XAT 2016: Verbal Ability in next 10 days; know how to decode & ace the section in revised format

Single day, single session paper pen mode XAT 2016 to be conducted on January 3, 2016, despite having different series of test papers will test the candidates on same pattern and same set of questions. It not only makes it fairer to calculate percentile and normalize the scores on the same scale but also avoids the glitches that might come up due to varying difficulty level on different set of questions.

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2016 is the gateway for admission to XLRI, Jamshedpur and other 147 top rated B schools in India. XLRI will conduct XAT 2016 on behalf of XAMI on January 3, 2016, the first Sunday of the New-Year 2016. Registration for XAT 2016 was closed on December 10, 2015 after providing a 10 days grace period to the aspirants from Nov 30, 2015. XLRI has been conducting XAT for the last 60 years at All India level in the paper pencil mode to provide level playing field for the XAT aspirants coming from all backgrounds.

XAT 2016: More aspirant friendly
The 3½ hours XAT 2016 with fewer number and easier questions will be conducted in 47 cities across India in a single session beginning from 10.00 AM to 1.30 PM with 5 minutes turnaround time between the Part one of 170 minutes and part two of 35 minutes in the exam.

Earlier XAT used to be a 3 hour duration test with more and difficult questions. This year not only number of questions has been reduced in XAT 2016, but most of the questions also would be of low difficulty level. 
XAT 2016 will be divided in 2 parts. While Part one will consist of 78 MCQs (Multiple choice questions), instead of earlier 84, part two will have 25 MCQs and one essay writing test in XAT 2016.

Verbal Ability: 1st Section of XAT 
There will be 3 sections in the first part of XAT 2016 comprising 78 questions in the MCQ form. The score in the first part will be taken into account to calculate the percentile for shortlisting the candidates for final admission round. The other 2 sections in the second part will be given due weightage in final admission round.

There is no sectional time constraint to solve the first 3 sections of MCQ test. Expected number of questions and time division between first and second part is detailed as follows

XAT 2016: Sectional composition in Part-1 & 2

Verbal Ability: Key to success-decode now
XAT 2016 countdown has already begun with barely 10-12 days remaining for the exam. How can the aspirants best utilize this period to prepare for a very good score in Verbal Ability section?  The prompt answer is that you can do still better, if you meticulously follow the well designed study schedule and few do’s during this period. Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability, offers you the guidance and important tips on “ Do’s” which will be a great help in substantially improving the score in XAT 2016.

Verbal section: Divide in 4 segments
Verbal and Logical Ability section will have 26 questions in all including the Logical Ability questions which are very few in number. The most important thing to be immediately done is to divide the Verbal Ability section in 4 parts - Reading Comprehension passages (Most important with 12-14 questions out of 26 questions in VA+LA section); Jumbled paragraphs ( App. 3-4 questions);  usage of Vocabulary (3-4 questions); error corrections in sentences ( 3-4 questions). This division is as per the revised format of XAT 2016.

12-14 questions on Reading Comprehension: key to ace the section 
Concentrate on Reading Comprehension, practice more with clear and conceptual understanding of phrases, sentences and key words, as it is the most important part. Solve 2 passages a day. You may form questions on passages and try to answer the same. There would be 12 to 14 questions based on RC out of 26 questions in Verbal Ability section of XAT 2016 although passages are shorter than in CAT but have richer and literary language.

More than half of Verbal Ability questions belong to Reading Comprehension. Aspirants are advised to regularly read the editorials, good literature and philosophy books. Difficult words should be written down separately, their contextual usage should be understood. Questions are a little more direct in XAT Reading comprehension part than they appear in CAT.

Further strengthen your Fundamentals
XAT places more emphasis on basic understanding of English Language. Articles, Prepositions, Usage of adjective, adverb, verbs, nouns, pronouns play an important role in the questions on error corrections and fill in the blanks. So you have to build the conceptual understanding on fundamentals-like parts of speech in grammar, time zones, punctuations etc. Find out the strong areas in each section and then practice more to strengthen them.

You may have some good understanding of, at least some basic concepts -for example – what is a parallel structure, usage of ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’; what verb should follow singular or plural. Devote more time to practice exercises of mixed type error corrections in sentences and fill in the blanks type.  It will improve your skills with little effort.

Vocabulary: Practice is the key
It is high time that you understood and practised  the Vocabulary words in right context. An aspirant may have good stock of vocabulary words but the important part is their correct use. Synonyms, antonyms with understanding of contextual use is very much required. All the mugging will be irrelevant if correct usage are not known or the confusion still persists where to place the said word.

If we can distinguish between ‘Avarice and Miser’, ‘ Pretty and Handsome’, ‘skilled and consummate’, and thousands of other such pairs and can put them to correct usage, cracking the questions in vocabulary section will be easier and nothing will leave you flummoxed. The best way to understand correct contextual usage is to practice more questions with two blanks, to be filled in with correct vocabulary words preferably synonyms. This will equip you with appropriate understanding in a week’s time and you may utilize next few days with yet more difficult practice questions.

Crack Jumbled Paragraphs with ease
Maintain your cool while solving the Jumbled paragraphs. The strategy to solve the surprising jumbled paragraphs is to go for more and more practice.  The important tip is to find out the connectors to sentences e.g. conjunctions, personal or relative pronouns (He/she/it/they/their/ who/whose/that/which etc.) as they indicate that they must have been used in place of some nouns. So find the link between the sentences.

One is required to link the sentences in accordance with the information provided in the paragraph. It is necessary to ensure that the idea and action expressed in the jumbled paragraph move in the same line, any sentence expressing different idea and differing the coherent formation of the paragraph cannot be the next sentence. Three to four such questions should be solved every day and get them analysed by some expert, whom you trust.
Editorial in Newspapers: Good source
Regular and attentive reading of newspapers especially the editorial part and articles is a must for next 10 days. Try to prepare summary of them, find out important words used in context- grab the opportunity to use them. It will help you in all the 4 segments of Verbal ability.

Regular revision
Revise whatever you have learnt and follow the tips to solve the questions based on various topics instead of going for something new. The need is to pay attention on the analysis of practice exercises that you have solved.  Follow the expert tips given in analysis as they are meant to guide you in sorting the problem out.

Next 10 days study schedule
Your study schedule for next 10 days must cover more practice and analysis of errors you make during the mocks or your practice sessions, says Prof S K Agarwal. Don’t begin something new but you can try to understand the concept behind a topic if there is confusion. It should be followed by every day of rigorous practice exercises based on all the above topics.

Focus on punctuality and time consumed on various practice questions. You will have to change the mindset likewise and adhere to this schedule.

Expert Advice
In view of Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on XAT 2016 preparation, you can not undermine the importance of any of the sections. Since the Verbal Ability is the first section in XAT, it needs to be attempted well to boost your energy level. The best way is to maximise your attempts and avoid negative marking. You have more than 2 minutes per question to solve in the first part and XAT 2016 has allowed you a relaxation of only 13 questions that you can leave un-attempted without attracting a penalty of 0.05 mark per question. If you leave more than 13 questions un attempted, the 14th one will attract the penalty. It is therefore advised to move judiciously and attempt the easiest first followed by difficult ones since all the questions carry equal marks.

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