Understand
CUET (UG) exam pattern and marking
One paper per subject, 50 compulsory questions in 60 minutes, +5 and −1 — the numbers that are identical for every candidate, and the one part of the paper you actually choose.
Every CUET (UG) paper is the same shape: 50 questions, all compulsory, answered in 60 minutes, as objective multiple-choice questions on a computer-based test (CBT). Marking is +5 for a correct answer, −1 for an incorrect one and 0 for one left blank, so a full paper is 250 marks. You sit one such paper for each subject you registered for — up to 5 subjects — and the exam runs in Multiple shifts, depending on the number of candidates and subject choices.
How many questions are there, and how long do you get?
50 questions, in 60 minutes, per paper. Every question is compulsory; there is no internal choice and no section to skip. PwBD candidates get 20 minutes of compensatory time for each hour, for PwBD candidates.
How does CUET marking work?
| Outcome | Marks |
|---|---|
| Correct answer | +5 |
| Incorrect answer | −1 |
| Unattempted | 0 |
Because every question is compulsory, the old strategy of skipping a section's hardest questions no longer applies — but a blank still costs nothing, while a wrong guess costs a mark. Two published exceptions can move a score after the paper: if more than one option turns out correct, if more than one option is found correct, +5 goes to everyone who marked any of the correct options; and if a question is dropped, if no option is correct, or the question is wrong or dropped, every candidate who appeared gets +5, attempted or not.
What language is the paper in?
The test is offered in 13 mediums: Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. The paper is shown in English alongside the medium you chose, and the English version prevails in the event of any difference of opinion. Choose on the form with care, because the medium chosen on the application form cannot be changed at a later stage.
Which papers can you pick?
From 13 languages, 23 domain subjects and 1 General Aptitude Test — up to 5 subjects in total, and irrespective of the subjects opted in Class XII. Which ones depends entirely on the programmes you are targeting; the matcher resolves it, and the combination checker prices it.
Shifts are not yours to choose: The allotment of candidates to the shift is based on the options exercised and technical and administrative considerations, and No request for a change of date or shift is entertained.
What the pattern does not fix
How many questions come from each unit of a syllabus — no NTA document publishes the split — and how hard the paper will be. A raw mark from a harder shift is equated to one from an easier shift afterwards, by the process on the normalization page.
What this page does not say
- How many questions come from each unit. The syllabus prints topics, not a question count, and no NTA document publishes the split.
- How hard the paper will be, or how a raw mark becomes a normalised score across shifts.
- Which papers your programmes actually need. The pattern is identical for everyone; the choice is not, and it is the only part you decide.