How shall we prepare for essay writing and GK for XAT to get into XLRI? As this pattern was absent in CAT, how shall we cover these sessions in this short span?

There are no fixed strategy to tackle the essay section of XAT. The essay topics are usually unpredictable. Usually, the topics are abstract in nature. It’s often observed that the topics are based on a common idiom or phrase with an implied philosophical hint. The aim of this section is to judge your language skill as well as your thought process. Practice writing sample essays on various topics and assess them on content and writing style. Reading the editorial section of national newspapers can be helpful for this section.  

For the GK section, you should focus more on Economics and Business related topics. Prepare current affairs for the last 6 months. For Static GK read about awards, geography, books & authors, cabinet ministers, and government yojanas. 

One of my friends recently gave the XLRI exam, let me share how he prepared for it. This might give you a little bit of an idea about the exam.

Essay Writing

• In order to complete the essay writing section, you should start writing 1-2 essays on the computer.
• Since the essay writing section has to be done on the computer, you should increase your typing speed.
• You should check and work on your grammatical errors.
• For essay topics, you should read newspapers on a daily basis and also read the current topics.
• The examiner will not only test your language skills but your coherence of thoughts, ability to provide logical reasoning, and subject matter knowledge as well.

GK Section

• For the GK section, you should be aware of all the current affairs and recent trends in the country.
• You should also read newspapers and read the study materials given by the Times institute.
• Try to focus on the main events that are going on in the country.
• The static GK part will be huge but it is not very significant.
• Read government manuals, yojana magazines, and new schemes by the government and names of the cabinet ministers.
• You should put greater focus on economics and business news.

You don’t need to stress on both these sections as they are evaluated during the 2nd phase after the PI round. Your major focus should be scoring well in the XAT examination.