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XAT 2017: Experts say, paper moderate to difficult this year

OVERVIEW:

The overall structure of XAT-2017 underwent some changes compared to XAT-2016. The exam consisted of 2 Parts and Part 1 consisted of 3 sections having 24, 21 and 27 questions respectively (total 72 questions) to be attempted in 170 minutes. Further, Part 2 contained 25 GK questions and one essay-writing exercise, to be attempted in 35 minutes. The break-up of the sections of Part 1 was as follows:

A B C

Section

Section Name

Number of questions
Section-I Verbal and Logical Ability 24

Section-II

Decision Making
21
Section-III Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 27

 

Total
72

PART I

Section A – Verbal and Logical Ability

The Verbal and Logical Ability section of XAT 2017 was as difficult as that of XAT 2016. There were 12 Reading Comprehension questions and 12 Verbal Ability/Reasoning questions. The exact question distribution is as follows:

A B C D
Area/Questions No. of Qs. Question Type Level of Difficulty
Vocabulary & Grammar
Sentence Correction 2 Choose   the correct construct  2 Easy
Fill   in the blanks (4 sentences) 1 Vocab-based Easy
Fill   in the blanks (Multiple blanks) 1 Vocab-based Easy
Analogy 1 Similar   relationship Medium
Verbal Reasoning
Para   Jumbles 2 1 with   5 sentences, 1 with four sentences 1 Medium,   1 Difficult
Critical   Reasoning (poem based) 2 Difficult
Critical   Reasoning (paragraph based) 3 1 Medium,   2 Difficult
Reading Comprehension
Passage   1 – Writing 2 1 Inferential   1 meaning based Easy-Medium
Passage   2 – Up gradation 3 All   were inferential 2   Easy, 1 Medium
Passage   3 – Psychopath 3 All   were inferential 2   Easy, 1 Medium
Passage 4 – Existentialism 4 1 direct, 3 inferential 2 Easy, 1 Medium, 1 Difficult

A student should be able to attempt 15-17 questions in this section in about 40-45 minutes. About 16 confident attempts (with about 75-80% accuracy) would be considered good.

Section B – Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning

The non-mathematical part of this section (15 questions) consisted of 8 sets of 1-3 questions each. Most of the passages were quite lengthy although they were easy to read and as usual some questions had a fair deal of ambiguity – in that either no answer seemed correct or there was more than one correct answer. Overall, the questions were of medium level of difficulty. Therefore, the choice of sets/questions to attempt would have depended mainly on your personal preferences and strengths. The set on Tamil food was difficult and best avoided. The mathematical part of this section (6 questions) was characterized by medium to difficult level of difficulty. There were two sets in the mathematical part of the section (both sets with 3 questions). The set on scheduling (Puri-Bhaji stall) was somewhat confusing and it was best left. The other set on players also caught the students by surprise.

A B C D
Area/Questions No. of Qs. Question Type Level of Difficulty
Case 1 – Pastor and restaurant 2 Ethical nature of questions 1 Easy, 1 Difficult
Case 2 – Domestic Help 2 Ethical nature of questions 2 Easy
Case 3 – Genius Consulting 1 Business decision 1 Medium
Case 4 – Constructing house in Kerala 3 Business type of decisions 2 Easy, 1 Difficult
Case 5 – New Tamil food business in Singapore 3 Business decisions 1 Easy, 2 Difficult
Case 6 – Parking in College Campus 2 Decisions were both ethical and business based 1 Medium, 1 Difficult
Case 7 – IT company 1 Ethical decision 1 Easy
Case 8 – Anonymous mail to management college 1 Ethical Decision 1 Easy
Case 9 – A set on Team Formation in 3 sports 3 3 Medium
Case 10 – A set on Scheduling 3 3 Difficult

In 40-45 minutes, students should have solved about 10-12 questions confidently (about 75-80% accuracy), out of the 21 questions.

Section C – Quantitative Ability

The Quantitative Ability-Data Interpretation section was slightly easier than XAT-2016. Questions on Quantitative Ability were dominated by Geometry, Modern Mathematics and Arithmetic. There was one Data Sufficiency set with two questions. Unlike in XAT-2016, no questions were confusing and/or incorrect.

There were two Data Interpretation sets, with 4 questions each. The set on Table was fairly calculation intensive but doable. The other set on Tables and Scatter Plot was very complicated in terms of the representation of the data. This set tested the concepts in statistics. Students, who were familiar with the concepts such as correlation, mode etc. would have found the set manageable. This set should have been best left.  

Overall, the level of difficulty of the section was slightly lower as compared to XAT-2016. In 60 minutes, about 15-17 attempts with 80% accuracy will be considered good.

A B C D E
Row Labels Easy Medium Difficult Total

Geometry (Total 5   questions)
Circles 1 1
Mensuration 1 1
Quadrilaterals 2 2
Trigonometry 1 1

Modern Maths (Total   4 questions)
AP-GP 1 1
Functions 1 1
Probability 1 1
Venn Diagram 1 1

Algebra (Total 3   questions)
Maxima-Minima 1 1
Simple equations 1 1 2

Arithmetic (Total 2   questions)
Time-Speed-Distance 1 1
Work, Pipe &   Cisterns 1 1

Numbers (Total 2   questions)
Pigeonhole principle   1   1
Surds & Indices 1     1

Data Sufficiency   (Total 2 questions)
Logical 1 1 2

Miscellaneous (Total   1 question)
Logical 1 1

Data Interpretation   (Total 8 questions)
Table 4 4
Table & Scatter   Plot 4 8
Total 5 13 9 27

PART II

General Knowledge

The 25 GK questions contained a distribution of 7 current and 18 static questions. Majority questions were based on international events/topics. The section was such that it required the student to possess extremely good general knowledge ability in multiple areas to be able to score well. The topics of the questions were very diverse encompassing subjects such as History, Geography, Business and Economy, names of political personalities etc.

Students should have spent 15-20 minutes on GK, and as there was no negative marking, all questions should have been attempted without fail. A score of 8-10 would be a good score in this section.

Essay Writing

Essay Topic was on Globalisation and Jingoism.

XAT 2017 Cut-Offs

We expect the cut-off for XLRI BM program to be around 34-36 and for HRM program at around 32-34 marks (For the General Category).  OVERVIEW:

The overall structure of XAT-2017 underwent some changes compared to XAT-2016. The exam consisted of 2 Parts and Part 1 consisted of 3 sections having 24, 21 and 27 questions respectively (total 72 questions) to be attempted in 170 minutes. Further, Part 2 contained 25 GK questions and one essay-writing exercise, to be attempted in 35 minutes. The break-up of the sections of Part 1 was as follows:

A B C

Section

Section Name

Number of questions
Section-I Verbal and Logical Ability 24

Section-II

Decision Making
21
Section-III Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 27

 

Total
72

PART I

Section A – Verbal and Logical Ability

The Verbal and Logical Ability section of XAT 2017 was as difficult as that of XAT 2016. There were 12 Reading Comprehension questions and 12 Verbal Ability/Reasoning questions. The exact question distribution is as follows:

A B C D
Area/Questions No. of Qs. Question Type Level of Difficulty
Vocabulary & Grammar
Sentence Correction 2 Choose   the correct construct  2 Easy
Fill   in the blanks (4 sentences) 1 Vocab-based Easy
Fill   in the blanks (Multiple blanks) 1 Vocab-based Easy
Analogy 1 Similar   relationship Medium
Verbal Reasoning
Para   Jumbles 2 1 with   5 sentences, 1 with four sentences 1 Medium,   1 Difficult
Critical   Reasoning (poem based) 2 Difficult
Critical   Reasoning (paragraph based) 3 1 Medium,   2 Difficult
Reading Comprehension
Passage   1 – Writing 2 1 Inferential   1 meaning based Easy-Medium
Passage   2 – Up gradation 3 All   were inferential 2   Easy, 1 Medium
Passage   3 – Psychopath 3 All   were inferential 2   Easy, 1 Medium
Passage 4 – Existentialism 4 1 direct, 3 inferential 2 Easy, 1 Medium, 1 Difficult

A student should be able to attempt 15-17 questions in this section in about 40-45 minutes. About 16 confident attempts (with about 75-80% accuracy) would be considered good.

Section B – Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning

The non-mathematical part of this section (15 questions) consisted of 8 sets of 1-3 questions each. Most of the passages were quite lengthy although they were easy to read and as usual some questions had a fair deal of ambiguity – in that either no answer seemed correct or there was more than one correct answer. Overall, the questions were of medium level of difficulty. Therefore, the choice of sets/questions to attempt would have depended mainly on your personal preferences and strengths. The set on Tamil food was difficult and best avoided. The mathematical part of this section (6 questions) was characterized by medium to difficult level of difficulty. There were two sets in the mathematical part of the section (both sets with 3 questions). The set on scheduling (Puri-Bhaji stall) was somewhat confusing and it was best left. The other set on players also caught the students by surprise.

A B C D
No. of Qs. Question Type Level of Difficulty
Case 1 – Pastor and restaurant 2 Ethical nature of questions 1 Easy, 1 Difficult
Case 2 – Domestic Help 2 Ethical nature of questions 2 Easy
Case 3 – Genius Consulting 1 Business decision 1 Medium
Case 4 – Constructing house in Kerala 3 Business type of decisions 2 Easy, 1 Difficult
Case 5 – New Tamil food business in Singapore 3 Business decisions 1 Easy, 2 Difficult
Case 6 – Parking in College Campus 2 Decisions were both ethical and business based 1 Medium, 1 Difficult
Case 7 – IT company 1 Ethical decision 1 Easy
Case 8 – Anonymous mail to management college 1 Ethical Decision 1 Easy
Case 9 – A set on Team Formation in 3 sports 3 3 Medium
Case 10 – A set on Scheduling 3 3 Difficult

In 40-45 minutes, students should have solved about 10-12 questions confidently (about 75-80% accuracy), out of the 21 questions.

Section C – Quantitative Ability

The Quantitative Ability-Data Interpretation section was slightly easier than XAT-2016. Questions on Quantitative Ability were dominated by Geometry, Modern Mathematics and Arithmetic. There was one Data Sufficiency set with two questions. Unlike in XAT-2016, no questions were confusing and/or incorrect.

There were two Data Interpretation sets, with 4 questions each. The set on Table was fairly calculation intensive but doable. The other set on Tables and Scatter Plot was very complicated in terms of the representation of the data. This set tested the concepts in statistics. Students, who were familiar with the concepts such as correlation, mode etc. would have found the set manageable. This set should have been best left.  

Overall, the level of difficulty of the section was slightly lower as compared to XAT-2016. In 60 minutes, about 15-17 attempts with 80% accuracy will be considered good.

A B C D E
Row Labels Easy Medium Difficult Total

Geometry (Total 5   questions)
Circles 1 1
Mensuration 1 1
Quadrilaterals 2 2
Trigonometry 1 1

Modern Maths (Total   4 questions)
AP-GP 1 1
Functions 1 1
Probability 1 1
Venn Diagram 1 1

Algebra (Total 3   questions)
Maxima-Minima 1 1
Simple equations 1 1 2

Arithmetic (Total 2   questions)
Time-Speed-Distance 1 1
Work, Pipe &   Cisterns 1 1

Numbers (Total 2   questions)
Pigeonhole principle   1   1
Surds & Indices 1     1

Data Sufficiency   (Total 2 questions)
Logical 1 1 2

Miscellaneous (Total   1 question)
Logical 1 1

Data Interpretation   (Total 8 questions)
Table 4 4
Table & Scatter   Plot 4 8
Total 5 13 9 27

PART II

General Knowledge

The 25 GK questions contained a distribution of 7 current and 18 static questions. Majority questions were based on international events/topics. The section was such that it required the student to possess extremely good general knowledge ability in multiple areas to be able to score well. The topics of the questions were very diverse encompassing subjects such as History, Geography, Business and Economy, names of political personalities etc.

Students should have spent 15-20 minutes on GK, and as there was no negative marking, all questions should have been attempted without fail. A score of 8-10 would be a good score in this section.

Essay Writing

Essay Topic was on Globalisation and Jingoism.

XAT 2017 Cut-Offs

We expect the cut-off for XLRI BM program to be around 34-36 and for HRM program at around 32-34 marks (For the General Category).  

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