XAT 2018: Exam pattern changes for Essay Writing; know the implications, preparation tips, components, scoring pattern

XAT 2018 exam on January 7, 2018, which has gone online this year did not propose any changes earlier in the format of essay writing test which was to be kept as paper based. But now it will also be held as online computer based test synchronising with other sections of XAT exam.

Earlier it was shared by Fr Antony Uvari, S J. XAT convener and XLRI admission chair, “We are ready for CBT essay writing test but for this year XAT, the format of the essay will remain pen and paper based, which is same as last year.”

Essay writing: Now goes online too
Responding to the recent query ‘Will the 2nd half of the test (Essay) be online or pen-paper based’, XAT 2018 convener has shared, “It will be online in lieu with rest of the exam.”

Accordingly, now the XAT 2018 test takers will need to write essay on computer screen instead of writing it on paper.

Online Essay Writing Test: Implications & preparation 

• You will be given 25 minutes to write a well worded essay on the given topic.
• Your writing skill needs no pen and paper but your flow of thought and coherent writing skill is required
• The biggest advantage of online essay writing is that you need not worry about your hand writing, cuttings and corrections as the essay is to be written on computer screen
• Sufficient time is available to write an essay of 300+ words
• Only thing now you need is versatile reading on different topics and practice to improve writing speed on computer screen.

Importance of Essay Writing in XAT 2018
Essay writing test in XAT 2018 is as important as other sections for admission to top B-schools-  XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, XIMB, GIM Goa, Great Lakes among others.

XLRI Jamshedpur, the XAT 2018 exam conducting authority has emphasised that XAT aims to assess multidimensional capability of aspirants. Accordingly, the test takers may be very good at attempting objective Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) but may not have real life driven written communication skill, or a wider perspective on important issues of our times, which is a basic requirement. Therefore, candidates appearing in XAT are tested on both the counts and would then be shortlisted based on their performance in essay writing as well.

XAT 2018 Exam duration
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2018 will have 72 questions divided in 3 sections in part-1. Part-2 of XAT 2018 will consist of 25 questions in MCQ format on General Awareness (GK) and an essay writing test on a given topic.

The separate section of Essay Writing can be completed in 25 minutes while GK should be completed in 10 minutes out of the total allotted time limit of 3½ hours to solve the entire test paper.

Awarding a separate subjective section of 25 minutes duration in an otherwise objective type MCQ test is in itself reflects the importance and weightage of Essay Writing Test in the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2018. 

XAT 2018 exam components
XAT 2018 will have four sections with MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) (i) Verbal and Logical Ability (ii) Decision Making (iii) Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (iv) General Knowledge. Another section will be of subjective type consisting of Essay Writing Test.

The online XAT 2018 exam will be divided in two parts

Part-1
Part-1 will have 3 sections in Multiple choice questions (MCQs) format

1. Verbal and Logical Ability

2. Decision Making

3. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

Part-2
The second part in XAT 2018 will be the test on General Knowledge in MCQ format & Essay writing test in subjective format.

Uniform marking system
All the questions in XAT 2018 will carry equal marks and will award 1 mark for each correct answer for MCQs. Prior to 2013 XAT used to carry varying marking system from 1.5 to 5 marks per question. The system got stabilized in 2013 and continued since then.

Penalty of Negative marking
One fourth of a mark ( ¼ mark) will be deducted for each incorrect answer in XAT 2018. So please be careful while marking your answer choice on the computer screen. 

Percentile calculation in XAT 2018
The marks of General Knowledge will not be used for determining the percentile and cut off at first stage of selection.

All the top B-schools including XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, XIMB, GIM, LIBA, BIMTECH, Great Lakes, TAPMI will announce their shortlist based on the marks scored in 3 sections of XAT 2018 as shared in Part-1 of the test components.

No restriction to move between the sections
XAT 2018 will not restrict the test takers from moving to one or other sections within the overall allotted time. However, aspirants are advised not to spend too much time only on one section since all the sections will have the respective cut off percentile.

Difficulty level: Not to remain high
LRI has already announced that the level of difficulty of the questions has also been carefully designed. In order to enable students to attempt as many questions as possible and encourage them to demonstrate all-round skills, the difficulty level of the questions has been brought down in XAT.

The duration of the XAT 2018 will be of three and a half hours (3½ hrs), from 10:00am to 01:35pm (5 minutes will be turnover time between components – MCQs and subjective essay writing).

Gateway to the MBA/PGDM batch 2018-20 in XLRI, SPJIMR, XIMB, IMT, XISS, LIBA, TAPMI, GIM Goa, Great Lakes and many more top rated B schools, XAT 2018 will be held on Sunday January 7, 2018 as an online computer based test for the first time in the 60 years history of Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT). XAT 2018 will be conducted in 47 cities in India, and in Dubai and Kathmandu abroad. More than 150 B schools are associated to XAT 2018 and will short list the candidates on the basis of XAT 2018 scores.

With the changed pattern of Essay Writing test from paper based to online computer based, XAT 2018 is now a complete online computer based exam. However the format of XAT 2018, XAT 2018 exam pattern, number of sections will remain the same, this has been assured by the XAT 2018 exam convener Fr Antony Uvari SJ, admission chair at XLRI Jamshedpur. According to him, “The basic format of XAT will remain same as was in previous years without any change this year and will have similar pattern of the test sections with the only exception that it will be online computer based test.”

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on  XAT 2018

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