One of the significant changes announced by XLRI for XAT 2016 is the reduction in number of questions from 84 to 78 across the 3 major sections responsible to determine your percentile for next phase of shortlisting. The Verbal Ability section in XAT 2016 would now comprise 26 questions instead of earlier 28 and the section is expected to comprise 5 RC passages followed by 15 questions.
The significant changes in XAT 2016 also aim to reduce the difficulty level of the questions in the Verbal Ability section. The 5 passages on Reading Comprehension are also expected not to have very twisting and literary language that used to consume lot of time of XAT takers. It appears that the questions based on the RC passages would be a little more direct and doable for the aspirants.
XAT 2016 will be the very first prestigious MBA/PGDM entrance examination in 2016, going to be held on Sunday, January 3, 2016. 147 coveted B-schools apart from XLRI will accept XAT-2016 scores for admission to their various MBA/PGDM batch 2016-18 batch.
XAT 2016 is the conventional paper pen based exam in which test takers will have to mark their answers with ball point pen on OMR sheet. Ink or gel pens are not allowed. In view of XLRI, the XAT 2016 convening B-school, the paper-pen mode also ensures that all candidates are tested on exactly the same set of questions, and not on different sets.
The test will be conducted on a single day across the country and in a single session with a time duration of 210 minutes to solve all the questions. The scores in first part comprising 78 questions divided in major 3 sections on Verbal Ability; Decision Making and Quantitative Ability will be used to determine the percentile of the test takers for shortlisting for PI round. This part will have to be solved in 170 minutes. All the questions will be in MCQ format.
The second part will consist of General Knowledge and Essay writing section which will have to be completed in a total time limit of 35 minutes. There will be a gap of 5 minutes between first and second part of the XAT 2016 exam.
RC in XAT 2016: How to crack
XAT 2016 although quite different from CAT 2015 as it does not consist of Non-MCQs in any of the 3 core sections, is one of the most sought after MBA entrance examinations.
Prof.S.K. Agarwal, expert and mentor in Verbal Ability shares the one week RC preparation strategy for the benefit of XAT aspirants for this forthcoming examination. Candidates preparing for XAT 2016, have to understand the test pattern and follow the guidelines to score more in RC part of Verbal Ability section as it commands lion’s share offering greater opportunity to score more.
Out of 78 overall questions in the first part of XAT 2016, 33% share will be of Verbal Ability section. There will be 26 questions in Verbal Ability section including 5-6 questions on Logical Ability. Out of these 26 questions, 15 questions are expected to be based only on Reading Comprehension passages constituting more than half of the questions in this section making a share of 60% of the total number of questions.
3 questions to follow each RC passage
The 5 short RC passages are expected to be followed by 3 questions each making a total of 15 out of 26 questions in XAT 2016. All the passages are expected to be of around 500 words. Passages in the changed format would be moderate with reasonably rich literary language. Only those who study the passages carefully would be able to pick the right choice out of the close answer options. The passages are supposed to have the sufficient information to lead the test taker to correct answer.
One can imagine the importance of RC. Interestingly, if you can crack only this part of Verbal Ability section with 95 percent accuracy, probably you don’t need to cover any other part in VALA section. But getting biased is never a good thought and other11 questions based on grammar; vocabulary and logical Ability also come as saviour when passages are beyond reach.
Prepare RC: One week plan
The 5 RC passages in XAT 2016 are expected to be more or less based on abstract and philosophical topics. While 3 passages could be of approximately 500 words another 2 can be a bit longer say around 700 words. Another interesting feature with the RC passages is that they are inclined more toward philosophical thought, even if the contents were based on business and economy. Answers to the questions are little more direct than they are in CAT.
Make it the regular practice to read the editorials, articles in the news paper and check how many words are there which you do not know. Tests have shown that the number of unfamiliar words in a passage, if exceeds about 1 in 20, the reader will lose track. If the proportion is lower, the reader may skip over the unfamiliar words and grasp, at least the general meaning. Use the words in conversation to practice more on them.
While you are reading an article, passage, book – pick out the words which are of interest to you- find out their meaning-try to understand the context in which they are used and follow the structure of sentence. When you write, try to frame good sentences using the new words. This will give you ample opportunity to rectify the errors in sentences, improving the vocabulary, improving the speed and accuracy of reading and the skill to pick out the wrong sentences as well as how to complete the sentence or paragraph
Have a good book on reading comprehension with plenty of exercises. Get your concepts cleared and then attempt the exercises. Mock tests will also enable you to have proper feel of examination hall and your level of preparation as well. So take on the challenge.
Use complete sentences, take care to understand, make a chart on time consumed in reading and writing the summary of the passage. Check whether the time is getting reduced after a day or two.
Devote 20-30 minutes every day. Go for versatile reading with different topics. Try to mark and note down the interesting/important words or sentences.
Check your Reading style
Concentrate on main/important words in the sentence and while you go on reading try to link their reference to other parts. Central Idea of the passage, inferring the various types of information, go on to cover all of them while you are reading the passage. This will help you to promptly answer the questions accurately.
Crack the right answer option
Keep a plain paper and pencil with you while reading a passage and proceed to solve the questions based on the RC passage.
The sentences and paragraphs in passage have important phrases and words that determine the main idea of the passage. Note them down. With these tips, by the time you finish reading the RC passage in XAT 2016 test, you have all the material with you to answer almost all the questions based on the passage like ‘The central/main idea of the passage’; the meaning of various phrases and parts as given in the passage. You may not need third reading of the passage.
Questions on certain words used in paragraph are something to test your vocabulary. Even if they are unfamiliar you may check for the general meaning of the part of the paragraph. This will enable you to understand the options and mark your answer.
Read the passage/article fairly quickly to get the general idea. Read again, a little slowly so as to understand the details. Write a summary in your own words neatly and precisely – with one third/fourth in length to the original length of the passage.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates and tips on XAT 2016
