XAT Syllabus 2025: Exam Pattern, and Preparation Tips

The XAT exam will be held on 5th January 2025. The conducting body of the XAT exam, XLRI Jamshedpur had recently updated the paper pattern and XAT exam syllabus 2025 removing the essay section. Now essay writing will take place along with GD-PI for the respective colleges. The article highlights the XAT syllabus, Paper Pattern, Tips to prepare, and recommended books to follow.

XAT Syllabus 2025

The XAT exam is conducted in 2 parts and it has 4 different sections that evaluate a candidate’s aptitude across multiple dimensions. Here is a detailed analysis of the syllabus:

Verbal and Logical Ability - There are 26 questions in this section. All the questions are MCQ and the level of question is moderate to difficult. Some important topics in this section include

ReadFing Comprehension (including Poems)	Critical Reasoning	Fill in the Blanks
Sentence Rearrangement	Synonyms and Antonyms	Sentence Completion
Grammar	Error Identification	Others

Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation - This section is mathematically intensive and at a level similar to that of your preparation for the CAT exam. There are 28 questions in this section. The syllabus for this section is similar to the CAT Quants and DI sections.

Topic	Description
Arithmetic	Percentages, Profit and Loss, Ratio and Proportion, Averages, Mixture and Allegations, etc.
Algebra	Equations, Inequalities, Functions, and progressions (AP & GP), logs, Trigonometry, Modulus, Maxima, Minima, Graphs, etc.
Geometry	Properties of shapes, Volume, Area, and Perimeter (Mensuration, Geometric Concepts And Co-ordinate Geometry)
Number System	Topics include divisibility, remainders, factors, and multiples, Euler's Number, HCF, and LCM.
Modern Math	Permutation and combination, probability, and set theory.
DI	Venn, Tables, Graphs, Charts etc

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Decision Making - The Decision-making section is unique to the XAT and checks the aspirant's decision-making skills. This section is critical because you would have not prepared for it with CAT and OMETs. Test-takers are required to analyze situations and make sound decisions based on the information provided.

The number of questions in this section is 21. The important topics in this section will include

Caselets

Situational decisions

Others

General Knowledge - The General Knowledge section does not account for the final percentile calculation of the candidate still this section carries importance. The score in this section is considered in XLRI's further interview rounds. Important topics for General knowledge include

Business Affairs	Economy	World Government
Constitution of India	Science	History
Sports	Politics	Static GK

XAT 2025 Exam Pattern

This year the XAT exam will be conducted in a 3-hour format. 170 minutes for Part 1 of the exam comprising VA, QADI, and DM sections and 10 minutes for Part 2 of the exam- GK section. XAT rewards 1 mark for every correct answer. In addition to the negative marking (-.25), you will lose 0.1 marks per question after 8 unanswered questions

Sections	Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning (VA & LR)	Decision Making (DM)	Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation (QA & DI)	General Knowledge (GK)
Duration	170 Mins			10 Mins
Number of Questions	About 26	About 21	About 28	About 20
Question Types	Critical & Analytical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension (including poems & passages), Vocabulary, basic English Grammar, and other related exercises such as Para Jumbles and Cloze Tests.	The DM section will present scenarios drawn from both personal and professional lives. Candidates will be required to apply critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and prioritization to make informed decisions.	The questions in the QA section are primarily formulated around 10th-standard Mathematics. Notably, the emphasis is on application-oriented problems. The questions on DI are about clear interpretation, summarization, and insightful analysis of the data.	Static GK- 08 questions Current Affairs- 12 questions
Marking	1 for Correct -0.25 for Incorrect -0.1 after 8 unattempted questions

Tips to Excel XAT Exam

It is important to understand that the difficulty level of the XAT exam is similar to or slightly higher than the CAT exam. Therefore, many aspirants assume that CAT preparation is sufficient for XAT.

Developing Study Plan: After CAT you have around 1 month to prepare for XAT. During this duration create a study plan and focus on the decision-making section, as it is new for the aspirants. Set realistic goals and allocate sufficient time to each section.
Give Mocks: XAT is a lengthy paper with around 3 hours of paper duration. So mocks will prepare you with proper time management and the creation of habits.
Analyzing the Mocks: After giving mocks, give a good amount of time to the analysis of the mocks. Check where you did wrong and how you can improve the overall performance.
Improve general knowledge: Get a command over general knowledge. One way to do this is to make a habit of reading the newspaper daily. This would be helpful for the GD-PI rounds also.
Be Prepared for Exam Day: Ensure all your documents are properly arranged and avoid last-minute cramming. Be Calm on exam day and reach the center on time.

Books For the XAT Exam Preparation

By the time you start preparing only for the XAT exam, you will be done with your CAT. Those study materials and notes will be enough for your XAT exam. For GK You can follow Youtube Channels or get a yearbook from any magazine. For the DM section separately, the best resource will be solving.

You should also check out our YouTube channel Test Prep by InsideIIM which hosts a wide variety of content relating to preparation strategies, previous year paper solutions, videos by Top MBA Mentors, and MBA Topper interviews.

Frequently asked questions

Q1: How is the XAT exam different from other management entrance exams?

Ans: In brief XAT exam has 2 new sections Decision Making and GK, which are not present in other management exams.

Q2: What is the target percentile for XLRI?

Ans: XLRI has different cutoffs divided based on gender and educational background. A safe XAT percentile to get an interview call from XLRI will be anywhere between 95-97 %ile.

Q3: How should I prepare for the Decision Making section?

Ans: The best way to prepare for the decision-making section is to give mocks and analyze the past year's papers. Focus on analyzing scenarios, considering various stakeholders, and choosing the most logical and ethical options.

Q4: Is there any negative marking in the XAT Exam?

Ans: Yes, XAT has a negative marking. XAT Part 1 of the exam, which includes the three sections discussed above, has negative markings. A penalty of -0.25 is applied for every wrong answer. Additionally, if you leave more than 8 questions unanswered, a penalty of -0.10 is applied starting from the 9th question. Therefore, only 8 unanswered questions are allowed.

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