XAT 2009 had 104 questions as compared to 120 questions last year and 130 questions in 2007. The questions were divided into 3 sections - Verbal and Logical Ability (35 questions), Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making (31 questions) and Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability (38 questions).
Here is a detailed analysis of XAT 09 exam by IMS Learning:
XAT 2009 Analysis
By IMS Learning
The XAT held on 4th January 2009, kept up its reputation of being a difficult test. It was more of a test of knowledge than general aptitudes. In terms of marking scheme and negative marking, there was nothing new the same pattern of progressive negative marking was present. This year the total number of questions was further reduced.
Verbal & Logical Reasoning
This section was a reading intensive one and the focus was more on reasoning and vocabulary.
The types of questions asked and the types of reading comprehension passages that featured in the test clearly indicate that the test expected students to know the language and its intricacies quite thoroughly.
Reading Comprehension
There were 10 questions based on three reading comprehension passages. Unlike last year there were no questions on caselets in the verbal ability section.
The topics covered were:
Politics (Green parties in mainstream politics)
Linguistics (The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Linguistic Relativity hypothesis)
Organizational Ecology
The passages were short but the abstract topics they presented and the writing style acted as impediments in comprehending the same.
Verbal Ability
Last year in the Verbal Ability set, XAT had only paragraphs and fill in the blanks. This year the test re-introduced the critical reasoning questions apart from retaining the jumbled paragraph questions. Some grammar based questions also featured in the test. Moreover, some new patterns of questions testing ones knowledge of figures of speech were introduced. Critical Reasoning: There were 13 questions on critical reasoning that were based on small passages. Most of the questions were challenging because one had to read the passage, understand the line of reasoning and then reason out the correct answer. The options were close and at times confusing.
Grammar Based: There were 3 sentence correction questions based on concepts like word forms, moods and conditional and tense forms.
Jumbled Paragraph: There were only 2 questions in this set, both taken from the book Hegel, Nietzsche and Philosophy by Will Dudley.
Section B Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability
This section comprised 26 questions based on Quantitative Ability, 2 on Data Sufficiency and 10 on Data Interpretation. This section was tough, except for a few problems, which were lengthy but comparatively easy to solve.
Quantitative Ability
The question based on Five points, whose abscissa and ordinates were changing was a really difficult one. The problem based on a function f was apparently difficult but it required just a basic knowledge of Trigonometry. Problem based on Permutation and Combination (5 passengers and 7 stations) was simple and one should have attempted it. Problem from Geometry tested only the basic understanding of the subject. In a nutshell, one can say that most of the questions in the Problem solving section were conceptual. The selection of easier questions would have helped to maximize the scores.
Section C Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making
This section was easy and questions were based on Linear/ Matrix Arrangement and Logic Puzzles.
Decision Making
There were two caselets with 4 questions each. The cases were easy to read and understand, but attempting the questions correctly required a lot of analysis. The options were also very close that added to the difficulty. One of the questions required passing knowledge of mathematics. In this section, a decent attempt would be 15 to 17 questions with a possible score of 11+ marks.
ESSAY
The topic for the essay was The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. The student had 20 minutes to write a 200-250 words essay.
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XAT 2009 had 104 questions as compared to 120 questions last year and 130 questions in 2007. The questions were divided into 3 sections - Verbal and Logical Ability (35 questions), Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making (31 questions) and Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability (38 questions).
Here is a detailed analysis of XAT 09 exam by IMS Learning:
XAT 2009 Analysis
By IMS Learning
The XAT held on 4th January 2009, kept up its reputation of being a difficult test. It was more of a test of knowledge than general aptitudes. In terms of marking scheme and negative marking, there was nothing new the same pattern of progressive negative marking was present. This year the total number of questions was further reduced.
Verbal & Logical Reasoning
This section was a reading intensive one and the focus was more on reasoning and vocabulary.
The types of questions asked and the types of reading comprehension passages that featured in the test clearly indicate that the test expected students to know the language and its intricacies quite thoroughly.
Reading Comprehension
There were 10 questions based on three reading comprehension passages. Unlike last year there were no questions on caselets in the verbal ability section.
The topics covered were:
Politics (Green parties in mainstream politics)
Linguistics (The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Linguistic Relativity hypothesis)
Organizational Ecology
The passages were short but the abstract topics they presented and the writing style acted as impediments in comprehending the same.
Verbal Ability
Last year in the Verbal Ability set, XAT had only paragraphs and fill in the blanks. This year the test re-introduced the critical reasoning questions apart from retaining the jumbled paragraph questions. Some grammar based questions also featured in the test. Moreover, some new patterns of questions testing ones knowledge of figures of speech were introduced. Critical Reasoning: There were 13 questions on critical reasoning that were based on small passages. Most of the questions were challenging because one had to read the passage, understand the line of reasoning and then reason out the correct answer. The options were close and at times confusing.
Grammar Based: There were 3 sentence correction questions based on concepts like word forms, moods and conditional and tense forms.
Jumbled Paragraph: There were only 2 questions in this set, both taken from the book Hegel, Nietzsche and Philosophy by Will Dudley.
Section B Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability
This section comprised 26 questions based on Quantitative Ability, 2 on Data Sufficiency and 10 on Data Interpretation. This section was tough, except for a few problems, which were lengthy but comparatively easy to solve.
Quantitative Ability
The question based on Five points, whose abscissa and ordinates were changing was a really difficult one. The problem based on a function f was apparently difficult but it required just a basic knowledge of Trigonometry. Problem based on Permutation and Combination (5 passengers and 7 stations) was simple and one should have attempted it. Problem from Geometry tested only the basic understanding of the subject. In a nutshell, one can say that most of the questions in the Problem solving section were conceptual. The selection of easier questions would have helped to maximize the scores.
Section C Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making
This section was easy and questions were based on Linear/ Matrix Arrangement and Logic Puzzles.
Decision Making
There were two caselets with 4 questions each. The cases were easy to read and understand, but attempting the questions correctly required a lot of analysis. The options were also very close that added to the difficulty. One of the questions required passing knowledge of mathematics. In this section, a decent attempt would be 15 to 17 questions with a possible score of 11+ marks.
ESSAY
The topic for the essay was The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. The student had 20 minutes to write a 200-250 words essay.
| Check Top MBA Colleges in India by Cities | | |
| Also Read Important Articles on MBA Admission | ||
| Top MBA Colleges in India | MBA Admission | MBA Entrance Exam |
| MBA Placements | MBA Ranking In India | GD Topics |
The XAT, held on January 4 2009, kept up its reputation of being a difficult test. Although the number of questions were reduced from 120 questions last year to 104 this year, the questions tested knowledge in quantitative, verbal and reasoning areas.