What is the Weightage of Each Section in XAT 2025? Know Here

Overview: The XAT exam 2025 will be conducted on 5th January 2025. Read on to know “What is the weightage of each section in XAT exam” here!

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• This year, the Xavier Aptitude Test significantly changed the XAT paper pattern. 
• This includes removing the essay writing section and changing the number of questions in the GK section from 25 to 20.
• This has also modified the weightage of each section of the XAT 2025 exam.

So, scroll down to know “what is the weightage of each section in XAT 2025 in this blog!

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What is the Weightage of Each Section in XAT 2025

The XAT exam is the second most preferred MBA entrance exam after the CAT exam. However, the difficulty level of the XAT exam vs the CAT exam is quite similar. The only difference is the addition of the section on decision-making.

The XAT 2025 exam duration is also changed from 210 minutes to 180 minutes with no sectional timings. This means you have 180 minutes to complete your examination.

What is the weightage of each section in XAT exam 2025? Each section consists of a certain number of questions that hold some weightage. 

The four major sections with their weightage in the XAT exam are:

XAT Exam Pattern	No. of Questions	Total marks	Good Attempts
PART – A (170 minutes) No Sectional Timing within Part – A
Verbal and Logical Ability	26	26	14-15
Decision Making	21	21	12-13
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation	28	28	19-20
Total	75
PART – B (10 Minutes)
General Awareness	20	20

Read More | How to Calculate XAT score in XAT Exam 

Weightage of Each Section in XAT 2025

Knowing the weightage of each section in XAT exam awareness helps the candidate to make strategies to ace the exam on the first attempt. Each section of the XAT exam holds a particular weightage of questions.

The XAT 2025 question paper will likely have around 95 multiple-choice questions divided into four sections. The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section carries the most weight. Here's a summary of the weightage for each section in the XAT exam:

XAT Exam Sections	XAT Sectional Weightage
Decision Making	20%
VARC	30%
QA and DI	50%

Also Read | XAT Exam Eligibility 2025: Registration & Many more

Let’s understand what is the weightage for each section in XAT exam 2025:

Section 1: Verbal and Logical Ability

The first section is the verbal and logical ability. It consists of 26 questions that are asked from the topics like:

• Vocabulary
• Analogy
• Paragraph Jumbles
• Paragraph completion 
• Critical reasoning 
• Statement-Assumptions

To get a good XAT score, the candidate can attempt around 14-15 questions from this section. 

Download Free VARC Preparation Tips by Supergrads

Section 2: Decision Making

The next section of the XAT exam is decision-making, which analyses the candidate's clarity of thought.

This new section is not asked of any other MBA entrance exam. It consists of 21 questions that ensure the candidates' answers do not contradict each other. The good number of attempts is 13-14 questions to score well in the XAT 2025 exam.

Section 3: Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

The weightage of the third question is around 28 marks. The quantitative ability and data interpretation section is the most challenging and trickiest section of the XAT exam. 

It consists of about 28 questions, and the good attempts are 19-20. The major topics for this section include:

• Percentage
• Time and work
• Profit and loss 
• Equations 
• Number System 
• Clocks 
• Geometry
• Algebra
• Mensuration 
• Venn Diagrams 
• Tables 
• Bar Diagrams 

Section 4: General Knowledge

In the series of knowing “what is the weightage of each section in XAT 2025 exam” the fourth section consists of a general section. 

Early till XAT 2024 consisted of 25 questions, but as per the new XAT exam pattern, the GK section questions were reduced to 20.

Not only this, but the earlier time duration was 20 minutes, but for XAT 2025, it decreased to 10 minutes.

This section is scoring as it asks questions about current events and general awareness. The syllabus is not fixed and can vary from literature to technology, geography, and politics.

Revised XAT 2025 Exam Pattern: Major Changes

XLRI Jamshedpur has made some changes to the XAT exam pattern starting this year. Here’s a simplified overview of the updates:

• Analytical Essay Writing (AEW): This section has been removed from the XAT exam and will now take place during the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD-PI) rounds.
• Exam Duration: The total time for the exam has changed from 210 minutes to 180 minutes.
• Number of Questions: The total number of questions has been reduced from 105 to 95.
• General Knowledge Section: The time allocated for the GK section is now 10 minutes, with the number of questions decreasing from 25 to 20.

Overall, the Essay Writing Test will now be evaluated in the GD-PI rounds instead of during the computer-based test.

Also Read | Best Tips to Prepare XAT Exam 

XAT Exam Pattern 2025: Marking Scheme

After knowing the weightage of each section in XAT 2025, it's good to know about the XAT marking scheme for 2025. 

The recent changes in the XAT exam pattern also led to some modifications to the XAT exam marking scheme.

Till XAT 2024, the total number of questions was 100, but it changed to 95 in XAT 2025.

XAT Questions	XAT Marking Scheme
For every correct response	1
For every incorrect response	-0.25
For every unattempted question	-0.10 per question for 8 unattempted questions

Note*: The general knowledge section of the XAT entrance exam does not carry any negative markings. 

Conclusion

Finally, knowing what is the weightage of each section in XAT 2025 makes you aware of the exam needs and plan for your preparation accordingly. The XAT 2025 exam has come up with some modifications and knowing the weightage of each section will help you ace the exam with good marks.

While the syllabus for XAT is similar to that of CAT, there are unique sections in XAT, such as Decision Making, General Knowledge, and Essay Writing, which require focused preparation. Candidates who are also preparing for other MBA exams should pay special attention to these sections when organizing their study plan for the XAT.