Exam Pattern
CEED Exam Pattern
Common Entrance Examination for Design 2026 (Part A)
Part A takes a third of the exam's clock and is the only third a machine can score. Sixty of the 180 minutes go to these 44 compulsory questions, and the remaining 120 belong to Part B, a sketching, creativity and visual-sensitivity paper answered in a booklet, which is why it is not built here. Inside Part A the multiple-choice block is the bulk: 26 questions and 78 of the 150 marks, against 40 marks for the ten multiple-select questions and 32 for the eight numerical ones. Part A cannot be revisited once Part B begins.
CEED 2026 Part A
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 44 |
| Total marks | 150 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | varies by question type per wrong answer |
| Sections | NAT, MSQ, MCQ |
| Test | Qs | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| NAT | 8 | 32 |
| MSQ | 10 | 40 |
| MCQ | 26 | 78 |
Timing: Part A runs for 60 minutes of the 180-minute paper and cannot be revisited once Part B begins. All 44 questions are compulsory.
Part A only. Part B is a 120-minute sketching, creativity, visual-sensitivity and problem-identification paper answered in a booklet, so it cannot be machine-scored and is not covered here. Marking differs by question type: 8 numerical-answer questions earn 4 marks with no penalty, 10 multiple-select questions earn up to 4 marks with partial credit and deduct 1 mark otherwise, and 26 multiple-choice questions earn 3 marks and deduct 0.5. The question format here is text only, because the current question schema carries no image or animation field: these are original text-described design, spatial and visual-reasoning problems, not reproductions of the official illustrated items.
Official source · checked 8 September 2026The CEED 2026 Part A exam pattern is 44 questions carrying 150 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 82 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are NAT, MSQ and MCQ. MCQ carries the most, 78 marks of the 150 or about 52%, against 32 marks for NAT. Marks per question are not uniform across sections either, so an equal number of questions does not mean equal weight. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
CEED 2026 Part A marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 3.41 marks.
- Worked example: attempt 35 of the 44 questions and get 26 right and 9 wrong, and you score 88.66 out of 150.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 82 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free CEED mock test to see where your time actually goes.
CEED exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in CEED?
CEED deducts varies by question type for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in CEED?
CEED has 44 questions. That leaves about 82 seconds per question in CEED.
What are the total marks in CEED?
CEED is out of 150 marks, which works out at 3.41 marks a question.
How long is the CEED exam?
CEED runs for 60 minutes.
Does CEED have a sectional time limit?
No. CEED runs every section on one composite timer of 60 minutes, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.