XAT 2024 Analysis
XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) 2024 was conducted online on January 7, 2024, between 2 PM and 5:30 PM. According to our XAT 2024 analysis, the test had almost the same structure as last year. Three essay topics were provided. The test-taker had to select one.
The structure of the test, along with suggested time allocation, good attempts, and estimated cut-offs based on the feedback from IMS students and experts, are in the table below:
The XAT 2024 Question Paper consisted of:
| Section | No. of Questions | Marks per question | Total marks | Suggested time allocation | Good Attempts |
| PART – A (175 minutes) No Sectional Timing within Part – A | |||||
| Verbal and Logical Ability | 26 | 1 | 26 | 55-60 | 13-14 |
| Decision Making | 21 | 1 | 21 | 50-55 | 11-12 |
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation | 28 | 1 | 28 | 55-60 | 18-19 |
| Total | 75 | 75 | |||
| PART – B (5 minutes) Keyboard check | |||||
| PART – C (30 minutes) No Negative Marks | |||||
| General Awareness | 25 | 1 | 25 | No Negative Marks | 12-14 |
| Essay | The essay will be assessed if the candidate is shortlisted for the interview. | ||||
Part A questions invited negative marks of – 0.25 for each incorrect response. In addition, there was a penalty of -0.1 mark for every unattempted question after 8 unattempted questions.
XAT 2024 Analysis – Final Verdict
Overall, our XAT analysis 2024 revealed that XAT 2024 was similar in difficulty level to XAT 2023. The DM Section was on par with the same last year, with a few questions in DM being difficult. The VALR section was slightly more challenging than the same section in XAT 2023. The QA-DI section was slightly easier as compared to XAT 2023.
Based on the inputs received from students and IMS mentors who appeared for the test and based on the actual cutoffs over the last two years, we estimate the following cut-offs for XLRI BM and HRM programs:
XLRI BM Program
| VA-LR Section | DM Section | QA-DI Section | Overall (Part A) | |
| Male candidates | 6-7 | 5-6 | 9-10 | 30-32 |
| Female candidates | 5-6 | 4-5 | 8-9 | 28-30 |
XLRI HRM Program
| VA-LR Section | DM Section | QA-DI Section | Overall (Part A) | |
| Male (Engineers) | 7-8 | 5-6 | 8-9 | 29-31 |
| Female (Engineers) | 6-7 | 4-5 | 7-8 | 27-29 |
| Male (Non-Engineers) | 7-8 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 27-29 |
| Female (Non-Engineers) | 6-7 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 26-28 |
XAT 2024 Analysis – Sectional Analyses
Note: For both BM and HRM programs of XLRI, the overall cutoff is significantly greater than the sum of the sectional cutoffs. Therefore, the number of good attempts for different sections has been estimated from the point of view of a student who wishes to maximize the score in that section.
Part-A
Verbal and Logical Ability Section (26 questions)
There were 15 Reading Comprehension questions and 11 Verbal Ability/Reasoning questions. The Verbal ability/Verbal Reasoning questions were a fair mix of grammar, vocabulary, and reasoning-based questions (Critical Reasoning and Jumbled Paragraphs). The 15 RC questions were distributed among five passages and one poem. The poem-based RC was difficult. The remaining five passages were 300 – 450 words each approximately; they had a mixture of mostly medium to difficult questions. Many of the questions were inferential and application-based.
| Area/Questions | No. of Qs. | Level of Difficulty |
| Grammatically correct sentence | 2 | 2 Medium |
| Grammatically incorrect sentence | 1 | 1 Difficult |
| Fill in the blanks (2 blanks) | 2 | 2 Easy |
| Jumbled Paragraphs (5 statements) | 2 | 1 Easy, 1 Medium |
| Critical Reasoning | 3 | 1 Easy, 2 Medium |
| Summary | 1 | 1 Medium |
| Passage 1 (Beauty – 300 words) | 2 | Difficult |
| Passage 2 (The problem of unrecognized ignorance – 400 words) | 3 | Medium |
| Passage 3 (Simplified moral frames – 450 words) | 3 | Medium |
| Passage 4 (Reductive instinct and realist storytelling – 300 words) | 2 | Difficult |
| Passage 5 (Mass vaccination and herd immunity – 300 words) | 3 | Medium |
| Passage 6 (Poem – A Missing Person by Jayanta Mahapatra) | 2 | Difficult |
An attempt of about 13-14 questions in this section in about 55-60 minutes, with about 75-80% accuracy, would be considered a good attempt.
Decision Making (21 questions)
This section consisted of 21 questions. There was no Quantitative DM set in this year’s test.
The section consisted of 7 sets of 3 questions each. As usual, some questions had a fair deal of ambiguity – in that either no answer seemed correct, or more than one option appeared correct. Overall, the questions were of medium difficulty. Therefore, the choice of sets/questions to attempt would have depended mainly on your personal preferences and strengths.
| Area/Questions | No. of Qs. | Question Type | Level of Difficulty |
| 1. HR Caselet – Experience Credentials | 3 | Ethical Dilemma | Medium |
| 2. ABC Business School policies | 3 | Ethical Dilemma | Medium |
| 3. Competition between taxi drivers | 3 | Business Decisions | Medium |
| 4. Car Sales | 3 | Business Decisions | Medium |
| 5. Wrongful termination of domestic help | 3 | Ethical Dilemma | Medium |
| 6. HR Caselet – ‘Symbolics’ IT firm | 3 | Business Decisions | Medium |
| 7. Deep Sea Natural Gas Extraction | 3 | Business Decisions | Medium |
In about 50-55 minutes, an attempt of about 11-12 questions with about 75-80% accuracy would be considered to be good.
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (28 questions)
Out of the 28 questions in the section, 15 were on Quantitative Ability, and 13 were on Data Interpretation. In arithmetic, 1 question was on Time Speed Distance, and 2 questions were on profit and loss. In Algebra, 1 question was on polynomials, 3 questions on simultaneous equations and 1 question on Linear equations. In Geometry, both the questions were on the topic of triangles. In Modern Maths, 1 question each from Logarithm, Progressions and PnC appeared.
There were three sets of Data Interpretation with 3 questions each and two sets with two questions each. One set was based on Statistics, one set was based on Cricket match scores, and one set was based on Discount coupons at a shop. As a whole, this section was slightly easier than XAT-2023 based on our XAT analysis 2024.
| Quantitative Ability (15 questions) | ||||
| Easy | Medium | Difficult | Total | |
| Arithmetic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Geometry | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Modern Math | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Algebra | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Numbers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total QA | 5 | 7 | 3 | 15 |
| Data Interpretation (13 questions) | ||||
| Statistics based set | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Average based set | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Algebra | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Algebra | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Set theory | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total DI | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Total QA-DI | 11 | 14 | 3 | 28 |
An attempt of about 18-19 questions (with about 80 % accuracy) in about 55-60 minutes would be considered a good attempt.
Part B: Keyboard Check
Part C
General Knowledge
The 25 GK questions comprised 16 current affairs questions and 9 static GK questions. As usual, the questions covered a wide range of areas and gave no special advantage to specialists in any one area.
To maximize the score in this section, one should have attempted 12-14 questions seriously. Additionally, as there was no negative marking in this section, all the remaining questions should also have been attempted. Our XAT exam analysis suggests that a score of 6 – 7 would be a good score in this section.
Essay Writing
Three topics were provided. The test-taker had to select one topic and write an essay of around 250 words.
The topics for the essay writing task were:
- Tech prediction often fails not because of wrong models or lack of imagination but due to a lack of humility in admitting uncertainty about the future.
- Implementing more stringent restrictions on social media platforms is crucial to effectively combat the proliferation of fake news.
- Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
We’ll keep updating this space as more information and data pour in. Keep following this space to learn more about expected XAT 2024 percentiles and cutoffs.