CLAT Logical Reasoning Questions 2027
Passage-based Practice Sets

Set 1: Strengthening & Weakening Arguments

A recent study conducted across 15 Indian cities found that areas with a higher density of public parks reported 22% fewer cases of anxiety and depression among residents compared to areas with minimal green space. The researchers surveyed over 40,000 adults across income groups and controlled for factors such as age, employment status, and pre-existing health conditions. Based on this, the city planning commission has recommended that all new residential zones must allocate at least 15% of their total area to public parks and green corridors.

Q1. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the planning commission's recommendation?

1. (A) A separate longitudinal study in European cities showed that increased green space led to sustained reductions in mental health hospital admissions over a 10-year period. *
2. (B) The cost of maintaining public parks is lower than the cost of building new hospitals.
3. (C) People who live near parks tend to have higher incomes than those who do not.
4. (D) The surveyed cities had varying levels of air pollution.

Q2. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn from the study?

1. (A) Some respondents reported that they never visited the parks near their homes.
2. (B) People with better mental health may be more likely to choose to live near parks, rather than the parks causing better mental health. *
3. (C) The study was published in a peer-reviewed journal.
4. (D) Green spaces also reduce urban heat island effects.

Q3. The planning commission's recommendation assumes which of the following?

1. (A) All cities have equal budgets for urban planning.
2. (B) The correlation observed in existing cities will hold when new parks are deliberately created in planned residential zones. *
3. (C) Mental health is the most important consideration in urban planning.
4. (D) Residents will prefer green spaces over commercial establishments.

Set 2: Assumptions

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes that students in higher education should be allowed to exit at multiple points during their degree programme and receive a certificate, diploma, or degree depending on how many years they have completed. The stated rationale is that this flexibility will reduce dropout rates because students who leave due to financial constraints or personal reasons will not walk away empty-handed. Critics, however, argue that employers are unlikely to value a one-year certificate or two-year diploma from a university as equivalent to a full degree, which may discourage students from using these exit points.

Q1. The NEP's rationale for multiple exit points assumes that:

1. (A) All students who drop out do so because of financial constraints.
2. (B) Students who are currently dropping out would choose to stay enrolled longer if they could receive an intermediate credential upon exit. *
3. (C) Employers will readily accept certificates and diplomas as substitutes for full degrees.
4. (D) Universities have the infrastructure to offer meaningful one-year and two-year programmes.

Q2. The critics' argument is based on the assumption that:

1. (A) All employers in India require a full degree for every job.
2. (B) Students will factor in the labour-market value of intermediate credentials when deciding whether to use an exit point. *
3. (C) The NEP was drafted without consulting employers.
4. (D) Financial constraints are not a valid reason for dropping out.

Q3. Which of the following, if true, would undermine the critics' assumption?

1. (A) Several countries that have implemented similar exit points report that employers gradually began recognising intermediate credentials. *
2. (B) Most Indian employers prefer candidates with professional certifications over university degrees.
3. (C) Students who drop out currently do not list their incomplete education on resumes.
4. (D) The NEP also proposes changes to school education.

Q4. Both the NEP's rationale and the critics' argument share which common underlying assumption?

1. (A) The current dropout rate in Indian higher education is unacceptably high.
2. (B) Students make decisions about continuing or leaving education based at least partly on the credentials they will receive. *
3. (C) Employers are the most important stakeholders in higher education policy.
4. (D) Financial constraints are the primary cause of dropouts.

Set 3: Analogies

When seat belts were first made mandatory in automobiles in the 1960s, some safety researchers predicted a paradoxical outcome: drivers who felt safer because of seat belts might drive more recklessly, thereby increasing the total number of accidents even as the severity of injuries per accident decreased. This phenomenon, known as risk compensation, has been observed in several domains. For instance, after the introduction of childproof caps on medicine bottles, some parents became less careful about storing medicines out of children's reach, partially offsetting the safety gains. Similarly, American football players equipped with advanced helmets have been documented engaging in more aggressive tackling, leading to higher rates of concussion-causing impacts despite better head protection.

Q1. Based on the passage, which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of risk compensation?

1. (A) A city installs brighter street lights, and nighttime pedestrian fatalities decrease.
2. (B) A factory provides workers with cut-resistant gloves, after which workers begin handling sharp materials with less caution and the rate of hand injuries remains unchanged. *
3. (C) A school increases the number of fire drills, and students evacuate more quickly during an actual fire.
4. (D) A hospital introduces a new sterilisation protocol, and infection rates drop significantly.

Q2. The relationship between seat belts and reckless driving, as described in the passage, is most analogous to:

1. (A) Providing free textbooks and observing improved exam scores.
2. (B) Installing a better lock on a door and observing fewer break-ins.
3. (C) Giving a swimmer a life jacket and observing that the swimmer ventures into deeper water than they otherwise would. *
4. (D) Raising the price of cigarettes and observing reduced smoking rates.

Q3. The passage suggests that risk compensation is most likely to occur when:

1. (A) A safety measure is so effective that it eliminates all risk.
2. (B) A safety measure creates a perception of increased safety that leads individuals to change their behaviour in ways that introduce new risk. *
3. (C) A safety measure is implemented without consulting the people it is meant to protect.
4. (D) A safety measure is too expensive to implement widely.

Set 4: Cause-Effect Reasoning

Between 2018 and 2024, the Indian state of Kerala implemented a comprehensive school lunch programme that replaced packaged snacks with freshly cooked meals prepared from locally sourced vegetables and grains. Over the same period, childhood obesity rates in Kerala declined by 18%, while neighbouring states without similar programmes saw childhood obesity rates remain stable or increase slightly. The state health department attributed the decline directly to the school lunch programme and proposed expanding it to include breakfast as well.

Q1. The health department's conclusion that the school lunch programme caused the decline in childhood obesity is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?

1. (A) The programme was expensive to implement.
2. (B) Other factors that changed in Kerala during the same period — such as increased physical education requirements introduced in 2019 — could also explain the decline. *
3. (C) Not all children in Kerala attend government schools.
4. (D) Childhood obesity is also influenced by genetic factors.

Q2. Which of the following, if true, would most support the health department's causal claim?

1. (A) Kerala has a higher literacy rate than most other Indian states.
2. (B) Schools that started the programme earlier showed earlier declines in obesity, and schools that joined later showed later declines, with a consistent time lag matching programme implementation. *
3. (C) Parents of children in the programme reported higher satisfaction with school meals.
4. (D) The programme was implemented by the same department that conducted the obesity study.

Q3. The comparison with neighbouring states is used to:

1. (A) Demonstrate that Kerala has better governance than its neighbours.
2. (B) Establish a baseline showing that without the programme, obesity rates would not have declined on their own, thereby supporting a causal rather than merely coincidental relationship. *
3. (C) Prove that the programme should be adopted nationally.
4. (D) Show that neighbouring states are failing to address childhood health.

Q4. If childhood obesity rates in Kerala had been declining at a similar rate even before 2018, this would:

1. (A) Strengthen the health department's claim.
2. (B) Have no effect on the claim.
3. (C) Weaken the claim, because it would suggest the decline was part of a pre-existing trend unrelated to the programme. *
4. (D) Prove that the programme was unnecessary.

Set 5: Flawed Arguments

A prominent commentator recently argued: "India should not invest in electric vehicle infrastructure because electric vehicles are not truly zero-emission. The electricity used to charge them is generated largely from coal-fired power plants, which produce significant carbon emissions. Therefore, switching from petrol cars to electric cars will not reduce India's carbon footprint at all. We should instead focus exclusively on improving public transportation." Environmental scientists responded that while the electricity mix does include coal, studies consistently show that even when charged from a coal-heavy grid, electric vehicles produce 30-40% fewer lifecycle emissions than equivalent petrol vehicles because electric motors are fundamentally more energy-efficient than internal combustion engines.

Q1. The commentator's argument is flawed primarily because it:

1. (A) Relies on an appeal to authority.
2. (B) Presents a false dichotomy between electric vehicles and public transportation as if both cannot be pursued simultaneously.
3. (C) Uses the fact that electric vehicles are not perfectly zero-emission to conclude that they offer no emission reduction at all, ignoring the significant partial reduction. *
4. (D) Attacks the character of electric vehicle proponents rather than their arguments.

Q2. The phrase "switching from petrol cars to electric cars will not reduce India's carbon footprint at all" is an example of which reasoning error?

1. (A) Straw man argument
2. (B) All-or-nothing thinking (also called the nirvana fallacy) — rejecting an option because it is not a perfect solution, even though it offers substantial improvement *
3. (C) Circular reasoning
4. (D) Appeal to tradition

Q3. The environmental scientists' response most directly addresses the commentator's argument by:

1. (A) Questioning the commentator's qualifications.
2. (B) Providing evidence that contradicts the specific claim that electric vehicles offer no emission reduction, showing a 30-40% lifecycle emission reduction even on a coal-heavy grid. *
3. (C) Arguing that coal plants should be shut down.
4. (D) Suggesting that public transportation is not a viable alternative.

Set 6: Logical Fallacies

During a parliamentary debate on raising the minimum wage, MP Anand Rao argued: "My opponent, Ms. Bhatia, who has never run a business in her life, claims that a higher minimum wage will not lead to job losses. But we should remember that Professor Venkatesh from the Delhi School of Economics — one of the most decorated economists in the country — has written that any interference with the free market leads to inefficiency. What Ms. Bhatia is really proposing is that the government should control all wages in the private sector, which is essentially a socialist takeover of the economy. If we raise the minimum wage today, next we will be fixing the prices of goods, and before long the entire free market will be dismantled."

Q1. When MP Rao questions Ms. Bhatia's credibility by pointing out she has never run a business, he is committing which fallacy?

1. (A) Straw man — misrepresenting her argument.
2. (B) Ad hominem — attacking the person rather than the argument. *
3. (C) False dichotomy — presenting only two options.
4. (D) Circular reasoning — assuming what he is trying to prove.

Q2. MP Rao's claim that Ms. Bhatia is "really proposing that the government should control all wages in the private sector" is best characterised as:

1. (A) An appeal to authority, because he invokes Professor Venkatesh.
2. (B) A straw man fallacy, because he misrepresents Ms. Bhatia's position by exaggerating it into something she did not actually propose. *
3. (C) An ad hominem attack, because it targets Ms. Bhatia personally.
4. (D) A hasty generalisation, because he draws a conclusion from insufficient data.

Q3. MP Rao's reference to Professor Venkatesh's views is problematic because:

1. (A) Professor Venkatesh's statement is about all market interference in general and does not specifically address whether a minimum wage increase causes job losses in the current context. *
2. (B) Professor Venkatesh is not a real economist.
3. (C) The Delhi School of Economics is not a reputable institution.
4. (D) It is never appropriate to cite expert opinions in a debate.

Q4. The argument that raising the minimum wage will inevitably lead to fixing prices and dismantling the free market is an example of:

1. (A) Appeal to tradition — arguing that change is inherently bad.
2. (B) False cause — assuming that because two events occur together, one caused the other.
3. (C) Slippery slope — claiming without adequate justification that one action will inevitably lead to a chain of extreme consequences. *
4. (D) Begging the question — assuming the truth of the conclusion within the premise.

Q5. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken MP Rao's overall argument?

1. (A) Ms. Bhatia has a degree in economics from a foreign university.
2. (B) Several countries that raised their minimum wage by a moderate amount experienced no statistically significant increase in unemployment, while low-wage workers' spending power increased. *
3. (C) Professor Venkatesh later clarified that he supports some forms of market regulation.
4. (D) The current minimum wage has not been revised in eight years.

Set 7: Cause and Effect

A 2025 report by the Indian Council for Child Development studied 12,000 students aged 13 to 17 across six states and found that students who spent more than four hours per day on smartphones scored, on average, 23% lower in their annual board examinations than students who spent less than one hour. The researchers also noted that high-usage students slept an average of 1.4 fewer hours per night and were three times more likely to report difficulty concentrating in class. The state education ministry cited the study as conclusive evidence that smartphone usage directly impairs academic performance and announced a proposal to ban smartphones in all government schools during school hours.

Q1. The education ministry's conclusion that smartphone usage directly impairs academic performance is vulnerable to criticism because:

1. (A) The sample size of 12,000 students is too small to be meaningful.
2. (B) The study establishes a correlation between smartphone usage and lower scores, but does not eliminate the possibility that a third factor — such as lack of parental supervision or lower motivation — causes both high usage and poor performance. *
3. (C) Board examinations are not a reliable measure of academic performance.
4. (D) The study only covered six states, not all of India.

Q2. The finding that high-usage students slept 1.4 fewer hours and had difficulty concentrating suggests which of the following?

1. (A) Smartphones are the sole cause of sleep deprivation among teenagers.
2. (B) Sleep deprivation, rather than smartphone usage itself, may be a mediating variable that partially explains the lower academic scores. *
3. (C) Students who concentrate poorly are drawn to smartphones as an escape.
4. (D) Banning smartphones will immediately improve concentration levels.

Q3. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the claim that smartphone usage causes lower academic performance?

1. (A) Students who were heavy smartphone users also watched more television.
2. (B) A controlled experiment in which a randomly selected group of students had their smartphone time restricted showed significant grade improvement compared to an unrestricted control group, with both groups matched for socio-economic background and prior academic performance. *
3. (C) Parents of low-performing students reported that they believed smartphones were harmful.
4. (D) Countries with higher smartphone penetration have lower average test scores.

Q4. Which of the following represents an alternative explanation that the study does not rule out?

1. (A) Students who are already academically disengaged may turn to smartphones to fill time they would not have spent studying in any case, meaning low engagement causes high usage rather than the reverse. *
2. (B) Some students use smartphones for educational purposes.
3. (C) The researchers controlled for the age of the students.
4. (D) The study was published by a government body rather than an independent institution.

Q5. The proposed ban on smartphones during school hours, as a policy response to this study, assumes that:

1. (A) All students own smartphones.
2. (B) A significant portion of the smartphone usage that correlates with poor performance occurs during school hours, and restricting it during those hours will meaningfully change total usage patterns or their effects. *
3. (C) Teachers are not capable of managing classroom distractions without a formal ban.
4. (D) Government schools perform worse than private schools.

Set 8: Analogies and Comparisons

In 2018, Portugal decriminalised the personal possession of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine, while keeping drug trafficking illegal. Instead of criminal prosecution, individuals caught with small quantities are referred to a "dissuasion commission" composed of a lawyer, a doctor, and a social worker, which can recommend treatment, impose fines, or take no action. In the 20 years since its initial decriminalisation in 2001, Portugal has seen significant reductions in drug-related deaths, HIV infections among drug users, and incarceration rates for drug offences, while drug usage rates have remained roughly in line with European averages. Proponents of cannabis legalisation in India have argued that India should follow Portugal's model to address its own substance abuse crisis.

Q1. The argument that India should follow Portugal's model relies on which of the following analogical assumptions?

1. (A) India and Portugal have identical drug usage patterns.
2. (B) The social, institutional, and healthcare conditions that enabled Portugal's outcomes are sufficiently present or replicable in India for a similar policy to produce similar results. *
3. (C) Decriminalisation and legalisation are the same policy.
4. (D) Portugal's policy was motivated by the same considerations that motivate Indian proponents.

Q2. A critic who argues that India lacks Portugal's extensive public healthcare infrastructure is most directly challenging the analogy by:

1. (A) Claiming that drug usage is not a problem in India.
2. (B) Identifying a relevant structural difference between the two countries that could prevent India from replicating Portugal's outcomes. *
3. (C) Attacking the character of the proponents of legalisation.
4. (D) Arguing that Portugal's outcomes were not actually positive.

Q3. The passage notes that Portugal's drug usage rates "remained roughly in line with European averages." This detail is most relevant to countering which objection?

1. (A) That decriminalisation is too expensive to implement.
2. (B) That Portugal's policy only worked because it is a small country.
3. (C) That removing criminal penalties for possession would lead to a dramatic surge in drug usage. *
4. (D) That drug trafficking increased after decriminalisation.

Q4. The proponents' argument would be most strengthened by evidence that:

1. (A) Portugal's economy grew during the same period.
2. (B) Indian states that have adopted less punitive approaches to drug possession have seen outcomes directionally similar to Portugal's, suggesting the model can transfer across different contexts. *
3. (C) Cannabis is less harmful than heroin or cocaine.
4. (D) Public opinion in India favours decriminalisation.

Set 9: Necessary vs Sufficient Conditions

The Rajasthan State Scholarship for Higher Education has the following eligibility criteria: (1) The applicant must be a domicile of Rajasthan. (2) The applicant's family income must not exceed ₹8 lakh per annum. (3) The applicant must have scored at least 75% in their Class XII board examinations. (4) The applicant must secure admission to a recognised university. Meeting all four criteria makes an applicant eligible for the scholarship, but does not guarantee the award — the final selection is made by a merit committee that also considers extracurricular achievements, a personal statement, and the availability of funds. The scholarship is awarded to no more than 500 students per year.

Q1. Being a domicile of Rajasthan is best described as:

1. (A) A sufficient condition for receiving the scholarship.
2. (B) A necessary condition for eligibility, but not sufficient by itself. *
3. (C) Neither necessary nor sufficient for receiving the scholarship.
4. (D) A sufficient condition for eligibility.

Q2. An applicant who meets all four eligibility criteria:

1. (A) Is guaranteed to receive the scholarship.
2. (B) Has met the necessary conditions for eligibility but has not met a sufficient condition for receiving the award, since the merit committee applies additional criteria. *
3. (C) Has met the sufficient conditions for both eligibility and receiving the award.
4. (D) Needs only to submit a personal statement to guarantee the award.

Q3. Suppose a student from Rajasthan with a family income of ₹6 lakh scores 72% in Class XII. Which of the following is correct?

1. (A) The student is eligible because they meet three out of four criteria.
2. (B) The student is not eligible because they fail to meet a necessary condition — scoring at least 75% — and all four conditions must be met for eligibility. *
3. (C) The student may still receive the scholarship if the merit committee makes an exception.
4. (D) The student is eligible but unlikely to be selected.

Q4. The passage states that the scholarship is awarded to "no more than 500 students per year." This cap means that:

1. (A) Meeting all four eligibility criteria is sufficient for receiving the scholarship as long as the cap has not been reached.
2. (B) Even if more than 500 applicants are eligible and meet the merit committee's additional criteria, some eligible and meritorious applicants will not receive the scholarship due to limited availability of funds and slots. *
3. (C) Exactly 500 scholarships are awarded every year.
4. (D) The merit committee's role is to select exactly 500 students from among the eligible pool.

Q5. Which of the following best describes the relationship between eligibility and receiving the award?

1. (A) Eligibility is both necessary and sufficient for receiving the award.
2. (B) Eligibility is sufficient but not necessary — the merit committee can award the scholarship to ineligible students.
3. (C) Eligibility is necessary but not sufficient — one must be eligible to be considered, but eligibility alone does not guarantee the award. *
4. (D) Eligibility and receiving the award are entirely independent of each other.

Set 10: Evaluating Evidence

Two competing proposals have been placed before the Municipal Corporation of Bengaluru to address the city's worsening air quality. Proposal A, backed by the transport department, argues that replacing the city's 6,000 diesel buses with electric buses will reduce vehicular particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions by 40% and should be the administration's primary investment. Proposal B, supported by an environmental NGO, contends that vehicular emissions account for only 28% of Bengaluru's PM2.5 pollution, with construction dust (35%) and industrial emissions (22%) being equal or larger contributors, and therefore the ₹4,500 crore earmarked for electric buses would achieve a greater air quality improvement if allocated to enforcing dust-control regulations at construction sites and upgrading emission filters at industrial units.

Q1. Which of the following pieces of evidence would most strengthen Proposal A relative to Proposal B?

1. (A) Electric buses are quieter than diesel buses.
2. (B) A revised emissions inventory showing that vehicular emissions actually account for 52% of Bengaluru's PM2.5 pollution, significantly higher than the 28% figure cited by the NGO, making vehicular emissions the single largest contributor. *
3. (C) The central government has offered a 60% subsidy on electric bus purchases.
4. (D) Other cities in India have also purchased electric buses.

Q2. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen Proposal B?

1. (A) Construction workers in Bengaluru earn low wages.
2. (B) A pilot programme in two Bengaluru zones where strict dust-control regulations were enforced at construction sites resulted in a 30% reduction in local PM2.5 levels at one-tenth the per-unit cost of electric bus procurement. *
3. (C) The NGO that supports Proposal B has received international awards for environmental advocacy.
4. (D) Bengaluru's bus fleet is relatively new, with most buses less than five years old.

Q3. The disagreement between Proposal A and Proposal B is fundamentally about:

1. (A) Whether air pollution is a serious problem in Bengaluru.
2. (B) Whether electric buses are technologically viable.
3. (C) Which source of PM2.5 pollution should be prioritised given limited funds, and which intervention will yield the greatest air quality improvement per rupee spent. *
4. (D) Whether the municipal corporation has the authority to regulate construction sites.

Q4. Proposal B's argument that construction dust accounts for 35% of PM2.5 pollution would be undermined if:

1. (A) Construction activity in Bengaluru is seasonal, peaking only during dry months, meaning the 35% figure represents a peak-season share and the annual average contribution is significantly lower. *
2. (B) Construction dust also causes respiratory illnesses.
3. (C) Some construction companies already follow dust-control norms voluntarily.
4. (D) Bengaluru has more construction sites than any other Indian city.

Q5. A council member states: "We should not consider Proposal B because the NGO behind it has previously campaigned against road construction projects, so they clearly have a bias against vehicles and infrastructure." This response is:

1. (A) A valid objection, because the NGO's past campaigns are directly relevant to the accuracy of their emissions data.
2. (B) An ad hominem or genetic fallacy — it attacks the source of the argument rather than evaluating the evidence and reasoning presented in Proposal B on its merits. *
3. (C) A straw man, because it misrepresents what Proposal B actually argues.
4. (D) A slippery slope, because it suggests that accepting Proposal B will lead to broader anti-infrastructure consequences.