarksCLAT PG- 120 Marks |
| 11. | Question Type | MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) |
| 12. | Number of Seats | 3000 for UG Program1000 for PG Program |
| 13. | Total Sections | 5 Sections (English Language, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Techniques, Legal Reasoning, and Current Affairs including General Knowledge.) |
| 14. | Negative Marking | Yes, Deduction of 0.25 for every wrong answer. |
| 15. | Participating Institutions | 22 NLUs except for NLU, Delhi and other private institutions. |
CLAT Exam Pattern
Understanding the CLAT exam format is essential since it prepares the applicant for the exam. It helps candidates understand what to expect from the CLAT exam. The Consortium that conducts the exam offers the basics of the CLAT exam format. It is possible to gain knowledge about the exam format by carefully reviewing the CLAT exam papers from previous years.
CLAT Exam Pattern: Undergraduate
| S.No. | Subjects | 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% |
CLAT Exam Pattern: Postgraduate
| S.No. | Subjects | Questions(approx.) | CLAT total marks | Weightage |
| 1. | Constitutional Law | 60 | 60 | 50% |
| 2. | Other Laws such as Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Property Law, Company Law, Environmental Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, and Labour & Industrial Law | 60 | 60 | 50% |
| TOTAL | 120 | 120 | 100% |
CLAT Exam Pattern UG: Tie-Breaking Mechanism
If two or more candidates receive equal CLAT UG scores, the tie is resolved as follows:
- The candidate who earned the most points in the legal aptitude section will be admitted.
- The applicants’ age must be considered if the first condition is ineffective. The oldest one gets admission.
- The computer-based lottery mechanism is the last line of defence to break ties. A computerised lottery mechanism randomly selects candidates, and the winner will be admitted to the programme.
CLAT Exam Pattern PG: Tie-Breaking Mechanism
When it comes to PG programmes, ties in CLAT scores are resolved in the following ways:
- The first criterion is based on age. In the event of a tie, the older candidate is admitted.
- A computerised lottery mechanism is employed as a last option if age criteria are ineffective. The lottery winner selected by a machine is taken into consideration for admission.
CLAT Syllabus
The Consortium does not publish any set CLAT syllabus. However, by examining the papers from the previous year, the experts created a thorough syllabus.
CLAT Syllabus UG
There are 5 sections in the CLAT exam. These five distinct portions are designed to determine whether or not the candidate has the aptitude for legal studies. This aids in determining a candidate’s suitability for legal studies. We’ll examine the syllabus section by section and the subjects covered in each section.
English Language
- Comprehension of multiple viewpoints present in the passage.
- Drawing inferences and conclusions.
- Comparing and contrasting the various narratives and arguments laid out in the passage.
- To be able to make meaning of the words and phrases of the passage.
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
- Current events of significance from India and the world;
- Arts and Culture;
- International affairs; and
- Historical occurrences of continuing importance.
Legal Reasoning
- Point out and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;
- Application of rules and regulations to similar and varied scenarios; and
- To figure out how alterations in rules or principles may change how they are applied in different scenarios.
Logical Reasoning
- Comprehend the argument, its premises and conclusions.
- Read and identify the ideas set out in the paragraph.
- Critically analyse reasoning trends and assess how decisions may depend on the set-out premises or evidence.
- Point out what follows from the passage and the application of these inferences to novel situations.
- Draw connections and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence and assess the effectiveness of arguments.
Quantitative Techniques
- Derivation, inferencing and manipulating of numerical information given in the passages or the form of other representations; and
- Application of 10th-standard mathematical operations like ratios and proportions, introductory algebra, measurement and statistical estimation.
CLAT Syllabus PG
The questions in the CLAT PG exam will focus on the following:
- Ability to comprehend the issues discussed in the paragraphs, as well as any arguments and viewpoints set out in the passage;
- Awareness of the concern discussed in the paragraph, as well as of legal issues and facts associated with and emerging out of the passage and the judgment from which it is extracted;
- Passage Summarisation and;
- Lastly, the ability to apply your knowledge of the fields of law discussed in the passage.
The CLAT PG exam will include the following domains of law:
- Constitutional Law
- Jurisprudence
- Administrative Law
- Criminal Law
- Company Law
- Law of contract
- Environmental Law
- Torts
- Family Law
- Property Law
- Public International Law
- Tax Law
- Labour & Industrial Law
- Other contemporary law-related issues.
The details above will give you all the necessary insight into the exam. You shall lay out your preparation plan accordingly. Being in sync with the exam pattern and other exam trends shall help you excel.