About XAT Exam Syllabus
XLRI Jamshedpur has released the official notification of the XAT 2023 exam. The notification does not have any information regarding the modification in the XAT syllabus. As per the XLRI Jamshedpur, the syllabus of the XAT exam consists of Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, General Knowledge, and Essay writing. Although there has been some conflict about the weightage of the essay writing section in the exam. XAT Exam dates are out and it becomes essential for all the candidates to have a depth understanding of the Syllabus and exam pattern.
As per the sources essay writing sections' marks will not be counted while calculating the percentile but it will be evaluated during the personal interview round.
Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Decision Making, are considered while preparing the XAT percentile score. This exam is among the toughest MBA entrance exam in India after the CAT Exam. Almost 100k+ students appear in XAT every year. This exam has a decision-making section which makes it more complicated to crack. The reason being decision-making does not have any predefined syllabus and tests the analytical and presence of mind. Candidates can solve the XAT previous year's papers to have a better understanding of the syllabus.
Important Points of Syllabus
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 101 |
| Number of Sections | 5 |
| Weightage Per Questions |
|
| Duration | 190 Minutes |
| Time Per Section | Part 1 - 165 Minutes | Part 2 - 25 Minutes |
| Exam Language/Medium | English |
| Mode of Examnination | Computer Based Online MCQ Test |
| Total Marks | 100 |
| Marks Per Section | 100 |
| Sectional Cutoff | Not Applicable |
| Marking Scheme | (+1) for every right answer |
| Negative Marking | (-0.25) for wrong answer |
| Unattended Questions Marking | No deduction for first 8 attempted question after that -0.10 deducted for every un attempted question. |
Overview of CMAT Syllabus
The syllabus of XAT is quite similar to other management entrance exam of India such as – CAT syllabus or CMAT exam syllabus. This exam does not have a predefined syllabus which gives freedom to set the exam paper. XAT syllabus is designed to examine the speed along with analytical and decision making of candidates. Here the weightage of the section is not constant it changes every year. So having the knowledge of syllabus become essential for having knowledge about which section and topic is more important.
| XAT Syllabus 2023 - Expected Weightage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Part | Sections Weightage | Time |
| Part - 1 |
|
165 Minutes |
| Part - 2 |
|
25 Minutes (15+10) |
| Section Wise Classification of XAT Syllabus | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Sub Topics |
| Verbal and Logical Ability | Vocabulary, Fill in the blanks. Corrections of Sentences, Paragraphs, Poem, Correct Usage, clock, ages, calendars, sequences, blood relations etc. |
| Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability | Charts, Tables, Bar Diagrams , Statistics, Geometry, Algebra, Linear Equations, Profit& Loss, Average, Percentage, etc. |
| Decision Making | Assumptions, Data Arrangements, Grouping and Conditioning, Conclusions , Caselets, etc. |
| General Knowledge | Business, Economy, Awards, Sports, Events, history, Women Achievements, Who’s who, Politics, Constitution of India, Science & Research |
Detailed Syllabus of CMAT 2023
Part - 1
Verbal & logical Reasoning Syllabus for XAT exam
This section is divided into three different subsections in the exam - Verbal Ability, Reading comprehension, and Logical Reasoning. The syllabus of this section will remain as the last few years' trends where 70% of questions will be asked from VARC and the remaining 30% from logical reasoning.
Topic Wise Classification of Verbal and Logical Reasoning Syllabus
Verbal Ability
Grammar, Vocabulary, Jumbled Paragraph, Synonyms/Antonyms, Completion of Sentences, Correction in Sentences, Completion of Paragraphs, Correct Usage of Words, Fill in the blanks, contextual meaning of words.
Reading Comprehension
Passage, Inference type of Questions, True and False, Based on Information, Explanation, Idioms Phrases in Passage, Motive or Topic Of Passage.
Logical Reasoning
Binary logic, Seating Arrangements, Age, Directions, Judgement, Assumptions, Analogy, Clocks, Calendars, Blood Relations, Facts , Conclusions, Coding- Decoding, Sequences, Figure, Matrix, Patterns, Input-output, Odd one out .
Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability – XAT 2023 Syllabus
In the XAT exam paper, most of the questions were asked from Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability section. It carries almost 25% to 30% weightage in the exam. Last year total of 28 questions was asked in this section. As per the last few years' trends, it is estimated that in the 2023 paper 27 questions will be asked in this section.
Topic Wise Classification of Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability Syllabus
Data Interpretation
Tables, Charts, Bar Diagrams, Graphs, Analysis of Data, Comparison of Data’s, Pie charts, Data Sufficiency, Scatter plots.
Quantitative Ability
Number System, Algebra, HCF, LCM, Percentage, Simple & Compound Interest Profit & Loss, Venn Diagram, Linear & Quadratic Equations, Logarithm. Time and Work, Average, Ratio, Speed, Time and Distance, Geometry, Trigonometry, Mixture & Allegations, Inequalities, Probability, Permutation and Combination, Binomial theorem, Surds and Indices.
Decision Making Syllabus for XAT
This sections makes the XAT exam syllabus more interesting and difficult from other exams. It cannot have a predefined syllabus reason being it examine the presences of mind and analytical skills of the candidates. Here the decision making ability of candidates test in limited period of time is a key factor.
Decision Making Important Topics -
Complex Arrangements, Data Arrangements, Conditioning, Grouping, Assumptions, Caselets, Conclusions
Part - 2
XAT syllabus of General Awareness
Note : General awareness sections does not considered while calculating the XAT percentile.
Important topics for General Awareness Section
Business & Economy, Current Affairs, History, Political Science, Awards, Events, Books & Author Geography of India, Constitution of India, Famous Person, Women in news.
Essay Writing Syllabus of XAT Exam
Essay writing section marks are not take into consideration while calculating the percentile. But it considered once the candidate shortlisted for further process. Indirectly it has an impact on overall selection process. Before 2018 it was a mandatory part of XAT but exam authority have removed it. In 2022 exam this section reintroduced by XLRI Jamshedpur.
In this section descriptive question is asked. It has only 1 question and candidates are given 10 minutes to write their answer. It examine the thought process and creativity of the candidates.
Important Points about Exam Syllabus
Before candidates began their preparation here are some points they need to know.
- Only 3 Section marks are calculated while calculating the XAT percentile.
- XLRI does not announce and defined the structure for exam, It means the XAT exam paper can be set without having any limitations.
- Questions in XAT papers are rarely got repeated.
- Exam level of XAT 2023 remains between moderate to high.
- Although essay writing will not affect your scorecard but it can make or break your chances of admission during further selection process of group discussion and personal interview.
- XAT Exam has very unique marking scheme where no marks will be deducted for the first 8 un attempted questions but afterward 0.10 will be deducted for every un-attempted question.
Importance of CMAT Syllabus Understanding
Understanding the exam syllabus is the most underrated part of the whole preparation process for the exam. It happens with all exam aspirants not only with XAT aspirants. Candidates start hustling with the exam without even knowing about the exam syllabus. Understanding what the exam syllabus is offering is like having an upper hand, especially in the case of the XAT exam where the syllabus and exam patter is complicated. In XAT exam papers the questions come from all 5 sections but only 3 sections are taken into consideration for percentile preparation. The last section – essay writing considers the personal interview process. So if someone took essay writing for granted then they might be able to crack the percentile game but will lose the seat in the selection process. Unlike other entrances here the marking scheme is quite unique where a 0.10 mark is deducted for every unanswered question after the first 8 unanswered questions. So candidates have to choose these 8 questions wisely. After having all the knowledge a candidate can prepare a better strategy otherwise despite having a better strategy they might fail to secure a seat.