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Xavier Aptitude Test Exam
How to Crack XAT
XAT is one of the most difficult entrance examinations. It is different from other B-School tests. XAT aims at testing student's aptitude in Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, Verbal and Logical Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making, and General Awareness. The decision making is the aspect that sets XAT exam different from other management entrance exams. Being the most revered test XAT demands the efficient and effective skills to crack. Every year, XAT entrance examination is conducted in the month of January.
XAT Exam Analysis 2024
The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) will be conducted on 07 January, 2024. This is a computer-based examination which was divided into two parts. The first part consists of sections such as verbal ability & logical reasoning, decision making and quantitative ability & data interpretation. The second part consists of general awareness questions. The organisers of XAT eliminated the essay writing section from this year.
According to the experts and test takers, XAT 2023 was tougher compared to the previous year. Around 26 questions were asked in the verbal and logical ability sections. It is 21 and 27 questions in decision making and quantitative ability and data interpretation sections, respectively. The negative marking is there only in Part A. However, the penalty for un-attempted questions had been doubled.
| Section | No of Questions | Total Marks |
| Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning | 26 | 26 |
| Decision Making | 22 | 22 |
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation | 28 | 28 |
| General Knowledge | 25 | 25 |
| Essay (250 Words) | 1 (Candidate can choose 1 topic from 3 options) | to be evaluated upon shortlisting |
XAT Exam Analysis 2024 : Verbal Ability And Logical Reasoning
This section was tougher compared to last year because of the verbal section.
Most of the questions were from the reading comprehension with four passages. The para jumbled questions were easy but the fill in the blanks and poem was very difficult.
| Topic | No of questions | Good Attempt |
| Reading Comprehension | 12 | 7 to 8 |
| CR | 5 | 3 |
| Poem Comprehension | 2 | - |
| Analogy | 1 | - |
| Antonym | 1 | 1 |
| Para-jumbled sentence | 2 | 1 to 2 |
| Fill in the blanks | 3 | 1 to 2 |
| Total | 26 | 16 to 18 |
XAT Exam Analysis 2024: Decision Making And Analytical Reasoning
The Decision Making was almost similar to last year. Out of 21 decision-making questions, 18 were situational. No decision-making questions were there from mathematical or analytical reasoning. The good attempt of questions is at least 16.
XAT Exam Analysis 2024: Quantitative Ability And Data Interpretation
The QA and DI were a bit tougher compared to last year. Most of the data interpretation questions were tricky. Many test takers felt that the geometry and algebra questions were too difficult. The DI consists of two sets comprising six questions.
| Topic | No of questions | Good Attempt |
| Arithmetic | 4 | 3 |
| Algebra | 7 | 4 to 5 |
| Co-ordinate Geometry + Trigonometry | 4 | 2 to 3 |
| Geometry | 4 | 2 |
| Data Sufficiency | 2 | 1 |
| DI (time zone) | 3 | 1 |
| DI (mixed graph) | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 27 | 17 to 18 |
XAT Exam Analysis 2024: General Knowledge
The general knowledge section was moderate and candidates who are good in statistics will score well. Many questions were single-statement based.
| Topic | No of questions | Good Attempt |
| History | 1 | - |
| Geography | 4 | 2 to 3 |
| Economy & Business | 7 | 3 to 4 |
| Current Affairs | 2 | 1 |
| Personality & Awards | 3 | 1 to 2 |
| Science & Tech | 2 | 1 |
| Polity | 2 | 1 |
| Miscellaneous | 2 | 1 |
| Sports | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 25 | 12 to 14 |
XAT Cut-off 2023
- XLRI Business Management (BM): 30.5-32.5
- SPJIMR - Mumbai : 32.5-34.5
- IMT - Ghaziabad : 30.5-32
- GIM - Goa : 27.5 - 30.5
- TAPMI - Manipal : 26-27.5
- IRMA - Anand : 26-27.5
- MICA - Ahmedabad - 26-27.5
5 Tips To Crack XAT Exam
Practise Regularly: Among all the section Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making is one of the difficult section to tackle.
It is essential to work regularly on the puzzles and reasoning. Try to solve the mock papers related to the subject. Practising regularly enables you to attempt and solve many of the questions in the stipulated time.
Speed Up Your Math: Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation is mainly based on calculations. Questions related to this section are tricky and not to mention the level of difficulty in XAT. Thus, students should always be judicious while solving. Accelerating math skill and concepts can be of an added benefit for students.
Concentrate On The Figure Of Speech: Verbal & Logical Ability section consists of questions pertaining to reading comprehension, sentence correction, vocabulary based questions (words confused), para formation, and logical reasoning question. It is necessary for students to focus on the figure of speech including metaphor, personification, oxymoron, etc to solve the question easily.
Brush Up Your GK: The GK section may not determine your percentile but it is imperative for students to attempt the paper as it is part of your test. While reading ensures to glance facts related to economics, business, current events, books, authors and awards. Manorama and CSR books will a great source to meet all the required information.
Time Allocation: Time-allocation is a key strategy to crack the XAT. Try to maintain balance in all the section. Avoid spending much time on the difficult and tricky question, which you can feel it is difficult to crack. Managing time leads to attempt most of the question, which eventually lands in success.