XAT Exam Pattern 2023

Table of Contents

XAT pattern 2023 is expected to be same as last year. The question paper will have two parts with sectional time limit. In the first part, Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation will be clubbed together and in the second part, GK and Essay Writing will be clubbed together.

Each section (except Essay Writing) of XAT 2023 will have 22-27 question in MCQ format, having five options to choose the right answer from. The essay will be evaluated if/after the candidate will be shortlisted for personal interview round of XLRI admission. XAT exam will be conducted in the first week of January 2023 in morning slot.The duration of the exam will be 190 minutes. Read all about XAT pattern 2023 below.

XAT Exam Pattern 2023: Highlights

The XAT pattern was revised last year and Essay Writing section was reintroduced. Take a look at the key highlights:

XAT Exam Structure	Details
Number of sections	5 (Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, General Knowledge and Essay Writing)
Duration of exam	180 minutes (+ 10 mins)
Number of questions	100
Total marks	100
Language of paper	English
Number of answer choices	Five
Mode of examination	Online
XAT marking scheme	+1 mark for correct answer – 0.25 marks for incorrect answer – 0.10 marks for more than 8 un-attempted consecutive questions No negative marking in GK section

Section Wise XAT Exam Pattern

XAT 2023 question paper will have have 100 questions in MCQ format spread over the main four sections. Read below section-wise break-up of questions and marks allotted:

XAT Pattern: Sectional Break-Up of Questions

There is variable distribution of questions in XAT, i.e. one section has more questions than another section. Given below is the sectional break-up of XAT question paper:

XAT Sections	Number of Questions	Total Marks
Decision Making	21	21
Verbal and Logical Ability	26	26
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation	28	28
General Knowledge	25	25
Essay (250 words)	1 (candidates can choose 1 topic from 2 options)	To be evaluated upon shortlisting
Total	100	100

XAT Pattern: What is the Marking Scheme?

One mark will be awarded for each right answer
0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer
0.10 marks will be deducted for more than eight unanswered consecutive questions
There will be no negative marking in General Knowledge section
Scores of General Knowledge section will not be considered for calculating XAT score

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Changes in XAT Pattern Over the Years

Apart from scrapping of the Essay Writing section in 2018 and reintroduction in 2022, the XAT question paper has not seen many changes in the last eight years. The number of question has remained between 97-114 in the past eight years. Given below is a table comparing the XAT exam pattern and difficulty level of the questions from 2014-2021:

Exam Year	Total Number of Questions	Section-wise number of questions	Marking Scheme	Level of Difficulty
XAT 2022	100	VARC: 26 DM: 21 QA & DI: 28 GK: 25 Essay: 1 (to be evaluated upon shortlisting)	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer -0.10 for more than 8 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2021	100	VARC: 26 DM: 21 QA & DI: 28 GK: 25	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer -0.10 for more than 8 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2020	100	VARC: 26 DM: 21 QA & DI: 28 GK: 25	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer -0.10 for more than 8 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2019	99	VARC: 26 DM: 21 QA & DI: 27 GK: 25	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer -0.5 for more than 8 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2018	97	VARC: 24 DM: 21 QA & DI: 27 GK: 25 One essay topic	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer; -0.5 for more than 12 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2017	97	VARC: 24 DM: 21 QA & DI: 27 GK: 25 One essay topic	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer; -0.5 for more than 12 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2016	103	VARC: 26 DM: 23 QA & DI: 29 GK: 25 One essay topic	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer; -0.5 for more than 13 unanswered questions	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2015	114	VARC: 28 DM: 23 QA & DI: 33 GK: 30 One essay topic	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer	Moderate to difficult
XAT 2014	113	VARC: 28 DM: 24 QA & DI: 31 GK: 30 One essay topic	+1 for each right answer -0.25 for each wrong answer	Moderate to difficult

XAT 2022 Question Paper Pattern and Analysis

Given below is the section-wise XAT 2022 analysis and break up of question paper and difficulty level of each question type. Also, listed below are XAT exam paper analysis of last six years.

Verbal and Logical Ability

The Verbal and Logical Ability section had 15 questions on Reading Comprehension with six passages
Three passages had three questions and the other three passages has two questions each
There was a customary poem with two questions
Poem and para jumble questions were moderately difficult while grammar questions were easy

Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning

The difficulty level of Decision Making section in XAT 2022 was of moderate difficulty level
There were not singlets in this section of XAT exam
There were seven situations having three questions each
Four passages were on Business Decisions and three passages were on Ethical Dilemma

Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

The Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation section was split into 16 questions from QA and 12 questions from DI
The QA questions were dominated by Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry
DI part of this section of XAT 2022 had four sets
Overall, the section was moderately difficult

General Knowledge

The overall difficulty level of General Knowledge section was moderate
This section had 25 questions asked from Current GK (Business economy, personalities and award) and static GK (Economy, Geography, Science and Technology)

XAT Preparation 2023

XAT preparation includes thorough understanding of the exam syllabus, pattern and test structure. Candidates also need to refer to the books recommended by experts and practice XAT mock tests. Read the articles listed below to prepare for XAT 2023:

XAT Exam Preparation Articles
How to prepare for XAT in 6 months	XAT previous year question papers
How to Prepare for XAT in 3 months	How to Prepare for XAT exam? Tips from Toppers
XAT 2022 preparation: Tips to crack Verbal Ability	XAT 2022 preparation: Tips to crack QA-DI
Expert speak: How To Prepare for XAT Exam?	XAT 2022 preparation: Tips to crack Decision Making
How to Prepare for XAT in 1 Month	Best Study Material for XAT preparation
XAT 2020: Expected and Previous Year Cut Offs	XAT Exam: Revision Tips for Last Two Weeks