XAT Books: Check best books for XAT 2025 exam preparation

XAT syllabus includes all important topics related to Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and General Knowledge. You can check below subject wise important topics included in the XAT syllabus. Majority of the questions are asked from these topics.

XAT Verbal and Logical Ability syllabus: Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Analogy, Antonym/Synonym, Parajumble, Para Completion, Grammar, Critical Reasoning, Series Completion, Fill in the Blanks, etc.

XAT Decision Making syllabus: Data Arrangement, Conditioning, Grouping, Complex Arrangement, Caselets, Assumptions, Premises, Conclusions, etc.

XAT Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation syllabus: Arithmetic, Geometry, Mensuration, Percentage, Surds and Indices, Algebra, Mensuration, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Tables, Data Interpretation, etc.

XAT General Knowledge syllabus: Science, Economy, Business, Politics, Static GK, Sports, Prize and Award, World, Government, Constitution of India, etc.

If you are planning to appear for the XAT exam by self study, you must start early as the syllabus is vast and tough. To cover the XAT syllabus by self study, candidates must refer to the books recommended for XAT preparation. You can take help from the following books to cover the XAT syllabus but do join a study forum to get help from mentors and peers when need be:

• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests for Admission into IIMs by Sarvesh K Verma
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
• Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha/Arihant
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• Objective General English by Dr RS Agarwal and Vikas Agarwal
• High School English Grammar by Wren & Martin
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha
• Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
• How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma

Yes, solving XAT question paper is of immense help in exam preparation as one can get an idea of the exam pattern, difficulty level of the questions, and learn time management. The XAT question papers of previous years also give you an idea of what type of questions (Reading Comprehension passages and poem) are asked in XAT. In fact, preparation of Decision Making section is totally dependent on XAT question papers. XAT question papers of previous years also act as practice test providing you with the opportunity to master speed and time management.

Candidates must solve previous years’ XAT questions paper of at least last five years, so that they are aware of the latest type of questions especially poem, RC passages and Decision Making passages.

It depends upon each candidate which section of XAT exam paper they find lengthy. It also depends on the questions chosen for the exam in that particular year. However, it has been seen that Data Interpretation questions are usually lengthy. Overall, the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section has the maximum number of questions i.e. 28 and candidates have to solve at least 22-24 questions to meet the desired cut off. So, this section may appear lengthy to the candidate. 

To some candidates, the Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section appears to be lengthy, because of dense reading comprehension passages and reasoning questions based on analogy, series, etc. The fact that both these sections are from the Part 1 of the XAT exam which is of 175 minutes makes it manageable as along with Decision Making, one can solve a decent number of QA-DI and VA-LR questions in 175 minutes.

Since Decision Making section is unique to XAT, study material for the same in not readily available. Thus the best source of preparation material for Decision Making section is XAT previous years’ question papers. This section has passages related to business situations. Candidates have to select the closest solution to the given situation from the list of four options. You have to make an informed decision regarding the decision which has be in favour of the larger good. This section essentially tests your ability to take objective decisions regarding various business situations and activities. Candidates can practice Decision Making questions from XAT question papers of previous years to know the types and difficulty level. In a way, this section is similar to Reading Comprehension and requires same skills as that.

Ideally, XAT preparation takes six to nine months, but if candidates have prepared for CAT too, XAT preparation can be done in lesser time as one will have to only work on Decision Making and General Knowledge topics. Those who are weak in English Comprehension must start reading practice early on. The ideal time to start XAT preparation is May, so you can cover the whole syllabus by October and dedicate two months to mock test practice.

If you start studying for XAT late, by July or so, make sure you complete the syllabus by October only. Remember that XAT syllabus is tough, so you’ll need to study at least 6-8 hours daily from start until the end. Give ample time to yourself to complete the XAT syllabus.

There is no set time limit to prepare for XAT exam, but you need a minimum of six months for preparation. Ideally candidates need to start XAT preparation by April, however, if they start by June or July too, they can complete the syllabus within time and have ample time for practice of sample papers and mock tests. In order to utilize six months that you have for XAT preparation, do the following:

• Make monthly, weekly and daily time tables to study and don’t deviate from that routine.
• Start with subjects which you are your weak spots. We suggest start with studying Quantitative Aptitude and English.
• For Reading Comprehension, read editorials of newspapers and magazines every day. Read fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, etc. for strengthening English vocabulary and comprehension.
• Download MBA exam preparation apps on your phone so that you can revise topics, solve reasoning or English puzzles anywhere when you get time.

In XAT, Reading Comprehension passages are usually taken from Philosophy, Psychology, History, Art, research articles. Sometime, the XAT RC section also has poems. These areas are chosen to test the candidates, who are largely Science, Commerce and Engineering graduates, on their ability to come out of their comfort zone and adapt to unfamiliar situations. Out of 26 questions, about 14-16 questions are based on RC passages or a poem. Candidates must target solving about 10 questions accurately to score well. XAT has negative marking so do not mark an option as your answer if you are not 100 percent sure of it.

The General Knowledge section of XAT 2025 will have 20 questions, each carrying one mark. Students are advised to attempt the General Knowledge section in 10 minutes as that is the time limit given for it. Since the questions are memory based, it will not take more time than that to solve the questions. For more information, you may visit the Shiksha Xavier Aptitude Test exam syllabus page. (https://www.shiksha.com/mba/xat-exam-syllabus). I hope this will help you.

There are several books available for the Decision Making section of XAT. Here are some of the best books that you can refer to for XAT 2025: 1) XAT Decision Making Simplified by Nishit K. Sinha: This book is written by one of the renowned XAT trainers and provides a comprehensive understanding of the Decision Making section. It includes various examples, case studies, and practice questions. 2)How to Prepare for Decision Making for XAT by IMS Learning Resources: This book provides a detailed analysis of the Decision Making section and includes numerous practice questions with explanations. 3) Koncepts of Logical Reasoning for CAT XAT. And Other MBA Examinations by Gajendra Kumar and Abhishek Banerjee: This book is an excellent resource for developing logical reasoning skills, which are essential for the Decision Making section. 4)Decision Making for MBA Entrance Exams by T. I. M.E: This book provides a conceptual understanding of the Decision Making section and includes practice questions with detailed solutions. 5) Wiley's ExamXpert XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) by Wiley India: This book includes a section on Decision Making and provides practice questions along with detailed solutions. In addition to these books, you can also refer to previous year XAT papers to get a better understanding of the types of questions asked in the Decision Making section.

XAT exam is more Quantitative Ability and Verbal and Logical Ability based. Which is why these two sections have more weightage than rest of the section. And between these two, Quantitative Ability has more weightage. In terms of marks too, the Quantitative Ability has maximum weightage, i.e. 28 marks, followed by Verbal and Logical Ability with 26 marks, General Knowledge carries 25 marks and Decision Making carries 22 marks.

A candidate should practice at least 35 to 40 XAT mock tests during the entire preparation period. The mock tests should be of different varieties and various difficulty levels. Candidates should ideally start practicing XAT mock tests after completing the syllabus. They should start with easy mock tests, then move to moderate mock tests and then to tough mock tests. The motive should be to score above 98 percentile in the high difficulty level XAT mock test by the time the exam day arrives.

In the last two weeks before the XAT exam, candidates must practice at least five mock tests and analyse their performance. It is most likely that by the end of the exam preparation, candidates will be scoring 98 plus percentile in the mock tests. If that happens, they must be rest assured of surpassing that score in the actual exam.

XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) and CAT (Common Admission Test) are both popular management entrance exams in India. Both exams are known for their high level of difficulty and are considered challenging to crack. In terms of difficulty, it is difficult to compare XAT and CAT as both exams have their own unique characteristics.

However, XAT is considered to be more challenging than CAT in certain aspects such as:

1) Exam Pattern: XAT has a more varied exam pattern as compared to CAT. XAT has an additional section of General Knowledge, Essay Writing, and decision-making which requires a different skill set as compared to CAT.

2)Time Management: XAT has a higher number of questions as compared to CAT. And the time allotted for the exam is also relatively less. This makes time management a critical aspect for XAT aspirants.

3) Verbal Ability: XAT has a stronger focus on Verbal Ability as compared to CAT. The Reading Comprehension passages in XAT are usually longer and more complex than CAT. Which makes it more challenging. However, it is important to note that the level of difficulty of these exams varies from year to year, and it ultimately depends on the individuals preparation and skill set.

Yes, XAT is slightly tougher for candidates with non-Engineering background as the Quantitative Aptitude section is of higher difficulty level. However, they can crack it if they work on the fundamentals of Math and practice questions of all difficulty levels. It will take time but they will be able to crack XAT's quant section if they dedicate extra hours to it. Aspirants can find XAT study material online in various online study groups. Students’ groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. share study material with each other. One can also download MBA exam preparation apps to get relevant and useful study material.

The good part about XAT is that, it has different cut offs for candidates belonging to different academic backgrounds. As part of its commitment to academic diversity, the institute has lower cut offs for candidates from non-engineering background than candidates from engineering background.