XAT 2016 Exam Analysis

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2016 was conducted on January 3, 2016 from 10 am to 1:30 pm.

The test was divided into two parts. The first part was the usual XAT paper which had questions divided into three sections Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. As stated by the XAT authorities earlier, the total time allotted for attempting these questions was 170 minutes.

The second part consisted of General Awareness questions and a mandatory Essay Writing Section. The total time allotted to this section was 35 minutes.

The Verbal and Logical Ability Section had 26 questions. The section on Decision Making comprised 23 questions and the Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation section had 29 questions. Each question had 5 options and all the questions carried equal marks. There was a penalty of one-fourth marks allotted for every incorrect answer. Also, as mentioned earlier, there was a penalty of 0.05 marks for every un-attempted question after the first 13 such questions. The paper was quite challenging this year also.

XAT'2016 Pattern

Section

No. of Questions

Optimal Time in Mins

Difficulty Level

Good Attempts

Verbal Ability

26

45

Moderate-Difficult

16-18

Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

33

70

Moderate-Difficult

17-19

Decision Making

23

55

Moderate-Difficult

16-18

Total

140

Difficult

-55

 

The detailed analysis of all the sections is as follows:

XAT'2016 Verbal and Logical Ability Analysis

As compared to last year, the overall difficulty level of the English section went up. One would need a careful reading in order to eliminate the options and answer the questions. A couple of questions in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning were quite tricky and could only be done by elimination. Para Jumble questions were of a moderate level of quality and could have been easily attempted.

The breakup was as follows:

Topic

Number of questions

Difficulty

Reading Comprehension

14

Difficult

Vocabulary

1

Moderate

Para-jumble

2

Easy-moderate

Para-completion

1

Easy

CR

7

Difficult

Pronunciation

1

Moderate

 

XAT'2016 Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning Analysis

The level of the Decision Making was comparable to the last year’s paper. This year did not see any long passages which was a great relief. Hence, lesser time was required to attempt the questions and a higher cut-off can be expected for this section as compared to the last year

The breakup was as follows:

Topic

Number of questions

Difficulty

Situational

18

Moderate-Difficult

Mathematical + Analytical Reasoning

5

3 - Easy
2 - Difficult

 

XAT'2016 Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation Analysis:

The section on Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation was slightly easier than last year’s. There were 22 questions of QA and most of them were from Geometry, Algebra, Number System and Arithmetic. Majority of the questions from Arithmetic were doable whereas the questions on Geometry and Algebra were difficult in nature. There was a couple of questions based on directions (Company ABC and XYZ sharing profits) whose language was ambiguous.

In Data Interpretation, there were 2 sets comprising 7 questions in total. There were a few questions which were a little ambiguous.
In a nutshell, one could have attempted 2-4 DI questions in 20-25 minutes.

The break-up was as follows:

Topic

Number of questions

Difficulty

P&L

2

Easy - Moderate

TSD, Work

2

Easy - Moderate

Number System

2

Easy - Moderate

Algebra

3

Easy - Moderate

Puzzles

1

Easy - Moderate

Geometry, Mensuration

8

Moderate -Difficult

Clocks

1

Moderate

Trigonometry

1

Easy

Functions

1

Easy

Set Theory

1

Moderate

DI - Table Based

3

Difficult

DI- Combination

4

Difficult

 

XAT'2016 General Awareness Analysis:

The General Awareness section was comparatively difficult than that of last year's. This section consisted of 25 questions. Most of the questions were single statement based. Some of the questions having multiple-statements had more than one correct statements. The students could have had sweaty palms while answering them as they required the student to know each and every statement independently. The key areas from where the questions were asked are static GK(Economy, Geography, Science, Science and Technology) and Current GK ( Business economy and miscellaneous). In comparison to last year there were no questions from history, sports and polity section. Overall the difficulty level of the GK section lies in the "moderate-difficult" range. An attempt of 10-11 questions fetching a score of 7-8 can be considered good.

 

XAT'2016 Essay Writing Analysis

This part of the test consisted of an essay. The topic of the essay was “Technology and Nature are natural enemies”. Like every year, XAT came with a very interesting topic yet again, on which students could ponder and bring out various perspectives. Compared to previous year this topic was easy as in past years XAT had a tendency to give topics that were either abstract or philosophical

XAT'2016 Cutoffs Analysis

XLRI

XIMB

SP Jain

GIM

IMT

Great Lakes

BM

HRM

GMP

BM

HRM

VA

7
(80%ile)

8
(90%ile)

-

6
(75%ile)

6
(75%ile)

-

-

-

DM

9.5
(80%ile)

9.5
(80%ile)

-

8
(75%ile)

8
(75%ile)

-

-

-

QADI

10
(90%ile)

7
(70%ile)

-

7.25
(75%ile)

7.25
(75%ile)

-

-

-

Overall

31-33

29-31

26-28

29-31

26-28

31-33

26-28

29-31

26-28

 

Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

 

Go through the previous year XAT exam analysis to be prepared for surprises