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TheXATisdesignedbeautifully.Itismoreholistic(becauseoftheEssayandtheGK)ascomparedtotheCAT.Acandidate
reallyneedstodoa360degreespreparation.
2 .
TheXATisapaperbasedtest,andconductedonasingleday.Thishelpsitretaintheoldworldtouchofacompetitivetest,
withhundredsorthousandsateachtestvenue,unlikethetotallyfizzledoutfeelonegetswhilewritingtheIIMCAT(10or
20peopleinaslotsittinginacomplab).ThecrowdatXATvenuesmakesabigdifferencetoacandidatesmindset,and
perhaps,isinstrumentalinbringingoutthebestinmany.
3 .
TheDecisionMakingsection,whichtrulystandsapartinitsmeritofjudgingwhattesttakersreallybelievein(thevalue
systemsstuff,andcommonsenseetc.)
TalkingofXAT2013
Theymodifiedthepatternonceagain,andremovedallthedifferentialscoringacrosssections.Thismusthavemadethingsalot
easierwhilestrategizingatthebeginningofthetest.Sinceallquestionscarryequalmarks,theSSSStechniquecanbeapplied
directlyScanandSearchfortherelativelyeasyones,Selectthem(andmarkwithapenorpencil),andSolvethem.Doitasecond
timeforthesecondroundoftougherquestions.Andsoon.
TheXAT2013wasintwoparts:
Part1AptitudeTest140minutescoveredthreesections:VerbalandLogicalAbility,Decisionmaking,QuantitativeAbilityand
DataInterpretation
Part2GeneralKnowledgeandtheEssay.
SeparateOMRsheetswereprovidedforboththestages,somaybethescoreswillbeusedseparately.Nosuretythough!
FIRSTPART
APTITUDETEST
SectionA.VerbalandLogicalAbility(30questions12EU/VA,18RC)
Difficultylevel:Tough.
Wasabrilliantlydesignedsetofquestionsthatcheckedthreeskills:
1 .
Areyouaregular,seriousreaderinEnglishlanguage?
2 .
Doyoupayattentiontothesmallthingsthatmatter?
3 .
Doyouthinkandanalysefactsandfigureswhenyouread,andhaveyouropinion?
The12questionsinEnglishUsage/Verbalweredesignedwithalotofthought.
Thefillintheblankquestionswerequitetricky.Withfiveblanksineachquestion,mostlybasedonarticles(a,an,the),onlythose
withamplereadingpracticecouldhaveattemptedthemsafely!Questionsbasedongrammarandparajumbleswerestraightforward,
butindeedrequiredhigherthannormallanguageskills,forsure!Reasoningquestionsweretough.
TheRCpassagesfourinnumberwerefromthemesasdiverseasthelawsofKarma,Scientificmeasurementandestimation
systems,Freemarketcapitalism,andScientificbeliefsandverification/falsification.Asonecansee,thesearenoteasythemes
thatanyonecanattemptofftheshelf.TheXATrepeatedlyremindsitscandidatesthatifyouhavenotbeenseriouswithlearning
thelanguageoverseveralyears,youwontgetthroughtheportalseasily.InseveralquestionsinRC,theuseofwordslikeimplies
thatandarguablyetc.madethingsmoredifficultaspersonalinterpretationcomesintoplay.Inall,18questionsinRCgavethe
seriousreaderagoodchancetosurgeahead.
Youshouldgetatleast1012correctinthissectiontostandafairchanceatXLRI.Cutofftablegivenattheend
also.
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
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SectionB.DecisionMaking(25questions)
Difficultylevel:Moderatetotough.
Howdoesamanagerorbusinessleaderworkinreallife?Withallfactsathis/herdisposal?Orwithhalffactsandhalftruths?More
likely,thelatterversionreflectstherealworldssubjectivereality.AndtheDecisionMakingsectionofXATpreciselychecksthis
nuancedabilitytolookbetweenthelines(yes,yes,readalsowilldo),andgobeyondtheobvious.AlittlebitofGK,alittletouch
ofcommonsense,somemaths,andalotofluckissurelyagoodcombinationtocrackmostoftheDMquestions.
Asexpected,thequestionsforcedthestudentstotrymakingpracticaldecisionsorchartaspecificcourseofaction.Thesection
thisyearhadagoodnumberofmathematicalquestionstoo.Manyquestionsreflectedthehappeningsinourcorporateand
nationallife,inrecenttimes.Sothatmadeitslightlyeasytoputaquestionincontext.CommonsensequestionsliketheBankof
Bharatlosingcustomersyetimprovingitssharepricecheckastudentspresenceofmind,andreadingspan(ET,etc.).Questions
onprobabilitywereinterestingandnoteasy.Somequestionswereverylengthy,makingthemunwieldy.TheseweretheRCtype
cases/caselets,againreinforcingthebeliefthatXATreallywantsyoutobegoodatreadingspeedandcomprehension(ok,ok,
thatsthelasttimewesayit).
Youshouldgetatleast810correctinthissectiontostandafairchanceatXLRI.Cutofftablegivenattheendalso.
SectionC.QuantitativeAbilityandDataInterpretation(36questions)
Difficultylevel:Easytomoderate.
ThiswastheeasiestofthethreesectionsinAptitudetest.IfyouhavepreparedfortheCATthoroughly,thenthissectionwasvery
doable.ThetopicswereallstandardArithmetic,Geometry,Statistics,Numbersystem,Algebra,P&CandProbability,Settheory,
andofcourse,DIcaselets.Itisimportanttousetheeliminationofoptionstechniquetoimproveyourchances.Thisissomething
wehavestresseduponinallourPercentileBoosterSessionsalso.
Thegoodpartinthissectionwasthatidentifyingthespeedbreakerswaseasy.Theyshouldhavebeenreallyavoided.Spotting
theeasyonesandattemptingtheminthefirstroundisveryimportant.Itbuildyourconfidenceasyoumovethroughthesection.
TheDIquestionslookedlongandcomplex,butwereeasyifthegraphsweredecipheredwithsomeeffort.
Youshouldgetatleast15correctinthissectiontostandafairchanceatXLRI.Cutofftablegivenattheendalso.
SECONDPART
GKANDESSAYTEST
GeneralAwareness/GK/CurrentAffairs
Difficultylevel:Moderate.
Theexamineristryingtojudgethefollowingthings:AreyoureallyawareofwhatthecorporateworldinIndiaisupto?Doyouhave
ideaofthescaleandscopeofwhatcorporateandorganizationsdo?DoyouknowthatthereisaworldgatheringcalledWEF?Do
yourealizethatbigcompaniesarelistedinarankingcalledFortune500?Areyougenerallyawareofthematerialandsocial
challengesthatpolicymakersface?DoyouknowwhatGDPreallymeans,andhowitisbrokenupinto3majorcomponents?Areyou
awareofthemajorabbreviationsandacronymsinusepresently?Areyouintheloopregardingmajorpoliticalandsocioeconomic
movementsinIndia,andaroundtheworld?Ifyouareaskedtowritethetop10sociopoliticaleconomicheadlinesoftheworld,will
youbeabletodoitcorrectly?
Theoptionswereverycloseinmanyquestions.Thestudentshouldhaveverycarefullyeliminatedsomechoicesbeforegoingto
therightones.Cautionaquestionmaylookeasy,butthecloselyplacedoptionsmaymakeansweringquitedifficult.Hencetake
anextratensecondsbeforejumpingtoconclusions.
Thequestionsclearlyprovethatyouneedtopreparefor12monthspriortotheexam,withadailyreadingofatleasttwoEnglish
newspapers,underexpertsupervision.Wearehappytosharethatalmost100%ofthequestionsthatappearedinXAT2013GK
sectionweredirectlydiscussedinPTclasseswithlotsofexamplesandexplanation.Allthesewerealsouploadedthroughvideos
insidethePTSRC.TherigourwithwhichPThascoveredtheGKsectionisabsolutelyunmatched.
ThetipsforstudentstargetingXAT2014:
1 . StartreadingTheEconomicTimes,andTheHindurightfromtoday(1hreach)
2 . Tryreadingatleast1businessmagazineregularly.
3 . AttendtheentireLTSseriesofPTtotal8lecturesforgettingasolidgriponmajortopics
4 . BeregularwiththeGKCAsessionsatPTalsorevisebywatchingthevideosonSRC
5 . SolveallthetestsintheSRCputinsidetheGKCAbuilder
6 . Attendalltestspecificrevisionsessions
Rememberstudents:Thereisnoalternativetoregularreadingofnewspapers,andregularmentoringbyaprofessionallydesigned
courseandsystem.
Youshouldgetatleast20correctinthissectiontostandafairchanceatXLRI.Cutofftablegivenattheendalso.
(2)of(9)
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
The Essay
CorruptionistherootcauseofeconomicslowdowninIndia200wordsonlyplease:)
Whilethetopiclooksprettydirectandsimple,writingameaningfulessayonitwillbefarfromanythingsimple.Areallygoodeffort
shouldincludethefollowingideas:
DefinitionofwhatCorruptionreallymeans(deviationfromsetpolicies,personalgreed,MahatmaGandhisfamousquote,
etc.)
Definitionofwhateconomicgrowthratemeans(GDPgrowthrate,qualityofliving,purchasingpower,etc.)
Arethetworeallyconnecteddirectlyandindirectly?
WhatdoesgrowthratemeantoanaverageIndiancitizen?
Isthereanyconnectionbetweeninflation,growthrate,andqualityofdaytodaylife?
Examples of leading nations Scandinavian nations, the US, Singapore, Japan, China to probe the relation between
CorruptionandGrowthRatefurther
Citingtherecentexamplestoillustratehowpolicymakingandbigbusinessmaycolludeattimes,atleastintheeyesofthe
mediaandNGOs
RoleofMediainexposingsuchpracticesdoesthatslowthingsdownfurther?
Roleofanactivejudiciaryandcivilsocietyinexposingandtakingactiononsuchnewsdoesthatfurtherslowthingsdown?
Afearpsychosisgrippingthebureaucracyleadingtopolicyparalysis
Isbigbusinessandbigdecisionmakingreally,inherentlycorruptionprone?
Whatarethedifferencesincorruptpracticesbetweenthecentreandstatelevelbodies?
Howdotheanticorruptionbodiesworktheworldover?WhataboutIndiasCAG,CVCetc.?
Yoursuggestionstoimprovethesystem(insyncwithyouroveralltoneintheessay)
Asageneralrule,youshouldmakeagoodstartadramaticquoteisalwaysappreciated.Similarly,youshouldendonagoodnote,
withasolution,andahintofoptimism.
Asyoucansee,thetopiclookseasy,butthequalityofwrittenwordwillvarysignificantly.AtPT,wetriedtocoverallthese
conceptsatagreatlengthinourclasses.Wearesuremanyofourstudentsmusthavepiecedtogethertheideasattherighttime.
Connectingthedots,aswecallit!
OVERALL,adifficulttest,beautifullydesigned,andrequiringthebestofeachcandidate.Pleasegothroughthe
restoftheanalysis,andPredictedCutOffs,andandAnswerKeysbelow.
CUTOFFS
Seetableattheend.
AllthebestKarkedikhayenge!
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
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OBJECTIVEANALYSIS
Wepresenthereanobjectiveanalysisof XavierAptitudeTest(XAT) heldonJanuary06,2013in43cities
acrossIndiaand2Internationallocations,Dubai,Kathmandu.
XAT2013concentratedoncheckingthereadingskillsofstudents.Theverbalabilitysection,decisionmaking
section,essaywritingandthenewlyintroducedgeneralawarenesssectionbearatestimonytothat.
Manychangeswereintroducedthisyear.
First,differentialmarkingwasnotthere,i.e.,allquestionscarriedequalmarksandthetotalnumberofquestions
increasedfrom85to91inpartA.So,forastudent,selectionbecameaveryimportantfactor.
Second,inthesecondpartofthepaper,30questionsofgeneralawarenesswereintoduced.
TheDecisionMakingSectionhadveryfewquestionsfromAnalyticalReasoningandthiswasthetrickiestsection.
TheEnglishLanguageAbilityandLogicalReasoningsectionwasofmoderatedifficultylevelandtheQuantitative
Abilitysectionwasmanageableandeasyascomparedtolastyear.ThetopicforEssaywritingwasverygeneral.
OnehadtomarktheanswersontheOMRsheetwithapenunlikesomeotherexams,wherethemediumof
markingispencil.Sotherewasnochanceofchanginganansweratthelastmoment.Thiswasdangerousforthe
lesspreparedorfortheonesinajiffy!
Thus,thepaperwasfullofsurprises,whichcametolightsectionbysectionin3hrs.
Sections
Questions
VerbalandLo gicalAbility
30
DecisionMaking
25
QuantitativeAbilityandDataInterpretation
36
GeneralAwareness
30
B
Essay
Total
(4)of(9)
121
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
Topic
No.of Questions
DifficultyLevel
LogicalReasoning
Moderate
Grammar
Easy
ParraJumbles
Easy
ReadingComprehension
18
ModeratetoDifficult
Total
30
Moderate
Decision Making
This section was of higher difficulty level. The questions required the skill of prudent and speedy judgement.
A score of 8+ can be considered good in this section.
Topic
No.of Questions
DifficultyLevel
Arithmetic
Easy
Geometry
EasytoModerate
Statistics
Easy
Numbers
Moderate
Algebra
Easy
PandCandProbability
Moderate
DI
13
EasytoModerate
SetTheory
Moderate
Total
36
Easy
(5)of(9)
EstimatedCutoffs
Sections
Topic
XLRIBM
XLRI
PMandIR
XIMB
VAandLA
10+
8+
7+
II
DM
8+
6+
5+
III
QAandDI
15+
13+
12+
Total
35+
30+
27+
~Kar ke Dikhayenge~
(6)of(9)
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
ANSWERKEY
Q.No.
Question
C orrect
option
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
VerbalandLogicalAbility
Whetherduetohasteordesign..
Ifthereisanyendeavourwhose ..
Businessschoolsareideallypositioned..
..wolf,meetingwith..
batwhofellupon..
Hegot..nextmorning ..
Tobeagreatmanagerrequires..
ThetremendousinsightofEinstein..
Economictheoryfailsto explain..
Iwasscarcelyinposition..
Finallyhetookawrongturn ..
Aschro niclersofanincrementalprocess..
"Futureexistences"inthe..
Assertion:Themeaningofkarma ..
Highersatisfactio nleads..
Temporaryfeelingsand..
Amanagerwentoutothave..
Supposeyouapplythesamelogic..
Quickestimate,asperFermi, ..
Givenbelowaresomestatements..
Atomicbombdetonationwasaresult..
Aspertheparagraph,authorbelieves..
Aspertheparagraph,whichofthefollowing..
Accordingtotheauthor,A.GeorgeSoros..
AccordingtotheauthorA.Ideasofcritical..
Theworddeterministic.
AccordingtoPopper .
Thestatement,"this'asymmetry'.
Verificationisbetterthan.
Falsificationgivesusan.
DecisionMaking
E
B
C
A
D
B
B
B
D
B
C
E
D
A
C
D
C
A
D
D
E
B
D
C
E
D
D
E
D
A
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Overthelastfive..
Gastricbypasssurgery ..
StatementI:Onlinestoreaccounted..
Whatistheprofit/loss..
Whichretailformatis..
Whichretailformatgivesthe ..
Isitpossiblefortheteacher..
Threegoodstudentswere..
Studentsfromfoursections..
Thereisalotofinterestin..
C
A
C
D
B
A
C
C
E
A
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
(7)of(9)
Q.No.
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
(8)of(9)
Question
MaratheshouldtransferKale ..
Marathesoughtanappointment..
AGovernmentofIndiastudy..
Vardarajandoesno tfindthework..
GiveVardarajanamorechallenging..
Youoverheardaconversation..
People'slatentangeragainst..
Thecommonmanhadbecome..
Mediareportssuggested..
Subsequently,theminister..
Lookingatthepublicunrest..
IfyouwereVijya ..
Itwasfoundthatalargesection..
Asapotentialentrant ..
Vijyafoundthatthereweremanysuch..
QuantitativeAbilityandDataInterpretation
Prof.Mandalwalkstothe..
Atthecentreofacity's..
Mr.Mehraisplanning..
Themeanofsixpositive..
Rameshboughtatotalof ..
SarahasjustjoinedFacebook..
Albela,BobandChulbul..
ThetaxisplayinnginWasseypur..
Considertheexpression..
Arunhastotogotothe..
However,Arun'smanagerhastold ..
Theradiusofacircle..
Sixplayingcardsare..
70%ofthestuden ts ..
pandqarepositivenumbers..
Ram,ShyamandHari..
Thecentralparkofthecity ..
InasquarePQRS..
Howmanywholenumber..
p,qandr..
Anumberisinteresting..
Considertheexpression(xxx)b..
103and7aretheonly..
Considerafunctionf(x)..
Inthecountryoffo ur..
Thefigurebelowshowsthegraph..
Consideringawaymatchesonlywhichofthefollowingteams..
Consideringawaymatchesonlytheleastnumberofteams..
C orrect
option
A
E
A
E
C
B
B
C
E
B
E
E
D
B
D
D
A
E
D
E
B
A
C
E
B
E
A
E
B
D
A
A
C
B
C
E
E
C
D
B
C
D
D
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
Q.No.
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
Question
Letusdefineaterm ..
Howmanyuniquevalues..
WhichisthefastesttrainbetweenHHH ..
WhichisthefastesttrainbetweenAAA..
IfyouhavetotravelfromAAA..
Whatistheratioofthecurrent..
Exportsweremore..
Whatwastheapproximate..
GeneralAwareness
1
WhichofthefollowingIndiancompanies.
2
Whichofthesebodies .
3
CPIandWPI .
4
WhatisDavosfamous.
5
Whichofthefollo wingsaremillenium.
6
WhichofcountriesinEurope.
7
Whichofthefollowingco untrieswouldaccount.
8
Whichofthefollo wingwasnotthereason.
9
Whichoffollowingscombination.
10
Earthsummitisheld..
11
Whichofthefollowingcountriesmeetmore..
12
Picktherightmatchfrom.
13
HarishHandewho won .
14
Indiangovernmentisplanning
15
Whoisthechairmanof.
16
Givenbelowareso mewellknownawards
17
Afewcombinationsofnameofthecompanies.
18
Excisedutyisatax.
19
Fromwhichofthefollowingitems.
20
Whichofthefollowingassets
21
Whichofthefollowingistherightmatchfor.
22
WhichofthefollowingAfricancountries.
23
Whichofthefollowingeducationinstitutions
24
Whichcountrywasthehighest .
25
Whatistheapproximateshare..
26
Whichofthefollowingcombinations ..
27
Forwhichofthefollowingreasons
28
Whatisthemeaningo foneunit
29
Whoistheauthorof ..
30
VKurienwas.
*Noneo ftheoptionsiscorrect
IC : PTpnrXAT2013
C orrect
option
A
B
D
A
D
E
C
A
A
A
C
D
E
D
B
E
A
B
B
A
E
E
C
E
B
D
D
C
*
A
E
E
D
A
C
C
B
A
(9)of(9)