SNAP Preparation 2024: Section-Wise Tips, Strategy, Sample Papers & Guide

None of the sections of SNAP exam is tough However, if one compares between the three, the Analytical & Logical Reasoning section of SNAP exam is usually tougher than General English and Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency sections. Unlike other MBA entrance exams, where Quantitative Aptitude and English are tough, in SNAP only reasoning questions are tough.

The SNAP Analytical & Logical Reasoning has more questions than General English and Quantitative Ability sections, and most of the questions are not so easy to understand. It has 25 questions and about 18-19 questions are usually doable. Last year in the SNAP exam, the Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section was tougher than the Analytical & Logical Reasoning. So, candidates must prepare for SNAP exam in such a way that they can handle questions from any section irrespective of their difficulty level.

Every candidate can make three attempts in SNAP exam. The SNAP exam is conducted in three sessions in a gap of one or two weeks. Candidates can mention their number of attempts in the SNAP application form. However, they will have to pay application fee per session. Thus, candidates who are sure of making multiple attempts only then they should apply for multiple sessions as the fee amount is non-refundable.  The scores of best attempt will be taken into consideration for shortlisting of candidates for Group Exercise, Personal Interview and Writing Ability Test.

Ideally candidates must take all three attempts as the difficulty level of the sessions could be different and it may so happen that one session is easy and candidates can score high in that.

Yes, SNAP preparation is possible in three months as the difficulty level of this exam is easy to moderate. So, if one starts preparing for it with only three months in hand, even then they can score well if they put in six to eight hours daily into preparation. Complete the syllabus in 45 days and the give one month to mock test practice. In the last few days, do revision for complete preparation. To be in a better position, focus more on the topics from which maximum questions are asked. For example, in General English, most of the questions are Grammar based, so focus on it more. In Quantitative Aptitude section, more questions are asked from Arithmetic and Algebra than Geometry so focus on the former two. SNAP always has at least data interpretation question so don’t ignore it. On the other hand, the Logical Reasoning section of SNAP has maximum number of questions (25) and topics are diverse so pay more attention on this section if you have less time to prepare.

Read More: How to prepare for SNAP in 3 months

Yes, SNAP preparation is possible in six months as it is an easy exam. Candidates who plan to prepare for SNAP form June-July, need to make focused and doable plan which can be executed in the given time limit. Start, with analyzing the SNAP syllabus. Note down the tough and easy topics. Get hold of SNAP books and make a plan for covering the syllabus in 3 months. Pick up two tough and one easy topic per day across the sections. Once, you’ve completed the SNAP syllabus in 3 months, move to solving sample papers and mock tests. Do it for 2 months. In the last one month, do revision and work on topics that you could not touch upon earlier. Check the latest question papers for topic wise weightage and focus on those topics from which maximum questions are asked.

For more, check this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/how-to-prepare-for-snap-in-6-months-blogId-21719

SNAP is one of the few MBA entrance exams which is easy in terms of difficulty level. It is much easier The number of questions, as well as the exam duration are less that than other MBA entrance exams. The type of questions asked in SNAP as also pretty straightforward.

Moreover, SNAP exam is held thrice for candidates to repeat attempts, which allows candidates to improve their score if they want to. The SNAP syllabus is same as other MBA entrance exam and there are no questions on Reading Comprehension or Data Sufficiency. This makes the SNAP exam much easier to crack than other exams.

Since 2020, the exam is conducted for only 60 minutes and the total number of questions asked is also 60. The first section of SNAP question paper is General English, the second section is Analytical & Logical Reasoning and the third section is Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency.

Until 2019, Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section of SNAP exam used to have the maximum number of questions (40), but from SNAP 2020, the Analytical and Logical Reasoning section has maximum number of questions (25). Now, Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section has only 20 questions. The main topics from which questions are asked in this section are, Family Tree/Blood Relations, Seating Arrangement, Clocks & Calendars, Critical Reasoning, Coding/Decoding, Direction Sense, Syllogisms, Visual Reasoning, Analogy & Series, Mathematical Reasoning, Meaningful Word/Matrix and Verbal & Miscellaneous Reasoning. To prepare for this section of SNAP, candidates must practice a lot of sample questions of all difficulty levels –easy, medium and tough. There are no formulae or concepts on Logical Reasoning so the preparation is majorly dependent on practice.

SNAP mock test is an important part of exam preparation but they should know when to start practicing it. The candidates should start solving mock tests only after completing the SNAP syllabus. October-November is the ideal month to start solving mock tests for SNAP exam preparation as the exam is conducted in December. Those preparing for other entrance exams simultaneously, can practice SNAP mock test without completing the syllabus also as they would be already familiar with the topics, concepts, theorems, etc. Those who have attempted SNAP before, can start their preparation by attempting a SNAP mock test to see how much do they remember. Candidates should start solving the full length SNAP mock tests only when they are confident about every chapter and topic included in the SNAP syllabus.

Candidates should solve only one full-length SNAP mock test in a day. After each mock test, they should assess their performance and identify the gaps to fill during preparation. Also, they should not solve SNAP mock test daily. Give yourself a breather for revision of the chapters that posed challenge in the previous mock test. Work on those problem areas and then pick another mock test. Ideally, candidates must solve about 30 SNAP mock tests to crack the exam with good scores so, start practicing the mock tests from two months before the exam date and continue to solve a mock test in a gap of one day until you reach their desired score. Stop once you reach the desired score. However, do attempt one SNAP mock test in the last week before the exam to keep the confidence level high.

After attempting every SNAP mock test, check how many questions you could solve accurately in the given time. Analyse questions of which topics took more than one minute to solve, how much time it took to read Reading Comprehension passages, how tricky were the Logical Reasoning questions and which were the questions you could not attempt at all. You need to assess three things, time taken on every type of question, accuracy achieved on every question and the number of questions completed in 60 minutes. The next step is to note the trend of your performance viz. the topics and chapters. The topics that are difficult for you, need more attention or revision before the next mock test attempt. You should aim to achieve better score with every consequent SNAP mock test.

The SNAP General English syllabus is similar to that of other MBA entrance exams. It includes passages, Syllogisms, Analogies, Grammar, Antonym-Synonym, One Word Substitution, Similar Sounding Words, Parajumbles and Fill in the Blanks. This is the shortest section of SNAP having only 15 questions. Most of the questions are usually based on English grammar. For the past 2 years, no Reading Comprehension passage is seen in the exam. However, candidates still need to practice Reading Comprehension passages as it has not been completely scrapped. Preparation for the exam as per the SNAP syllabus requires not much time to prepare if your English is strong. But if it is not, then you must start studying English much earlier as developing hold on a language requires time.

Candidates preparing for SNAP exam must study all the topics included in the SNAP syllabus i.e. General English and Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency and Analytical and Logical Reasoning.

Some of the important topics of SNAP General English section are Passages, Syllogisms, Analogies, Grammar, Antonym-Synonym, One Word Substitution, Similar Sounding Words, Parajumbles and Fill in the Blanks.

Some of the important topics of SNAP Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section are Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Percentages, Partnership, Time-Speed-Distance and Data Interpretation.

Some of the important topics of SNAP Analytical and Logical Reasoning are Column Graphs, Pie Chart, Coding and Decoding and Puzzles.

SNAP aspirants must focus on these topics during exam preparation to score well. Most of the questions will be asked from these topics only.

As per the latest SNAP exam pattern, the question paper comprises three sections – General English, Analytical & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative-Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency. The total number of questions in SNAP is 60 which is to be solved in 60 minutes. The General Awareness section was scrapped in 2020. Sectional break up is as follows:

• General English: 15 questions
• Analytical & Logical Reasoning: 25 questions
• Quantitative-Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency: 20 questions

The marking scheme of all three sections is same. One mark is awarded for correct attempt and 0.25 marks is deducted for incorrect attempt. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in SNAP. Candidates can solve 75 percent of the questions accurately to expect a 98-99 percentile.

There is negative marking scheme in SNAP Test. For each wrong answer 0.25 marks is deducted. Thus, the candidates must choose the questions to attempt carefully. If they find a question tough or have a doubt about the right answer, they should leave it. The total time duration for SNAP is 60 minutes so candidates need to keep in mind the time limit as well while choosing a question or spending time on it. They should not spend too much time on a questions. If they are unable to solve it, they should leave it and move on. There is no negative marking for unattempted questions in SNAP exam. If a candidate will leave a question unsolved, they will be marked 0 on that. So, in case one is not sure of the correct answer, they should not select any option. Stay away from negative marking as it will affect your overall score.

Freshers should start Quantitative Aptitude preparation with NCERT Mathematics books of Class 9 and 10 for getting fundamental understanding of the topics and concepts. Once they have grasped the concepts of Algebra, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Geometry and other topics of Arithmetic, then move on to books with advanced level of Quantitative Aptitude topics. Arun Sharma’s books on preparation for Quantitative Aptitude (also VARC and DILR books) are highly recommended as they are exhaustive and contain test papers of various difficulty levels. With the help of Arun Sharma books, you can understand the concepts and learn application to different type of Mathematical problems. In addition to that, you should refer to other Quant books and sample papers.

A: For preparation of General English section of SNAP exam, candidates must study the following books:

• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren & Martin
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay

Apart from these books, candidates need to develop reading habit to improve comprehension, writing and vocabulary, which will be immensely helpful at the time of selection for Group Exercise, Writing Ability Test and Personal Interview. To improve English language, you should read books, novels, magazines, business research papers, newspapers. You should also watch English series, movies and TV programmes to learn new words and expressions.

None of the sections of SNAP exam is tough However, if one compares between the three, the Analytical & Logical Reasoning section of SNAP exam is usually tougher than General English and Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency sections. Unlike other MBA entrance exams, where Quantitative Aptitude and English are tough, in SNAP only reasoning questions are tough.

The SNAP Analytical & Logical Reasoning has more questions than General English and Quantitative Ability sections, and most of the questions are not so easy to understand. It has 25 questions and about 18-19 questions are usually doable. Last year in the SNAP exam, the Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section was tougher than the Analytical & Logical Reasoning. So, candidates must prepare for SNAP exam in such a way that they can handle questions from any section irrespective of their difficulty level.

SNAP syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude includes topics of Data Interpretation as well. Candidates have to study Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Number System, Logarithm, Linear Equations & Quadratic Equations, Set Theory, Arithmetic, Progressions, Binomial Theorem, Surds and Indices, Inequalities, Permutation & Combination, Probability Functions, Mixtures & Alligations, Co-ordinate Geometry, Series, Graphs-Pie Chart, Bar Graphs and Tables as part of SNAP Quantitative Aptitude syllabus.

The SNAP Quantitative Aptitude section includes Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency. The total number of questions in this section is 20 and the section is dominated by Arithmetic. Since the past two years, no Data Sufficiency questions have been asked. So, candidates must focus more on Quantitative Aptitude while preparing for the SNAP exam. This section is all about accuracy so have complete clarity of concepts and theorems.

Those preparing for both CAT and SNAP exam need not prepare separately. CAT and SNAP syllabus are the same so one can prepare for both from the same study material.  However, since the exam pattern and difficulty level of both exams are different from each other, candidates need to devote a good amount of time on exam specific preparation. They must practice SNAP mock tests to understand the test pattern, topic-wise weightage, types of questions and difficulty level of the questions. The biggest difference between SNAP and CAT is the type of questions, so you need to practice sample question for SNAP to know how and what to prepare for it. You also need to know the sectional composition of SNAP, which is different from CAT. SNAP is easier than CAT so a mix of tough and moderate level SNAP sample questions and mock tests will be adequate for preparation. 

One month is too less a time to prepare for not only SNAP but also any other exam. You need at least three months to prepare for the SNAP exam, but even for that you need to be familiar with the SNAP syllabus. If you’ve studied Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning and Verbal Ability for MBA entrance exams, then you can prepare decently for SNAP in such a short span of time. All you would need to do is, practice sample questions and mock tests. Practice of sample questions and SNAP mock tests will improve your skills to handle Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning and Verbal Ability questions with speed and accuracy. You will also need some time to revise all the chapters which you will do a few days before the exam. So, instead of starting to prepare for SNAP just a month before the exam, get on to it at least three months before.

There is no definite number of mock test that the candidate should practice. It totally depends on the candidate’s ability and strength viz a viz the SNAP syllabus. Some candidates need less number of SNAP mock tests to reach the optimum level of preparation whereas some candidates need more number of SNAP mock tests to reach the optimum level.

At the same time, it is recommended that on an average, candidates should practice at least 25-30 SNAP mock tests to perform well in the exam. Candidates should also analyse each and every mock test performance to know their progress. With every consecutive mock test, they should be able to score higher than previous mock test. Every candidate must decide upon the number and quality of mock tests based on their preparation level. They neither should solve less mock tests nor over-do it.

Yes, coaching is recommended for preparation for any competitive exam as the candidate gets best of aid such as books, study material and mentors. However, the candidates must join coaching if only they can follow the rigorous time-table and daily classes.

About six to eight hours daily is considered good enough duration for SNAP preparation. However, if you start exam preparation late (by October) then you need to devote 10-12 hours daily. SNAP is easy and if you are preparing for other MBA entrance exams, you may not need to work too hard on it. A good number of sample papers and mock tests will be good enough. 

• Some of the most recommended books include:
• How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT
• How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren & Martin