XAT 2018 Question Paper - Download Free PDF
Xavier Aptitude Test 2027 ( XAT )
XAT 2027 Registration
15 Jul '26 - 6 Dec '26
Read all about XAT 2018 question paper including difficulty level, topic-wise weightage and RC topics. Download free XAT 2018 question paper.
XAT question paper 2018
XAT 2018 question paper has 100 questions in total from Verbal & Logical Ability, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, General Knowledge and Essay Writing. Until 2018, XAT had Essay Writing as a part of the test. Topic of the essay was – Ethical practices and sustainability: do they co-exist?
Overall, the XAT 2018 question paper is a good mix of tough and easy questions. Verbal questions are tough just like they are in this exam, while Decision Making questions are tricky as usual. Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation questions are moderately difficult and so are GK questions. Let’s take a look at the XAT 2018 question paper in detail.
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- XAT 2018 Question Paper Break Up
- XAT Question Paper 2018: Verbal & Logical Ability
- XAT 2018 Question Paper: Decision Making
- XAT 2018 Question Paper: Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation
- XAT 2018 Question Paper: General Knowledge
XAT 2018 Question Paper Break Up
| XAT Question Paper |
Section |
No. of Questions |
Optimal Time in Minutes |
Difficulty Level |
Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 |
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning |
26 |
55 |
Difficult |
17-19 |
| Decision Making |
21 |
45 |
Moderate |
16-17 |
|
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation |
27 |
70 |
Moderate |
18-19 |
|
| Part 1 |
General Knowledge |
25 |
15 |
Moderate |
15-17 |
| Essay writing |
1 |
20 |
- |
|
|
| Total |
100 |
|
Moderate - Difficult |
65-70 |
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XAT Question Paper 2018: Verbal & Logical Ability
The Verbal & Logical Ability section of XAT 2018 question paper has a total of 26 questions – 15 from Reading Comprehension and 11 from Verbal Ability and Reasoning.
The Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning questions are reasoning-based – Critical Reasoning and Jumbled Paragraphs. Apart from that, there are three vocabulary and usage-based questions and only one grammar-based question.
Most of the questions in this section are moderate, but some such as the Critical Reasoning question on identifying logical fallacies in arguments, or the Fill in the Blanks question can be challenging.
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In the Reading Comprehension part, there are five passages including one short poem. There are 15 questions distributed among all the five passages. Nearly all the questions are inference based.
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XAT Verbal Ability and Reasoning sectional break up:
| XAT Area/Questions |
No. of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence Correction |
1 |
Moderate |
| Fill in the blanks (4/5 blanks) |
3 |
2 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Jumbled Paragraphs |
2 |
1 Easy, 1 Difficult |
| Critical Reasoning |
5 |
1 Easy, 3 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Passage 1 – Poem |
2 |
2 Difficult |
| Passage 2 – Doubts and Beliefs |
4 |
1 Easy, 2 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Passage 3 – Why study history? |
3 |
2 Easy, 1 Difficult |
| Passage 4 – Problem of consciousness |
3 |
2 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Passage 5 – Labour and capital |
3 |
2 Moderate, 1 Difficul |
Also Read:
XAT 2018 Question Paper: Decision Making
The Decision Making section of XAT 2018 question paper consists of 21 questions, out of which three questions (one set) is based on Mathematics while the remaining 18 questions are Non-Mathematical in nature.
The non-mathematical part of Decision Making has eight sets of two to three questions each. Most of the passages are short and easy to read, but some questions are ambiguous in nature. Overall, the questions were of medium level of difficulty. The Mathematical set is very easy.
XAT Decision Making sectional break up
| XAT Decision Making Topics |
No. of Questions |
Question Type |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1: Collection officers |
3 |
Ethical nature of questions |
1 Easy, 1 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Case 2: Three company business |
3 |
Ethical nature of questions |
2 Easy, 1 Moderate |
| Case 3: Four neighbouring kingdoms |
3 |
Business decision |
1 Easy, 1 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Case 4: Nephew of CEO |
3 |
Business decisions |
1 Easy, 2 Difficult |
| Case 5: Three people living on one hill |
2 |
Business decisions |
1 Easy, 1 Difficult |
| Case 6: Dead employee's family |
2 |
Ethical decision |
1 Moderate, 1 Difficult |
| Case 7: Apartment lock |
2 |
Ethical decision |
1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
| Case 8: Train timetables and delivery persons |
3 |
Mathematical question |
3 Easy |
XAT 2018 Question Paper: Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation
The Quantitative Ability-Data Interpretation section of XAT 2018 Question Paper comprises 27 questions – 19 on Quantitative Ability, two on Data Sufficiency and six on Data Interpretation.
The questions on Quantitative Ability are majorly from Geometry, Numbers Systems and Arithmetic. One of the two Data Sufficiency questions has reference to concepts in Statistics.
In the Data Interpretation part, there are two sets with three questions each. One set is a logical Data Interpretation based on a hockey tournament and the other set is based on four graphs with multiple datasets.
XAT Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation sectional break up
| XAT QA-DI Topics |
No. of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Data Sufficiency |
2 |
Easy |
| Question based on Fibonnaci series |
1 |
Moderate |
| Question based on units place of a power |
1 |
Moderate |
| Miscellaneous questions on properties of numbers |
2 |
Easy |
| Time-Speed-Distance |
2 |
1 Easy, 1 Difficult |
| Ratio-Proportions |
1 |
1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
| Percentages |
1 |
Easy |
| Time & Work |
1 |
Easy |
| Quadratic Equations |
1 |
Moderate |
| Inequalities |
1 |
Moderate |
| 2 |
1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
|
| Circles |
1 |
Difficult |
| Quadrilaterals |
1 |
Easy |
| 1 |
Moderate |
|
| Progressions |
1 |
Difficult |
| 1 |
Moderate |
|
| A logical DI set containing Table |
3 |
Difficult |
| An observation-Calculation based DI set containing 4 graphs |
3 |
Difficult |
XAT 2018 Question Paper: General Knowledge
In the GK section of XAT 2018 question paper, 25 questions include eight Current Affairs and 17 static GK questions. 17 questions are on national topics and eight questions are on international topics. Questions range from History, Geography, Business and Economy, names of political personalities, etc.
Download XAT Previous Year Question Papers
Prepare well for XAT exam by practicing questions asked in last 10 years. Download Official XAT question papers of previous years and strengthen your XAT preparation. Click below to download free XAT question papers
Free DownloadRead More:
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- How to Prepare for XAT Decision Making
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
The time required for XAT Verbal Ability depends on candidate's current level. A daily combination of reading, vocabulary revision and question practice can help build consistency.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
XAT VALR section has around 26 questions. Based on previous year trends, around 9 to 11 questions can be from Verbal Ability, although exact breakup can change in exam.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
Yes. RC is an important part of XAT VALR section. It has contributed a significant number of questions in previous years. Candidates should practise factual, analytical, philosophical and abstract passages.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
The important topics for XAT Verbal Ability include Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, Vocabulary, Grammar, Para Jumbles, Para Completion, Fill in the Blanks and Sentence Correction.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
XLRI Xavier school of managment XAT cutoff 2026 has been released. The cutoff for overall section was a score of 95 percentile that was minimum requirement for a candidate to be eligible for admissio.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Yes. IMT Ghaziabad accepts valid XAT scores for admission to its PGDM programmes.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The expected XAT cutoff for IMT Ghaziabad is around 90-95 percentile for its major PGDM programmes.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No. XAT score is the marks obtained by a candidate in the exam. XAT percentile shows the candidate's relative performance compared with other test takers.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes. XAT has negative marking. Candidates lose 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer. A penalty also applies to unattempted questions beyond the first eight.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The XAT score calculator formula is Correct Answers - (Incorrect Answers * 0.25) - Unattempted Question Penalty.
P
Contributor-Level 10
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Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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