The official name for this SNAP section is Quantitative, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency and it generally features questions from each of these areas. Traditionally, the focus of the exam has been on basics for this section (last year was an exception as the level was higher than what is generally expected in this section).
The following table provides a detailed break-up of the section last year:
SNAP Quant and DI Tips
If we look at the table above and keep in mind the general SNAP Quant DI exams, then the following points can be derived from the above:
A. Arithmetic is one of the SNAP favourites
In fact, topics such as Averages, Mixtures & Alligations, Profit and Loss, TST and Time & Work have been SNAP favourites for long. Generally, out of these topics, the questions based on Averages and Mixtures and Alligations are generally pretty easy and you should most definitely revise these topics at this stage.
As far as TSD and Time and Work questions go, they suffer from the issue that these questions consume time. Even though the level might not be that challenging, the question prompts for this topic are generally very long and this means you need to invest significant time for these questions. So, you need to take a call in the exam whether you wish to invest such time for these particular questions.
B. P & C and Probability
As we can see from the above table, 4 out of the 40 questions were from these two topics. Generally, some questions from these two areas are absolute sitters and if your basics for these areas are clear, you should be easily able to solve questions from these areas.
C. Algebra and Number System
Some of the algebra problems in the SNAP QUANT section are very easy to solve and are based on simple equations. In fact, if you are clear with the basics of Number System and Algebra, problems from these two areas should not pose a problem for you.
D. Geometry and Mensuration
Generally, simple geometry questions generally appear in the exam. If you are comfortable with areas such as triangles, circles and quadrilaterals, you should be able to attempt 3 to 4 questions easily from this area.
E. SNAP Data Interpretation
SNAP generally features one to two DI sets in the exam. These sets are of easy nature and do not pose much of a challenge. Generally, simple line-graph, pie-chart or table questions should be solved without much fuss. Last year, there were a couple of questions for which data was inadequate and you need to careful about these little things in the exam.
If you look at the overall section last year, an attempt of 25 to 27 questions was a good one for the last year and you should allot around 35-40 minutes to the section.
Important Points SNAP Quant and DI
Key Points to keep in mind:
To sum it up, keep the following in mind for the SNAP reasoning section:
– Make sure you solve the section in 2 rounds and spot the easy questions first (easy means not only in terms of level but also time invested in reading the questions. TSD questions, though easy, do take up more time in absorbing the whole information provided).
– At the cost of repetition, stating it here once again: Maths is one area where one gets stuck on questions and feels that the solution is moments away. Please be careful of this tendency and be ready to skip to the next question when faced with a roadblock.
– Revise important shortcuts and formulae at this stage. Some direct questions generally feature in the exam and these can save you some vital minutes in the exam.
