The SNAP exam conducted on December 16 in the computer-based test format went glitch-free. ANKUR JAIN gives a low down
The Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (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. Since there were no sectional cut-offs, it made the job of the students a lot easier — they could focus on maximising their overall score instead of perforce trying to improve their sectional performances in tougher sections.
Section wise analysis
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 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 globalisation — Trade and Poverty’ taken from The Economist. There were four specific detail questions and 1 vocab-based question.
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). 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 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. Out of 35 questions in this section, 19 to 21 would be a good number of attempts.
General Awareness: The section had 25 questions. 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 minutes would have been good for this section.
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.