Pattern of the CLAT Paper for Under-Graduate Programme
| Total Marks | 200 |
| Total number of multiple-choice questions of one mark each | 200 |
| Duration of examination | Two Hours |
| Subject areas with weightage: | |
| English including Comprehension | 40 Marks |
| General Knowledge/ Current Affairs | 50 Marks |
| Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability) | 20 Marks |
| Legal Aptitude | 50 Marks |
| Logical Reasoning | 40 Marks |
The different subject areas of the exam are explained as under:
- English including Comprehension
- General Knowledge/Current Affairs
- Mathematics
- Logical Reasoning
- Legal Aptitude
The English section will test the candidate’s proficiency in English based comprehension passages and grammar. In the comprehension section, candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein etc. The grammar section requires correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, filling of blanks in sentences with appropriate words, etc.
This section will only test students on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between March 2011 and March 2012)
This section will test candidates only on “elementary” mathematics i.e. maths that is taught up to the class X.
The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the student’s ability to identify patterns, logical links and rectify illogical arguments. It will include a wide variety of logical reasoning questions such as syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested.
This section will test students only on “legal aptitude”. Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be “true” in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition might be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others who are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the “truth” of these propositions and answer the questions accordingly.
Candidates will not be tested on any prior knowledge of law or legal concepts. If a technical/legal term is used in the question, that term will be explained in the question itself. For example, if the word patent is used, the meaning of patent (“a legal monopoly granted by the government for certain kinds of inventions”) will also be explained.
Tie-breaking
In event of tie between two or more candidates in the CLAT, tie will be broken by the following procedure and order:
- Higher marks in the section of Legal aptitude in CLAT-2012,
- Higher age and
- Computerized draw of lots
- CLAT 2013 Study Material
