Overall, the paper could be termed as moderately difficult and extremely lengthy. Compared to the previous year's paper, it was lengthier and moderately difficult. This year's paper, although expected, can still be termed as tougher than its predecessors.
CLAT 2023 had a total of 150 questions to be attempted in 120 minutes. The negative marking scheme could act as a deterrent this year, considering the difficulty level of the paper.
Given below is the section-wise breakup of the paper; and the ideal attempts for the top 3 NLUs:
Section |
No. of Questions |
Ideal Attempt |
Good Score |
Level of Difficulty |
Reading Comprehension |
30 |
25–27 |
19-21 |
Moderate |
GK, including Current Affairs |
35 |
20-21 |
14-15 |
Moderate |
Legal Reasoning |
40 |
35-37 |
31-32 |
Moderate |
Logical Reasoning |
30 |
26-27 |
19-21 |
Moderate |
Quantitative Techniques |
15 |
7-9 |
6-7 |
Difficult |
Total |
150 |
113–121 |
89-96 |
Moderate |
Overall expected cut-off for the top 3 NLUs (general category) is 90+.
Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key, and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by LST. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken based on this information.
There were 30 questions in the English section based on 6 passages, most of which were simple but some of them were a little difficult. The questions were straightforward and contextual. Most RC questions were around the tone of the passage, inferences, central idea, etc. The rest of the questions were from idioms, phrases, and grammatical concepts.
Overall English was lengthy and slightly tricky from last year, however, was doable and easy to moderate. Attempting 25-27 is a good attempt and a good score could be around 20-21.
There were a total of 35 questions based on 7 passages. The broad feedback from the student is: “Weird and Unexpected”. We agree! While students tortured themselves throughout the year reading newspapers and editorials, the General Knowledge section was not as expected. Let’s just call it this year’s surprise from CLAT. The questions were not straightforward except for the presidential election one, others were from a variety of topics like FIFA, Growth in the Agri sector, FTX, etc.
Overall, the section was weird and moderate. Attempting a total of 20-21 questions is a good attempt and a good score could be around 15-16.
There were a total of eight passages, all of which dealt with important laws and the latest judgments. These passages were based on current affairs mostly covering topics such as the Law of Torts, Contract Law, the Indian Penal Code, and related concepts. This is the section we would call ‘easy to moderate”. Students who disagree would be the ones who did not exactly focus on the primary rule of learning, i.e., ‘Understand the concept’. All the passages were based on some of the very basic concepts of law.
Overall this section was “easy to moderate” and lengthy. An attempt of 34-37 is considered adequate/good for the section and a good score could be around 32-33.
There were a total of 30 questions based on 5 passages. Here, time management is always the key. The questions were more “conceptual” than “contextual”. Though lengthy, the questions were quite straightforward, and majorly revolved around Critical Reasoning.
Overall this section however was easy to moderate and doable.
Surprise! No errors this time, but major mood changing for students. It was quite a time taking. Had all types of questions from easy to moderate to difficult. There were altogether 3 sets with 15 questions in total. This section was definitely difficult.
Best wishes!
Team LST