XAT 2009 - Analysis

Sunday, 04 January 2009 23:48 | Written by ROHIT RAO |     

XAT 2009 : Detailed Analysis

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.

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).

The instruction page clearly stated that one fourth of a mark might be deducted for first 6
incorrect answers in each section and half a mark for each incorrect answer thereafter.

 Sections
 Answer Key
 Expected Cut-Offs

Structure of the Test

Total Duration of the 120 minutes + 20 minutes for essay

exam
Total Number of 104
question
Number of Sections 3
Number of choices per 5
question
Sectional timing No sectional timing
Marks per question 1 Mark
Negative Marking Differential (as explained above)
Mode of marking the HB pencil
ovals

The test had three sections:

  Section No. of Questions

A Verbal and Logical Ability 35
B Data Interpretation and Quantitative 38
Ability
C Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making 31

Section A – Verbal and 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.

Topic of RC passage No. of questions

Politics (Green parties in mainstream politics) 3
Linguistics (The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Linguistic Relativity 3
hypothesis)
Organisational Ecology 4

The passages were short but the abstract topics they presented and the writing style acted as impediments in
comprehending the same. The questions following the passages were mainly inferential ones and some of them were based
on parallel reasoning. The passage on politics was comparatively easy.

Verbal Ability

Last year in the Verbal Ability set, XAT had only jumbled 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 one’s 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 conditionals
and tense forms. This was an easy set and should have been attempted.

Jumbled Paragraph: There were only 2 questions in this set, both taken from the book Hegel, Nietzsche and Philosophy by
Will Dudley. Since the passages were abstruse, it was quite difficult to locate the opening statement in each case.

Miscellaneous: There were 6 questions where the students were given set of sentences one had to identify sentences using
figures of speech like metaphor, euphemism, oxymoron, personification, non-sequitur and hyperbole. One had to know the
definition of each figure of speech in order to attempt the questions correctly. There was one question on analogy, which
was attemptable.

A good attempt in this section would be 13 to 15 questions with a possible score of 9+ marks.

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 really difficult. 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 score.
 Area No. of
Questions
Arithmetic (Number, Averages, Percentages, Simple and Compound Interest) 10
Algebra (Inequation, Quadratic Equations, Algebraic Formula) 5
Modern Math (Functions, Counting Principle, Probability) 5
Geometry (Circle, Quadrilaterals,Co-ordinate Geometry) 6

Data Sufficiency

Topic of the Question Number of Questions

Profit and Loss 1
Time, Speed and Distance 1

These two questions should have been attempted.

Data Interpretation

Topic Type of Questions Number of Questions

A cake chain manufacturer Table 3
Selling Price of Producer and Retailer Line Graph and Table 2
Production of Chemicals by Tata Geometrical Diagrams 5
Chemicals

Questions asked in this section involved complex calculations, however the questions were not very tough and at least a few
from this section should have been attempted.

Overall, allotting 40 minutes to this section, one could have attempted 12-14 questions with a possible score
of 8+ marks.

Section C – Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making 

Analytical Reasoning

This section was easy and questions were based on Linear/Matrix Arrangements and Logic Puzzles.

Title Type of Questions No of Questions

Activities by Prof Matrix Arrangement 1 4
Mukhopadhyay
Six Square States Matrix Arrangement 2 4
Product Advertisement Matrix Arrangement 3 4
Schedule
Bistapur Market Matrix Arrangement 4 4
Names & Professions Linear Arrangement 1
Digit Set Puzzle 2
Magic Box Puzzle 1
 Word Game Puzzle 5
Cricket Decision Making 3
Loha India Ltd Decision Making 6
Independent Questions Decision Making 4

Linear Arrangement was a single question and could have been attempted.
Three of the Matrix Arrangement sets could have been attempted and a few questions from the set on Bistapur Market
could have been attempted.

Among the puzzles, “Word Game” was easy and should have been given the first preference. The set on “Digits” should
have been given the second preference and the question on “Magic Box” should have been avoided.

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 students had 20minutes to write the essay comprising of about 200-250 words. The essay had to be written in ballpoint
pen.