XAT 2010 was the toughest paper of the management exam season so far. The difficulty level of the paper was high. There was a slight change in the number of questions from last year (reduced from 104 to 101). One reliever for students was the reduction in the negative marking. Though it was progressive like last year but for the first five incorrect answers in each section, 1/5th of the allotted marks would be deducted and for the subsequent incorrect answers in the section 1/4th of the allotted marks would be deducted. Scanning the paper would have helped students in selecting the right kind of questions and enabled them to maximize the score.
The paper had three sections viz. Verbal & Logical Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making and Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability. Each question had 5 options.
A brief snapshot of the various sections is presented below:
|
Section |
No. of questions |
|
Section – 1 (Verbal & Logical Ability) |
31 |
|
Section – 2 (Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making) |
30 |
|
Section – 3 (Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability) |
40 |
|
TOTAL |
101 |
There were 31 questions in this section. This was probably one section that would have helped students maximize their score and increase the total number of attempts. The questions ranged from moderate to high in terms of difficulty level. Critical reasoning questions tested in-depth logical and analytical skills. Vocabulary based questions required very sharp thinking and aptitude to spot the correct choice. In many a questions, a very high level of clarity and intensity was required to arrive at the answers as they tested interpretation, understanding of implications, and reasoning. In RC there was a good mix of passages. The passages were very short, but were taxing, given the unusual nature of the topics. A good selection of questions would have helped you score reasonably well, as most of the questions were inference-based. The sectional break-up is as shown below.
|
Type of Question |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|
Parajumbles |
2 |
Moderate |
|
Critical Reasoning |
9 |
Difficult |
|
Reading Comprehension (5 passages) |
11 |
Moderate to Difficult |
|
Vocabulary based |
8 |
Moderate to Difficult |
|
Fact-Inference-Judgment |
1 |
Difficult |
|
TOTAL |
31 |
|
Overall, a good time allocation to this section would have been 40 minutes with attempts of 13-14 questions maintaining an accuracy of 80-85%. The expected correct “attempts” to get a call for XLRI BM is expected to be 7-8.
The Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making section was one of the toughest sections in this paper. The section was extremely lengthy. In this section of 30 questions, 18 were on Analytical Reasoning and 12 on Decision Making Ability. Most of the AR sets were of Moderate to High level of difficulty. The Decision Making sets, though ‘easy’ to read, always had two close options which made the process of selecting the right answer a very tedious and time consuming one. All in all, this was a tough section and the right strategy for this section was to identify a few sets and aim for a high level of accuracy. Identifying the time consuming logical puzzles and leaving them out would have been the key to doing well in this section. The sectional break-up is as shown below.
|
Type of Question |
No. of Questions |
Topic |
|
Complex Arrangement |
13 |
Analytical Reasoning |
|
Logical Conditions and Grouping |
3 |
Analytical Reasoning |
|
Miscellaneous |
2 |
Analytical Reasoning |
|
Decision Making |
12 |
Decision Making |
|
TOTAL |
30 |
|
Overall, a good time allocation to this section would have been 40 minutes with attempts of 14-15 questions maintaining an accuracy of 80-85%. The expected correct “attempts” to get a call for XLRI BM is expected to be 8-9.
This was by far the most difficult section in the paper. The key to this section was scanning. Students who analyzed the section well and decided which questions to solve first had much better chance to score well. The DI was highly calculation intensive and therefore time consuming, and hence most of the questions should have been avoided. The sets on Flowers, Portland Cement and Bond Prices should have been avoided. There were 2 simple questions on DS and should have been attempted. QA was the savior in this section. The questions covered a wide variety of areas. There were some simple questions (e.g. clocks, four digit positive number, Amarendra and Dharmendra, chocolate dealer, sun metal) and should have been attempted. Locating such easy questions and solving them would be the key to scoring well in this section.
Overall, a good time allocation to this section would have been 40 minutes with attempts of 12-14 questions maintaining an accuracy of 85-90%. The expected correct “attempts” to get a call for XLRI BM is expected to be 7-8.
Below is presented the summary of the above analysis:
|
Section |
No. of questions |
Time allocation (min.) |
Attempts |
Ideal Correct Attempts |
Expected Correct Attempts for XLRI BM |
|
Section – 1 (Verbal & Logical Ability) |
31 |
40 |
13 – 14 |
11+ |
7-8 |
|
Section – 2 (Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making) |
30 |
40 |
14 – 15 |
12+ |
8-9 |
|
Section – 3 (Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability) |
40 |
40 |
12 – 14 |
11+ |
7-8 |
|
TOTAL |
101 |
120 |
55 – 58 |
34+ |
32-34 |
XAT also tests students on essay writing and 20 min is allotted after the 2-hour objective test to write a page-long essay (250-300 words). The essay is used as a pre-interview yardstick. The topic for this year was “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” The topic was easy as well as interesting. It was based on the famous quotation of Mahatma Gandhi. One could easily relate it to the current global situation.
The opinions should have been presented well supported by facts. The key was to clearly
understand the given citation and structure your ideas coherently.
Disclaimer: The above cutoffs are only suggestive in nature and may differ from the actual cutoffs. Roots Education cannot be held responsible for any decision taken by the candidate on the basis of the above information.
My expectations from MBAGuru were completely fulfilled and exceeded, both in terms of attention and enthusiasm. The classes are intensive and rigorous, along with a very relevant series of tests.
