There are many entrance exams out there. Students have to work very hard to prepare for each entrance exam. One such entrance exam for MBA aspirants is the XAT exam. This exam is considered to be one of the toughest entrance exams for MBA aspirants. Students have to work very hard to crack this exam. There is a lot of competition amongst the students to get admission to some of the best business schools out there. There are a limited number of seats in each educational institution. Therefore, in a way, students are fighting for a certain number of seats that they all want to get in. What makes students get into their desired colleges is the fact that they have put in extra efforts to reach where they want to reach.
XAT Pattern
In order to prepare for the exam, it becomes very important for the students to know more about the XAT pattern. The XAT exam pattern helps the students to have good knowledge about the ins and outs of the exam. In this way, students can have more clarity about what they are getting themselves into and prepare accordingly.The XAT exam has two parts. Part 1 of the exam has sections like quantitative ability and data interpretation, verbal and logical ability and decision-making. Part 2 of the exam has a section named general knowledge. The XAT exam is a computer based exam that is conducted with the time duration of 180 minutes.There are different number of questions that come in each section of the exam, like the verbal and logical ability section has 26 questions, the decision making section has 21 questions, the quantitative ability and data interpretation section have 28 questions, and the general knowledge section of the exam has 20 questions.
While studying more about the XAT paper pattern, it also becomes important for the students to know about the marking scheme. The marking scheme helps the students to understand how many marks they are going to get for questions and what will be the case of the negative marking. For this XAT exam, the marking scheme is quite simple. 1 mark is given for every correct answer. There is a negative marking of 0.10 marks when more than 8 questions are left unattempted, and there is a negative marking of 0.25 marks when there is an incorrect option chosen by the students.
Important Details About the XAT Exam Format
As of 2026, there have been many changes that have been made in the XAT exam pattern. It becomes very essential for the students to know about these changes because this will in some way impact their preparation. Students need to have good knowledge about what changes have come so that students can take a note and prepare accordingly for the new pattern that's coming for the exam. Some of the major changes that have come in the XAT pattern are the reduction in the GK questions. Now the general knowledge section of the XAT exam has 20 questions instead of 25. There are questions that are going to come on the topics of current affairs, which are going to be 12 in number, and the other eight questions are going to be on topics from static GK.
There is also a change in the exam time of the XAT exam. Earlier the XAT exam used to be 210 minutes, but now the XAT exam time is reduced to 180 minutes. There is an overall reduction in the number of questions on the exam. Earlier there were around 101 questions that used to come in this XAT exam, but now there are going to be 95 questions in the MCQ format that are going to come. The XAT exam has also been divided into two parts, and earlier essay writing used to be a part of the part B of the XAT exam, but now the essay writing section has been removed from the XAT pattern instead, there are 170 minutes of time given for students to complete Part 1 of the XAT exam and 10 minutes are given to the students to solve the questions of the GK section, which is in Part B of the XAT pattern for the exam.
There is also an important detail that students need to keep in mind: the general knowledge section is not included as a part of the percentile calculation in the XAT score card. The general knowledge section matters for the students' selection process when the personal interview and group discussion round are going on. The essay writing section also has importance in the further process of the selection of the students. The essay writing section is not a part of the online computer-based exam mode anymore.
Conclusion
All these details about the XAT pattern are of great importance to the students. Preparing for an entrance exam is never an easy task. Students have to take care of a lot of aspects of the exam. It is important for students to know about the question typology, the marking scheme, the various topics in the syllabus and other important details of the exam. If students want to have a holistic preparation that will result in better percentiles for them, then students need to focus on all of these aspects. Just focusing on covering the exam syllabus would not ensure students good percentiles. Students need to also work hard and incorporate smart work into their preparation. It is important for students to study and have a good knowledge of what they are preparing for. Having an in-depth knowledge about the XAT pattern is of great importance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have there been any changes in the XAT exam pattern with respect to the timings of the exam?
Yes, the timing of the XAT exam has been changed from 210 minutes to 180 minutes now. This change has occurred because the essay writing section has been removed from the exam pattern, and also the number of questions has been reduced. Therefore, the time duration given to complete the exam is also less now.
Are the scores of the General Knowledge section of the XAT exam counted?
No, the scores of the General Knowledge section of the XAT exam are not counted as a part of the percentage calculation in the XAT exam, but the scores hold a lot of relevance during the selection process of the students.
