Updating MBAUniverse.com on the proposed sectional pattern of XAT 2015, Prof Munish Thakur, XAT 2015 convener and XLRI Admission chairperson has informed “we are increasing number of questions to 30. We want to increase reliability of GK assessment. Thirty questions give us a little more reliability than twenty questions.” In earlier XAT exams there used to be 20 questions on GK which were supposed to be answered in 10 minutes only, now it will be 30.
No increase in time
With the increased number of GK questions there may not be any corresponding increase in time in XAT 2015. It will be a paper pen mode 3 hour duration examination like past years. The exam will be held in a single session on January 4, 2015. The test remains paper pen mode to ensure that all the candidates from varying backgrounds are at par.
The paper-pen mode also aims to test all the candidates on exactly the same set of questions, and not on different sets. Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2015 like past XAT exams will be the gateway for admission to MBA/PGDM batch 2015-17 in top rated B schools like XLRI, SPJIMR, XIMB, XISS, IMT, LIBA and many more. There are 120+ management colleges that are going to accept XAT 2015 scores for admission 2015.
GK section with more questions than other sections
XAT 2015 will be divided in 2 parts. While part one will have 3 sections namely Verbal and Logical Ability; Decision Making; Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, part 2 will have 2 sections i.e. General Knowledge and Essay Writing.
The marks of General Knowledge will not be used for determining the percentile and cut off at first stage of selection. However it is used by XLRI and some other Associate Member Institutes at the time of final selection with due weightage.
Except Quant and DI section which will have more than 30 questions, no other section is going to have 30 questions except GK in XAT 2015. The time to solve the entire test paper will be restricted to 3 hours only.
How important is General Knowledge
According to Prof Munish Thakur “Marking in GK would be same as the first section” which means that the 30 questions on General Knowledge are going to carry a high weightage. The laxity in preparation and attempting the questions in this section may be harmful in final admission round at XLRI and other top B schools.
General Knowledge, therefore is an important component in the above 4 sections out of the 2 parts in XAT 2015. Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on XAT preparation shares that it’s not only conventional pattern of GK but also analytical and current environmental awareness of your surroundings which is needed to crack GK in XAT 2015. General Awareness is one of the important sections in XAT 2015 entrance exam which will contain more questions than in VA and DM.
Components of General Knowledge
All the 30 questions on General Knowledge will be of Multiple Choice (MCQs). Important components of General Knowledge in XAT 2015 would be as follows-
A. Conventional
B. Business, Finance & Economy based
C. Current Affairs India (Political, Social, Sports, Films, awards etc.)
D. International ( personalities-past & Present, global events etc.)
Each part needs due weightage. Conventional GK is available in books; Current GK is based on current reading of newspapers and periodicals; Business & Economics GK reflect the changes in Fiscal and monetary policy, CRR, Repo Rate, Devaluation and up valuation of Rupee.
Please remember current GK-whether Business, national and international has an on-going preparation method and thorough reading of the newspaper only can keep you updated.
How to prepare
Be clear
There may be certain confusing names, events and the aspirants tend to forget the exact description which means you may not be so good to manage the future affairs with this weakness. So have clarity and understand the difference, for example difference among the abbreviations like G-8, D-8, G-15, G-20, NATO, OAS, OPEC, OAPEC, OECD, OIC, APEC, ADB, ASEAN, EEC, EU, EFTA, SAARC, WCC, WTO, should be well understood and remembered in context so that you may not forget the same in the testing room.
Focus on regular study: No special skill needed
All the Candidates, in one or the other way, are enriching their General Knowledge on the topics they like and are inclined to. The need is to understand the basics “How and what to prepare to improve the General Awareness”.
In fact, study of any subject is not so vast as the study of General Knowledge or as you put it General Awareness. But on the other hand, the best part on preparation for this section is that you do not need any special skill set as required for Quant and Verbal. What you need is your inclination and interest in regular reading of books and periodicals.
1.Conventional –Good books on GK are available in the market and may be considered the best to prepare in a short time like Manorama Year Book, General Knowledge refresher, General Knowledge by S. Chand & Co. and so on. Devote a few minutes every day and try to learn this type of GK as much as possible. You may even mug it up-if you can but better way will be to relate one event to the personality, it will help you to prepare more than one question in a single reading. You may have questions based on the topics like Authors of the books, Historical facts & events, Personalities, places, questions based on inventions, discoveries and Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc
2. Business, Finance & Economy –This is one of the most favourite sections of GK that appear in the XAT entrance examination. Business and finance oriented General Knowledge improves your understanding of economic environment, strengthening your IQ and making you better equipped to face the Group discussions and Personal Interviews. Try to cover hot topics in Business, Finance and Economy. Going through them will help you to prepare better for your forthcoming XAT 2015 examination.Following tips will be a great help to you-
Important tips
Please read whatever stuff is available on such topics as you may confront these questions in different manner like ‘What is the current CRR’, ‘Difference between CRR & SLR’ ‘Instruments for money control’, “The authority that can change the Bank Rate of the Country” , ‘Which is the petroleum product from which subsidy has been fully withdrawn’, ‘Budget speech of the President marks the beginning or the conclusion of budget session’ ‘ Where the budget is presented first in Loksabha or RajyaSabha’, ‘Which company is not included in the NAVRATNA companies of India’ and so on.
Regularly read the business, economy page of newspapers like The Times of India, The Economic Times periodicals like The week, India Today, The Economist – mark the striking events, read editorials and other articles analyzing various national and international events. Year books, purchased by you, will also be a good help in the preparation.
3. Current Affairs – India - Put more emphasis on last few years’ events in the country – Important changes, Events like Cricket World Cup, Victory at Lords after 28 years, Recent announcements by Government, Commonwealth games, creations of additional states, appointments – Private and Public sector, awards etc. Global happenings that mark their impacts in the country must be well read. Although there is no syllabus for GK, you must brush up whatever you have read. Draw a quick plan to revise and learn.
Regular reading of the national events in the newspapers like The Hindu and the above referred ones will be quite advantageous. You need to spend around 15 minutes a day to it and one event will link you to another. Read the associated events as they are also the probable questions.
4. International - Answers to Questions based on International affairs sometimes are difficult to distinguish due to the close similarity in names, cities, figures etc. So the important part is to find out some key word in the articles wherefrom you learn and prepare the GK.
Put more emphasis on last decade events and global happenings like global depression, mutiny in certain countries, economic swings that made impact on Indian Economy, Appointments – like the second term of Obama as the President of America- his core international policies that may impact our Country, All about Malaysian Planes who were Lost and Shot in one year, their names, air route, what happened.
Expert suggests…
In view of Prof S K Agarwal, if you read the stuff with interest you will surely remember it. You are still left with 20 days to XAT 2015. You would prepare, revise and groom the General Awareness very well during this period if you can devote 15 minutes a day till January 2, 2015 regularly by keeping you abreast with the happenings in the country and the world.
Usually the questions on GK in the test paper are inserted a fortnight before the exam day. You are therefore advised to study and revise the GK related to 10 days before the test day. However, revision is prepared.
Related links
XAT 2015: XLRI extends admission application process date to Dec 26; will conduct XL-RAPT for FPM
XAT 2015: 90K register; XLRI admission application process open; apply before Dec 21
XAT 2015: How to approach 25 questions in Decision Making section
XAT 2015: Score More -Focus on RC; Know the tips how to prepare and attempt
XAT 2015: registration complete caution; list of things you need to do
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates and tips on XAT 2015
