C ONTENTS

Forward 02

CLAT syllabus - A brief introduction 03

English language including comprehension 04

General knowledge and current affairs 05

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Legal aptitude and knowledge 06

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Logical reasoning 07

Mathematics 08

CLAT exam pattern 09

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F oreword
Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national-level law entrance exam which is conducted
by the Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLU), or CLAT Consortium. If you are looking
for admission to a national law university in India, cracking in CLAT is a must. There are 22
national law universities in India that are part of CLAT Consortium and thus offer admission to
undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes on the basis of common entrance tests.

Common Law Admission Test is known as a test of reading and analytical skills. The syllabus is

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different from many other law entrance exams conducted in India. Hence, if you are law aspirant
and looking forward to appearing in CLAT, you must be well aware of its syllabus. Thus, in this
E-book, Careers360 brings all the details related to CLAT syllabus and exam pattern.

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C LAT Syllabus - A Brief Introduction
In the year 2020, the CLAT consortium announced some changes to the syllabus and pattern of
the test. It introduced comprehension-based questions in all sections of the paper with an
objective to test the critical thinking and analytical skills of the candidates. The consortium made
it clear that it wants to select those students who have good reading and critical thinking skills
necessary for pursuing legal education in India.

The present syllabus is based on similar objectives. CLAT is now a lengthy paper, full of

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comprehension passages on various topics. However, the basic framework of the syllabus is the
same as it was in previous years.

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CLAT Syllabus - Overview
Subjects Number of Questions Marks

English Language 28-32 questions 28 - 32

Current Affairs, including General Knowledge

S 35-39 questions 35 - 39
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Legal Reasoning 35-39 questions 35 - 39
Logical Reasoning 28-32 questions 28 - 32
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Quantitative Techniques 13-17 questions 13 - 17
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Total 150 150

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E nglish Language and Comprehension
This section is designed to test the reading ability of students. There will be around four to five
comprehension passages of about 450 words each. The content of the passages will be derived
from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing. Each passage will be
followed by four to five objective-type questions that require the candidates to demonstrate the
following skills.
● Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any

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arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage
● Drawing inferences and conclusions from the passage.
● Summarizing the passage

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● Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints given in the passage.
● Understand the meaning of various words and phrases used in the passage.

Important topics to study

Reading Comprehension
S Vocabulary based questions
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Part of speech Grammar
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Figures of speech Tenses
Active passive voice
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Concord (subject-verb agreement) Prepositions

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Modal and Articles

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Related | To download CLAT previous year papers - Click here

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C urrent Affairs and General Knowledge
The general knowledge and current affairs section will also have comprehension passages of up
to 450 words each. Each passage will be followed by a series of objective types of questions.
Overall, there will be around 35-39 questions, making up around 25% of the test paper. The
content of comprehension passages will be drawn from the following topics.

● News
● Legal editorials and opinions

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● Journalistic sources
● Other non-fiction writing
● Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;

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● Arts and culture;
● International affairs; and
● Historical events of continuing significance.

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The questions from CLAT current affairs and general knowledge may include an examination of
legal information or knowledge.
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Also Read | How to prepare for CLAT without coaching
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L egal Aptitude and Knowledge
This section will have 25% weightage in the paper. There will be around four to five
comprehension passages of around 450 words each. The passages may be drawn from various
fact situations or scenarios that involve legal matters, questions, public policy questions or moral
philosophical enquiries. Candidates are expected to have prior knowledge of law. However,
some basic understanding and awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues will be
helpful in answering the questions.

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Types of questions;
Legal aptitude may have questions revolving around the following theme;
● Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;

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● Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and
● Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various
fact situations.
Important topics to study

Subjects Topics S
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Constitution History of Indian constitution
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Important judgments and amendments
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Law Important laws like IPC, CrPC, Law of Torts, Law of Contracts Family Law,
International Law, Intellectual Property Law etc
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Prepositions and facts

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Important events related to legal and constitutional developments

Polity Rights and Duties

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Judiciary - Supreme Court and High Court

Parliament - Executive, Legislature, President

Current events related to Indian polity.

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L ogical Reasoning
The CLAT reasoning will be designed to test the critical thinking and analytical skills of the
candidates. There will be around 28-32 objective-type questions requiring the candidates to
demonstrate the following skills.

● Recognizing the arguments, and their premises and drawing conclusions

● Reading and identifying the arguments set out in the passage
● Critical examination of the patterns of reasoning, and assessing evidence and premises

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on which a particular conclusion can be based.
● Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations
● Drawing relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence and assess

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the effectiveness of arguments.
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CLAT Logical Reasoning Topics to Study

Analogies Series

Seating arrangement S Syllogisms

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Infreneces Premises and conclusions
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Strengthening and weakening arguments Logical puzzles

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Relationships Calendar and clocks

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Q uantitative Aptitude
The maths section is of Class 10th level. There may be questions from short sets of facts or
propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical
information. Candidates are required to derive information from such facts, diagrams, passages,
graphs or other representations and apply the mathematical formulas and operations to answer
the questions. Overall, one may expect around 13-17 questions from quantitative aptitude.

Topics to study

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Profit and Loss Basic Algebra

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Areas Mensuration Number Systems

Fractions Mensuration

Work and Time

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Time Speed and Distance
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Probability Statistical estimation
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Average Ratios and proportions
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C LAT Exam Pattern
The pattern tells about the important modalities of the exam. For example, by reading the test
pattern, one would know the mode, language and duration of the test. It also informs about the
marking scheme. The CLAT exam pattern has also been revised in 2020. In the present form,
the pattern of CLAT is as given below.

CLAT Pattern
Particular CLAT UG CLAT PG

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Mode Offline, Pen and paper based Offline, Pen and paper based

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Duration Two hours Two hours

Language English English

Type of questions Multiple choice type questions ● Multiple choice type

from comprehension passages questions from

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comprehension passages
Two Essays
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Number of questions 150 ● Objective section - 100
questions
● Descriptive section - 2
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questions

Total marks 150 100 + 50 = 150

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Marking scheme ● Each question will carry ● Each question will carry one
one mark mark
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● Each incorrect answer ● Each incorrect answer will

will invite a penalty of invite a penalty of 0.25
0.25 marks. marks.
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