XAT 2015: Score More -Focus on RC; Know the tips how to prepare and attempt

Add Review

MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
December 11, 2014
16-18 questions in Verbal Ability section are supposed to be based on Reading Comprehension passages constituting more than half of the questions in this section
There were five short passages followed by 3 questions each making a total of 15 out of 28 questions in XAT 2014

XAT 2015 will be the very first prestigious MBA entrance examination in 2015, going to be held on Sunday, January 4, 2015. More than 120 coveted B-schools will accept XAT-2015 scores for admission to their various MBA/PGDM batch 2015-17 courses.

XLRI, the premier management institute will be the XAT 2015 conducting B school. The exam although quite different from CAT is one of the most sought after MBA entrance examinations.  Prof.S.K. Agarwal, expert and mentor in Verbal Ability shares the key preparation strategy for the benefit of XAT aspirants for this forthcoming examination.

Candidates preparing for XAT 2015, have to understand the test pattern and follow the guidelines to score more in Verbal Ability.

Out of 100-105 overall questions in the test, Verbal Ability section in XAT 2015 would have 30-32 questions and out of them 16-18 questions in Verbal Ability section are supposed to be based on Reading Comprehension passages constituting more than half of the questions in this section.

Unlike earlier XAT exams, XAT for the past 2 years have stabilized its marking and scoring pattern. Now the scoring pattern is uniform and questions carry equal marks. Earlier they used to have varying marking pattern section wise.

XAT 2015: Test Pattern

 XAT 2015 exam will be based on conventional paper pencil mode. Candidates have to mark their answers with ball point pen on OMR sheet. Ink or gel pens are not allowed. XAT remains pen-paper based to ensure that candidates of all backgrounds are at par. Those who have pre-familiarity of operating computers, specially coming from privileged background or having worked in IT sector, do not get any advantage over others who do not have access to computers.  The paper-pen mode also ensures that all candidates are tested on exactly the same set of questions, and not on different sets.

The test is conducted on a single day across the country and in a single session with a  time duration of 180 minutes to solve  all the questions. However XAT 2015 takers are supposed to solve all the objective MCQs in 4 sections in 150 minutes and devote rest 30 minutes to subjective Essay Writing test. 

In the first round percentile will be calculated for shortlisting the candidates for final admission round by excluding the sections of General Knowledge and Essay Writing. Both these sections will have their due weightage in subsequent admission rounds. XAT 2015 although will be similar to past year exam, it may increase or decrease the number of questions in exam. 

Verbal Ability section

There will be 30-32 questions based on Verbal and Logical Ability. Surprisingly, role of logical ability in this section is not very prominent and you may expect 3-4 questions on arguments, followed statements on LA.  Questions based on Reading comprehension constitute 60% of the total number of questions in this section. 

In XAT 2014 Verbal and Logical Ability section had 28 questions. The prominence of questions was on Reading comprehension passages.  There were five short passages followed by 3 questions each making a total of 15 out of 28 questions in XAT 2014. All the passages were of around 500 words. Hence, more than half of Verbal ability section was covered by Reading Comprehension.  Passages were moderate to difficult and had rich literary language with penetrating questions.  Those who studied the passages carefully were able to answer the questions more quickly as sufficient information was available in the passages.

 In XAT 2013 there were 18 questions based on Reading comprehension passages. One can imagine the importance of RC.  Interestingly, if you can crack only this part of Verbal Ability section with 95 percent accuracy, probably you don’t need to cover any other part in VALA section. But getting biased is never a good thought and other12-14 questions based on grammar; vocabulary and logical Ability also come as saviour when passages are beyond reach.   

How to prepare the RC

There are 5 passages in XAT followed by 16-18 questions in all. Passages are more or less based on abstract and philosophical topics. While 3 passages are of approximately 500 words another two are a bit longer say around 700 words.  All the passages are rich in vocabulary and literary language. Another interesting feature with the RC passages is that they are inclined more toward philosophical thought, even if the contents were based on business and economy.  Answers to the questions are little direct than in CAT which has more indirect questions and can be understood by close reading of the passages. 

Next 25 days Preparation Plan to crack RC

XAT 2015 aspirants are advised to follow the undernoted strategic preparation plan for next one month

Make it the regular practice to read the editorials, articles in the news paper and check how many words are there which you do not know. Tests have shown that the number of unfamiliar words in a passage, if exceeds about one in twenty, the reader will lose track.  If the proportion is lower, the reader may skip over the unfamiliar words and grasp, at least the general meaning.  Use the words in conversation to practice more on them.

 While you are reading an article, passage, book – pick out the words which are of interest to you- find out their meaning-try to understand the context in which they are used and follow the structure of sentence. When you write, try to frame good sentences using the new words.  This will give you ample opportunity to rectify the errors in sentences, improving the vocabulary, improving the speed and accuracy of reading and the skill to pick out the wrong sentences as well as how to complete the sentence or paragraph

Have a good book on reading comprehension with plenty of exercises.  Get your concepts cleared and then attempt the exercises.  Mock tests will also enable you to have proper feel of examination hall and your level of preparation as well.  So take on the challenge.

Use complete sentences, Take care to understand, make a chart on time consumed in reading and writing the summary of the passage. Check whether the time is getting reduced after a day or two.

Devote 20-30 minutes every day. Go for versatile reading with different topics. Try to mark and note down the interesting/important words or sentences.

Improve your Reading style

Concentrate on main/important words in the sentence and while you go on reading try to link their reference to other parts. Central Idea of the passage, inferring the various types of information, go on to cover all of them while you are reading the passage. This will help you to promptly answer the questions accurately.

How to locate right answer options

Keep a plain paper and pencil with you while reading a passage and proceeding to solve the questions based on it.

The sentences and paragraphs in passage have important phrases and words that determine the main idea of the passage. Note them down, by the time you finish reading the passage you have all the material with you to answer almost all the questions based on the passage like ‘The central/main idea of the passage’; the meaning of various phrases and parts as given in the passage. You may not need third reading of the passage.

Questions on certain words used in paragraph are something to test your vocabulary. Even if they are unfamiliar you may check for the general meaning of the part of the paragraph. This will enable you to understand the options and mark your answer. 

Read the passage/article fairly quickly to get the general idea. Read again, a little slowly so as to understand the details. Write a summary in your own words neatly and precisely – with one third/fourth in length to the original length of the passage.

Related Links

XLRI: Go get grab your Dream B School; XAT 2015 is round the corner

XAT 2015 Application form: Know the procedure to apply

XAT 2015 would be similar to XAT 2014 says Dr Munish Thakur, Convenor XAT

XAT 2015 exam date: notification out, exam on January 4

XAT 2015 to assess multidimensional capability: XLRI Admission Chair

XAT 2015: 7 Steps of Registration; fill up the information with patience

 Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates and tips on XAT 2015