XAT RC passages have a distinct character that separates them from CAT RC passages. They are more philosophical, more literary and more willing to engage with ambiguity. Reading sources that match this character are far more useful for XAT preparation than the standard CAT reading list.
Aeon Essays is the most directly relevant reading source for XAT VARC. XAT has drawn passages from philosophical traditions, ideas about consciousness, moral philosophy and cultural criticism. Aeon essays in these areas are written at exactly the right difficulty and style. Read two to three Aeon essays per week, specifically from the Philosophy, Mind and Society sections.
GRADFLIX essays on philosophy, culture and identity, politics and governance, and education and knowledge are written in a style that closely matches XAT RC passages. The analytical depth, the argument structure and the vocabulary level are all calibrated to the kind of reading XAT demands. Reading one GRADFLIX essay daily and answering the RC questions provides simultaneous reading practice and question format exposure.
The New York Review of Books publishes long-form essays on literature, culture, politics and ideas at a level of intellectual density that matches XAT RC. It is harder than Aeon but gives you exposure to the kind of sophisticated argumentation that appears in the most demanding XAT passages. Read one essay per week.
Avoid news articles and business journalism as your primary XAT reading sources. These are useful for CAT economics passages but do not prepare you for the philosophical and literary style of XAT RC. The Economist is excellent for CAT but only marginally useful for the hardest XAT passages.
GRADFLIX philosophy, culture and politics essays are written in the analytical style XAT RC passages use. Ten genres, 150 plus essays, with RC questions.
Start ReadingAeon Essays for philosophy and cultural criticism, GRADFLIX for daily CAT and XAT style RC practice with questions, and The New York Review of Books for exposure to the most demanding level of analytical writing.
The Economist is excellent for CAT RC economics passages but only partially useful for XAT. XAT RC passages are more philosophical and literary than The Economist's analytical journalism style.
XAT requires more exposure to philosophical and literary writing. Aeon and similar publications that focus on ideas and cultural criticism are more useful for XAT than the economics and science journalism that is most useful for CAT.
Essays from the Philosophy, Mind, Society and Culture sections of Aeon are most relevant to XAT. Choose essays that engage with abstract ideas and ambiguous arguments rather than straightforward science or economics topics.