CEED Exam Pattern 2026: Part A & B Paper Structure, Marking Scheme, Weightage, Impt Topics, Total Questions

CEED question paper has two sections - Part A and Part B. Part A will include NAT, MSQ, and MCQ questions, and there is negative marking for MSQ and MCQ-type questions. However, there is no negative marking for NAT-type questions.

 Meanwhile, Part B will be a subjective paper and will have no negative marking. 

CEED question paper will have two sections, Part A and Part B. Both sections are mandatory. Part A will have three sections, MCQ, MSQ and NAT. Part B will include only subjective type questions.

CEED 2026 exam has two sections Part A and Part B. Part A will be conducted in online mode and Part B will be conducted offline. Part A will have three sections, NAT, MCQ and MSQ. Part B will include drawing based questions only. Part A is of 150 marks and Part B is of 100 marks.

Part A of the CEED 2026 question paper will include three types of questions, NAT, MCQ and MSQ. The number of questions per question type and marking scheme is given in the table below.

Note that Part B answer booklet will only be evaluated if the candidate qualifies Part A.

Yes, candidates must follow the exam pattern for CEED 2026.  It is because the exam pattern will guide the candidate as to how to prepare for the exam. 

• As per the CEED 2026 exam pattern, Part A will include NAT, MCQ, MSQ-type questions. These questions will require the candidate to select a correct answer option. So, instead of practicising how to write, long, elaborative answers, the candidate must build the skill to quickly solve the problem and find the solution.

• On the other hand, Part B will include subjective-type questions. In these types of questions, the examiner doesn’t simply want an answer, but also want to see how you arrived at the answer!

The difficulty level of CEED exam is maintained by authorities over the years. However, most design aspirants share that if the difficulty level of all design entrance exams conducted for PG level courses is compared then CEED is slightly easier than the NID Entrance Exam. This is primarily because the drawing questions asked in NID DAT are considered to be tougher than those put forth in the CEED exam.

The weightage of CEED Part A is 25%. Candidates have to attempt 44 questions in CEED Part A. It includes MSQs, MCQs, and NAT questions. Total marks for CEED Part A is 150.

The CEED 2026 exam will be held on Jan 18, 2026. So, aspiring candidates can start preparing for the exam.

1. Focus on the following resources to prepare for CEED:
2. Make sure that you get the best books to prepare the CEED.
3. If the study material is good, they will contain few to no errors, will cover the entire syllabus, contain practice problems, etc.
4. Solve sample and previous year’s question and sample papers
5. Take mock tests.
6. When studying make it a point to take notes. These notes will help you jot down all the important points.
7. Do timely revision. 

Sketching part of CEED will include representation, in the form of geometric figures like lines, squares, and triangles, outline drawing, detailing, and shading. Try outline drawing, representation, focus on detailing and shading. Also try shape of the figure, proportion and line quality.

Some of the important topics to prepare for CEED 2026 include

• Design Concepts
• Product Designing
• Logical Reasoning
• Colour Theory, Color Schemes and color Compositions
• Scale and Proportion
• Poster, Logo, Character designing
• Basics of Drawing - Lines and Shapes
• Anatomy, Proportions and Divisions
• Sketching
• How to Develop Characters
• Basic and advanced Human Drawings
• Story Illustrations

These topics are important because they either carry more weighatge or have a greeter chance of being asked in the entrance exam.

To improve your English language skills, you should

• Develop a habit of reading English newspapers daily. 
• Learn 20 new words daily
• Solve reading comprehension passage
• Read synonyms, antonyms, idioms, etc.
• Watch animated movies or English movies with subtitles.

You can start solving sample papers for CEED very early on in your exam preparation. For instance, you can do the exercise after completing a chapter. All you have to do is find the relevant questions in the sample papers and start solving. As you move on in your CEED 2026 exam preparation, you the sample papers will be more useful. In fact, as you complete the syllabus, you can attempt the complete sample paper.

By solving the sample papers you can improve your problem-solving and time-management skills. Also, you can solve sample papers right up to the exam-day. 

The topics listed in the CEED syllabus is indicative in nature. Also, the syllabus is exhaustive in the sense that questions may be asked from all or some of the topics. So, the candidate can’t skip any topics when preparing for CEED. 

The candidate is urged to go through the previous years' question papers to get an idea about the paper structure and types of questions asked. That being said, keep in mind that the syllabus has been revised for CEED.

Candidates should solve around 30-40 sample papers and question papers before the CEED Exam. Try to solve one sample paper or question paper daily in the last month of preparation.