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The SNAP exam conducted on 16th Dec 2018 in the computer-based-test format went glitch-free.
The overall difficulty level of the exam was lower as compared to last year’s.
The broad distribution of questions in the test was as under:
| Section | Normal Questions | Special Questions | Total Questions | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General English: Reading Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Verbal Ability | 30 | 5 | 35 | 40 |
| Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | 30 | 5 | 35 | 40 |
| Analytical & Logical Reasoning | 30 | 5 | 35 | 40 |
| Current Affairs | 20 | 5 | 25 | 30 |
| Total | 110 | 20 | 130 | 150 |
Since there were no sectional cut-offs, it made the job of the students a lot easier i.e., they could focus on maximising their overall score instead of perforce trying to improve their sectional performances in tougher sections.
Let us have a closer look at each of the sections:
General English
The section had a total of 35 questions. There were 30 NORMAL questions of 1 mark each. There were 5 SPECIAL questions (non-MCQ or Input box types – where the answer had to be entered on the screen) of 2 marks each.
The distribution of the questions area-wise was as under:
| Question Type (Normal Qs – 1 mark each – MCQ Type) | No of Questions |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | 3 |
| Antonyms | 1 |
| Analogies (Similar pair) | 1 |
| FIB (Single blank: Preposition, conjunction, spelling, correct form of word, correct tense) | 5 |
| Match the Parts of Speech (Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective) correctly with the sentence | 2 |
| Replace the underlined word (Vocab and grammar based) | 2 |
| Odd Word Out | 2 |
| Error Spotting (Sentence divided into four parts) | 2 |
| Direct to Indirect speech | 2 |
| RC 1 | 5 |
| RC 2 | 5 |
| Total | 30 |
The RC area had two passages with five questions each. The passages were lengthy in nature with around 750-850 words.
Passage 1: A lengthy passage on “Google tracks your movement – whether you like it or not” or “Privacy” taken from “CBS news”. The questions included 1 Title, 1 Specific detail, 3 Contextual Reference (of a phrase)/ Inference based questions.
Passage 2: Another lengthy passage on “Tired of globalization – Trade and Poverty” taken from “The Economist”. There were 4 ‘specific detail’ questions and 1 Vocab based question.
| Question Type (SPECIAL Questions)(2 marks each, Non-MCQ type) | No. of questions |
|---|---|
| Jumbled words to form a sentence (Rearrange the numbered sequence) | 1 |
| Plural forms of a word which were differently coded. (The correct code had to be entered in the input box) | 1 |
| The correct spelling of a word which needed to replace the meaning of a phrase. 4 numbered boards providing different spellings were mentioned – The number of the board providing the correct spelling had to be entered.) | 1 |
| 4 different past participles of a word were given which were (numeric) coded differently (The code for the word representing the correct spelling had to be entered.) | 1 |
| 4 different ways of quoting were a proverb. (The number of the correct proverb had to be entered in the input box.) | 1 |
| Total | 5 |
Around 22-24 can be considered to be a good number of attempts in this section.
Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency
The section was relatively easier compared to the last year. There were 30 questions of 1 mark each (normal MCQ type). There were 5 Special questions of 2 marks each (non-MCQ type). The section had more doable questions and perhaps for the first time, Data Interpretation questions were completely missing. Continuing the tradition, there were no Data Sufficiency questions in this section but the same were asked in the Logical Reasoning section. The weightage of questions from algebra was on the higher side.
One question appeared to not have the correct answer options (h, c and v of a cone).
The broad distribution of the questions from various areas is as below:
| Question Type | No. of questions |
|---|---|
| P&C | 4 |
| Averages, Mixtures & Alligations | 1 |
| Geometry | 1 |
| Indices | 2 |
| Logarithm | 3 |
| Mensuration | 7 |
| Numbers | 1 |
| Percentages | 4 |
| Probability | 1 |
| Time & Work | 1 |
| Venn Diagrams | 1 |
| Ratio, Proportion, & Variation | 1 |
| Time & Distance | 2 |
| Simple Equations | 2 |
| SI-CI | 1 |
| Functions | 1 |
| Polynomial Simplification | 2 |
| Total | 35 |
A good student could have attempted a net of 22-24 out of 35 questions in this section by spending around 35-40 minutes. However, this called for a judicious selection of the questions.
Analytical & Logical Reasoning
The Analytical and Logical Reasoning section had a reasonable number of easy and moderate questions.
There were 30 questions of 1 mark each (normal MCQ type). There were 5 Special questions of 2 marks each (non-MCQ type).
Unlike last year, apart from the standalone ones, there were 7 questions based on a caselet. Added to this, there were also some tough ones to crack.
The level of the section could be pegged at a moderate level of difficulty.
The question distribution in the section was as below:
| Question Type | No. of questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Blood relations | 1 | Easy |
| Directions | 1 | Moderate |
| Number/ Letter series | 5 | Moderate-Difficult |
| Binary Logic | 1 | Easy |
| Verbal Analogy | 1 | Easy |
| GK based reasoning | 2 | Easy-Moderate |
| Quant based reasoning | 4 | Moderate |
| Calendars | 1 | Moderate |
| Coding | 3 | Moderate-Difficult |
| Arrangements | 1 | Easy |
| Venn Diagrams | 1 | Easy |
| Scheduling | 2 | Moderate |
| Folding of paper | 2 | Difficult |
| Data Sufficiency | 3 | Moderate |
| Caselet on Arrangements | 7 | Difficult |
Out of 35 questions in this section, 19 to 21 would be a good number of attempts.
General Awareness
The General Awareness section had 25 questions.
The questions were asked from various categories as below:
| Area | No of Questions |
|---|---|
| Corporate Entities and related | 9 |
| Sports | 1 |
| Government and Polity | 4 |
| Awards | 4 |
| Miscellaneous | 7 |
As the name of the section suggested, there were no static GK questions. Most of these questions were not difficult especially for those who read newspapers regularly. Most of the questions were pertaining to events which took place in the last few months.
Around 12 to 14 attempts in the section in around 10-15 min would have been good for this section.
Cut-Offs:
An overall score of 74-76 or above should be a good score for SIBM, 70-73 for SCMHRD, and 62-65 for SIBM Bangalore and SIIB.
Note: The above mentioned estimated cut-offs are for general category students, the cut-offs for SC/ST/DA/Kashmiri migrants will be lower.
Please note that there are no sectional cut-offs for SNAP.