XAT Exam Pattern 2018

Xavier Admission Test (XAT) 2018 will be conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur for admission to post-graduate degree programmes in management at XLRI, Xavier Institute of Management (XIM), Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) and other MBA colleges.

XAT is a 3 hours, 35 minutes long, online test that has undergone some changes in format and overall duration since last year.

XAT Paper Pattern 2018:

XAT 2017 will be composed two parts:

The marks scored in the General Knowledge paper are not counted in determining the percentile and have no effect on the initial rounds of selection. They are taken into consideration during the personal interview round at XLRI admissions and admissions in few other member institutes.

Sections:

XAT Consists of 5 major sections:

• English Language and Logical Reasoning: This section deals with comprehension and reasoning skills. The applicant is required to correctly interpret the passages given. The questions are tough and the passages more than just simple English grammar passages. One should practice as many passages as possible.
• Decision Making: The focus is on finding what is right and ethical. Many ethical dilemma, financial issues and other major business cases are given where one has to either take a decision keeping in mind the business parameters like profit, loss and revenue, or give a detailed analysis of how the case or situation came to be. It helps in understanding the mind of the candidate in terms of business.
• Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation: This section is a test of your basic mathematics and its applications in real life data. One should know how to apply different mathematical concepts in data interpretation for trends and to support a particular decision. Correct interpretation of any data is the key and it requires practice.
• General Knowledge: This section covers general knowledge and current affairs in the past 6 months, and other information about books, nobel laureates, sports, politics, etc.

• Essay Writing: This section is to understand the mindset and opinions of the candidate. Topics given are mostly in the abstract dimension to understand the applicant's coherence and flow of thoughts. Try out writing essays from the past XAT papers and have them assessed to know how to improve.

(Read: XAT Preparation Tips)

Duration:

• The total duration of XAT Exam is 3 hours 35 minutes long.
• The first three sections, English Language and Logical Reasoning, Decision Making, and Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation are given a sum total of 2 hours and 50 minutes, that is 170 minutes to solve.
• The remaining sections General Knowledge and Essay Writing sections are given 45 minutes to complete.

XAT 2014 had 103 questions, XAT 2015 only had 84 questions while XAT 2016 again had 103 questions. As per some reports, the number of questions that can be expected in XAT 2018 is 97.

Mode of Exam:

Breaking 60 years of tradition, XAT 2018 will be an online test.

Take a look at previous years' papers to get a better idea about the XAT exam pattern: XAT previous years' papers

Marking Scheme for XAT 2018:

The marking scheme for XAT is as follows:

• For every right answer, the candidate scores 1 mark
  
• For every wrong answer, the candidate loses 0.25 marks (negative marking)
  
• The candidate has to attempt at least 12 questions or else 0.05 penalty would be given for every question attempted
  

XAT Paper Analysis:

Here is the analysis of the number of questions appearing in XAT in the last few years.

XAT Exam Paper Analysis: Part I

Verbal and Logical Ability:

Based on the types of questions asked, it is clear that this section tends to check your grammatical skills and so the questions given are majorly fill in the blanks, correct the sentence, comprehension etc. Last year, the questions in this section were quite difficult.

Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning:

This is to test your analytical and decision making skills. This is a way to test your intake process of data and ability to make productive decisions within a time frame. The questions in this section were a bit difficult.

Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation:

The questions in this section are based on maths related to topics of geometry, arithmetic, probability, permutations and combinations. The DI part consists of graphs, bar graphs, pie charts to provide large amounts of data and to test your interpretation skills for the same. Last year the section had moderate level questions.

XAT Exam Paper Analysis: Part II

General Knowledge:

The questions in this section were broadly in two parts, GK about History, Geography, Books, Places, Achievements etc and GK in current affairs like Politics, Science and Technology, Sports, Economics data and general Information.

Essay Writing:

Most of the times the Essay topics given in this section are on corruption, Indian Economy, Global Warming, Politics Etc. Writing a good Essay is very essential and one should have thorough knowledge of current business affairs and should read newspapers, watch major talk shows as much as possible.

Related Articles

• XAT 2018 Exam Dates
• Download XAT Question Paper
• XAT Recommended Books and Preparation Material
• XAT 2018 Analysis & Cut-Off Marks for Admission
• Institutes Accepting XAT Score
• XAT 2018 Eligibility Criteria
• XAT 2018 Application Form
• XAT 2018 Online Registration
• XAT 2018 Question Paper Pattern
• XAT 2018 Exam Centres