CLAT Caselet DI: Passage to Table Method

📑 On this page

⚡ The short answer

A CLAT caselet is a table written as a paragraph. Rebuild it: categories down the side, groups across, totals on both edges. Turn each percentage into a count using its own base, fill gaps by subtraction, and questions become lookups. If a needed number is never given, it is cannot be determined.

🎬 The 30-second story

Twelve numbers, one paragraph

“Twelve numbers in one paragraph? I'm skipping this.”

📄

Meher

Sunday mock. Meher meets her first caselet.

“Easy. 25% of students plus 30% of girls. 55%!”

🧮

Aarav

Aarav adds percentages with different bases.

“Stop. Streams down the side, girls and boys across.”

📊

Zoya

Forty seconds on a grid.

“So boys is just total minus girls in each row?”

✅

Meher

Five questions, four minutes.

Tara's maths: Aarav's 55% means nothing: 25% is of all students, 30% is of girls. Percentages with different bases never add.

What is a caselet in CLAT Quant?

Since 2020, CLAT gives you a paragraph, not a chart: a college survey, two companies' profits, a region's workers. Four to six questions follow. The maths is Class 8 percentages; the real test is whether you can organise numbers under time pressure.

🧩 At a glance

The four question types every caselet uses

🔍Read a cell

'How many girls opted Non-medical?'

⚖️Compare cells

'Which stream has the most boys?'

➗A as % of B

Divide one cell by another.

❓Cannot be determined

A needed number is missing.

How do you turn a CLAT Quant passage into a table?

Read once for shape, not numbers. Categories (streams, years) become rows; groups (girls and boys, rural and urban) become columns. Add a Total row and column: CLAT gives some totals, some parts, and expects you to subtract.

1
Totals first
Sentence one, usually.
2
Draw the skeleton
Rows, columns, blank cells. About 30 seconds.
3
Tag each percentage with its base
Underline the word after 'of': '25% of students' and '30% of girls' sit in different columns.
4
Convert, fill, subtract
Percentage × base = count; missing part = total − known.
5
Check
Each column must add to its total. If not, you misread a base.

🧮 The formula

The move that fills most of the grid

🧮

Row total

% of all students

−

👩

Girls in the row

% of all girls

👦

Boys in the row

derived, never given

⚠️ The base trap: '% of what?'

In CLAT 2022, Arts is 25% of students but 15% of girls: 750 and 255. Turn every percentage into a count before you compare, add or subtract.

How do you solve a caselet question step by step?

✍️ Worked example Warm-up ⏱ 60 sec

Fest passes

A fest sold 800 passes; 45% were day passes, the rest full-fest. 60% of day-pass buyers were first-years, and 150 full-fest buyers were first-years. What percentage of all buyers were first-years?

1
Day passes = 45% of 800 = 360.
2
First-years with day passes = 60% of 360 (base: day passes, not 800) = 216.
3
First-years in total = 216 + 150 = 366.
4
366 ÷ 800 × 100 = 45.75%.

Answer: 45.75% (366 of 800 buyers)

⚡ The exam-hall shortcut

60% of 45% = 27% of all buyers = 216. You never needed the 440 full-fest passes.

✍️ Worked example CLAT level ⏱ 75 sec

Morning and evening batches

A coaching centre has 1,200 students, 700 of them girls. 40% of all students and 30% of the girls attend the evening batch. What percentage of the boys attend it?

1
Boys = 1,200 − 700 = 500.
2
Evening total = 40% of 1,200 = 480; evening girls = 30% of 700 = 210.
3
Evening boys = 480 − 210 = 270.
4
270 ÷ 500 × 100 = 54%.

Answer: 54% of the boys

⚡ The exam-hall shortcut

Options like 40% (the all-student rate) or 10% (40 − 30) are base traps. Count first, then divide.

✍️ Worked example Tricky ⏱ 2 min

Cancelled orders in three cities

A delivery app took 5,000 orders in cities P, Q, R in the ratio 5 : 3 : 2. P cancelled 20%, Q 150, R one-fourth. (a) What % of orders were cancelled? (b) By what % do R's completed orders fall short of Q's?

1
One part = 5,000 ÷ 10 = 500. P = 2,500, Q = 1,500, R = 1,000.
2
Cancelled: 500 + 150 + 250 = 900. (a) 900 ÷ 5,000 × 100 = 18%.
3
Completed: Q = 1,350, R = 750.
4
(b) Base is Q: 600 ÷ 1,350 × 100 = 44.44%.

Answer: (a) 18%; (b) 44.44%

⚡ Watch the base

The trap option is 80%: 600 ÷ 750, with R as the base.

Is there a faster way than filling every cell?

Two habits. Fill on demand: draw the skeleton, compute a cell only when a question needs it. And use the 1% unit: 1% of 3,000 students is 30, 1% of 1,700 girls is 17.

⚔️ Side by side

Slow route vs exam route

🐢Slow route

re-read the passage each time

•Hunt for the clause again
•Lose track of bases

⚡Exam route

skeleton once, then lookups

•1% units: 30 and 17
•Column totals catch errors

Test	Slow route	Exam route
Boys in Arts	750 − 255, after re-reading	30 × 25 − 17 × 15 = 495
Time per question	60–90 sec	20–40 sec

💡 Rank without full numbers

Boys in any 2022 stream = 30a − 17b (a = % of students, b = % of girls). Medical: 450 − 306 = 144, the smallest, with no other row written out.

How do you build the table for the CLAT 2022 caselet?

… out of total students enrolled i.e., 3,000 in 2020-21, 1,700 were girls and 1,300 were boys … 25% of the enrolled students opted non-medical and the percentage of girls in Non-medical was 30% of the total number of girls; 15% … medical … 18% of the total number of girls; 25% … Arts but … 15% …; 16% … Commerce and … 17% …; 19% … Fine Arts and … 20% of the total number of girls.

— CLAT UG 2022, Q136–140 passage (trimmed)

Five streams as rows. 'Total' uses base 3,000, 'Girls' base 1,700, boys is the difference. Check: both sets of shares (25 + 15 + 25 + 16 + 19 and 30 + 18 + 15 + 17 + 20) add to 100.

Stream	Total (of 3,000)	Girls (of 1,700)	Boys
Non-medical	25% → 750	30% → 510	240
Medical	15% → 450	18% → 306	144
Arts	25% → 750	15% → 255	495
Commerce	16% → 480	17% → 289	191
Fine Arts	19% → 570	20% → 340	230
Total	3,000	1,700	1,300

→ scroll to see more

📊 The data

CLAT 2022: girls and boys by stream

GirlsBoys

Non-medical

510

240

Medical · fewest boys

306

144

Arts · most boys

255

495

Commerce

289

191

Fine Arts

340

230

Non-medical and Arts both have 750 students, yet Arts has about twice the boys.

Now the questions answer themselves. Girls in Non-medical: 510. Most boys: Arts. Fewest: Medical. Boys to girls in Non-medical: 240 : 510 = 8 : 17.

A second build: CLAT 2024's workers caselet

CLAT 2024 stacked two bases: rural is 48% of 3,00,000, and each job type is a % of the rural or urban population.

Job type	Rural (1,44,000)	Urban (1,56,000)	Total
Self-employed	56% → 80,640	40% → 62,400	1,43,040
Regular salaried	12% → 17,280	48% → 74,880	92,160
Casual wage	32% → 46,080	12% → 18,720	64,800
Total	1,44,000	1,56,000	3,00,000

→ scroll to see more

🎛️ Try it yourself — change any number

A as a percentage of B

Rural regular salaried (A) Urban casual wage (B)

As a percent

92.31%

As a decimal

0.9231

17,280 ÷ 18,720 × 100 = 92.31%

This is 2024 Q119: 92.31%. Now type 48 and 52. Same answer, because both cells are 12% of their area.

When is the answer 'cannot be determined'?

'Cannot be determined' is a real answer, not a panic button. It is right only when a needed number is neither given nor derivable. List what the answer needs; tick each item off against your table.

🧭 Decision flow

Is it really 'cannot be determined'?

❓ Is every number the answer needs in your table?

Yes →

Determinable: compute it

No ↓

❓ Can the missing one be derived from a total or a ratio?

Boys = total − girls is a derivation.

Yes →

Determinable: derive, then compute

No ↓

❓ Is it an amount where the passage gives only a rate, or would you have to assume something?

Yes →

Cannot be determined

A rate without its base is not an amount.

No →

Re-read: you missed a number

📌 Two real CBD patterns

Rate without base (2021 Q138): profit percentages every year, income for one year only. Group without members (2023 Q149): ten judo weight groups, and a question on which group 'contributes most' to the overall average. Group sizes are never given: cannot be determined.

How has CLAT asked caselet DI questions?

📝 Asked in CLAT 2022 · Q136 Read a cell

As per a survey conducted in a college out of total students enrolled i.e., 3,000 in 2020-21, 1,700 were girls and 1,300 were boys. … 25% of the enrolled students opted non-medical and the percentage of girls in Non-medical was 30% of the total number of girls; …

How many girls have opted Non-medical?

A440

B365

C530

D510

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: D

'30% of the total number of girls': base 1,700. 30% of 1,700 = 17 × 30 = 510. Five seconds with the table.

Why the others fail

A — Not 30% of any base in the passage.
B — Not derivable from the passage.
C — Near 510, so it catches sloppy mental maths. 17 × 30 is exactly 510.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2022 · Q138 Compare cells

Same passage as Q136 (quoted in the walkthrough above): 3,000 students, 1,700 girls; each stream given as a % of students and a % of girls.

Which of the following courses have been opted by maximum number of boys?

ANon-medical

BArts

CFine Arts

DCommerce

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: B

Boys = 30a − 17b. Non-medical 240, Arts 495, Commerce 191, Fine Arts 230. About 40 seconds. Fast read: Arts ties for the biggest student share with the smallest girls' share.

Why the others fail

A — Ties Arts on total (750), but 510 are girls, leaving 240 boys. Picking by total is the trap.
C — 230 boys.
D — 191 boys.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2024 · Q119 A as % of B

A survey was conducted about the population of a particular region having working population of three lacs … Rural population was 48% of the total population. … in rural areas, regular salaried workers constituted 12% of the rural population. … Casual wage workers in rural areas were 32% of the rural population whereas it was 12% of the urban population in urban areas.

What is the percentage of regular salaried employees in rural areas corresponding to the number of casual wage workers in urban areas?

A72.3%

B79.8%

C88.7%

D92.3%

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: D

Rural = 1,44,000, urban = 1,56,000. Rural regular salaried = 12% of 1,44,000 = 17,280; urban casual = 12% of 1,56,000 = 18,720. 17,280 ÷ 18,720 × 100 = 92.31%. Shortcut: same 12%, so 48 ÷ 52 = 12 ÷ 13 ≈ 92.3%. About 30 seconds. The same table answers Q118 (92,160, option C), whose wrong options are digit shuffles of 92,160.

Why the others fail

A — Too low: 48 ÷ 52 is just under 1.
B — Also below 90%, impossible when the bases are 48 vs 52.
C — 12/13 is 0.923, not 0.887.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2021 · Q138 Cannot be determined

Two renowned international Software companies, namely Pollaris and Contigent, started their business in the year 2007 … Contigent opened with 40 per cent profit in 2007, but slowly decreased to 35 per cent in 2008 and 30 per cent in 2009. … Contigent increased its profit percentage to 45 per cent in 2010, 50 per cent in 2011 and reached 60 per cent in the year 2012.

If the income of Contigent Company in 2008 was ₹ 200 crores, what was its profit in 2009?

A₹ 21.5 Crore

B₹ 46.15 Crore

C₹ 153 Crore

DCannot be determined.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: D

What the answer needs: Contigent's 2009 profit percentage (30%, given) and its 2009 income or cost (not given). The ₹200 crore belongs to 2008, and nothing links it to 2009: cannot be determined. Contrast Q136 of the same set, where the key gave 20% (50% → 60%), readable from percentages alone. Q138 wants rupees. About 20 seconds.

Why the others fail

A — No route from the given numbers produces it.
B — 200 × 30 ÷ 130: 2009's rate on 2008's income, assuming income did not change.
C — About 200 ÷ 1.3: a cost figure on 2008's income.

What mistakes cost marks in caselet DI?

💥 Myth vs fact

Caselet myths

🙅 Myth

'Cannot be determined' is a safe guess.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

It sat under 2021 Q136 too, where the key's answer was 20%.

🙅 Myth

A bigger total means a bigger part.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Non-medical and Arts both had 750 students; boys were 240 vs 495.

🙅 Myth

Percentages in one paragraph can be added.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Only on the same base. Convert to counts first.

🎯 Quick quiz

Crack these mini caselets

0 / 5

A gym has 600 members: 360 men, 240 women. 35% of all members do yoga; 25% of the women do yoga. The rest do strength training only.

Q1. How many men do yoga?

Same gym.

Q2. What percentage of the men do yoga?

Same gym.

Q3. By what percentage do men in strength training outnumber women in strength training?

Same gym. Yoga members pay ₹1,200 a month.

Q4. What is the gym's monthly fee income from all 600 members?

A shop sold 2,400 phones in quarter 1: 55% budget, 30% mid-range, the rest premium. In quarter 2, total sales rose 25% and premium was 20% of sales.

Q5. By what percentage did premium sales rise?

🎯 Caselet DI in a nutshell

A caselet is a table written as prose: rebuild it with totals on both edges.
Tag every percentage with its base before you use it.
Convert to counts, fill gaps by subtraction, check the columns add up.
Cannot be determined only when a needed number is truly absent.

📎 Formula card

Part = (percentage ÷ 100) × its own base
Missing cell = total − known parts
A as % of B = A ÷ B × 100
A more than B = (A − B) ÷ B × 100
Same rate: if A = r% of X and B = r% of Y, then A ÷ B = X ÷ Y
Checks: shares of one base add to 100%; parts add to their total
CBD test: a needed number is neither given nor derivable

Frequently asked questions

What is caselet DI in CLAT?

Caselet DI is data interpretation where the data arrives as a paragraph, not a table. CLAT has used it for Quantitative Techniques since 2020: a short passage full of numbers, then four to six questions. The maths is percentages, ratios and averages; the skill is building the table fast.

How do I convert a CLAT Quant passage into a table?

Find the grand total and group totals first. Make categories the rows and groups the columns, with a Total row and column. Convert each percentage to a count using its own base, the word after 'of'. Subtract for the rest, then check the columns add up.

When should I choose 'cannot be determined' in CLAT Quant?

Only when the answer needs a number the passage never gives and you cannot derive from totals, ratios or other cells. The classic case: a question asks for rupees when the passage gives only a percentage for that year. List what the answer needs and tick each item off.

Why don't my numbers add up when I build the table?

Usually because two percentages were taken on different bases. In the 2022 caselet, stream shares are of all 3,000 students while the girls' figures are of 1,700 girls. Convert both into counts first. Shares of one base should total 100%.