The XAT Exam Pattern 2025 has been released, introducing key changes to the test structure. Notably, the Essay Writing section has been removed, and the number of questions in the General Knowledge section has been reduced. The exam duration has also been shortened from 210 minutes to 180 minutes.
According to the updated XAT Exam Pattern 2025, the exam will be divided into two parts. The first part, lasting 170 minutes, will include sections on Decision-making, Verbal & Logical Ability, and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation. The second part, 10 minutes long, will consist of the General Knowledge section. Candidates with disabilities (PwD) will receive an extra 20 minutes for each part.
Each section of XAT 2025 will contain 20-28 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), with five answer options for each question. While the score from the General Knowledge section will be considered during the final selection process, it will not contribute to the XAT 2025 result. For more details, read about the XAT Exam Pattern 2025 below.
The XAT administration has implemented notable changes to the XAT exam pattern 2025:
The following table outlines the key details of the XAT Exam Pattern 2025 for your reference:
XAT Exam Structure | Details |
XAT time limit | 3 hours and 30 minutes (210 minutes) |
Mode of examination | Online |
Number of answer choices | Five |
Number of questions | 105 |
Number of sections | 5 |
Total marks | 105 |
XAT Marking Scheme 2025 | +1 mark for correct answer -0.25 marks for incorrect answer -0.10 marks for more than 8 consecutive un-attempted questions No negative marking in the GK section |
The XAT entrance exam features a variable distribution of questions across different sections, meaning that some sections contain more questions than others.
The table below shows the section-wise distribution of questions for the XAT exam:
Section | Number of Questions |
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA-DI) | 28 |
Verbal & Logical Ability (VARC) | 26 |
Decision Making (DM) | 21 |
General Knowledge (GK) | 20 |
The XAT exam 2025 marking scheme has unique aspects that differentiate it from other tests. Notably, there is no negative marking for questions in the General Knowledge section. However, for other sections, there is a penalty of 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer.
Additionally, if more than eight questions are left unanswered, a penalty of 0.10 marks per question applies. Here's a summary of the marking scheme:
The section-wise exam duration for XAT is outlined below. Understanding the overall and sectional time limits will assist candidates in managing their time effectively for both parts of the exam.
The XAT 2025 exam will have a total duration of 3 hours, with Part I lasting 170 minutes and Part II lasting 10 minutes. In Part I, the VALR, QADI, and DM sections will not have any specific sectional time limits.
Candidates with disabilities (PwD) will be granted an additional 20 minutes per hour. As a result, they will receive 55 extra minutes for Part I and 5 extra minutes for Part II of the XAT exam.
Part 1 | ||
Section | Overall & Sectional Exam Duration | Overall & Sectional Exam Duration for PwD candidates |
Verbal & Logical Ability | No Sectional Time Limit | No Sectional Time Limit |
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation | No Sectional Time Limit | No Sectional Time Limit |
Decision Making | No Sectional Time Limit | No Sectional Time Limit |
Overall Part 1 | 210 minutes | 210 minutes |
Part 2 | ||
General Knowledge | No Sectional Time Limit | No Sectional Time Limit |
Essay Writing | No Sectional Time Limit | No Sectional Time Limit |
Overall Part 2 | 35 minutes | 35 minutes |
Up until XAT 2021, the exam consisted of four sections: Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VA & LR), Decision Making (DM), Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA & DI), and General Knowledge (GK). However, in XAT 2022, a revision to the exam pattern introduced a new section called Analytical Essay Writing (AEW). Following this change, the XAT question paper has remained largely unchanged.
Exam Year | VARC | DM | QA & DI | GK | Essay | Total Questions |
XAT 2024 | 26 | 21 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 101 |
XAT 2023 | 26 | 22 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 102 |
XAT 2022 | 26 | 21 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 101 |
XAT 2021 | 26 | 22 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 102 |
XAT 2020 | 26 | 22 | 28 | 25 | - | 101 |
The XAT exam is divided into three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. It includes a total of 101 questions and has a duration of 3 hours and 30 minutes. For each correct answer, you receive one mark, and one mark is deducted for each incorrect answer.
No, the XAT 2025 exam will not include an Essay Writing section. The Essay Writing component was removed starting with XAT 2025 and has been integrated into the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD/PI) stages of the XLRI selection process.
The GK section is now 20 questions, down from 25. It includes 12 questions on current affairs and 8 on static GK. GK scores are used by XLRI Jamshedpur for final selection but not in the overall XAT score.
The XAT 2025 exam lasts 180 minutes. It’s split into two parts: Part 1 (170 minutes) covers Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; Part 2 (10 minutes) focuses on General Knowledge.
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