Performance in GK and Essay Sections important for XLRI Admission; XAT Convenor & XLRI Admission Chair Dr Vishwa Ballabh

XAT 2023 exam date is January 8, 2023 and given its reputation, XAT exam gets a new make over every year. This year XAT will be held in the afternoon session from 2 PM to 5.10 PM instead of morning session. With only a few days left for the XAT exam, the Countdown to XAT 2023 has truly begun and XLRI Jamshedpur has released the list of 70+ XAT exam cities in India after recording a massive jump of 25% in the number of XAT registrations which have gone up at 98,242 applicants this year. The XAT 2023 Admit card has already been released on December 26, 2022. Check step by step process how to download XAT Admit card

With a view to bust myths about XAT exam and to address XAT aspirants’ several queries including the XAT difficulty level, exam pattern, importance of GK and Essay Writing Section in XAT, last minute tips, MBAUniverse.com reached out to Dr Vishwa Ballabh, Convener of XAT and XLRI Jamshedpur Admission Chair, who has addressed various queries of XAT aspirants in a detailed video interview. MBAUniverse.com is publishing a series of articles and videos to dispel the myths around XAT. 

The first two articles published in the series were on XAT 2023 Exam Pattern and Difficulty level and the game changer Decision Making Section, here is the 3rd article on importance of GK and Essay Writing sections in XAT and their role in XLRI Admission process.

Out of the 100 MCQs making 4 XAT exam sections, 25 questions will be on General Awareness. All these GK questions will be without negative marking. Essay writing is an additional descriptive section. Dr Vishwa Ballabh has shared with MBAUniverse.com the why the GK and Essay Writing sections are important, why they are included and also shares key tips and his advice for XAT aspirants how to approach these sections

“GK in XAT plays important role in XLRI Admission” Tells XAT 2023 Convener
The Part-2 of XAT 2023 exam will be of 25 minutes duration. It will consist of GK and Essay Writing sections. The GK and Essay writing tests in XAT are not counted for percentile calculation but still they are important. General Awareness (GK) plays a very important role in final selection process of XLRI admission. XAT convener shared the salient points about the importance and role of GK Section in XAT and said, “If you do poorly in GK section, XLRI may not offer you admission”

GK Section in XAT: 5 Salient Points

1. Good GK Must: For XLRI Admission, the candidate is expected to have good knowledge on Business, Economy, current affairs, key national and international developments
2. Mandatory for XLRI Admission: Without good score in GK section, No candidate will be offered admission in XLRI
3. Prepare as per Past Papers: Check Previous XAT GK questions to familiarize and prepare for this section
4. No Negative Marking: GK section has no Negative Marking for 25 GK questions, so you can score high
5. XLRI Evaluates GK Performance before Admission: Your GK Section Performance will be evaluated in XLRI final selection round 

Essay Writing Test in XAT: Important to Assess Your Writing Skill
The 5^th section in XAT 2023 exam is Essay Writing Test. While Essay score is not counted for percentile calculation, it plays important role in final selection process of XLRI admission. Sharing with MBAUniverse.com, XAT convener said, “Essay writing test is meant to test your writing skills. Write your Essay in Maximum 300 Words.”

Importance of Essay Writing Section in XAT

1. Test of Writing Skill: For XLRI Admission, the candidate is expected to have good writing skill with coherent flow of thoughts. This is ensured through Essay Writing Test
2. Maximum Words are 300: You need to limit your essay in 300 words. The essay should contain more information and ideas in brief
3. Mandatory for XLRI Admission: A good score in Essay writing test is must. If you do not do well, you may not be offered admission in XLRI
4. Essay Topics: Essay topics are based on business, economy, current affairs, abstract ides. You should check Previous XAT papers to know the essay topic trends in XAT
5. No Fixed Correct Answer: Essay writing is opinion and fact based descriptive test, there is no correct or incorrect answer for this. The more you score, the better will be your admission chances in XLRI
6. Essay Evaluated in Final Selection Process: Since Essay score is not counted for percentile calculation, XLRI evaluates it only for those candidates who have been shortlisted 

Conducted by XLRI for the last 72 years, XAT is the mandatory entrance exam for XLRI admission. Apart from XLRI, XAT scores are also accepted by 160 B-schools including top MBA colleges like XIMB, MICA, IMI, IMT, IRMA, GIM Goa, Great Lakes among others.

Special Resources for XAT 2023 on MBAUniverse.com
To help you prepare well and get ready for D Day, MBAUniverse.com offers many resources. Some of them are:

• XAT 2023 Exam Pattern will be similar to Last Year’s Paper
• Decision Making in XAT – a Game Changer
• Take XAT 2023 Mock Test
• XAT 2022 Topper Kanika Mehra
• Success mantra by Shekhar Kapoor XAT topper
• XAT Previous Year Question Papers

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on XAT 2023