XAT 2025 in two parts, no essay writing, shorter duration; major changes in exam pattern

NEW DELHI: Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2025 exam pattern has been revised and the duration of the test has been reduced to three hours. As part of the revised pattern, essay writing will now be conducted during the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (PI). The exam will be divided into two parts – part 1 for 170 minutes and part 2 for 10 minutes. XAT 2025 is scheduled to take place on January 5, 2025.

The changes have been introduced as part of the “ongoing efforts to streamline the examination process and enhance the evaluative components that align more closely with the core competencies required for management education and leadership.”

XAT 2025: Major changes

The Analytical Essay Writing (AEW) component will now be conducted during the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD or PI) stages of the selection process. Earlier, it was a part of the exam.

The general knowledge section will now consist of 20 questions instead of 25 including 12 on current affairs and 8 from static GK. This will allow a “balanced evaluation of candidates' awareness of both ongoing events and foundational knowledge.” Notably, the GK score will be exclusively utilized by XLRI Jamshedpur for its final selection process.

XAT 2025 examination will be divided into two different parts. Part one of the exam has been allocated a duration of 170 minutes while part two, solely based on GK, will be of 10 minutes only rendering the exam duration of 180 minutes.

“These modifications are designed to ensure that XAT remains a robust and efficient tool for assessing the potential of candidates seeking admission to our various management programs,” the official notice read.

XAT Exam 2025: Revised exam pattern

The type of questions in each section will be as follows:

• VA and LR : This section will test candidates’ critical and analytical reasoning. The questions will be based on reading comprehensions (including poems and passages), vocabulary, basic English grammar, and other related exercises such as para jumbles and cloze tests.
• DM : This section will present scenarios drawn from both personal and professional lives. Candidates will be required to apply critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and prioritization to make informed decisions.
• QA and DI : The questions in the QA section are primarily formulated around Class 10 mathematics, focusing on application-oriented problems. The questions on DI are about clear interpretation, summarization and insightful analysis of the data.
• GK: This section will focus on static GK and test students’ knowledge of current affairs.