The XAT 2021 exam concluded successfully on 3 January 2021. As per many appearing candidates, the questions asked were moderately difficult but overall everything went well. XAT 2021 is a National Level MBA Entrance Test conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur on behalf of XAMI (Xavier Associate Management Institute) for admission into Post Graduate Management Programmes across B-Schools of Xavier’s group and other major B-schools in India. Given below is a detailed analysis of the XAT 2021 exam.
XAT 2021 Exam Pattern
| Sections | XAT Question Pattern | Overall Time Duration |
| Part-1 | 75 (Multiple-choice Questions) | 165 Minutes |
| Verbal and Logical Ability | 26 | No Sectional Time Limit |
| Decision Making | 21 | |
| Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation | 28 | |
| Part-2 | 25 (Multiple-choice Questions) | 15 Minutes |
| General Knowledge | 25 | |
| Total questions (Part 1 + Part 2) | 100 |
Decision Making
The Decision Making section contains 21 questions which are mostly moderate. The section includes negative marking as well therefore students had to be extra careful which marking the right answers. The section has questions from topics such as condition and group testing, arithmetic, data arrangement, situational questions, analytical reasoning, among others. Answering 16-17 questions will be considered as a good attempt for the candidates.
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation
The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section of the XAT 2021 exam consists of 28 questions. Most of the questions asked were comparatively difficult. The major topics covered in this section were geometry, probability, quadratic equations, statistics, algorithms, and mensuration. Other than that, the section also consisted of questions from graphs, tables, bar diagrams, data analysis, among others. If a candidate is able to answer about 13-14 questions from this question, then it definitely is a good attempt.
General Knowledge
The General Knowledge section of the XAT 2021 exam consisted of 25 questions which were mostly moderate to difficult. The section tests the knowledge of the candidates about current affairs and trending topics. Questions were asked from topics such as economics, politics, nation, awards, literature, business, sports, history, international relations, among others.
Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning
The Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section consists of 26 multiple-choice questions. Some of the questions asked in this section were moderate while the others were very difficult. This section has been curated to test the English language and grammar skills of the candidates. Topics such as vocabulary, reading comprehension, literature and fiction, culture, fill in the blanks, antonyms, synonyms, etc are covered under this section. Answering 15-16 questions from this section will be considered as a good attempt.
Exam Pattern for XAT 2021, 2020 and 2019
The table below represents the change in the XAT 2021 exam pattern in comparison to the previous two years:
| XAT Exam year | XAT 2021 | XAT 2020 | XAT 2019 |
| Test Duration | 3 Hours | 3 Hours | 3 Hours |
| Number of Sections | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Subjective Answer Question | No | No | No |
| XAT Total marks | 100 | 99 | 99 |
| Key Change | No Essay Writing Test | No Essay Writing Test | No Essay Writing Test |
