XAT 2010_ An Analysis

Executive Summary
In a nutshell, the XAT 2010 paper was a notch higher in difficulty level as compared
to XAT-2009. Structure of the paper was very similar to that of XAT-2009. The
number of questions reduced from104 to 101. The three sections were more or less
balanced in terms of level of difficulty. The problems in the AR section were
challenging and time consuming. The Decision-making sets were lengthy and
thought provoking. There was one RC set in the DM+AR section as well .The Verbal
and Logical reasoning section was challenging and very tricky and involved a lot of
logical thinking. Quant+ DI section was dominated by questions based on Modern
Maths (Permutation, Probability, estimation etc.) and Arithmetic. In the quantitative
section, there were a lot of easy picks but the Data Interpretation involved high
intensity of thinking and calculation.

For a change it looked as if XLRI people have worked hard to create a high standard
of test paper when compared to tests like CAT, IIFT etc. There was minimal amount
of ambiguity in the questions, which should be appreciated

Overall, the cut-offs can be expected to be lower than that of the last year’s level.
Following table summarizes an ideal situation.

Number XLRI PMIR

Suggested Good XLRI BM
Section Topics of Cut-Offs
time score Cut-offs
questions
8.5 9.5
1 EU and RC 31 40 minutes 11+
(90%tile) (93%tile)
2 QA & DI 40 40 minutes 10-11 9(95%tile) 6.5(85%tile)
AR and
3 Decision 30 40 minutes 10+ 8(90%tile) 6(80%tile)
Making+RC

120
Total 101 31-32+ 29-30 27-28
minutes
(98%tile) (95%tile)

Likely Cut-Offs for other institutes:

Institute Cut-off
Expected cut-off XIMB 28+
Expected cut-off GIM (93%tile with sectional 60 %tile) 26
Expected cut-off LIBA 22-23
Disclaimer: expert faculty of Career Launcher, who have attempted the XAT 2010 paper
and might not be the actual XAT cut-offs, decides these cut-offs. These calculations are based
on our experience and expertise.

Comparison with Last 3 year’s XAT:

XAT-2010 XAT
Parameter XAT 2009 XAT 2008
2007
Number of 3 3
3 3
sections
Number of 101 130
104 120
questions
Difficulty level Difficult Difficult
Difficult Difficult
(Overall)
Expected cut- 29-30 35+
33 32-33
off (BMD)
Expected cut- 27 33+
30-31 31-32
off (PMIR)

Section-wise Analysis

Section I: English Usage & Reading Comprehension

There were 31 questions, to be attempted. The questions ranged between moderate

and high in terms of difficulty level. It was a mix of many question types. Critical
reasoning questions tested in depth logical ability. Vocabulary based question
required very sharp thinking and ability to spot the correct choice. In many a
questions one could have eliminated 3 three choices but coming down to the final
choice required very high level of clarity and intensity.

Reading Comprehension
A good mix of passages! There were five passages. The passages were very short
but were challenging. A good selection of questions would have helped you to score
reasonably good, as most of the questions were inference-based.
Overall, an attempt of 16-17 questions & a score of 11 will be considered
very good.
Topic-wise breakup

Type of question No. of questions Difficulty level

Five Sentence Para jumbles 2 Moderate
Critical Reasoning Type 9 Average to Difficult
Reading Comprehension 11 Moderate to Difficult
[5 passages]
Vocabulary based+ Fill in the 8 Moderate to difficult
blanks+ Usage
Fact-Inference-Judgment 1 Moderate
31

Comparison with last 3 year’s XAT:

Topic XAT 2008

XAT 2010 XAT 2009
Overall 31 35 38
English Usage 20 19 18
Vocabulary: Synonyms 0 0 0
Vocabulary: Antonyms/ appropriate Usage 3 0 0
Vocabulary: Analogies 0 1 0
Metaphor-Hyperbole-Euphemism-Oxymoron-Non 0
6 0
sequitur
Fill in the blanks+ Word usage 5 0 5
Para Jumbles 2 2 3
Critical Reasoning 9 7 10
Sentence Correction+FIJ 1(FIJ) 3 0
11 (5 3 passages
Passages) (10 Qs) + 3
4 passages
Reading Comprehension Short
(20 Qs)
Paragraphs
(6 Qs)
Linguistics 0 3 (1 Passage) 0
Movie Transcript 2 (1 passage) 0 0
Sociology 3 (1 Passage) 0
2 questions (1
Philosophy/ psychology passage on 0 11
Kantian ethics)
Science & Research 2 (1 passage) 0 3
 2(1 passage on
fashion), 2 (1
Business/Economics/Management/Fashion/Miscel
passage on 4 (1 Passage) 6
laneous
probability of
death)

Section II: Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making Ability

Total No of questions: 30
Decision Making+RC: 12, Individual Reasoning Qs: 0 and AR: 18 (in 5 sets)

Summary:
In this section of 30 questions, 18 were on Analytical Reasoning and 12 on Decision
Making Ability. Most of the AR sets were of Moderate to high level difficulty level and
at least 1 set of 4 questions was definitely manageable during the given time frame.
AR sets were of typical XAT type with flavor of L-SAT type questions. The Decision
Making Ability questions were time consuming. One RC set in the section was a
cakewalk; it was just a matter of spotting the set within the stipulated time. Overall,
the section had a high level of difficulty.

Analytical Reasoning:

Topic XAT 2010 XAT 2009 XAT 2008

AR+Decision Making 30 31 38
AR-sets 18 (5 sets) 17 (4 Sets) 26 (7sets)
Individual AR questions 0 2 2
Decision Making +RC 12 (5 sets) 12 10(2 sets)

Section III: Quantitative Ability +Data Interpretation

Summary
Total number of questions: 40 (30 QA, 2 DS, 6 DI)
This section was of standard level of difficulty as expected of XAT paper. There were
12-13 questions, which a good student could have easily attempted in 40-42
minutes. Two case lets based on Government Bonds and automobile company were
quite challenging and should have avoided by the test takers.2 DS questions in this
section were of mixed level of difficulty.
Topic-wise breakup of Quantitative Ability:

Topic XAT 2010 XAT 2009 XAT 2008 XAT 2007

30+2+6 23+2+13 36
Overall 44
=38
Number System 3 0 2 5
Arithmetic 9 5 3 5
Algebra 7 5 13 14
Geometry 6 5 6 4
Permutation & Combination 6 1
+Probability+ Probability 4 1
estimation
Mathematical reasoning 1 2 3 2
Set Theory 0 0 2 1
Data Sufficiency 2 2 2 4

Data Interpretation
6 (2 sets) 13 (3 sets) 12(3 sets) 13 (4 Sets)

Essay

XAT also tests you on essay writing and 20 min is stipulated at the end of the 2-hour
test period to write a page-long essay. The topic for this year was:
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s
greed”.

The topic was interesting and could have generated a lot of opinion based on facts.
The key was to clearly understand the given quote and frame your ideas coherently;
one should have substantiated one’s opinion with facts. Some of the points that
could have been explored in the essay were:

1. The impact of mass-production on the environment after the industrial

revolution.
2. The growing consumerism and its ill effects.

3. An analysis of the history of the various climate/ earth summits and how far
they have been successful in striking a balance between growth and ecology.

One should have maintained brevity while making an impact. One should have
communicate in simple English and abstained from using rhetoric.
All the best!

Career Launcher Team

Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key, solutions and scores are based
on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take
responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.