XAT (Xavier Admission Test) is a national level management entrance examination conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur for admission to management courses. There are 35 other Management Institutes which select students on the basis of XAT scores. XAT is usually conducted on the first Sunday of January in 31 cities all over India.
XAT Test Pattern: XAT is an objective paper consisting of multiple-choice questions. There are four alternative answers for each question. One mark is awarded for each correct answer and 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. The duration of the test paper is 2 hours and there is an essay paper of 20 minutes. The objective paper comprises three sections and there is a time limit of 40 minutes for each section.
(1) Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability
(2) Quantitative Ability, Reasoning and Data Interpretation
(3) General Awareness
| No. of Questions | 120 |
| Total Marks | 120 |
| Marking Scheme | 1* |
| Negative marking | ¼ for first 6 wrongs & ½ thereafter* |
| Number of Sections | 3 |
| Number of Choices | 5 |
| Duration | 120 min + 20 min for Essay |
XAT 2008
The break up of the XAT paper and an optimum time allocation strategy are given in the table below.
| Parameter | XAT 2008 | XAT 2007 | XAT 2006 | XAT 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of sections | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Number of questions | 120 | 130 | 127 | 175 |
| Difficulty level (Overall) | Difficult | Difficult | Difficult | Average |
| Expected cut-off (BMD) | 32-33 | 35+ | 32+ | 70+ |
| Expected cut-off (PMIR) | 30-31 | 33+ | 28+ | 65-68 |
Section-wise Analysis 2008
Section I: English Usage & Reading Comprehension
There are 38 questions, to be attempted in 40 minutes. The questions ranged between average and high in terms of difficulty level. Grammar was not tested this year. Critical reasoning questions were in the form of caselets. There was an increase in the number of these questions, as compared to the past XAT papers. A good command over homophones would have been required to tackle the contextual vocabulary questions.
Reading Comprehension
Two passages, viz. the ones on Psychology and Science, were difficult to read and the questions in these, being mostly inferential, would have given one a tough time. The relief was provided in the form of direct vocabulary and fact-based question in the remaining two passages.
Topic-wise breakup
| Type of question | No. of questions | Difficulty level | No. of possible attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four sentence Para jumbles | 3 | High | 2 |
| Critical Reasoning (Case lets) | 10 | Average | 6 |
| Grammar | - | - | |
| Reading Comprehension [4 passages] |
20 | Average to Difficult | 8-9 |
| Contextual Vocabulary (fill in the blanks) | 5 | Average | 3 |
| - | 38 | - | 21 attempts |
Comparison with last 3 year’s XAT:
| Topic | XAT 2008 | XAT 2007 | XAT 2006 | XAT 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
38 |
41 |
40 |
65 |
|
English Usage |
18 |
18 |
16 |
22 |
|
Vocabulary: Synonyms |
0 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
|
Vocabulary: Antonyms/ Inappropriate Usage |
0 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
|
Vocabulary: Analogies |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Vocabulary: Usage-based |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
|
Fill in the blanks |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Para Jumbles |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
|
Critical Reasoning |
10 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
|
Sentence Correction |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reading Comprehension |
4 passages |
4 passages + 1 poem |
5 passages |
6 passages |
|
Phrenology |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
|
Taxonomy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Sociology |
0 |
5 (1 Passage) |
6 |
0 |
|
Philosophy/ psychology (1 passage each) |
11 |
4+ 4 (1 Poem, 1, Passage) |
6 |
0 |
|
Science & Research |
3 |
4 (1 Passage) |
3 |
0 |
|
Business/Economics/Management |
6 |
6 (1 Passage) |
7 |
0 |
Section II: Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making Ability
Total No. of questions: 38
(Decision Making: 10, Individual Reasoning Qs: 2 and AR: 26)
In this section of 38 questions, 28 were on Analytical Reasoning (AR) and 10 on Decision Making Ability. Some of the AR sets were very time consuming. On the other hand, the Decision Making Ability questions were relatively less time taking. Overall, the section had a high difficulty level. 13-14 attempts with an investment of 40 minutes would have been ideal.
| Topic | XAT 2008 | XAT 2007 |
|---|---|---|
|
AR + Decision Making |
38 |
40 |
|
AR-sets |
26 (7sets) |
22(4 sets) |
|
Individual AR questions |
2 |
3 |
|
Decision Making |
10(2 sets) |
15(4 sets) |
Section III: Quantitative Ability +DI
Total number of questions: 44 (30 QA, 2 DS, 12 DI)
2 DS questions in this section were of mixed level of difficulty. Keeping in mind the risk of committing more than six mistakes in the section, an intelligent investment of 40 minutes would have yielded 14-15 attempts.
Topic-wise Breakup
|
Topic |
XAT 2008 |
XAT 2007 |
XAT 2006 |
XAT 2005 |
|
Overall |
44 |
36 |
44 |
75 |
|
Number System |
2 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
Arithmetic |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
|
Simple calculations of fractions etc |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Average, %, SI-CI, PLD |
1 |
2 |
1+1 |
1 |
|
Ratio proportion, Average |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Speed Time Distance, Work |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Algebra |
13 |
14 |
20 |
14 |
|
Equations & Inequalities |
2 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
|
Functions |
3 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
|
Maxima minima |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
|
Series, sequences & progressions |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
|
Graph |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Misc Type |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Geometry |
6 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
|
Plane geometry |
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
Mensuration |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Co-ordinate geometry |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Permutation & Combination |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Probability |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
Mathematical reasoning |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
Set Theory |
2 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
Higher Math (Limit, differentiation Integration) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
|
Data Sufficiency |
2 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
Data Interpretation
There were 3 DI sets—2 sets on Tables and 1 on Line diagram—with moderate difficulty level.
|
Topic |
XAT 2008 |
XAT 2007 |
XAT 2006 |
XAT 2005 |
|
Data Interpretation |
12 |
13 |
18 |
25 |
|
Table |
9(2 sets) |
11 (3 Sets) |
13 (3 sets) |
10 (3 sets) |
|
Pie Chart |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
|
Line Chart |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
Table + Bar Diagram |
0 |
2 (1 Set) |
0 |
4 |
Essay
XAT also tests you on essay-writing and 20 min is stipulated at the end of the two-hour test period to write a page-long essay. The topic for this year was: “The consequence of gender imbalance – The Third World War.”
XAT Essay 2007: Economic growth without environmental damage – a mirage or a reality
XAT Essay 2006: "India has the largest pool of talented manpower, but very few innovations and patented products."
