XAT 2018 Essay Writing: What is the right strategy?

The art of writing

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2018 Essay Writing is the second hurdle you need to cross safely to make it to XLRI, Jamshedpur.

XAT 2019 Applications Open – Apply Now

Essay Writing is a part of Part-B of XAT exam which also includes GK test. While, GK is manageable, the essay writing section is where the candidates tend to falter. First of all, time allotted for Part-B is 35 minutes. In these 35 minutes the candidates have to answer 25 GK questions and write a succinct essay on the given topic. Which means, the candidates have only 20-25 minutes to put down their views in a structured manner to convince the examiner about their knowledge and thought process viz social, political, economic and behaviourial issues.

The biggest problem candidates face in essay writing is how to put to words their thoughts and opinions in a structured manner in mere 20-25 minutes. Plus there is pressure of adherence to word-limit.

Firstly, the candidates need to be aware of issues surrounding them, the country and the world and read about those issues extensively. The more you read about something the better understanding you will develop. The best source of reading is Newspaper editorials.

Let’s look at a few points that can help you in preparing better for XAT 2018 essay writing.

How to prepare for XAT 2018:

• Read English newspapers, newspaper editorials, business and current affairs magazines and fiction novels
• Write essays on various topics. Read, analyse and improvise on them
• Build vocabulary and strengthen your knowledge of English grammar
• Practice fast and error free writing
• From 2018, XAT will be conducted in online mode, thus you must practice your essays on computer

XAT essay writing is essentially a tool to get an insight into a candidate’s mind by analyzing his/her point of view of certain issues and it also acts as a precursor to the Personal Interview round.

In the past, XAT has had hard topics like women empowerment, gender bias, corruption, economic growth, technology, etc. and soft topics like the meaning of success, team work, talent pool, art, hope and positivity, etc. for essay writing section. For the upcoming XAT exam (to be held on Jan 7, 2018), aspirants must prepare all the hot topics like Goods and Services Tax, demonetization, nationalism, cow slaughter, Digital India, Clean India movement, ransomware attack, Brexit, Terrorism, etc. They must also read about various environmental changes, socio-cultural problems, lifestyle issues like competition, loneliness, depression and other topics like charity, selflessness, art of living.

Tips to write a good essay in XAT 2018:

First of all, you need to have clarity of thoughts on the given topic in your mind. While putting it on paper the golden rule is not to beat around the bush. Dive straight into it.

• Structure your essay into Introduction, Body and Conclusion
• Write short sentences. Long sentences are cumbersome to read
• Write in paragraphs and do not use clichés, slangs and abbreviations
• Use simple words to form simple yet syntactically correct sentences
• Do not make spelling and grammatical mistakes
• Avoid ambiguity of idea and if you are using a quote, attribute it correctly
• Do not panic. Keep your cool and time yourself well. You don’t want to submit your essay without a conclusion

Remember, a good essay is the one which communicates your opinion with clarity and succinctly. So do not overdo it. Keep it simple and to the point. Clarity in the essay will reflect clarity of your thoughts, an important quality XLRI selectors look for in their students.

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