XAT Syllabus 2023

XAT syllabus is prescribed by XLRI Jamshedpur and it includes topics from Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and General Knowledge. The XAT exam syllabus was revised this year with reintroduction of Essay Writing section. However, the score of Essay Writing section will not be added in the overall score. It will be assessed if only the candidate is shortlisted for the PI round.

XAT 2023 exam will be held for three hours (190 minutes) and the question paper will be divided into two parts:

Part 1- Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (Sectional time limit is 165 minutes)

Part 2 – General Knowledge + Essay Writing (Sectional time limit is 25 minutes)

There is no change in the topics included in the XAT syllabus for Verbal Ability, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. The XAT 2023 question paper will be based on the four subjects. Take a look at the complete XAT 2023 syllabus along with best books and study material to prepare for XAT exam which will be held in the first week of January.

XAT Syllabus: Overview

Check the table below for key topics of XAT syllabus. The XAT question paper is usually dominated by questions from these topics.

XAT Syllabus	Important Topics
Verbal and Logical Ability	Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Analogy, Parajumble, Grammar, Critical Reasoning, Fill in the Blanks, etc.
Decision Making	Data Arrangement, Conditioning, Grouping, Complex Arrangement, Caselets, Assumptions, Premises, Conclusions, etc.
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation	Arithmetic, Geometry, Mensuration, Percentage, Surds and Indices, Algebra, Mensuration, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Tables, Data Interpretation, etc.
General Knowledge	Science, Economy, Business, Politics, Static GK, Sports, Prize and Award, World, Government, Constitution of India, etc.

Section-wise XAT Syllabus

Candidates must understand XAT syllabus well before they start exam preparation. Read below section-wise XAT 2023 syllabus and related key points for exam preparation:

XAT Syllabus: Quantitative Aptitude (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI)

The QA and DI section of XAT 2023 is expected to have same composition as previous years. See below:

There will be 28 questions in QA & DI section
Each question will carry one mark
There will be a deduction of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer
In XAT 2022, questions asked in this section were from: Arithmetic, Algebra, Co-ordinate Geometry, Data Sufficiency, Time Zone and Mixed Graph

Topics included in Quantitative Aptitude (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI) section of XAT exam syllabus are listed below:

XAT syllabus: QA and DI
Percentage	Tables and Caselets	Linear and Quadratics Equations
Profit and Loss	Probability	Surds and Indices
Ratio and Proportion	Critical Path	Inequalities
Variation	Averages and Partnerships	Logarithms
Time and Work	Alligations and Mixtures	Numbers
Time, Speed and Distance	Algebra	Mensuration
LCM and HCF	Simple and Compound Interest	Geometry
Pure Maths	Venn Diagram	Trigonometry
Data Tables	Data Charts	Bar Diagrams
Graphs	Pie Charts	Data Analysis

XAT Syllabus: Verbal & Logical Ability

The Verbal Ability section of XAT 2023 is expected to be on the same lines as previous years. See below:

There will be 26 questions in the VA section
Each question will carry one mark
There will be a deduction of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer
In XAT 2022, questions asked in this section were from Reading Comprehension, Fill in the Blanks, Poem, Analogy, Antonym and Parajumbles

Topics included in Verbal Ability section of XAT exam syllabus are given below:

XAT syllabus: Verbal & Logical Ability
Reading Comprehension	Fill in the Blanks	Antonyms/Synonyms
Jumbled Paragraphs	Contextual Usage of Vocabulary	Correction of Errors in Sentence
Word Usage	Sentence Completion	Paragraph Completion

XAT Syllabus: Decision Making (DM)

The DM section of XAT 2022 too, is expected to be same as previous years. However, the difficulty level could be higher. See below:

There will be 21 questions in Decision Making section
Each question will carry one mark
There will be deduction of 0.25 marks in case of wrong answer
In XAT 2022, all the question asked in this section were situation-based

Topics included in Decision Making section of XAT exam syllabus are given below:

XAT syllabus: Decision Making
Analytical Reasoning	Logical Reasoning	Complex Arrangement
Data Arrangement	Caselets	Conditions and Grouping
Situations	Assumptions	Decision Making

XAT Syllabus: General Knowledge (GK)

No change is expected in GK section of XAT exam 2023
There will be 25 questions in General Knowledge section
Each question will carry one mark and there is no negative marking in GK section
In XAT 2022, questions were asked from: History, Geography, Economy & Business, Current Affairs, Personality & Awards, Science & Technology

Topics included in General Knowledge section of XAT exam syllabus are listed below:

XAT Syllabus: General Knowledge
Awards and winners	History and Geography	Static GK
Business and Politics	Constitution of India	Personalities
Government and Economy	World Events	Current Affairs

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Best Books for XAT Preparation

XAT is one of the toughest MBA entrance exams and the candidates must ensure that they study from only those books and study material which are recommended by experts and past years’ toppers. Shiksha has compiled best books for XAT preparation for the benefit of candidates. Take a look below:

Best books for XAT: Quantitative Aptitude (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI)

Books for XAT	Author/Publisher
How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT	Arun Sharma
Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests For Admission into IIMs	Sarvesh K Verma
Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations	Guha Abhijit
Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency	Ananta Ashisha/Arihant

Best books for XAT: Verbal Ability

Books for XAT	Author/Publisher
Word Power Made Easy	Norman Lewis
Objective General English	Dr RS Agarwal and Vikas Agarwal
High School English Grammar	Wren & Martin
The Students’ Companion Book	D Best

Best books for XAT: Decision Making

Books for XAT	Author Name/Publisher
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	Gautam Puri
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT	Nishit K. Sinha
Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency	Ananta Ashisha
How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT	Arun Sharma

Best Study Material for XAT: General Knowledge

To strengthen Current Affairs and General Knowledge, aspirants must subscribe to the following newspapers and journals:

Newspapers and Journals
The Hindu	Economic Times
Financial Express	Hindu Business Line
Wall Street Journal	The Financial Times
Business Today	Business World
Competition Success Review	Management Compass Career Launcher

XAT Exam Pattern 2023

Mentioned below are XAT sections, number of questions in each section and marks allotted to them:

Sections	Number of questions	Marks allotted
Decision Making	21	21
Verbal and Logical Ability	26	26
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation	28	28
General Knowledge	25	25
Essay Writing	2 topics (candidates could choose one)	To be assessed for PI shortlisting
Total	100	100