XAT 2021 Exam Pattern - Revised Exam Pattern Available

XAT 2021 Exam Pattern

The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2021 exam pattern is prescribed by XLRI Jamshedpur, the conducting body of the exam. Those who are planning to take the exam must know the details related to the exam pattern of XAT 2021 such as its structure, marking scheme, time duration, etc. Knowing these details beforehand will help you in being more organized with your preparation.

As per the revised exam pattern, XAT 2021 will be 3 hours long and it will comprise a single paper with four sections. The paper will be divided in Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 of XAT 2021 will have 3 sections with 75 questions and Part 2 will have only the General Knowledge section with 25 questions. The total number of questions in XAT 2021 will be 100. All the sections will have Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). However, the number of questions in each section of XAT is different each year and will only be disclosed after the exam has been conducted. The exam pattern of XAT and the difficulty level is slightly different from other management entrance exams like CAT, MAT, CMAT. Those who successfully clear the XAT exam 2021 are invited for further selection rounds, which include Group Discussion and Personal Interview. XAT, which is meant for admission to XLRI and associate institutes, has been an offline test for more than 60 years but it will be conducted in the online mode for the first time in 2021.

Table of Contents

XAT 2021 Exam Pattern Highights

• The medium of the XAT exam is English.

• The exam is divided into two parts and 4 sections.

• All the four sections have Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).

• The total duration of the exam is 180 minutes.

• The exam will have 100 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

• A total of 100 marks have been allotted to the paper.

XAT 2021 Revised Exam Pattern

XLRI has introduced some new changes to the XAT 2021 exam pattern. Apart from doing away with the essay writing test, XAT 2021 witnessed the introduction of Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions. The following table will clearly define the revised exam pattern for XAT 2021:

XAT 2021 Section-Wise Break Up

The number of questions in each part of the XAT question paper is fixed. However, the number of questions per section changes every year. The following information is as per the previous year pattern of XAT 2021. The actual number of questions in each section of XAT 2021 may be different than what is specified below.

XAT 2021 Marking Scheme

It is important for the candidates to have a clear understanding of the XAT marking scheme before they take the examination. For every correct answer, candidates will be awarded one mark. A negative marking of 0.25 marks or 1/4th marks is applicable for every incorrect response. There will also be a penalty of 0.10 marks for every unanswered question if the number of unattempted questions exceeds 8. 

• For every correct answer, one mark will be given to the candidates.

• There is 0.25 (1/4) negative marking for every incorrect answer.

• Candidates can leave only 8 questions unattempted during the XAT Exam. Beyond this number, every unattempted question will lead to a deduction of 0.10 marks.

Changes Introduced in XAT 2021 Exam Pattern

As per the latest information, XLRI Jamshedpur has incorporated certain changes in the XAT 2021 exam pattern. Given below are some of the recent changes made in the exam pattern for XAT 2021:

• XLRI has introduced Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions in XAT 2021, which have to be answered using a virtual keypad that appears on the computer screen. The candidates have to enter the numerical answer using the virtual keypad. 

• From the year 2021 onwards, candidates will be penalized with 0.10 mark for each question that is unattempted after 8 unattempted questions. No negative mark will be awarded to the candidates till 8 unattempted questions after which each unattempted question will carry a negative marking of 0.10 mark.

• According to the revised XAT exam pattern 2021, there will be no descriptive question.

• From 2020 onwards, the candidates will be given only 3 hours to complete the entire paper. Earlier, the candidates had three and a half hours for completing the paper

• Visually impaired candidates will be allotted an extra 25 minutes for the completion of the first part of the paper. However, no time concession will be given to complete the General Knowledge section.

• As per the latest news, the section having Essay Writing in XAT 2021 has been scrapped and there will be only MCQs. 

• The popular management entrance exam will have four sections only - Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and General Knowledge.

• Like 2018, the XAT question paper will be divided into two parts, where Part 1 will comprise of sections including Decision Making, Verbal and Logical Ability and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; while Part 2 will consist of sections like General Knowledge.

• Now that the essay writing bit has been removed, the XAT 2021 question paper will be divided into four subjects as given in the table provided below.

XAT Previous Year Exam Pattern Trends