XAT 2016 EXAM PATTERN AND SYLLABUS

XAT is a paper pen based test of 3.5 hour duration. The paper comprises of total 5 sections divided in two papers. Paper 1 consists of objective, multiple choice questions from 3 sections – Quantitative Ability, English Language & Logical Reasoning and Decision Making and has a duration of 3 hours. Although the examination pattern keeps on changing but Part A of the question paper of XAT 2015 had 84 questions which were further divided into three sections with 28,23,33 questions respectively.

·            English Language/ Verbal & Logical Reasoning (28)

·            Decision Making/ and Analytical Reasoning (23)

·            Quantitative Ability/and Data Interpretation (33)

Points to Note:

·             Number of questions varies from year to year.

·             Number of choices for each question is five.

·             There is negative marking (1/4) for wrong answers.

·             XAT paper contains differential marking, so you must read the instructions carefully.

·             GK Section in Part B has been introduced from 2013.

·             Duration has been increased by 20 minutes for Part A from 2013.

XAT Previous Year Paper Pattern

Paper           No. of Questions (Part A)          Marks

XAT 2009    104    104

XAT 2010    101    101

XAT 2011    101    253

XAT 2012    85      100

XAT 2013    91      91

XAT 2014    83      83

XAT 2015    84      84

The XAT paper of 2016 is expected to have same number of questions just like 2015, but the candidates must prepare in such a way that any change in the XAT Exam Pattern must not affect their performance in the test. Though no major changes are being expected to be made in the XAT Pattern except the duration of the test.

Part B of the paper had 2 sections, which are as follow –

·             Essay Writing

·             General Awareness

Note – The marks of General Knowledge will not be used for determining the percentile and cut off at first stage of selection.

A detailed description of XAT 2016 Examination Pattern

A. Verbal and Logical Reasoning

This section consists of 28 questions and are aimed to test the verbal and logical reasoning of all candidates. Firstly the verbal part will test the knowledge of the candidate in the English language and for that purpose will asks questions related to sentence formations, syntax, comprehension, filling up of blanks with appropriate words etc. The best way to get through this section is to have thorough knowledge of English grammar.

Similarly the logical reasoning part will ask questions to test the logical reasoning abilities. The questions will mainly look for the logic behind each given statement and option, and this logic will form the answer to the questions asked.

B. Decision Making/ and Analytical Reasoning

This section will consists of 23 questions formulated to test the Decision making and Analytical reasoning of the candidates. The first part is Decision Making which tests the practical aspect of the programme and is a test of the candidates ability to process and make effective and productive decisions as situations demand. There will be given situations and the options given marks the various degree of decision making abilities of the candidates.

This section also includes the test of analytical reasoning of all the candidates. The section aims at testing the analytical skill of the candidates, where data are provided and are asked to be analyzed and with reason. This section forces the candidate to exert their mental capabilities to the maximum and that is the challenging part.

C. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

This section contains 33 questions and as the name suggests it will firstly contain questions to test the mathematical skills of the candidates. This section of the XAT 2016 paper will comprise of the questions that will require good Mathematical Skills and the ability to do quick-oral calculations. Questions in this section will be based on direct applications of concepts and formulae and will have questions from Business Mathematics, Arithmetic, and Geometry. Candidates must practice basic formulae and concepts of Mathematics and also the Sample and Previous year question paper.

This section also aims to test the data interpretation skills of the candidates in regards to diagrams, reports and other such factual data. Hence, the questions will be asked on the basis of Pie chart, Tables, Data Sufficiency & Bar / Line graphs. The knowledge of multiplication tables, ability to quickly convert fractions to percentage, knowledge of square and cube roots and other calculation short-cuts and approximation techniques will be of immense help to the students in solving the questions quickly and correctly.

D. Essay Writing and General Knowledge

In this section, the candidates will be required to write an essay of about 200-300 words on any given topic. The topics on which essay writing can come will generally be related to things happening in world around you. The topic can be anything like on corruption, politics, global warming, India as an economy etc. For preparation of this section, the candidates must try writing one article per day. Also read newspaper daily and also business/economics/current affairs related books or journals. Do keep a check on your vocabulary, grammar and sentence usage. Read more Essay Writing Tips here.

The GK section of XAT will have questions that will intend to test your knowledge of things happening around you. Anybody being in constant touch with newspaper and news channels on everyday basis will easily be able to attempt and clear this section. Know How to Prepare GK Section for XAT 2016 here.

XAT Exam Pattern Summary:

The XAT 2016 Question Paper is expected to have

– 5 sections and the number of questions may vary,

– all questions will carry equal marks

– one fourth of a mark may be deducted for each wrong answer, and

– the total time for the examination is 3.5 hours (revised).