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AILET 2021 Question Paper & Answer Key; Download PDF

Shristy Kandwal

Jul 2, 2026

AILET 2021 Question Paper was conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) on 30 July 2021 for admission to the BA LLB (Hons.) and LLM programmes. The exam comprised 150 MCQs across English, General Knowledge, Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and Elementary Mathematics, making it the final AILET paper to follow the five-section pattern before the 2022 revision.

AILET 2021 Question Paper and Answer Key PDF

AILET 2021 Question Paper and Answer Key PDF provide valuable insight into the final five-section exam pattern before its revision in 2022. I

AILET 2021 Exam Pattern

AILET 2021 question paper was conducted on NLU Delhi's long-standing five-section format, with negative marking. The details of AILET 2021 Exam Pattern are set out below.

Particulars Details
Mode Offline (Pen-and-Paper, OMR-based)
Exam Date 30 July 2021
Timing 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Duration 90 Minutes
Total Questions 150
Total Marks 150
Marking +1 per correct answer; −0.25 per wrong answer

AILET 2021 Section-Wise Structure

AILET 2021 Section-Wise Structure, including four of the five sections carried an equal 35 marks each, while Elementary Mathematics had only 10 questions, a small but rank-deciding section

Section Questions Marks
English Language 35 35
General Knowledge 35 35
Legal Aptitude 35 35
Logical Reasoning 35 35
Elementary Mathematics 10 10
Total 150 150

What Made AILET 2021 Different?

While recent papers test three sections, AILET 2021 question paper divided its questions across five, and that breadth is exactly what separates it from every paper set from AILET 2022 question paper onwards.

Feature How AILET 2021 Stood Out
Section count Five sections, versus three today
Legal Aptitude Present as a standalone section
Mathematics Included (10 arithmetic-based questions)
Duration 90 minutes, shorter than the current 120
Place in the timeline The last paper before the 2022 three-section revamp

AILET 2021 Most Weighted Topics

The most weighted topics in AILET 2021 were concentrated across English, Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and General Knowledge, reflecting the emphasis of the final five-section exam pattern.

Section Dominant Area Approx. Questions
English Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Grammar ~35
General Knowledge Current Affairs (with a little Static GK) ~35
Legal Aptitude Legal Principles and Reasoning ~35
Logical Reasoning Critical and Analytical Reasoning ~35
Elementary Mathematics Arithmetic (percentage, ratio, time-speed-distance) ~10

Most Repeated Concepts in AILET 2021

The most repeated concepts in AILET 2021 highlight the core areas that consistently received weightage under the five-section pattern. Many of these concepts continue to influence question design in the revised AILET format.

Recurring Concept Roughly How Often
Recent Current Affairs 30 questions
Reading Comprehension Across most of the English section
Legal Principles / Legal GK A steady share of Legal Aptitude
Syllogisms, Analogies, Series Core of Logical Reasoning
Arithmetic Fundamentals ~10 questions

Skills That Helped Candidates Score Well in AILET 2021

The skills that proved most valuable in AILET 2021 question paper aligned with the exam's emphasis on reasoning, legal aptitude, language proficiency, and general awareness. Consistent accuracy and efficient time management played an equally important role in overall performance.

Skill Why It Counted
Reading Speed Cleared the passage-heavy English section faster
Current-Affairs Awareness Unlocked the easy, high-return GK marks
Legal Reasoning Basics Made the Legal Aptitude section manageable
Quick Calculation Secured the short Mathematics section
Time Management Kept 150 questions within the tight 90 minutes

Best Resources for AILET 2021 Preparation

AILET 2021 question paper showed that the quality of practice mattered more than the sheer volume of material used. Best Resources for AILET 2021 Preparation include:

Resource Value for This Paper
Previous-Year Papers Very High
Legal Aptitude & GK Compendiums High
Mock Tests High
Monthly Current-Affairs Digests High
English Practice Sets Moderate

Lessons Current Aspirants Can Learn from AILET 2021

Even with a different format, AILET 2021 question paper still offers takeaways that hold up today.

  • A broad syllabus rewards balanced preparation, not selective study.
  • Current affairs remains the quickest route to easy marks.
  • Familiarity with basic legal principles pays off, even in the reasoning-led modern paper.
  • A handful of questions can decide close ranks, so no section is worth ignoring.
  • Solving previous-year papers is still the most reliable way to learn the pattern.

If You Solve AILET 2021 Today, What Will You Notice?

Attempting AILET question paper now is a useful history lesson as much as practice, because several sections have since disappeared.

Area What You Will Observe
Overall Format Five sections, unlike today's three
Legal Aptitude Once separate, now folded into reasoning
Mathematics Present then, removed from the current paper
Logical Reasoning Still central, and larger in recent years
Current Affairs & GK Continues to be a scoring section

Because of these shifts, AILET 2021 question paper is best used to understand how the exam evolved and to rehearse English, GK, and reasoning question types not as a model of the current three-section paper.

AILET Previous Year Question Paper
AILET Question Paper 2026 AILET Question Paper 2025
AILET Question Paper 2024 AILET Question Paper 2023
AILET Question Paper 2021 AILET Question Paper 2020
AILET Question Paper 2019 AILET Question Paper 2018
AILET Question Paper 2017 AILET Question Paper 2016

AILET 2021 FAQs

Ques: Why is AILET 2021 called the last of the old-format papers?

Ans: It was the final AILET set on the five-section format: English, GK, Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and Mathematics before NLU Delhi switched to a three-section paper in 2022.

Ques: What was the marking scheme in AILET 2021?

Ans: Every correct answer earned one mark and every wrong answer lost 0.25, with no penalty for questions left blank.

Ques: Is AILET 2021 paper still useful for current preparation?

Ans: Partly. It no longer matches the current three-section format, but it remains handy for practising English, general knowledge, and reasoning question types.

Ques: What was considered a good score in AILET 2021?

Ans: A score around 75 was regarded as decent, while the General-category cut-off was expected in the region of 95, reflecting the exam's steep competition.

Ques: What is the biggest difference between AILET 2021 and the current exam?

Ans: AILET 2021 had five sections, including separate Legal Aptitude and Mathematics parts, in 90 minutes, whereas today's exam runs three sections in 120 minutes.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.
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