Preparing for any exam demands that students put their time and energy into the preparation. All competitive exams come with their own sets of challenges that students need to focus on. XAT is another such competitive exam for students who aspire to pursue their MBA from the best business schools of India. XAT often comes in the category of tough entrance exams to crack. As the syllabus is vast, it demands more time from students to focus on the topics in the XAT pattern. Students also have to manage time while appearing for the XAT exam. As per the XAT paper pattern, the time duration of the exam also demands that students prepare in a way that they can easily solve the exam within the given time.

Exam Pattern Of XAT

The Xavier's Aptitude Test (XAT) is an entrance exam that is conducted once every year. The exam is a computer-based test which is conducted at the designated examination centres. The exam is 180 minutes, and there are about 95 MCQs in the XAT exam.

Sections of the XAT Exam

The XAT exam is divided into 2 parts: 

Part 1 consists of:

• Verbal and Logical Ability (VA & LR)

• Decision Making (DM)

• Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (QA & DI)

Part 2 consists of the following:

• General Knowledge (GK)

• Essay Writing

XAT Exam Pattern for Verbal and Logical Ability

XAT Pattern for Decision Making

XAT Pattern for Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

XAT Question Pattern for General Knowledge

Overall Structure of XAT Pattern

Overall Tips for XAT Exam Preparation

• Start early: Students need to start their preparation on time. Last-minute preparations won't help the students to crack the XAT exam. There is so much syllabus that students need to cover for the XAT exam. All this requires sufficient time. If students look at the XAT exam pattern they will see the number of topics that are to be covered for the XAT exam. If students start with their preparation late then they won't be able to finish the entire syllabus on time. 

• Make a solid strateg:. Students need to have a good strategy in mind while preparing for the XAT exam. The XAT exam format is not easy by any means. There are a lot of topics in each section of the exam; hence, students need to allocate time to each section and topic of the XAT pattern. Students should have a good look at the XAT pattern and syllabus and prepare a strategy accordingly. Students should also then stick to this strategy because if they don't follow this then they will lose out on the precious time for XAT preparation.

• Keep revising: As the syllabus for the XAT exam is a lot, students need to keep the revision strong. Students should go back to topics that were difficult and clarify their concepts again. This will help them to remember the concepts with more clarity when the XAT exam gets near. Students should mark the topics in the XAT exam pattern that seem difficult to them. While doing the revision students can focus on these topics first. In this way the topics that are difficult for the students will get more time to be understood by them. 

• Manage time: One of the other main aspects of the XAT exam is time management. When students look at the XAT exam pattern they will realise that it's not easy to complete all the sections of the XAT exam within 180 minutes. Students have to solve tough mathematical questions, tricky reasoning questions and general knowledge-related questions as well. All of these questions are time-consuming in some way or another. Hence, students need to have good practice in time management while solving the XAT exam. Students can learn this through the XAT practice papers. When students solve many practice papers with a timer, they will be able to improve their speed accuracy.

Conclusion

The XAT paper pattern is very essential for students to prepare for the XAT exam. Any student who begins with the preparation of any competitive exam starts with analysing the XAT exam pattern. Having knowledge about the XAT pattern gives students a way they follow to complete the syllabus on time. The XAT pattern helps students to formulate the right kind of strategies that will help them score good percentiles in the XAT exam. Students should put in all their efforts into cracking the XAT exam. Nothing should be done half heartedly by the students. There is no shortage of XAT material out there. Students can prepare from any source that they want to. Students should have the right kind of intention towards their preparation in order to see good results.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the validity of XAT scores?

XAT exam scores are valid for one year only. Students can apply to various institutions only until the next year's exam approaches. Then the previous year scores scored by the students remain useless.

What is the application fee for the XAT exam?

The standard fee for XAT registration is Rs. 2200. Also, students need to pay Rs. 200 each for every management programme of XLRI.