How to crack XAT

"We believe that single testing session with same difficulty level will provide level playing field to all the test takers without any discrimination" Prof Munish Thakur, Admission chairperson XLRI and convener XAT 2015
Single day, single session paper pen mode XAT 2015 to be conducted on January 4, 2015, despite having different series of test papers will test the candidates on same pattern and same set of questions. It not only makes it fairer to calculate percentile and normalize the scores on the same scale but also avoids the glitches that might come up due to varying difficulty level on different set of questions. According to Prof Munish Thakur, Admission chairperson XLRI and convener XAT 2015 “We believe that single testing session with same difficulty level will provide level playing field to all the test takers without any discrimination. This will also speed up the process of score normalization.”

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2015 is the gateway for admission to XLRI, Jamshedpur and other 120 top rated B schools in India. XLRI will conduct XAT 2015 on behalf of XAMI on January 4, 2015, the first Sunday of 2015. Registration for XAT 2015 will close on November 22, 2014. XLRI has been conducting XAT for the last 60 years at All India level in the paper pencil mode to provide level playing field for the XAT aspirants coming from all backgrounds.

XAT 2015: 180 minutes test

The 3 hours XAT 2015 will be conducted in 47 cities across India in a single session beginning from 10.30 AM to 1.30 PM with no break in between.There will be 4 sections containing MCQs (Multiple choice questions) in XAT 2015 and one section on subjective Essay writing test.The first 3 sections of the first part of the MCQ exam will be taken into account to calculate the percentile for shortlisting the candidates for final admission round. The other 2 sections will be given due weightage in final admission round

.XAT 2015 Test Composition

XAT 2015 will be divided in two parts. There is no sectional time constraint to solve the first 3 sections of MCQ test. Expected number of questions and time division between first and second part is detailed as follows

XAT 2015 exam: Part-1

The first part of XAT 2015 will have four sections in Multiple choice questions(MCQs) format

Section	Expected number of questions	Core topics to prepare
Verbal and Logical Ability	28-30	15 questions on RC; 3 questions on Jumbled paragraphs; 4 questions on Vocabulary; 4 questions on error corrections in sentences  4 questions on Logical Ability
Decision Making	23-25	Case let situations followed by sets of questions asking to click the best approach to solve, identify reasons
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation	30-33	Arithmatic, Quadrilaterals, number system, time & distance, integers, Probability, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Tables, bar diagrams, graphs
General Knowledge	20	Conventional, current affairs, books, authors, prizes, awards, business, economy, appointments, politics

Time limit for first 3 sections

140 minutes are assigned to solve the first 3 sections. 20 questions on General knowledge are supposed to be solved in 10 minutes.  Hence the total time granted to solve MCQs is 150 minutes.

B schools will individually decide their shortlisitng criteria on the basis of XAT 2015 scores.  The marks of General Knowledge will not be used for determining the percentile and cut off at first stage of selection. However it will be used by XLRI and some other Associate Member Institutes at the time of final selection

XAT 2015: Part-2

XAT 2015 will not only be a test of your intelligence and academic knowledge, it will also test your writing skill. How you present what you observe will be the criteria to assess your writing ability. As such the second part in XAT 2015 will be the test on writing ability. Aspirants will be asked to write an essay on a given topic.

Candidates having been tested on objective Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) will also be tested on real life driven written communication skill based on wider perspective on important issues. Their performance in essay writing will also form the base of their final section round.

Time limit to write the essay is 30 minutes. XAT 2015 aspirant is expected to write a well worded essay of 350-400 words on the given topic. The topic could be on abstract, psychological idea or on some current topic in a modified form.

4 segments of Verbal section

Verbal and Logical Ability section is expected to have 30 questions in all including the Logical Ability questions which are very few in number. The most important thing to be immediately done is to divide the Verbal Ability section in four parts - Reading Comprehension passages (Most important with 16-18 questions out of 30-32 questions in VA+LA section); Jumbled paragraphs ( App. 3-4 questions);  usage of Vocabulary (3-4 questions); error corrections in sentences ( 3-4 questions). This division is as per the current trend of XAT.

15 questions on Reading Comprehension : key to ace the section 

 Concentrate on Reading Comprehension, practice more with clear and conceptual understanding of phrases, sentences and key words, as it is the most important part. Solve two to three passages a day.  you may form  questions on passages and try to answer the same. There is greater number of questions based on RC in XAT than in CAT. More than half of Verbal Ability questions belong to this part. Passages in XAT are shorter than in CAT although they have rich and literary language. Aspirants are advised to regularly read the editorials, good literature and philosophy books. Difficult words should be written down separately, their contextual usage should be understood. Unlike CAT aspirants may find the questions a little more direct in XAT Reading comprehension part

.Strong Fundamentals: Prerequisite

Unlike CAT, XAT places more emphasis on basic understanding of English Language. Articles, Prepositions, Usage of adjective, adverb, verbs, nouns, pronouns play an important role in the questions on error corrections and fill in the blanks. So you have to build the conceptual understanding on fundamentals-like parts of speech in grammar, time zones, punctuations etc. Following the fundamentals, in fact is a consistent process and is time consuming also.  Therefore, the next step, is to find out the strong areas in each section and then practice more to strengthen them. you may have some good understanding of, at least some basic concepts -for example – what is a parallel structure, usage of ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’; what verb should follow singular or plural. Devote more time to practice exercises of mixed type error corrections in sentences and fill in the blanks type.  It will improve your skills with very little effort.

Vocabulary: More Practice is the key

It is high time that you understood and practiced  the Vocabulary words in right context. An aspirant may have good stock of vocabulary words but their correct synonyms, antonyms with understanding of contextual use is very much required. All the mugging will be irrelevant  if correct usage are not known or the confusion still persists where to place the said word.If we can distinguish between ‘Avarice and Miser’, ‘ Pretty and Handsome’, ‘skilled and consummate’, and thousands of other such pairs and can put them to correct usage, cracking the questions in vocabulary section will be easier and nothing will leave you flummoxed. The best way to understand correct contextual usage is to practice more questions with two blanks, to be filled in with correct vocabulary words preferably synonyms. This will equip you with appropriate  understanding in a week’s time and you may utilize another week with yet more difficult practice questions.

Practice to crack Jumbled Paragraphs

Maintain your cool while solving the Jumbled paragraphs. The strategy to solve the surprising jumbled paragraphs is to go for more and more practice.  The important tip is to find out the connectors to sentences e.g. conjunctions, personal or relative pronouns ( He/ she/ it /they /their /who / whose/that/which etc.) as they indicate that they must have been used in place of some nouns. So find the link between the sentences.One is required to link the sentences in accordance with the information provided in the paragraph. It is necessary to ensure that the idea and action expressed in the jumbled paragraph move in the same line, any sentence expressing different idea and differing the coherent formation of the paragraph can not be the next sentence. Three to four such questions should be solved every day and get them analysed by some expert, whom you trust.

Read editorial in Newspapers

Regular and attentive reading of newspapers especially the editorial part and articles is a must for next 30 days. Try to prepare summary of them, find out important words used in context- grab the opportunity to use them. It will help you in all the four segments of Verbal ability.

Revise Regularly

Revise whatever you have learnt and follow the tips to solve the questions based on various topics instead of going for something new. The need is to pay attention on the analysis of practice exercises that you have solved.  Follow the expert’s tips given in analysis as they are meant to guide you in sorting the problem out

.Your study schedule

Your study schedule for next 80 days must cover more understanding of concepts followed by every day of rigorous practice exercises based on all the above topics.Focus on punctuality and time consumed on various practice questions. You will have to change the mindset likewise and adhere to this schedule.