Tips to Crack Verbal Ability and Reading

The XAT exam just like the CAT is an unpredictable exam in the sense that it surprises the test takers every year.
Although both these exams do have a set format , they do have some changes every year which unnerves the student when they take the test.
So let us see how we can gear up for XAT 2014 so that we are in control of our performance during the examination.
The latest trends in the VA-RC section on the basis of XAT 2013 are :

1. The marks for all questions are equal – Earlier the different questions used to carry different marks in the exam, but since last year they are all of equal weightage. So this means that whether you solve a verbal or a comprehension question you will score the same number of marks.
2. The chapters which were included last year and thus which become important for this year are :

a. Reading comprehension – 18 Questions
b. Para Jumbles – 3 Questions
c. Fill in the blanks/Sentence completion – 3 Questions
d. Sentence correction – 3 Questions
e. Logical reasoning -3 Questions
These chapters are a must read before the exam while revising. The grammar portion was more about usage of articles, prepositions and the common usage errors in English. So make sure that you are well prepared for this.

3. The total number of Questions in this section was 30 in XAT 2013, and we expect a similar number this year too.
4. The total time given for the 3 Sections was 140 minutes ,so we can assume that we can easily devote 40 minutes for this section and can easily solve 20 questions correctly which would give us our cut-off for any of the courses in the XLRI or any top institute which accepts the XAT scores.

The XAT exam is an exam of managing your time while answering the paper. Together with this you need to choose your questions wisely so as to minimize errors and maximize your scores with least wastage of time.
Try to focus on accuracy as much as possible , because you really don’t want to lose your hard earned points in negative marking. Yes, negative marking is there and don’t take it lightly.
You need to be really well read with a good command over the language when you go for the XAT exam because, even though the questions seem to be easy, the options are so close that they will confuse you if your command over the language is weak. So, try to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses before you go for the exam.
Revise all the last 10 years XAT papers and practice in the next few days that you have.
Remember you need to solve 18-22 correct questions to clear the cut off for the major institutes depending upon the difficulty level of the paper. If the paper is very difficult, an 18 all correct attempt is good, but if the paper is easy, you may have to increase your number of attempts to 22 to clear the cut off.
Timing, strategy, speed, accuracy and skill are the mantra for the XAT Exam !!!
GO CRACK IT !!!!
ALL THE BEST !!!!!!