XAT 2027 Preparation: A 7-Week Plan Using 9 Years of XAT Papers
A seven-week XAT 2027 plan from 11 November to 3 January: pattern, what carries over from CAT, what XAT has asked from 2017 to 2025, and the past papers to practise.
XAT 2027 preparation now has a fixed window: the exam is on Sunday 3 January 2027, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, and registration closes on 6 December 2026 (both from xatonline.in). That is about seven weeks. If you are also writing CAT on 29 November, most of your Quant and reading work carries over; the XAT-specific work is Decision Making, a broader verbal section, data interpretation inside the Quant section, a separate GK part, and a marking scheme that differs from CAT's.
Below: the pattern, what XAT has actually asked from 2017 to 2025 (from our tagging of every question), a week-by-week plan from 11 November to the exam, and the past papers to practise with.
XAT 2027 exam pattern at a glance
XAT is conducted by XLRI. Part 1 has three scored sections; General Knowledge is scored separately and is not used for the percentile.
| Section | Questions in recent papers (our records) | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal & Logical Ability (VALR) | 26 (2018–2025) | RC-heavy, plus grammar, vocabulary, para jumbles, arguments, fact/inference/judgement |
| Decision Making (DM) | 21–22, in 7–9 case sets | Business and ethical cases: choosing the best course of action, plus some numerical cases |
| Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QADI) | 28 (2020–2025; 27 in 2017–2019) | Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, modern maths and DI sets, plus data sufficiency |
| General Knowledge | Separate part | Scored separately; not part of the percentile |
Marking: +1 for a correct answer and −0.25 for a wrong one in Part 1. XAT also applies a small penalty if you leave more than a certain number of questions unanswered; check the XAT notice for the exact rule, because it changes how many blind skips are sensible. Every XAT question in our collection is multiple-choice; there is no type-in-the-answer format as in CAT.
What XAT actually asks: 2017 to 2025 data
How we counted: we tagged every question in every XAT paper from 2017 to 2025 to a chapter. A few questions carry two tags, so totals slightly exceed question counts.
Verbal & Logical Ability
Reading Comprehension dominates, but XAT still asks the "old" verbal types that CAT no longer does.
| Chapter (XAT VALR, 2017–2025) | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 147 | 61.5% |
| Para Jumbles | 17 | 7.1% |
| Fact, Inference & Judgement | 14 | 5.9% |
| Vocabulary | 14 | 5.9% |
| Fill in the blanks | 11 | 4.6% |
| Grammar, Usage & Correction | 10 | 4.2% |
Total: 239 tags across nine papers. In 2021 to 2025, RC rose to 65.2% of the section. The rest is a scatter of small types, which is exactly why CAT-only preparation leaves gaps here: one grammar or vocabulary question a year per type is easy to ignore and adds up across the section.
Quant & DI
The single most-asked chapter in XAT QADI is DI: Tables & Graphs with 46 of 258 tags (17.8%). All DI together is 19.0%, and logical-reasoning items add another 5.8%. Among pure maths chapters, Number Theory leads (21), followed by Simple Equations (16) and Time, Speed & Distance (15). XAT also asks Probability (9) and Data Sufficiency (10), neither of which appears in CAT Quant from 2017 to 2025 in our data. The full ranking is in our post on the most asked topics in XAT QADI.
Decision Making
Across the nine papers there are 191 DM questions, 21 or 22 per paper, grouped into 7 to 9 case sets. In our data a few years' DM questions carry the tag "Simple Equations" (numerical cases such as allocation or cost decisions) or "Reading Comprehension" (long case passages): that reflects how those cases are solved, not a Quant chapter hiding in DM. Our XAT Decision Making guide explains how to approach the case types.
How CAT preparation carries over, and what is XAT-specific
- Carries over almost fully: arithmetic, algebra and geometry; RC practice; para jumbles and summaries; DI calculation speed. If you have prepared for CAT, the QADI maths is familiar ground.
- Decision Making: new for CAT-takers. It rewards reading the case carefully, identifying the stakeholders and the constraint, and rejecting options that are illegal, unethical or that solve a different problem. Practise it a few sets a week from now, not after CAT.
- Harder, broader verbal: XAT passages are often dense, and options are close. Add grammar, vocabulary-in-context and fact/inference/judgement questions to your VALR practice.
- DI inside Quant: DI sets sit in QADI and share the section's time, so a long DI set competes with quick arithmetic questions.
- Probability and data sufficiency: small but recurring in XAT; worth a focused revision session each.
- GK: separate part, not in the percentile. Give it a little daily time in the last three weeks, and check how the schools you apply to use it.
- Marking: +1/−0.25 with a penalty for leaving many questions unanswered, unlike CAT's +3/−1 with free TITA. Decide your skipping policy after reading the notice.
For a full side-by-side comparison, see CAT vs XAT.
XAT 2027 preparation plan, week by week
This plan assumes you are also writing CAT. If you are not, move the full-paper weeks earlier and add more DM.
Week 1 (11 to 17 November)
CAT comes first. For XAT: complete registration well before 6 December, read the notice (especially the marking and unanswered-question rule), and do two DM case sets this week. Our CAT 2026 last minute preparation plan covers the CAT side.
Week 2 (18 to 24 November)
Still CAT-focused. Two or three DM sets, and one VALR paper such as XAT 2023 VALR to get a feel for XAT's verbal.
Week 3 (25 November to 1 December)
CAT week. Nothing new for XAT before 29 November. On 30 November and 1 December, rest, then take one full XAT paper untimed to see where you stand.
Week 4 (2 to 8 December)
Registration closes on 6 December: confirm yours is complete. Switch to XAT mode: one DM set a day, revise Probability and Data Sufficiency, and do DI sets under time. Take XAT 2021 QADI timed.
Week 5 (9 to 15 December)
First full timed papers: XAT 2021 and 2022, all three sections in one sitting within the 3-hour window. Review DM answers by asking why the chosen option is better than the second-best one; that is where most DM marks are lost. Try XAT 2022 DM if you have not yet.
Week 6 (16 to 22 December)
Full papers from 2023 and 2024 (for example XAT 2024 QADI and XAT 2024 DM as part of the 2024 set). Start 20 to 30 minutes of GK reading daily. Build short drills on weak chapters with the test builder.
Week 7 (23 to 29 December)
Take XAT 2025 as your final full mock: VALR, DM and QADI. Spend the rest of the week on your mistake notebook and DM review.
30 December to 2 January
Light revision only: a DM set and an RC passage a day, check the admit card instructions, and keep your sleep regular for a 2:00 pm start.
Past-paper practice: XAT 2021 to 2025
All XAT papers from 2011 to 2025 are on the XAT previous year papers page, section by section with solutions. For this cycle, the five most recent years are the best match to the current pattern. Earlier papers (2017 to 2020) are good extra DM and VALR practice; on our site the 2017 to 2021 verbal papers are titled VARC rather than VALR.
Within VALR, also drill the smaller types directly from the chapter links in the table above (fact, inference & judgement, vocabulary, grammar, fill in the blanks), one short timed set each, and keep RC practice going daily. In DM, the most useful review habit is writing one line on why the correct option beats the runner-up; after a few papers you will see the same reasoning patterns repeat.
Frequently asked questions
When is XAT 2027?
Sunday 3 January 2027, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, per xatonline.in. Registration closes on 6 December 2026.
Is seven weeks enough for XAT 2027 preparation?
For someone who has prepared for CAT, yes: the maths and reading carry over, and seven weeks is enough to get comfortable with Decision Making and XAT's verbal types. Starting from zero, focus on DM, RC and the most-asked QADI chapters.
Is XAT harder than CAT?
It is different. XAT's verbal is generally considered denser, it has Decision Making, and DI sits inside the Quant section. CAT has a separate DILR section and type-in-the-answer questions. Many aspirants find XAT verbal and DM the harder parts.
Does GK count in XAT?
GK is scored separately and is not used for the XAT percentile. Check the XAT notice and the schools you apply to for how, if at all, they use it.
Is there negative marking for unanswered questions in XAT?
XAT has −0.25 for a wrong answer and a small penalty for leaving more than a set number of questions unanswered. Check the XAT 2027 notice for the exact rule before you decide how many to skip.