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Updated By Vandana Thakur on 25 Sep, 2025 17:04
The best books for XAT 2026 include Jabbing the XAT (with solved papers) by RK Jha, Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Aggarwal, Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis, Manorama Year Book and Competition Success Review Year Book.
Predict your Percentile based on your XAT performance
Predict RankIf aspirants want to prepare well for XAT 2026 and strategically approach the exam, then they must use only the best books for XAT 2026 for thorough preparation. Candidates must search for books that suit their preferences. Books for XAT 2026 will not only help candidates in good preparation but will also help them adopt a good practice of reading books to acquire knowledge and insight about a topic or subject matter. The XAT best books 2026 must cover 5 sections thoroughly: Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making, General Knowledge, and Essay Writing. Candidates must master these five sections to perform effectively in the XAT 2026 exam.
Students must choose the correct books for each section and do targeted preparation in a limited time. A focused study with good study material will give the best results. Having too much study material is distracting and can be time-wasting for the student. Hence, it is important to only select the XAT 2026 best books for each section in the exam.
All the candidates who are interested in pursuing management courses from XLRI and other distinguished B-schools in India must start preparing for XAT 2026. Therefore, the preparation needs to be extremely good as the level of competition is extremely high. To secure good marks and admission to more than 160 XAT participating colleges, candidates must clear the XAT 2026 exam. Mentioned below are the top and best books for XAT 2026 that can be considered by candidates at the time of preparation.
The best books for the XAT 2026 decision-making section preparation include books like the Target XAT Simplified, Concepts of Number for XAT 2025, etc.
Students can effectively prepare with the XAT 2026 books by fetching the important chapters, identifying the repeated topics, etc.
Some of the best books for XAT 2026 preparation include books like Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis, Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal & Vikas Agarwal, etc.
When choosing books for the Verbal and Logical Ability section in XAT 2026, candidates must account for all of its parts i.e. Reading Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning and Logical Reasoning. Check the XAT best books 2026 to study in the table below.
Book | Author |
|---|---|
Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
Descriptive General English | S P Bakshi and Richa Sharma |
Objective General English | R S Agarwal and Vikas Agarwal |
High School English Grammar | Wren & Martin |
A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning | R S Aggarwal |
A New Approach to Reasoning Verbal & Non-Verbal | B S Sijwali |
Analytical Reasoning | MK Pandey |
To prepare for the QA & DI section in XAT 2026, candidates must choose books that can help them clear the fundamentals. This is a section that requires a lot of practice-based learning. Candidates must ensure that the books they choose for study have practice exercises and sample papers. Given are some of the best books available.
Book | Author |
|---|---|
Fast Track Objective Arithmetic | Rajesh Verma |
How to Prepare for Data Interpretation | Arun Sharma |
Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K Sinha |
Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations | Abhijit Guha |
Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations | R S Aggarwal |
Decision Making is a unique section in XAT 2026 and candidates must ensure that they prepare well for this section using the best books given in the table below.
Book | Author |
|---|---|
XAT Solved Papers (2008 - 2018) 2019: XAT 2019 Eleventh Edition | Gautam Puri |
Target XAT 2019 (Past Papers 2005 - 2018 + 5 Mock Tests) 10th Edition | Disha Experts |
Target XAT Simplified | Disha Experts |
Concepts of Number for XAT and Other Quantitative Exams | Gajendra Kumar |
Jabbing the XAT consisting of Solved Papers | R K Jha |
Candidates preparing for the General Knowledge section in XAT 2026 must ensure that they cover a broad range of topics to score well. Referring to some good General Knowledge books will be advantageous for the Static GK part while regular reading of the newspapers and magazines is required for the Current Affairs part.
Essay Writing is the descriptive section in XAT 2026 in which candidates have to write a subjective essay-type answer to a topic given in their question paper. Most of the candidates find this to be a very challenging section of the exam. To prepare for this section, candidates must not only improve their writing skills with regular practice but also have a fair idea of the types of topics given in the XAT 2026 Essay Writing section. It is important to study the common essay writing topics in XAT 2026 and write essays regularly to build your skills for this section. Mostly, the topics given in this section are generalized to ensure that every candidate is able to tackle them. Any specialized book or study is not necessary but it helps to have good general awareness skills in this section. Here are some of the best tips to write good essays for XAT 2026.
Make sure that you use correct grammar in your essay.
Focus on keeping the structure and flow of your essay logical.
Use easy-to-read language and express your ideas with simplicity.
Real-life examples provide a great impact and also showcase your knowledge.
Keep a balanced viewpoint. Avoid putting forth any extremist ideas.
Don't be afraid to share any innovative ideas in your essay.
Preparing for the Essay Writing section cannot be done with a single mind. It is a long-term strategy that requires improvement in general awareness and the use of correct written English. Consult best books to prepare for General Knowledge and Verbal Ability sections in XAT 2026 to develop the skills required to ace this section.
XAT is considered to be one of the most difficult MBA entrance exams in India. To get 100 percentile in XAT requires not only a good preparation strategy but also good quality study material that is accurate and easy to understand. Once you have a good strategy to begin, pick good books and study material for each section. It is crucial to focus not only on studies but on practice as well. Hence, either a candidate can go with books that have question banks or buy the question banks and sample papers separately.
However, getting too many books can also get overwhelming. Just get enough study material that you can go through and get more later on if required. Choosing the best books to score 100 percentile in XAT can be different for each candidate as the strategy followed by each candidate is different. Hence, it is very helpful to first do some research. Go through some samples available online and then go for it.
Before selecting a book for preparation, it is important to keep a few important factors in mind. To help you with this, we have mentioned a few important pointers that must be considered while selecting books for XAT 2026 Preparation.
It is very important for you to first check the year of publication of the book that you are about to pick for your preparation. Checking the year of publication is important because the syllabus and the subject matter change with years passing by. To be updated with the topics and syllabus, read the books with the recent years marked on them.
While selecting books for XAT 2026, also remember to check for the latest edition of the book. To get updated content and information, you should always choose the latest edition of the preparatory books.
If you want to study the correct contents and information, then go for renowned authors and publication houses. Reading books by known authors is recommended even by experts as you can rely on the theories and topics explained by them.
Books and study materials issued by coaching centres or training centres can also serve as a good source of information on important topics covered in the examination.
Books that focus mainly on exam preparation consisting of sample papers and previous years’ question papers are also good sources and reference materials for the aspirants of XAT 2026.
It is always advised to compare the contents and topics of two or more books to get an authentic and correct explanation of important topics. It also helps in cross-checking the information of the book and study material.
Students must always select books that they will be able to understand so that they can prepare better for the exam.
Students must see the name of the publications, the author before selecting the books for their preparations. They must be well acquainted with the best authors and select their books for exam practice.
When choosing the best books for XAT 2026 preparation, one must be aware of the pattern in which the exam is conducted. Check the exam pattern of XAT 2026 below.
Part | Section | No. of Questions | Total Question in Part | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Part A | Verbal and Logical Ability | 21 | 75 | 165 minutes |
Decision Making | 26 | |||
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation | 28 | |||
Part B | General Knowledge | 25 | 25 | 15 minutes |
Want to know more about XAT
For the General Knowledge section of XAT 2026, candidates should cover a broad range of topics for the Static GK part. Additionally, regular reading of newspapers and magazines is necessary to stay updated on Current Affairs.
It is necessary to select the right books for each section is for effective preparation. It helps candidates concentrate their efforts and avoid distraction from excessive study material.
Candidates can strategically prepare for XAT 2026 by selecting books that align with their preferences and target specific sections of the XAT exam. A strategic approach involves focused study using high-quality study material.
Choosing the right XAT book is an important step towards preparation. Students should purchase the latest editions of renowned authors and publication houses. The books should focus on the XAT syllabus and must be lucid and clear enough to understand. Previous year solved papers can be purchased as a reference.
Yes, it is possible to crack XAT by self-studying from XAT books 2026 easily. It is necessary to clear concepts and do ample practice of each topic. Also one should first purchase certain basic books and then move to advanced study materials.
It is not necessary to follow a book for XAT essay writing. You should practice writing common XAT essay topics regularly. It is necessary to write a grammatically correct and error-free essay with a logical structure. There should be a balance between viewpoints which should be elucidated with the help of examples.
There is no definite book as such for XAT General Knowledge as the syllabus is vast. The candidates should follow the newspapers for current affairs and for the static part they can refer to Lucent Objective General Knowledge by Sanjiv Kumar, Manorama Year Book 2024 and General Knowledge Book by Manohar Pandey.
The best XAT books for Decision Making are Target XAT Simplified by Disha Experts, Jabbing the XAT (with solved papers) by R.K Jha, XAT Exam Solved Papers by Gautam Puri, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashish and Analytical and Logical Reasoning by Arihant Publications.
The best books for XAT Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation are Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma, How to Prepare for Data Interpretation by Arun Sharma, Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha, Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha and Quantum CAT by Sarvesh K Verma.
The best books for the Verbal and Logical Ability of the XAT exam are Descriptive General English by SP Bakshi and Richa Sharma, Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal and Vikas Agarwal, A New Approach to Reasoning Verbal & Non-Verbal by B.S. Sijawali, How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma and Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey.
The best books that candidates may refer to for preparing for the XAT exam are Word Power Made Easy by Normal Lewis, How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension by Ajay Singh, R.S. Aggarwal’s Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations, Target XAT Simplified by Disha Experts and XAT Exam Solved Papers by Gautam Puri.
It is important to start preparing early for XAT 2026 because early preparation is essential due to the high level of competition in the XAT exam. Securing admission to prestigious B-schools requires candidates to score well in XAT 2026. A duration of six to seven months before the exam is considered ideal to start your preparations. It will leave you ample time to complete the revision of important topics also before the XAT exams.
XAT books 2026 are considered the best medium for XAT preparation because these books provide in-depth coverage of the topics and concepts tested in the XAT exam, making them an excellent resource for comprehensive preparation.
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