Essay Writing Tips for XAT Exam

An important feature of XAT exam pattern is essay writing in 20 minutes which most students find the biggest challenge in the exam. In this article, we will provide you important tips for essay writing in XAT and to help you write better content. In this article, we will discuss Important essay writing tips for XAT exam.

The XAT essay is almost similar to the Written Ability Test (WAT) conducted by the IIMs and other B schools. The only difference is that WAT is conducted for candidates who have been shortlisted for the GD/ PI stage while the essay in XAT has to be written by every applicant in the paper stage itself. The marks allotted for the essay are not counted while calculating the overall percentile but is evaluated only if you get shortlisted for the GD/ PI round. The essay generally has 15-30% weightage in the calculation of the final merit list based on different B schools.

Below are the few tips:

Don’t Use Jargon

While expressing your thoughts, always keep in mind that you are writing for someone who is not aware of the jargons that you use and might find it difficult to comprehend those jargons. Many of you might have corporate experience and with each organization comes a different set of terminologies which you generally use theirs. But remember the person assessing your writing skills might not be familiar with all those terminologies. You should certainly describe various aspects of your life-your leadership skills, your career journey, and your achievements but do so in such a language that is understandable to your reader. And in case you are a fresher, opt for the common language you have been using in your school days rather than the jargons that you come across while communicating with your friends and surroundings.

Have an interesting content

Person assessing your writing skills must be reading of hundreds of essays, and if he gets to read the same kind of content which everyone has already written, he will definitely lose interest.  Start off with something which creates interest in the reader’s mind. The moment he feels the writing is similar to all other applicant’s content, he will definitely stop reading it then and there. Write in such a manner that the reader remains engaged in the content.

Show rather than telling

If you want to convey something about yourself like your strength or something related to the content that you have experienced in your life, don’t start merely just by telling. Try to show it by depicting the instances, so that reader can get involved in the content. By depicting the instances, an image that something has actually happened can be created which will keep the reader engaged in the content.

Also Read: Most Frequently asked Topics for Essay and GDs 

Be Concise

Try to use short sentences to create more impact because they are to the point. Try to avoid unnecessary phrases just to lengthen the sentences and keep your content crisp and interesting.

Transitions and vary your sentence

The best content contains a variety of sentence lengths mixed within any given paragraph. Don’t limit your sentence transition to words like nevertheless, furthermore or consequently rather it should come through a natural progression.Focus

Try to make a list of all those experiences and content about which you want to write and think through them and present in a structural and concise manner. And keep in mind that your entire content should support the central theme and should not deviate from the theme.

Revise

The last step is to revise once whatever you have written. Have a thorough revision and check where the improvement is required and do the needful.