Vipra
Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Dec 16, 2024 17:43 IST
XAT 2025 exam is scheduled on January 5, 2025. With just few days to go for the exam, the candidates must start preparing for the test day. Being a speed based test, XAT stresses on quick responses. To attempt about 95 questions correctly, you need to be in full control of time.

XAT 2025 is a moderate to high difficulty level exam. The vast XAT syllabus demands preparation until the last day. Take a look at some of the top last week preparation tips for XAT exam 2025 and time management to maximize scoring.

XAT 2021 last week preparation

XAT 2025 exam is scheduled on January 5, 2025. One week before the exam, candidates must start planning out a strategy for the test day. The last week before exam is not for studying new topics or learning new concepts. This is the time for one final mock test and strategizing the possible scenarios of scoring well in the exam on the basis of your knowledge. 

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After CAT exam, XAT is the only entrance test which is a gateway to some of the top MBA colleges in India. Candidates who don’t think they performed well in CAT 2024, must utilize the opportunity that XAT 2025 offers. Let’s have a look at some of the top last week tips for XAT 2025 preparation to maximize scoring.

Q:   How many questions were there in XAT 2025?
A:

As per the latest XAT exam pattern, there will be 95 questions in XAT 2025 in MCQ format.

  • Verbal Ability section of XAT will have 26 questions
  • Decision Making section of XAT will have 21 questions
  • Quantitative Ability section will have 28 questions
  • GK section will have 20 questions

There will be no essay writing this year. It will be conducted during the selection process.

It is not mandatory to solve all the questions. Candidates should solve only those questions which they can solve correctly as there is negative marking in XAT. During the exam preparation, focus on the chapters from which majority of the questions are added. This will help them in achieving the sectional and overall cut offs are required.

Q:   Is there any negative marking in the XAT exam?
A:

Yes, the XAT exam has negative marking of -0.25 marks for wrong attempt. Unanswered questions have no negative marking but if there are 8 consecutive unanswered questions, 0.10 marks will be deducted.

Thus, the candidates must select questions to solve very carefully in the XAT exam. They should solve only those questions which they know they can solve accurately. The XAT exam has sectional time limit too, so you may not want to waste time on a question that you cannot solve accurately.

You stand to lose both time and marks. So be careful in selecting questions in the XAT exam.  The sectional cut off for XAT is usually 80 percent accuracy. Practice a lot of mock tests to develop this skill.

Q:   What type of Reading Comprehension passages are there in XAT?
A:

In XAT, Reading Comprehension passages are usually taken from Philosophy, Psychology, History, Art, research articles. Sometime, the XAT RC section also has poems. These areas are chosen to test the candidates, who are largely Science, Commerce and Engineering graduates, on their ability to come out of their comfort zone and adapt to unfamiliar situations. Out of 26 questions, about 14-16 questions are based on RC passages or a poem. Candidates must target solving about 10 questions accurately to score well. XAT has negative marking so do not mark an option as your answer if you are not 100 percent sure of it.

XAT 2025 Last Week Preparation Tips

Tackling Decision Making and Reading Comprehension

It is a known fact that XAT is one of the tougher MBA entrance exams. Over the years, it has been seen that Decision Making and Reading Comprehension sections have had challenging passages. Thus, it is very important that one not only masters Quantitative Aptitude formulas but also practice enough number of Decision Making questions. The Decision Making section of XAT exam has passages on ethical dilemma and business decision. To answer questions on such passages, one should not look for the correct answer but for the option they think they will choose in real life. In some questions, one may find that their personal opinion may be completely opposite to the given scenario. In that case, one should go for the option which is for the greater good. Keep in mind, that the option selected, must be the one that benefits the maximum number of people or stakeholders.

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For Reading Comprehension, always read passages or poems given in the XAT question paper slowly to understand the hidden meanings. In case of fact based passages, write down the data on a rough paper while reading. This will help in answering the questions faster as one will not have to skim through the passages repeatedly. For inference based passages, understand the underlying theme. Break the passage in parts for better clarity. Don’t do speed reading or reverse reading of the passages.

Attempt a XAT Mock Test to Know Your Final Prep Status

Last week before the exam is no time to study a new chapter. Attempt a mock test. It's performance will give an idea of how many topics one is in control of. Attempt a high difficulty level XAT mock test and analyze the scoring pattern. This will help in making a strategy for types of questions to attempt in XAT 2025. Also, for the one final time, it will help in evaluating speed and accuracy in solving the questions.

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Focus on Section-Wise Revision

In the last week before XAT 2025 exam, spend about two to three hours in the night in revising important concepts, formulae, theorems, shortcut tricks, Maths tables, square, square roots, cubes, etc. Spend considerable time on each chapter of every topic of all the four sections of XAT. Practice a few questions with pen and paper to have a better memory of it. It’ll be easier to recall the formula or its explanation during the exam.

Go Through General Knowledge Notes

For the General Knowledge section of XAT, need not worry much. Go through static GK books and read year-enders being published in newspapers and magazines. Since, XAT exam coincides with the New Year, year-enders are a good source of knowledge about current affairs. It is readily available too. Take out an hour for GK every day in the last one week before XAT exam and that'll be enough.

Make a Time Management Strategy for XAT 2025

The total time duration of XAT 2025 exam will be 180 minutes and there will be 95 questions. The question paper is divided into two parts and there is sectional time-limit for both parts. Part 1 of XAT question paper includes Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation. Time limit for Part 1 is 170 minutes. Part 2 of XAT comprises General Knowledge time limit for which is 10 minutes.

There will be an onscreen clock showing time. As soon as 170 minutes are over for Part 1, the clock will go back to zero and the screen will move to Part 2. So, XAT aspirants basically need to divide 170 minutes among the three tougher sections justly. There are provisions like marking questions for review before final submission so that a candidate can manage them time accordingly. Go through the official XAT mock test to see how the online question paper will move to determine a strategy. Important to note is that, you don't have to solve all 95 questions. Select questions that you can answer correctly to avoid negative marking. Aim for sectional cut offs in all four sections of XAT and if time permits attempt more questions. 

Relax and Stay Confident

Lastly, put all the apprehensions aside and relax in the last few days before XAT exam 2025. You have worked really hard in the last few months, so trust your abilities. Do not let your performance in CAT 2024 make you either nervous or over confident. Be relaxed during your revision session and focus only on choice of questions in the exam. Strive to achieve sectional cut offs in each section of XAT first, capitalize in the same later if time permits.

Read More:

Check XAT cut offs and predict calls from XLRI and other colleges accepting XAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all XAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

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About the Author
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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content

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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