XAT Syllabus 2025: Download Section-wise XAT Exam Syllabus PDF!
What is XAT?
XAT is a National Entrance Exam for MBA and PGDM program admissions. XAT stands for Xavier Aptitude Test which is conducted by Xavier Labour Relations Institute(XLRI) in Jamshedpur, India. The score of the exam is considered by most of the top colleges like XLRI, IMT, XIMB, TAPMI, SPJIMR and many more B-Schools as the eligibility criteria for the admission. The exam syllabus covers topics such as Verbal and Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretations, Decision Making and General Knowledge.
The eligibility criteria for appearing for XAT are:
- No age limit
- Candidates with Bachelor's Degree in any discipline with aggregate of 60% marks from a recognised university and approved by AICTE.
- Candidates appearing for final semester exams can also apply for exam
- Candidates waiting for final results can also apply for the exam.
XAT Syllabus 2025: Highlights:
The XAT curriculum has four sections which involves Quantitative Aptitude(QA) & Data Interpretation(DI), Verbal & Logical Ability, Decision Making(DM), General Knowledge(GK). All the questions are Multiple Choice Questions(MCQ), each carrying one mark. The duration of the exam is 180 minutes.
| Number of Sections |
4 |
| Duration of Examination |
3 hours(180 minutes) |
| Number of questions |
100 |
| Total marks |
100 |
| Language of Paper |
English |
| Mode of Examination |
Online mode |
XAT Scheme of Evaluation: each question carries 5 Options
One marks for one right answer
-0.25 marks for each wrong answer
-0.10 marks for 8 consecutive unattempted question
Note: No negative marking for General Knowledge questions.
Section-wise XAT Syllabus 2025
What is the XAT Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI)?
The XAT exam syllabus is quite interesting and fun to prepare for. Students preparing have to never fear for the exam in the first place. The candidates with habit of playing with numbers and geometrical figures enjoy decoding questions in this section.The topics for Quantitative Aptitude(QA) & Data Interpretation(DI) are given as follows:
| Profit & Loss |
Probability |
| Ratio & Proportion |
Surds & Indices |
| Critical Path |
Inequalities |
| Variations |
Average & Partnerships |
| Logarithms |
Time & Work |
| Allegations & Mixtures |
Numbers |
| Time, Speed & Distance |
Algebra |
| Mensuration |
HCF & LCM |
| Simple & Compound Interest |
Geometry |
| Pure Math |
Venn Diagram |
| Trigonometry |
Data Tables |
| Graphs |
Pie Charts, |
| Data Charts & Data Analysis |
Bar Diagram |
Total marks for this section = 28
Number of questions=28
Each question carries one mark. The topics of Quantitative & Data Interpretations are simple to prepare once you revise senior school Mathematics topics.
Recommended books:
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exam- R.S Aggarwal
Quantitative Aptitude Simplified for XAT- Deepak Aggarwal
Concepts and numbers for XAT and other Aptitude Exams(old Edition)- Gajendra Kumar
What is the XAT Syllabus for Verbal & Logical Ability?
The Verbal & Logical Ability is about testing Students language Proficiency. Students good in English Vocabulary And Grammar find this section interesting. The common topics covered in here involves:
| Reading Comprehension |
Fill in the Blanks |
Antonyms/ Synonyms |
| Jumbled Paragraphs |
Contextual Usage of Vocabulary |
Correction of errors in the sentence |
| Word Usage |
Sentence completion |
Paragraph Completion |
The Marks allotted for this section=26
Number Of Questions =26
The students can find this section simple and easy as the language is well versed from an early age of education. Students can go back to the senior High school books for references.
Books Recommended:
Verbal and Comprehension for XAT by Bharat Patodi
MBA(XAT, IIFT, NMAT, SNAP, CMAT) by Gautam Puri
A Modern Approach for Logical Reasoning by R S Aggarwal
What is the XAT Syllabus for Decision Making (DM)?
Decision Making is a very complicated yet interesting subject.The candidates good in Aptitude Skills will definitely enjoy this section. The Aptitude- based questions certainly appear in this part to check the intellectual ability of the student. The topics student has to concentrate for exam are as follows:
| Analytical Reasoning |
Logical reasoning |
Complex Arrangement |
| Data Arrangement |
Caselets |
Conditions & Grouping |
| Situations |
Assumptions |
Decision Making |
Total Marks Allotted: 21
Total Questions: 21
The topics are tricky but being in a competitive world you should learn to accept challenges. To prepare for this section the student has to have good observational, logical and reasoning skills.
What is the XAT Syllabus for General Knowledge (GK)?
The General Knowledge(GK) is a general topic which is preferred by all the competitive exams. This section deals with current affairs, Past events, environmental studies, geography, Science, Medicine, Engineering , economy, politics and many more real world general topics of the world. The student must have knowledge about great achievements and innovations of great people all over the world in various fields The topics to be focused for exam are as follows:
- History & Geography
- Awards & Winners
- Business & Politics
- Static GK
- Constitution of India
- Personalities
- Government & Economy
- World Events
- Current Affairs
- Sports
- National & International Events etc.
Number of Marks Allotted: 25
Number of Questions:25
The students with reading ability and interest in fields like sports, politics, geography, history, economics and so on find this section enjoyable. Newspaper reading and keeping track of Events In and out of the country will make this section easy to decode.
The books such as General Knowledge By Arihant
IIFT & XAT (GK Compendium) by Career Launcher
XAT solved Papers 2008-2022 by Career Launcher are recommended.
FAQs on XAT Syllabus 2025
- What is the question format for the XAT exam?
XAT exam has 100 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) with 1 descriptive essay writing question format.
- Are there any negative markings in the XAT exam?
Yes , -0.25 marks deducted for each wrong answer, -0.10 marks deducted for unattempted answer.
- What are the XAT exam marks?
XAT exam is for 100 marks.
- How many sections are there in the XAT Exam?
XAt exam Paper is divided into four sections.
