In a move to make the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) a more "student-friendly and accessible examination", the Consortium of National Law Universities has decided to include some changes in the question paper pattern of the upcoming undergraduate entrance exam.
The exam is scheduled to be held on December 3, 2023. The deadline for registrations to the exam will end on November 3, 2023.
The Consortium of National Law Universities released a circular on June 15, 2023 mentioning, "The Consortium of NLUs shall make every effort to assist candidates in preparing for CLAT 2024, and extend any support it can to make CLAT 2024 a student-friendly and accessible examination."
Changes in the exam
The question paper for the Common Law Admission Test undergraduate exam that will be conducted for the academic year 2024-25 will have 120 questions instead of 150 as in previous years. However, the candidates will get two hours to complete the test, as in previous years.
Each question will carry 1 mark each. There will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
The 120 questions will be organised into five sections, that is, English Language, Current Affairs Including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.
Paper pattern
The entrance exam for the undergraduate course would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge.
The English language section will include passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing. The questions of the English language section will be based on Class 12 level.
The current affairs including general knowledge section will have passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed. This section would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.
The legal reasoning section will include passages relating to factual situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. To solve this section, the candidates will not require any prior knowledge of law. The candidates can benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues.
The Logical Reasoning section of the undergraduate paper will include a series of short passages of about 450 words each. The passage here may require critical analysis of reasoning and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence.
The Quantitative Techniques section of the exam will include short sets of facts or propositions or other textual representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions.
No changes have been made in the syllabus and number of questions for the postgraduate Common Law Admission Test 2024.