Bell the XAT after CAT

XAT has historically been conducted on the first Sunday of January for admissions to XLRI,
Jamshedpur and other 74 Business schools across the country. It has, over the years, proven to be
more demanding and difficult than CAT.

Bird's eye view of the last 3 years' XAT

Difficulty
Section Year Qs level Description of question types

Moderate- 20 RC –four passages, 10 – Critical Reasoning, 5 – Fill in the blanks, 3

2008 38 Tough – Jumbled sentences, No Vocabulary, No Grammar

Verbal Ability & 12 RC – three passages, 11 – Critical Reasoning, 3 – Figures of

Logical Reasoning 2009 35 Tough speech, 3 – Grammar, 2 – Jumbled sentences, 1 – Analogy

6 RC – Two passages, 17 – Critical Reasoning, 5 – Fill in the blanks, 2

2010 31 Tough – jumbled sentences, 1- Analogy, No Grammar

Moderate- 13 - Decision Making (3 cases), 8 – Puzzles (3 sets), 17 – Arrangement

2008 38 Tough ( 4 sets)
Analytical
Reasoning & 2009 31 Moderate 8 – Decision Making (2 cases), 23 – Logical Reasoning (5 sets)
Decision Making
12 – Decision Making (6 cases), 13 – Complex arrangement, 3 - Logical
2010 30 Tough conditions & grouping, 3 – Misc.

Moderate- 12 – DI (4 sets), 2 – DS, 2 – Arithmetic, 6 – Algebra, 6 – Geometry, 9 –

2008 44 Tough Modern Maths, Puzzles – 6,
Data Interpretation
& Quantitative Moderate- 10 – DI (3 sets), 2 – DS, 9 – Arithmetic, 9 – Algebra, 4 – Geometry, 4 –
Ability 2009 38 Tough Modern Maths

12 – DI (4 sets), 2 – DS, 6 – Arithmetic, 4 – Algebra, 9 – Geometry, 6 –

2010 40 Moderate Modern Maths, 1 - Misc

The table above shows a clear trend of reduced number of questions- from 120 in 2008 to 104 in
2009 to 101 in 2010. The difficulty level of each of the three sections, and thus the overall test, is
very high.

Must know data:

 The test duration is140 minutes = 120 minutes aptitude + 20 minutes essay
 Each question has 5 options
 It is assumed that each question is worth 1 mark (XAT does not explicitly state it)
 There is progressive negative marking- penalty for incorrect answers goes up in each
section with increase in incorrect attempts.

In 2008 & 2009, 25% of the marks were deducted for the first 6 incorrect answers in each
section. 50% of the marks for every incorrect answer thereafter.
 In 2010, 20% of the marks were deducted for the first 5 incorrect answers in each section.
25% of the marks for every incorrect answer thereafter.

 No sectional time limit- you can choose to allocate time to each section based on your
strengths.
 With the test being high on difficulty level, sectional cut-offs for XLRI have historically
been in single digits and overall cut-offs in the range of 32 to 35. For other institutes
taking XAT scores, the cut-offs go down much further.

Change in approach:

 After a battery of national tests such as IIFT, FMS, JMET, SNAP, NMAT, you will need
to go back to single-minded and absolute focus on accuracy. Hence, as much as you will
need to focus on what to attempt, you will also need to, very carefully, strategize on what
not to attempt.
 The structure and complexity of most of the questions in XAT is unlike what you would
have encountered in other tests. You will benefit immensely by familiarizing yourself
with different question types by solving last 3 years' actual XAT tests, which are
available for FREE (with detailed explanatory answers) on TestFunda.com.
 In addition, you will need to spend enough time on detailed analysis reports after every
successive mock XAT. They will provide you with a trend analysis of where you have
fared well (questions to be attempted) and where you are struggling (questions not to be
attempted).

Sectional strategy:

Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning:

The table shows a clear trend in the reduction of emphasis on RC and increase in emphasis on
Critical Reasoning. The other two lessons which are tested are Jumbled sentences and Fill in the
Blanks. Pure Grammar and Vocabulary questions are almost non-existent.

Things to do right now:

 Go back to your study material and solve short but dense CAT passages.
 Increase your reading of literature, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and quantum
Physics articles in these last weeks to XAT.
 Go through a rigorous study of the Critical Reasoning topic; understand different flaws in
reasoning; solve ALL the different question types – implicit, conclusion, inference,
assumption, strengthen, weaken, analogous, unrelated argument. Download the FREE
Question of the day booklets from TestFunda. It has some very difficult Critical
Reasoning questions.
 Practice 6 statement jumbled sentences and 4 blank fill in the blank questions.
Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making:

This section predominately comprises ethical dilemma- decision-making questions, and

arrangement problems. The single and multiple-question decision-making cases reflect choices
that need to be made in scenarios reflecting real life. The solutions are presented in the form of 5
equally appealing answer choices. As a future manager and decision-maker, you are expected to
not only make a logical and rational choice but also one that is in sync with socially acceptable
norms and behaviour. In the exam, when you are faced with two extremely compelling choices-
one logical and one ideal, it may help to choose the ideal answer option.

Things to do right now:

 Read up on the Decision-making lesson and identify do's and don'ts of arriving at the
optimal choice. Go through the solved examples, understand the reason for choosing a
particular answer option and more importantly, eliminating the other options. Go through
a few ethical dilemma cases which can be found easily on the world wide web.
 Solve difficult to very difficult arrangement problems. Download TestFunda Puzzle of
the week FREE ebooks and solve the different varieties of cases.

Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability:

 The quants questions are spread across different lessons and you can choose to
concentrate on your strengths, apart from 3 to 4 DI cases comprising 10 to 12 questions
in the section. Most of the questions require sound understanding of topics. Questions on
geometry, coordinate geometry, linear programming and probability test fundamentals.
Knowing formulae is important, but knowing formulae alone and not the theory behind it
rarely helps.
 The questions have been known to be verbose (a lot of wordiness) which makes the
process (of choosing which ones to attempt and which ones to leave) time consuming.

Things to do right now

 Browse through the lessons that you have practiced for CAT. It will help to have a closer
look at the concepts and solved examples in coordinate geometry, sequences,
progressions and series, determinants and matrices, calculus, probability & linear
programming. Additionally, solve a few questions from all the topics and take a couple of
topic level and question level tests to brush up and get a handle on tricky question types.
 Revise important formulae. You can download a FREE ebook of 'the 50 most important
formulae at TestFunda.
Essay writing:

 At the end of the 2 hour aptitude test, you will be handed a sheet of paper on which you
are required to write an essay within the given 20 minutes. A topic / subject / issue /
argument is given that you need to analyze and then provide your views / opinions /
counter-arguments.
 Although essays are not read for shortlisting candidates for the second round, the essay
writing section needs to be taken seriously as some interviewees have reported to have
been asked the relevance of their essays in the interview.

Things to do & take care of

 Go back to basics and practice the art of essay writing as you had done during school. Jot
down all the important points that come to your mind before even beginning to structure
the essay.
 A good essay has a coherent point of view with interesting introductory and closing
ideas. Use relevant life examples and avoid jargon, cliches, slang, abbreviations, sms
lingo, hyperbole and unnecessary beating around the bush.
 For those of you who are in the habit of using a computer or may not be in the habit of
writing much, do practice enough to ensure your hand-writing is legible and spellings are
correct.
 Read up on the lesson on Essay Writing from your study material to get complete insights
into writing winning essays.

Last 15 years' XAT essays

2010: Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed

2009: The Inherent vice of Capitalism is unequal sharing of blessings and the inherent virtue of
Socialism is equal sharing of misery

2008: The consequence of gender imbalance - Third world war

2007: Economic Growth without environmental damage – a mirage or a reality

2006: India has one of the largest pools of talented manpower, but few innovations and patented
products.

2005: More than one billion Indians: A gigantic problem or a sea of opportunities.

2004: Asked at the age of 83, as to which of his project would he choose as his master piece,
Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect answered, 'The next one'.
2003: To give real service, one needs to add something that cannot be bought or measured, like
sincerity and integrity.

2002: Indian Economy in the Post WTO Era.

2001: Economic Growth without distributive justice can only lead to violence.

2000: Ships are safer in the harbour; but they are not meant for the same.

1999: That is what a Television really is; it is another eye so you can see anywhere; another part
of your heart so you can feel and care about things you never felt and cared about before; another
ear to hear strange music. It is the first and only International language.

1998: Max Weber, a German Sociologist, defined state as an entity that has a monopoly over
legal violence. India proves that the converse is also true; if criminals cannot be punished by the
law, in effect they become the state.
1997: By the third or fourth week of the term, business school had succeeded in afflicting me
with a variation of the Stockholm syndrome, named after the incident in which a hostage in a
Stockholm bank robbery fell in love with one of her captors.

1996: There is no right way of doing a wrong thing.

Things to remember during XAT:

 XAT is a supreme test of accuracy.

 On analysing the trends and cut-offs of the last 3 years, you may need to attempt less than
50 questions spread across all the 3 sections. Even with an 80% accuracy, you have a
very good chance of clearing the cut-offs.
 You may want to take (three to four 30 to 60 second) mini-breaks in the test. A highly
engaging test like XAT may increase the frequency of fatigue due to prolonged periods of
intense concentration.
 Data in the questions as well as the answer options is dense and complex- it will help to
spend enough time evaluating a question and its options and not rush through it with a
cursory glance.
 Ensure you have had a good look at all the 5 options before zeroing down on your choice.