XAT Question Paper PDFs: Download Previous Year Papers with Answers (2024-2017)

As per the latest XAT exam pattern, there will be 95 questions in XAT 2025 in MCQ format.

• Verbal Ability section of XAT will have 26 questions
• Decision Making section of XAT will have 21 questions
• Quantitative Ability section will have 28 questions
• GK section will have 20 questions

There will be no essay writing this year. It will be conducted during the selection process.

It is not mandatory to solve all the questions. Candidates should solve only those questions which they can solve correctly as there is negative marking in XAT. During the exam preparation, focus on the chapters from which majority of the questions are added. This will help them in achieving the sectional and overall cut offs are required.

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.

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.

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.

Aspirants should start practicing XAT mock tests after completing the syllabus. The ideal time duration to solve XAT mock tests is October to December. Avoid practicing mock tests before completing the syllabus. The official mock test is released a week before the exam, so candidates must attempt it at least once before the exam. The official and unofficial mock tests are same as the actual XAT exam so that the candidates can get familiar with the exam pattern, test structure of the question paper and get used to handling the exam pressure. It is important to practice XAT mock tests so that you have prior experience of XAT exam. Both official and unofficial XAT mock tests helps in improving accuracy of solving questions because in an exam like XAT all that matters is speed with accuracy.

XAT is an MCQ based test and all questions carry equal marks. The total marks of the exam is 100 and every question carries 1 mark. Decision Making carries 22 marks, Verbal and Logical Ability carries 26 marks, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation carries 28 marks and General Knowledge carries 25 marks.

There is negative marking too in XAT, that you should be aware of. Check below the marking scheme of XAT.

• One mark is awarded for each right answer
• 0.25 marks is deducted for each wrong answer
• 0.10 marks is deducted for more than eight unanswered consecutive questions
• There is no negative marking in General Knowledge section
• Scores of General Knowledge section will not be considered for calculating XAT score 
• The score of Essay Writing will be taken into consideration at the time of PI shortlisting

XAT exam was held for 3 hours and 30 minutes. However, with the revision of exam pattern, it will be held for 180 minutes in 2025. There is sectional time-limit in the test. 170 minutes are allotted to Part 1 comprising Decision Making, Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability. Part 2 has General Knowledge section to be solved in 10 minutes. No bio-break is allowed during the exam. Candidates have to finish the test in the given time limit only. The test screen will move from part 1 to part 2 the moment 170 minutes get over and once the 10 minutes of part 2 will be over, the test window will be locked. Candidates must keep saving their entries after every attempt as there is no provision in XAT to go back and review your answers once the time limit for that part is over.

If you are planning to prepare for XAT 2025 exam by self study, you need to start early. At least six months before. XAT exam is conducted on the first Sunday of January every year. So, if you start preparing for the XAT 2025 in June or July, you will have good six months to prepare. Make a preparation plan that includes XAT syllabus coverage, problem solving sessions, mock tests and revision. Get hold of best books for XAT. Consult mentors or previous year toppers for selecting the best books for preparation. Join online study groups where you can get the help of mentors and peers for problem solving and clearing of doubts in topics. Work in tough topics first and then move to easier topics.

Solve a large number and variety of XAT mock tests to master the syllabus. You will need to do a rigorous work on XAT mock tests as for candidates who opt for self study, have to rely on practice.

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.

Yes, there is sectional time limit in XAT. As per the latest exam pattern, the XAT question paper 2025 will be divided into two sections – Part 1 and Part 2. Candidates have to complete the questions of a given session within the time limit only. Since, XAT is an online test, there will be on screen clock indicating the time and as soon as the time of one section will be over, the screen will automatically move to the next part. Candidates need to ensure that they have answered the required number of questions and saved them within the time limit. Here’s how the XAT question paper is divided as per section and time duration.

Part 1- Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation  (170 minutes)

Part 2-  General Knowledge (10 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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, the XAT exam has negative marking of -0.25 marks for wrong attempt. Unanswered questions have no negative marking but if there are 8 consecutive unanswered questions, 0.10 marks will be deducted. Thus, the candidates must select questions to solve very carefully in the XAT exam. They should solve only those questions which they know they can solve accurately. The XAT exam has sectional time limit too, so you may not want to waste time on a question that you cannot solve accurately. You stand to lose both time and marks. So be careful in selecting questions in the XAT exam.  The sectional cut off for XAT is usually 80 percent accuracy. Practice a lot of mock tests to develop this skill.

XAT question paper is similar to other MBA entrance exams, i.e. it has a limited number of MCQs. Check the table below for th pattern of XAT question paper 2025:

Candidates must check out previous years' XAT question papers to have an understanding of the paper pattern, topic-wise weightage and types of questions.  These official XAT question papers are available in PDF format for free download. They can download the question paper PDFs for practicing XAT questions.