"Important Tips for XAT exam"

XAT Along with CAT, XAT is one of the most prestigious management entrance exams in India. Many top-rated colleges in India accept the XAT percentile as the written test benchmark. Some of these colleges are XLRI, Jamshedpur, SP Jain, Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad, IRMA, MICA, etc. But the similarity ends there. Though the basic skills required are mostly similar, XAT with 99 questions differs from CAT with 100 questions both in terms of the quality of questions and the overall paper pattern. Like CAT, XAT has also evolved considerably over the past few years. The following points make XAT different. XAT PATTERN The section in XAT 2020 Exam Pattern Number of questions Overall Time Duration Part-1 74 Total MCQs 165 Minutes Verbal and Logical Ability 26 No Sectional Time Limit Decision Making 21 No Sectional Time Limit Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation 27 No Sectional Time Limit Part-2 25 Total MCQs 15 Minutes General Knowledge 25 Total questions (Part 1 + Part 2) 99 1. GK and Essay So far CAT has never tested the General Knowledge or current Affairs of the students. XAT does this. Usually, there are 35 questions on GK (MCQ) some of which are related to current affairs. Till 2016 XAT also asked the students to write an essay on a topic. No choice of topic was given to the students. Only one topic!!! Take it or leave it!!! However, since XAT became online in 2018 the exam has dispensed with the essay. One more interesting thing to note is that, unlike IIFT, the GK section in XAT does not have an individual cut off. But a high score can definitely boost up the percentile. 2. Decision Making This is a section which, so far, has been asked only in XAT. The students are given a situation/problem. This can be a typical business scenario or can be a particular problem in society. Alternative courses of action are suggested in the options. A student has to apply his mind to the situation, consider all the variables that are there and then recommend a course of action which they find the most appropriate. A few years ago XAT used to consider two options as correct, but not now. The trick to getting the right answers to these questions is to think as if you are the major stakeholder in the situation. Never go for something which is morally perfect but not pragmatic. 3. No sectional time limit XAT does not have a sectional time limit like CAT. A student can attempt questions from any section from any order in the allotted time of 3 hours. However, the GK Section is Part 2 of the test. A candidate can go to Part 2 only after he has completed Part 1. 4. NAT questions XAT 2020 will have a new form of questions called the Numerical Answer Type questions. This is similar to the non-MCQ questions that were introduced in CAT. The candidates will have to answer these questions using the virtual keypad. 5. Un-attempted questions The negative marking in XAT is 1/4th (0.25 for every wrong answer). However, un-attempted questions beyond 8 will carry a negative marking of 0.10 marks for every question. This means that for every 10 un-attempted questions beyond 8 1 mark would be deducted. Keep a cool head! Be natural and trust your instincts!!! All the best!