XAT 2016 Exam Analysis

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2016 was conducted on January 3, 2016 from 10 am to 1:30 pm.

The test was divided into two parts. The first part was the usual XAT paper which had questions divided into three sections Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. As stated by the XAT authorities earlier, the total time allotted for attempting these questions was 170 minutes.

The second part consisted of General Awareness questions and a mandatory Essay Writing Section. The total time allotted to this section was 35 minutes.

The Verbal and Logical Ability Section had 26 questions. The section on Decision Making comprised 23 questions and the Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation section had 29 questions. Each question had 5 options and all the questions carried equal marks. There was a penalty of one-fourth marks allotted for every incorrect answer. Also, as mentioned earlier, there was a penalty of 0.05 marks for every un-attempted question after the first 13 such questions. The paper was quite challenging this year also.

XAT'2016 Pattern

Section	No. of Questions	Optimal Time in Mins	Difficulty Level	Good Attempts
Verbal Ability	26	45	Moderate-Difficult	16-18
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation	33	70	Moderate-Difficult	17-19
Decision Making	23	55	Moderate-Difficult	16-18
Total		140	Difficult	-55

 

The detailed analysis of all the sections is as follows:

XAT'2016 Verbal and Logical Ability Analysis

As compared to last year, the overall difficulty level of the English section went up. One would need a careful reading in order to eliminate the options and answer the questions. A couple of questions in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning were quite tricky and could only be done by elimination. Para Jumble questions were of a moderate level of quality and could have been easily attempted.

The breakup was as follows:

Topic	Number of questions	Difficulty
Reading Comprehension	14	Difficult
Vocabulary	1	Moderate
Para-jumble	2	Easy-moderate
Para-completion	1	Easy
CR	7	Difficult
Pronunciation	1	Moderate

 

XAT'2016 Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning Analysis

The level of the Decision Making was comparable to the last year’s paper. This year did not see any long passages which was a great relief. Hence, lesser time was required to attempt the questions and a higher cut-off can be expected for this section as compared to the last year

The breakup was as follows:

 

XAT'2016 Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation Analysis:

The section on Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation was slightly easier than last year’s. There were 22 questions of QA and most of them were from Geometry, Algebra, Number System and Arithmetic. Majority of the questions from Arithmetic were doable whereas the questions on Geometry and Algebra were difficult in nature. There was a couple of questions based on directions (Company ABC and XYZ sharing profits) whose language was ambiguous.

In Data Interpretation, there were 2 sets comprising 7 questions in total. There were a few questions which were a little ambiguous.
In a nutshell, one could have attempted 2-4 DI questions in 20-25 minutes.

The break-up was as follows:

Topic	Number of questions	Difficulty
P&L	2	Easy - Moderate
TSD, Work	2	Easy - Moderate
Number System	2	Easy - Moderate
Algebra	3	Easy - Moderate
Puzzles	1	Easy - Moderate
Geometry, Mensuration	8	Moderate -Difficult
Clocks	1	Moderate
Trigonometry	1	Easy
Functions	1	Easy
Set Theory	1	Moderate
DI - Table Based	3	Difficult
DI- Combination	4	Difficult

 

XAT'2016 General Awareness Analysis:

The General Awareness section was comparatively difficult than that of last year's. This section consisted of 25 questions. Most of the questions were single statement based. Some of the questions having multiple-statements had more than one correct statements. The students could have had sweaty palms while answering them as they required the student to know each and every statement independently. The key areas from where the questions were asked are static GK(Economy, Geography, Science, Science and Technology) and Current GK ( Business economy and miscellaneous). In comparison to last year there were no questions from history, sports and polity section. Overall the difficulty level of the GK section lies in the "moderate-difficult" range. An attempt of 10-11 questions fetching a score of 7-8 can be considered good.

 

XAT'2016 Essay Writing Analysis

This part of the test consisted of an essay. The topic of the essay was “Technology and Nature are natural enemies”. Like every year, XAT came with a very interesting topic yet again, on which students could ponder and bring out various perspectives. Compared to previous year this topic was easy as in past years XAT had a tendency to give topics that were either abstract or philosophical

XAT'2016 Cutoffs Analysis

 

Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

 

Go through the previous year XAT exam analysis to be prepared for surprises

XAT 2018 Analysis

XAT 2017 Analysis

XAT 2016 Analysis

XAT 2015 Analysis