The last date to apply for the highly competitive and awaited XAT 2022 exam has just passed, leaving less than 20 days for the test slated to take place on January 2, 2022. It will be computer-based with centres in more than 70 cities across the country.
What is XAT?
XAT or the Xavier Aptitude Test is the second most popular national-level entrance exam for MBA in the country after CAT. It stands as the primary test for admission into prestigious business schools such as XLRI, XIM, XIME, XISS, XIMB, IMT Ghaziabad, TAPMI Manipal and many others. Apart from these, over 1,000 management institutes accept XAT scores for screening into MBA/PGDM programmes. The XAT consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, distributed over four sections, namely, Decision-Making, Verbal and Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, and General Knowledge. One is given three hours to complete the test. The cut-offs usually stand around 95 percentile for male candidates, while 92 for female candidates.
Tips & Tricks To Keep In Mind While Preparing For XAT
Since there are less than two weeks left for the exam, there can be no uniform study plan for aspirants, as a lot depends on how much of the syllabus one has already covered, the individual strong subject areas, and practise. Still, there are some tips and tricks that all aspirants must follow in order to grab a better hold of the subject matter and refine their understanding to safeguard against avoidable mistakes.
- Go Through The Syllabus Thoroughly Again.
Due to the various sections and an extensive syllabus that one must grasp for the XAT, losing sight of some things may be natural. Even when one is covering the syllabus systematically, using timetables and reminder charts, one often decides to give inadequate attention to a particular topic, thinking to come back to it later. In order for these topics not to prove costly for the aspirant, one must revisit the syllabus and ensure that they are not leaving anything and revise/pre-preparing all the topics that weren’t understood in the first reading.
- Give Equal Attention To Each Section
Sometimes, sectional cut-offs are crucial to admission into some institutes, such as XLRI, Jamshedpur. Hence, one must ensure that equal attention is given to all sections. For the Decision-Making section, one must thoroughly practise topics like Coding and Decoding, Data Arrangement, Analytical Reasoning and Logical Matching, etc. This section also includes questions on mathematical aptitude pertaining to arithmetic, series, situational, etc. For Verbal and Logical Abilities, there are 7 sub-sections- Reading Comprehension, Paragraph Completion, Paragraph Jumble, Reverse Analogies or Analogies, Critical Inference/Reasoning, Vocabulary and Grammar. If one religiously goes through newspapers, journals or acclaimed novels, this section would not be a tough nut to crack at all. The Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation section are focused solely on mathematical concepts, functions, formulas and categories. For the General Knowledge section, one must again go through newspapers regularly, keep themselves updated on the goings-on in the world. One can make use of general knowledge books such as Lucent, Manorama yearbook, etc., or magazines such as Pratiyogita Darpan, Competition Success Review, Outlook, Caravan, etc. One must ensure to gain as much information as possible in the fields of national and international politics, business and economy, sports, science, geography, history, and so on.
- Make Best Use Of Mock-Tests & Previous Years’ Question Papers
Mock-tests are a great way to ace a test as they help prepare for the test in the pattern that it comes; it also serves to indicate how well one’s understanding of a subject or topic is. Since not many days are left for the exam, candidates must solve one mock test every day. In addition, one must necessarily attempt as many previous years question papers as accessible. That will give a crucial idea of the frequency of questions from certain topics, how the questions are framed, and other such insights that students should note and prepare accordingly.
- Remember The Negative-Marking Scheme
The most common mistake that students make is forget that there are negative marks for wrong answers or just panicking and attempting questions that they are not entirely sure about. Mock-tests are also an important exercise to get accustomed to the negative marking scheme. The negative mark is 0.25 for every wrong answer, and if the number of questions not attempted exceeds eight, the penalty is 0.10. Remember, do not, I repeat, do not attempt questions that you are not 100% confident about, and do not waste too much time trying to reach an answer or certainty. Importantly, there is no negative marking in the General Knowledge section. This does not mean that students can take this section relatively lightly. Students should capitalize on this and utilize this section to boost the overall score.
Apart from these, one must read the instructions carefully before starting with the question paper. Although this may seem pedestrian advice, this is precisely the part that costs a lot of aspirants dearly. If one has diligently followed the above strategies, they will likely make it through XAT 2022. All the very best!
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