XAT 2021 Question Paper PDF

The XAT exam included a total of 100 questions divided into 4 sections. XLRI Jamshedpur conducted XAT 2021 in a single slot on Jan 3, 2021. Candidates found the Quantitative Ability and DI sections the most challenging, followed by the GK section. 

Moreover, the Verbal and Logical Ability and Decision-making sections were easy to moderate. Yet, there were a few tricky questions on critical reasoning, ethical dilemma, and vocabulary. Refer to the page below to get XAT 2021 Question Paper PDF.

XAT Question Paper 2021 PDF

Click the downloadable PDF link below to get the XAT question paper 2021. One must solve previous years’ papers to get familiar with the exam pattern and type of questions.

XAT Question Paper 2021 PDF

Question Paper	PDF Link
XAT Question Paper 2021	Click Here

Also Read: How to Prepare for XAT Verbal?

XAT Question Paper 2021: Highlights

Following are some essential details related to the XAT question paper 2021:

• The essay writing section was removed from the XAT exam 2021. Earlier, candidates had to attempt one essay-type question in the XAT exam.
• Candidates could leave only 8 questions unattempted in the test. In the case of leaving over 8 questions unanswered, there was a negative marking of 0.10 marks per question. 
• In XAT 2021, candidates saw the introduction of NAT (Numerical Answer Type) questions.
• There was no negative marking for the GK questions. Moreover, the marks obtained in the GK section were not considered for calculating the percentile.
• Compared to last year, the difficulty level of the XAT 2021 was higher.
• The XAT question paper 2021 included 3 DI sets. But, there were only 2 DI sets in the previous years’ XAT question papers.

Also Read: How to Prepare for XAT in 6 Months?

XAT 2021 Number of Questions and Difficulty Level

Part A of the XAT question paper 2021 involved 75 questions. Moreover, part B consisted of 25 questions. Check out the difficulty level of XAT 2021 and section-wise number of questions.

XAT 2021 Number of Questions and Difficulty Level

Part	Section	No. of Questions	Difficulty Level
A	Verbal and Logical Ability	26	Easy to Moderate
	Decision making	21	Moderate
	Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation	28	Difficult
B	General Knowledge	25	Moderate
	Total	100	Moderate to Difficult

Also Read: XAT Preparation without Coaching

XAT 2021 Question Paper Analysis

The pointers below highlight the overall analysis of the XAT question paper 2021.

• Aspirants claimed that the XAT 2021 question paper was moderately difficult.
• The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section was the most challenging section.
• Decision-making, as well as Verbal and logical ability sections, were easy to moderate.
• The DI questions were lengthy and time-consuming.

XAT 2021 Analysis for Verbal and Logical Ability 

Here is the Verbal and logical ability section analysis of XAT 2021:

• The section contained 26 questions which were inferential and application based.
• A total of 17 RC questions were there from 6 passages and 1 poem. The length of the passage was around 150-350 words.
• The difficulty level of this section was higher as compared to the previous year.
• The answer options were quite similar in nature. Therefore, some questions were confusing for candidates.

XAT 2021 Analysis for Verbal and Logical Ability 

Question Topics	Total Questions	Difficulty Level
Correct sentences	1	Medium
Incorrect sentences	2	Medium
Jumbled Paragraphs	2	Medium
Fill in the blanks	1	Medium
Critical Reasoning	3	Medium to Difficult
Passage 1	3	2 Easy, 1 Medium
Passage 2	2	Difficult
Passage 3	2	Difficult
Passage 4	3	Medium to Difficult
Passage 5	2	Medium
Passage 6	2	Difficult
Passage 7	3	Medium to Difficult

Also Read: XAT Essay Topics

XAT Decision-making Analysis 2021

The following are the major takeaways from the Decision-Making section of XAT 2021:

• The DM section had 21 questions with no questions from quant. 
• Most questions were short and easy to understand. However, a few questions were tricky.
• Business-related questions dominated the GK section.
• Candidates revealed that the questions were difficult compared to last year.
• Overall, the DM section was moderately difficult.

XAT Decision-making Analysis 2021

Question Topics	No. of Questions	Level of Difficulty
Business Decision	3	Medium
Business Decision	3	Medium to Difficult
Business Decision	3	Medium to Difficult
Ethical Dilemma	3	Difficult
Ethical Dilemma	3	Difficult
Decision on Business	3	Medium to Difficult
Ethical Dilemma	3	Medium to Difficult

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XAT 2021 Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation Analysis

Check out the XAT 2021 Quantitative Aptitude and DI analysis given below.

• The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section involved 28 questions.
• It was the most difficult section of the XAT 2021 exam.
• There were 22 questions from the quant section. Out of this, 20 questions were standalone.
• Six questions were asked from the DI section.
• In the DI section, there were 3 sets containing 3 questions each.
• The section was time-consuming as the DI sets were lengthy.

XAT 2021 Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation Analysis

Question Topics	Total
Arithmetic	5
Geometry	5
Modern Maths	3
Algebra	4
Numbers	1
Misc. (Logic)	1
Table	3
Venn Diagram	3
Scatter Plot	3
Total	9

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XAT 2021 Analysis for General Knowledge 

Following is the analysis of the GK section of XAT 2021:

• Candidates had to answer 25 GK questions in 15 minutes.
• The level of the GK section was moderate.
• Most questions in the section were related to Static General Knowledge.
• The following topics were covered in static GK questions:
• CEO/CM 
• Authors
• Olympics
• National Parks
• History
• Mountains

XAT 2021 Analysis for General Knowledge 

Section	No. of Questions
Current Affairs	7
Economy and Business	4
History	1
Geography	5
Polity	1
Science and Tech	1
Sports	3
Books and Authors	1
Personality and Awards	2
Total	25

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Advantages of Solving Previous Years’ XAT Question Papers

Here is why candidates must solve previous years’ question papers for the XAT 2023:

• Solving XAT previous years question papers will help candidates experience the exam-like atmosphere and pressure.
• Aspirants will get to know which topics they need to improve on. Accordingly, they can create a strategy for exam preparation.
• Candidates will hone their time management skills by solving previous years' XAT papers.
• Practising from model papers will help aspirants self-evaluate their XAT exam preparation.

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