Analysis Xat 2005

Analysis of XAT 2005 The pattern of the paper was changed a bit as the number of questions reduced from 200 to 175 this year. Another change made was the elimination of sectional time limitation. The paper though met the anticipation in terms of difficulty level which was similar to that of last year. English section was a jolt for some and relief for some as it had only 12 vocabulary based questions so those banking on the verbal section got a shock. Moreover, inspite of the words being simple the answer options were quite close. The GK section was a mix with some questions on awards and some covering economics, science and current affairs. It was a three section paper with 75 math questions, 65 VA questions and 35 GK questions. It was followed by a 20 minute essay. The optimum number of attempts XLRI would be 85+. Sectional Breakup Section

No. Of Difficulty Questions Level

Reasoning & Quantitative Ability

75

Average

General Awareness

35

Tough

English (Verbal Comprehension) Total

Ability

+

Reading 65 175

Average Average

Optimal time distribution: No. Of Time Questions

Section

Attempts Ideal score

Reasoning & 75 Quantitative Ability

60 min 37+

28 - 30

General Awareness

35

15 min 15+

10 - 12

English (Verbal Ability + Reading 65 Comprehension)

45 min 35+

28 - 30

Total

120 min 85+

175

Section: Quantitative Ability and Reasoning. Area DI(5 caselets)

Description

Number Difficulty of level questions

GNP-Inflation(Line graph)

5

Average

Production (2 pie charts)

5

Easy

Sector based production (table)

5

Average

others

10

Tough

4

Easy

Sets(subsets and supersets)

5

Easy

others

8

Above average

DS

3

Easy

Reasoning Prime factors (4 caselets)

QA

Algebra, arithmetic, Geometry 30 and numbers

Average

The quantitative aptitude section was very different from XAT 2003 and 2004. The questions comprised Ratio, Averages, Logic, Functions, Permutation and Combination, Time speed distance, Work, Data Interpretation, Algebric Expression, Mensuration, Coordinate Geometry. As there were no sectional timings, students would have attempted more number of questions from their strong area. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension:

No. Of Difficulty Comments Questions Level

Area Tested Antonyms Synonyms

and

12

Easy

Total

50

Average

Passage

No. of Difficulty Comments Questions Level

Taxonomy

5

easy

SDQs

Philosophy- Importance 6 of leisure

average

SDQs & Main Idea

Environmental science

5

easy

SDQs & IIQs

Anthropology

8

average

IIQs

Other

6

average

SDQs, IIQs

Total

30

Average

The vocabulary questions were easy though the answer options werea bit confusing. The passage s were of average difficulty level with only one vocabulary based questions and several Implied idea questions. The questions on reasoning were easy and could be solved with accuracy. Questions on passage building and critical reasoning were of average difficulty level.

Section 3: General Awareness A total of 35 questions. The ideal number of attempts would be 15+. There were questions each on geography, science, constitutional rights, business management and history. Students who have been brushing up their GK section would have found the geography, science and history question easier to solve. Students who could recollect the constitutional rights would have been able to solve a couple of questions based on it. Essay: "One billion Indians: A gigantic problem or a sea of opportunities?" Cut-off: S. No.

Name of institute

the

Overall score

Remark

1.

XLRI

80+

For PM/IR, overall score could be 75+

2.

XIMB

74+

…….

3.

SIBM

65+

…….

4.

GIM (Goa)/BIM (Tirchy)

55+

…….

5.

LIBA Chennai 45+

…….