XLRI, the official body conducting XAT 2019, recently released a demo mock online on the official XAT 2019 website. It was filled with surprises in terms of various major, pain ticking changes in the paper pattern.
What’s new?
- The paper will be divided into two parts that is Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 will consist of 3 sections viz. Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning, Decision Making, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. Part 2 will consist of General Knowledge section. The total duration for Part 1 and Part 2 will be 165 minutes and 15 minutes respectively.
- This year XAT has introduced “Numerical Answer Type” questions in which a numerical answer will have to be entered using the virtual keyboard. Basically, in other words, there will be subjective questions, similar to CAT from this year.
- Each question in Part 1, including the NAT questions, will carry 1 mark each and will draw -0.25 marks for every incorrect attempt. Part B will have no negative marking.
- Furthermore, from this year the penalty for unattempted questions beyond 8 such questions has been doubled to -0.10 from -0.05 marks.
| Section | No of Questions | |
| Part 1 | Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning | 26 |
| Decision Making | 21 | |
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation | 27 | |
| Total | 74 | |
| Part 2 | General Knowledge | 25 |
How to tackle the changes?
- Don’t worry about the NAT’s, if it leads to an increase in the difficulty level it will be the same for everyone
- Focus on maximizing your score in your areas of strength and clearing the sectional cut off in each section
- Don’t fret over the penalty incurred on unattempted questions, as a -0.10 is a lesser evil than -0.25 on a fluke
On the exam day, read the instructions before attempting the paper thoroughly. Take a mock, based on the new paper pattern, before the D-Day. This will help you get attuned to the new paper pattern and will save you time in the actual exam. Keep your calm and enjoy the paper. Wish you all the success for XAT 2019!
