The difficulty level of XAT 2018 was a little higher than that of XAT 2017. This year the number, of questions, was 74. Total time for this section was 170 minutes. There was penalty for un-attempted questions (after 8 questions) and it was only of 0.05 marks. However this feature is not going to affect the overall score significantly. This time many cases of technical glitches, such as server turning off and on intermittently were reported and there are also some reports of rescheduling of exam at a few centers.
The paper had two parts: Part I and Part II. Part I was main question paper and Part II was General knowledge and Essay Writing. Part I had three sections A, B and C with 26, 21 and 27 questions respectively, a total of 74 questions. The three sections of Part I were followed by Part II that had 25 questions on General knowledge and an Essay topic. The time available for completing the three sections and General Knowledge and Essay writing was 210 minutes. One was expected to answer first three sections in 170 minutes and General knowledge and Essay writing in 40 minutes. It was required for students to answer questions from all sections and expected to maximize score in each sections. General knowledge and Essay marks can be used by selective institutes at the time of final selection. These scores will not be used for short listing candidates for Interview/GD. The three sections were as follows:
Overview of Different Sections
| Sections |
Total Marks |
Level |
| Verbal and Logical Reasoning |
26 |
Moderate to difficult |
| Decision Making |
21 |
Moderate to difficult |
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation |
27 |
Moderate |
Overview of the XAT Paper
| Time allotted |
170 Minutes + 40 Minutes for GK and Essay |
| Total no. of questions |
74 + 25 (For GK) |
| Marking Scheme |
All questions carried equal marks |
| Sections |
3 |
| Number of choices |
5 |
| Negative Marking |
One fourth of a mark & for un-attempted questions if more than 8 questions are skipped, a negative marking of .05 per question is applied |
Expected Cutoff's
| Score of 32 + (approx. 96+%ile) : |
XLRI(BM) |
| Score of 30 + (approx. 95+%ile) : |
XLRI(HR), XIMB |
| Score of 26 + (approx. 90+%ile): |
GIM, Great Lakes, LIBA, IMT (Ghaziabad) |
| Score of 24 + (approx. 85+%ile): |
TAPMI, IFMR, XISS |
| Score of 22 + (approx. 80+%ile): |
XIME Bengaluru, XIM Jabalpur, BULMIM |
| Score of 19 + (approx. 70+%ile): |
Kirloskar, BIMM, ISBM etc. |
SECTIONAL - ANALYSIS
SECTION I: Verbal and Logical Reasoning
| Description |
No. of Questions |
| RC |
16 |
| CR |
3 |
| Sentence Rearrangement |
2 |
| Sentence Completion |
3 |
| Grammar |
2 |
Evaluation:
The Verbal section was moderate to difficult. Questions were based on various areas such as Reading Comprehension, Critical reasoning, Sentence Rearrangement, contextual understanding in RCs and two questions on Grammar as well. The length of the passages was moderate. The RCs were based on “Mystery of Consciousness, Study of History, Labour and Capital & another related to making ideas clear and distinct”. There was one RC based on a poem about “Love”. The options were very close in reading comprehension section and therefore it was time consuming. In order to answer the questions correctly it was imperative for the candidates to identify the traps set by the examiners.
Good Score: 8+
SECTION II: Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning
| Description |
No. of Questions |
| Decision Making |
17 |
| Analytical Reasoning |
4 |
Evaluation: All Decision Making questions carried equal marks. Decision Making consisted of 21 Questions; including one Table based Reasoning question set. Most questions were quite tricky. The questions were based on Caselets and Case Studies taken from various areas like business organization, small business units, Ethical Dilemma. One case related to kings fighting amongst themselves. Another dealt with issue of nepotism. There was one set of Analytical Reasoning (Courier system and trains) which was moderate and was time-consuming. Overall difficulty level of the section was moderate to tough.
Good Score: 6+
SECTION III: Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
| Description |
No. of Questions |
| Algebra and Functions |
2 |
| Number System |
3 |
| Geometry |
5 |
| Trigonometry |
2 |
| Time & Work |
1 |
| Tables Chart |
3 |
| Alligation & Mixtures |
1 |
| Profit and Loss |
1 |
| Data Sufficiency |
2 |
| Time, Speed & Distance |
3 |
| Probability |
1 |
| Miscellaneous |
3 |
Evaluation: The overall feel of this section was moderate. Difficulty level of Quant was moderate while DI was on the easier side. There were 2 questions on Data Sufficiency; one was moderate while other was difficult. In DI, there were two sets; one was based on Games and the other was based on performance of professors. Both the sets were of moderate difficulty level. In quant, the questions were based on the areas such as Geometry & Mensuration, Number System, Trigonometry, Time Speed Distance, Alligation, Profit & Loss and Probability. Students found this section doable.
Good Score: 12+
General Awareness
There were 25 questions in general awareness consisting of Static GK based questions covering Books, Awards, Geography, History etc. and Current Questions based on Science and Technology, Economic Data and General terms etc. The level of this section was on tougher side. Since there was no negative marking in this section so by using guesswork or by elimination of options, one could have got 3-4 questions correct in addition to what one knew actually.
Essay Topic
"Ethical Practices and Sustainability: do they co-exist?"
* Disclaimer: All the above given information is based on personal opinion of hitbullseye Expert faculty. Several factors have been considered before giving these cut-offs. However, it has nothing to do with original cut-offs.
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