XAT 2008 Analysis


Exam Snapshot

 No. of Questions  120
 Total Marks  120
 Marking Scheme  1*
 Negative marking  ¼ for first 6 wrongs & ½ thereafter*
 Number of Sections  3
 Number of Choices  5
 Duration  120 Min + 20 Min for Essay


*The marks per question was not specified. An assumption of 1 mark per question has been made here.
XAT2008 continued XLRI’s tradition of setting a paper that is ‘different’ from other institutes. XAT2008 was on expected lines with no major surprises and the level of difficulty was similar to that of XAT2007 and as such the cutoffs are likely to be similar. The paper had three sections viz. Verbal & Logical Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making and Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability with a total of 120 questions.

Snapshot of the paper

The break up of the XAT paper and an optimum time allocation strategy are given in the table below.

Section No. of Questions Difficulty level Optimum Time Allocation
 Verbal & Logical Ability 38 Difficult 40
 Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making 38 Moderate 40
 Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability 44 Difficult 40


Verbal & Logical Ability

No. of Questions:38
This section had questions from the Reading Comprehension, Verbal and Logical Reasoning areas. The passages were of the abstract kind and were not easy to read and comprehend. The 5 choices per question further complicated things. The passage pertaining to “Karma” was the only saving grace in this area. A score of 4 was possible in around 15-20 minutes in the RC area. The VA questions pertaining to ‘Fill in the Blanks’ and the Para-Jumble questions were very tricky and involved a clear understanding of the context. The Logical Reasoning caselets were relatively simpler and one could have attempted some questions here. These questions were of the ‘moderate’ difficulty level and a score of at least 3-4 marks was possible in about 10-12 minutes. The expected score for this section should be around 8-10 in about 40 min. A score of 16+ should be considered excellent. The cutoff is expected to be around 9-10.

Area Description Marks Difficulty level Expected Score Good Score
VA  FIB  Cloze test 5  Difficult 1-2 4
 Para Jumbles  4 statements 3  Difficult-Tricky
RC  Passage 1  Consumers – Moods & Emotions 6  Difficult 4 6-7
 Passage 2  Jung & Psychology 4  Difficult
 Passage 3  Karma 7  Moderate
 Passage 4  Mayo – Claims & Experiments 3  Difficult
LR  Caselet 1  CEO salary 2  Easy-Moderate 3-4 5
 Caselet 2  Hindi as national language 2  Moderate-Difficult
 Caselet 3  Speed breaker at school 2  Moderate
 Caselet 4  History & Science 2  Difficult
 Caselet 5  Goodricke group 2  Moderate-Difficult
 Overall   38  Difficult 8-10 15-16


Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability

No. of Questions:38
This section turned out to be the most difficult for the test takers and the cutoffs are expected to be lower. The DI sets pertaining to the line graphs were doable and should have been attempted. The DI sets on the Tables involved very complex calculations and should have been avoided. The arithmetic section had very few easy questions and locating them and solving them was the key in salvaging this section.The expected score for this section should be around 7-9 in about 40 min. A score of 14-15 should be considered excellent. The cutoff is expected to be around 8-9.

Area Description Marks Difficulty level Expected Score Good Score
 QA  All Areas  All Areas 29  Moderate-Difficult 3-4 6-7
 DI  Table  Jamshedpur Electronics 5  Moderate 3-4 6
 Line Graph  Sales & Cost of XYZ Ltd. 3  Easy
 Table  Drop-out rates 4  Difficult
 Line Graph  Stocks & Mutual Fund 1  Easy
 DS  Arithmetic   2  Moderate 1 2
Overall   44  Difficult 7-9 14-15


Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making

No. of Questions:38
This section was of the moderate difficulty level and students could have tried to maximize their scores. The questions on puzzles were of the moderate-difficult level and the ones on ‘lights’, the schedule of the professor and the one on ‘institutes’ should have been attempted. The decision making questions were for a change not ‘quant’ based but were no less tricky than what was seen in XAT2007. The Caselet on Loha Ltd and the individual questions should have been attempted and a score of 3-4 was possible.The expected score for this section should be around 9-11 in about 40 min. A score of 15-16 should be considered excellent. The cutoff is expected to be around 10-11.

  Area Description Marks Difficulty Level Expected Score Good Score
 Reasoning
  Puzzle  Lights – Red, Green etc. 4  Easy 5-6 9
 Puzzle  Professor schedule 4  Moderate
 Puzzle  Advertisement Schedule 4  Easy-Moderate
 Puzzle  Institutes 4  Moderate
 Puzzle  Arrangement of words 5  Moderate
 Puzzle  Surnames 1  Easy 1 1
 Quantitative Reasoning  Arrangement of Sets; magic Box 3  Very Difficult
 Decision Making  Cricket 3  Difficult 3-4 5-6
 Decision Making  Caselet – Loha Ltd. 6  Moderate-Difficult
   Decision Making  Individual Questions 4  Easy-Moderate
 Overall   38  Moderate 9-11 15-16


Estimated Cutoffs for Sections

Verbal & Logical Ability -9-10
Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability -8-9
Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making-10-11

Expected Overall Cutoff

Institute Expected Cutoff in 2008 Sectional Cutoffs Flagship Program Number of Seats Overall Cutoff in 2007 (Percentile)
 XLRI - BM 36+  Sectional Cutoffs considered  NA 120 97+
 XLRI - PMIR 33+  Sectional Cutoffs considered  NA 60 97+
 XIM-B 31+  Sectional Cutoffs considered  PGDM 120 93.12 (88.4 for Orissa Quota)
 SPJain 28+  Profile based; Sectional Cutoffs considered  PGDM 120 85+
 GIM 27+  NA  PGDM 120 90.10
 LIBA 27+  NA  PGDBM 120 91.5
 KIAMS 5+  NA  PGPM 60 NA



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