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MBA Papers : XAT Test Pattern

By Contributor | September 8, 2008

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.

XAT has an essay section wherein a student gets 20 minutes to write on a topic given in the paper. The topics can range from something of great contemporary relevance such as “Economic Growth without environmental damage - a mirage or a reality” to slightly more abstract ones such as “A painter when asked about his best piece of work replied - My next one”.

The objective paper comprises three sections: (1) Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability (2) Quantitative Ability, Reasoning and Data Interpretation (3) General Awareness. There is a time limit of 40 minutes for each section.

In the English Section, while the vocabulary questions are more usage based than memory or knowledge based, the grammar questions require a solid understanding of the language fundamentals. Critical reasoning questions and para-jumbles usually test the verbal reasoning skills in this section. The RC passages require one to make quick choices in terms of the passages to be attempted and those to be left out.

The Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section in XAT is relatively tough with very few ’sitters’. While the questions in Quantitative Ability span algebra, arithmetic and geometry with a focus on the first one, the Data Interpretation questions require good number crunching skills. Students need to incorporate more practice in this area in their preparation schedules so as to maximize their score.

The Decision-making questions are a recent introduction and imitate B-School case-studies, the Reasoning Ability questions usually are a mix of moderate to tough questions, given the demanding time-limits.