Total Questions: 85

Total Marks: 100

Total Duration: 120 Minutes

Negative: ¼ th of allotted marks

Like a bollywood flick, XAT closed the season with happy ending. Living upto its standards of questions, XAT12 turned out to be a very balanced paper.  This year the exam was easier but not easy J . Questions were not direct as each question took its own sweet time to get cracked. Like any conventional exam, selection of question would be very crucial. Though it had multiple marking systems but the deviation was not high. Very few questions of 1.5 marks and 2 marks made the decision making easy for candidates.Please note that the instruction on negative marking suggests that “one fourth of the mark(s) allotted may be deducted”. It raises a question whether there can be differential negative marking which may penalise higher to some candidates for poor accuracy or it will be same for all. It can also mean there might be no negative marking if there are very few errors.The paper was mostly flawless except of one question, which was in Bar graph. The reference of “year 2010” could not be cracked in that question.

Now let’s try to evaluate each section.

Quantitative Ability (including DI): 28 questions, 35 marks

With no question on higher maths, this section would have brought a big smile on face of many candidates. Unlike last year where 5 marker questions were inspired and adopted from IIT-JEE/ Olympiad, this year quantitative section had more standard aptitude questions. Though most of the questions were familiar, one could hardly find a sitter. With good variety of question, there was a scope for everyone to attempt something in this section. Questions on arithmetic were simple, whereas questions on geometry & mensuration were slightly time consuming. Questions based on bar graph of google/facebook/yahoo were also time consuming. Overall good attempts can be 19+ questions and good score can be close to 16+. However the cut-off can be close to 9 marks.

Decision Making: 25 questions, 30 marks

This section has always been a bothering most XAT aspirants. As most of them do not have much exposure and practice of such question, plus predicting the exact answer is difficult. This section was tougher than it looked like. Most of the decision making questions were lengthy and time consuming. On a lighter note, this section ensured that candidates do not miss RC. Questions on recruitment were comparatively easy. Overall a good candidate could have attempted 16+ questions securing a good score of appx 11. Cut-off however can be around 6.5 marks.

English and Logical reasoning: 32 questions, 35 marks.

If we try to draw parallel to last year’s verbal section of XAT, it is very evident that this year’s verbal was way easier. The LR section was also simpler because the complexity & wordiness of questions was lesser and the options were not lengthy in comparison to last year. All in all, a paper in which students would not have psychological barrier attempting the questions.  “For once it’s not full of fantabulous vocabulary” sums it all.  Overall an attempt of close to 22+ questions is achievable. Good score can be around 17+ and cut-off appx 11.

SNAP 2011 was a very sensible paper and brought a welcome change. Though the test was a mixture of easy, moderate and tough sections, it was slightly different from expectations and general perceptions. This would have surprised a lot of aspirants. Let us try to evaluate each section on its merit and estimate the probable scores.

Section: General Awareness: 40 questions – 1 mark each.

The biggest surprise of all was General Awareness section. Scoring was not easy from this section as most of the aspirants would have perceived. Most of the test takers start with this section as it is considered to be black & white. But the smart test takers would have realised that it isn’t wise to continue in this section, at least in the initial round of attempts. The questions ranged from International affairs to politics to economics to constitution and even to Bollywood. Proportion of questions on Business and corporate who’s who was relatively smaller. This would have compelled an aspirant to reduce attempts drastically. There were a lot of questions based on recent developments in socio-economic affairs of India and the countries around. So an avid follower of news would have managed to attempt more than 16 questions. Others will have to be happy at 12+ attempts out of 40. A tough section and hence overall 12 – 14 attempts can be considered as good, provided one manages to get them in 15 to 18 minutes. Good score for this section can be 7+.

Section: Analytical and Logical Reasoning: 30 questions – 2 mark each.

This section was versatile and very much SNAP style. A good blend of language and logic kept the aspirants alert and active throughout this section. It had sufficient meat to score marks e.g. Questions on Cube colouring (tricky but simple to calculate), Blood relations, Algorithm (X, Y) Arrangement (7 students) and Direction sense were easy. Questions on Critical reasoning, being not very lengthy, would have attracted most of the aspirants, but at the same time it wouldn’t have given them the benefit they sought in terms of saving time. Due to this, the overall attempts from this section may reduce as compared to what they were last year (There was only one CR question last year).  The question on analogy was a pleasant surprise. Overall the section was moderate hence 24 – 25 can be considered as good attempts. Good score for this section should be 38+. Ideal time however would be more than last year i.e it should have been close to 42 - 43 minutes.

Section : Quantitative  Aptitude, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency: 40 questions – 1 mark each.

Finally a breather for all, this section was really a stress buster. It would have been a wise decision to start with this section. I am sure lot of aspirants would have realised it after scanning the paper or at least after looking at General Awareness section. A good proportion of questions were based on standard concepts of Time & Work and Time, Speed & Distance. Most of the questions were easy and could have been solved in less than a minute on an average. The only set back of this section was typing errors (I hope the authorities would take appropriate action on the same). But ignoring such typographical errors is always advisable during any test as it would have helped in maintaining energy and motivation throughout the test. Overall it was the easiest section of all and hence ideal attempts could be 33+ in approximately 35 minutes (excluding errors). Good score in this section will be 28+.

Section: General English: 40 questions – 1 mark each.

The section stood by its name. SNAP maintained its tradition by giving negligible weightage to RC. But grammar was a surprise entry. There was good weightage to grammar and its application this year.  Though it was relatively easy, scoring full in grammar is always difficult. Focus on Vocabulary and usage based questions was maintained as per the tradition. Questions on odd one out and double blanks were bit tricky because the options were close. As attempts are never a problem in Verbal section, a well prepared aspirant would have touched 35+ attempts in this section.  But good score will be close to 29+.

Overall SNAP2011 can be rated as moderate paper. Ideal attempts can touch 107 and a net score of 100+ can be considered as really good. However the cut offs for SIBM can be around 95 and SCMHRD can be around 90. Apart from the level of difficulty, there will be other parameters like number of applications, last date of closure etc affecting the cut-offs this year.

SNAP Answer key2011

SNAP Solutions

Total Questions: The exam was divided into 6 sections viz General awareness, Reading comprehension, Verbal ability, Quantitative ability, Data Interpretation and Analytical & Logical Reasoning. In all there were 120 questions and total marks allocated were equal to 100.

Duration: 2 hours

Marking: 1/3^rd negative marks.

Sectional Cut-offs: Not Mentioned

General Awareness: 21 questions, 0.5 mark each. 10.5 marks.

As expected the section carried questions varying from history, geography, Hollywood, Bollywood, media, economics, current affairs and who's who. Some of the questions would make u scratch you head to core. Specially the question of matching three parameters. The options were placed carefully. A candidate will have to be very careful in eliminating choice as two choice were very close in some of the match the column questions. An aspirant who has been following newspaper religiously would not find it difficult to attempt 15 or more questions. However for a well prepared student, attempt of 12+ in 15 to 17 minutes would be considered as an ideal one. So with reasonable accuracy rate, one should be scoring 4 to 4.5 net score. Overall the level of difficulty was moderate.

Reading comprehension: 15 questions, 0.75 mark each. 11.25 marks.

The passages were bit lengthy specially when we look at number of questions per passage. There were 4 passages with average length of passage being 1000 words appx. There were 3 passages with 4 questions each while one passage had 3 questions. First passage was on the effect on economy and trade due to influence of technology and government policy. The passage had lot of information and data. It discussed the effects in shipping industry in US during 1950's to 1970's . There were 4 question and all of them were direct in nature. Fast reading and quick grasping of data was all one required to attempt this passage. Second passage seemed to be a part of lecture on analysis of behaviour of people of different income group regarding managing their finances. The passage was more analytical and contained a strong inputs and opinions. Only those who understand basic jargon of finance should have tried this one. Though questions were not inferential but without having proper orientation of subject it would have been difficult to manage attempts from this passage in 7 to 8 minutes. Third passage however was very simple and good read. The passage contained the professional and other behavioural aspects of popular lawyers. There were two direct questions while two referred to terms of proverbs used in passage. This passage was must attempt. Last passage was on review of Indian bank's performance and the strategy they should adopt for future. Though the passage contained mostly opinions of the  author, it did have some facts to support. All three questions were direct and hence this passage was also worth an attempt. Overall a candidate should have wonderful reading speed in order to attempt around 11 questions ideally. A good candidate could take around 25 to 30 minutes to attempt this section and attempt 11 questions with reasonable accuracy rate. A net score of 5.5+ will be ideal for this section.

Verbal Ability: 23 questions, 0.75 mark each. 17.25 marks.

This section was again a mix of all varieties of question. There was a good focus on vocabulary driven question. If i club the review of RC section and this section, it reminded me of FMS paper of last year. Though the number of questions were less but the pattern was similar. Specially the questions on parts of speech. Questions on word usage and synonyms were simple. Question on confusing words were bit tricky though. There were two questions on Antonyms and one question on finding the correct spelling. Mostly the sections was easy to moderate. For students having good command on Vocabulary, this section was clear breakthrough. Overall a good candidate could have managed 16+ attempts in 15 minutes. Ideal net score for this section can be 8+.

Quantitative Aptitude: 24 question, 1 mark each. 24 marks

Now here comes the bonus stage. Quant section was comparatively very easy and scoring too. Except for few lengthy questions, all questions could have been attempted in one minute. Most of the questions were standard. Any student who would have solved a good reference material could have related with most the questions. Options were also not tricky unlike General Awareness section. Questions based on percentage and its application, Log, progression, Linear equation & Inequalities and Mensuration were very easy. While questions on Time and Work, Time and Distance and Logic were slightly time consuming. But there was hardly any tough question. Overall 20+ attempt in 25 to 28 minutes can be considered as ideal. A net score of 17+ should be good and this was necessary too considering the need of a good overall score.

Data Interpretation: 15 question, 1 mark each. 15 marks 

IIFT maintained its tradition in DI Section. That means, the section was calculative and ofcourse time consuming. Ideal strategy should be to manage a decent attempt in order to manage sectional cut-offs. So considering this, a candidate should have attempted the bar graph and the set on GDPs. A maximum of 17 to 18 minutes should have been allocated to attempt around 8 to 9 questions. Closer option could lead to calculation error, hence a good score could have been a close 3.5 marks.

Analytical and Logical Reasoning: 21 question, 1 mark each. 21 marks.

Reasoning turned out to be the most diverse section. There were questions on Decision making, coding, alphabetical and numerical series, Statements - Assumption and Statement - course of action. Most of the questions seemed familiar. Some of the questions were also indirectly inspired from previous years CAT questions. Overall and easy section. Ideal time to be allocated is 20-22 minutes and ideal attempt can be 18+. Managing accuracy in this section should not have been a big challenge and hence one should manage a net score of 14+.

Finally there is one more feel good paper after CAT. IIFT 2011 will be high scoring unlike previous papers. Hence this year's cut-offs are estimated to be on the higher side. Statistics mentioned below suggests that cut-offs can be close to 45 net score out of 100. This should be highest in last 5 years of IIFT history. This will however bring the best talent too. Wishing all of you good luck for the results.

Total Questions: 200, 4 sections with 40 questions in Verbal Ability, 50 questions Quantitative Aptitude + Data Interpretation, 50 questions on Reasoning Skills, 60 questions on Social Concerns.

Duration: 2 hours

Marking: 1/4^th negative marks.

Section 1: Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension.

PATTERN- all questions of 1 mark.

RC – one RC (13 questions). 11 questions based on RC and 2 questions on Vocabulary (usage of boldface words in the passage). Difficulty Level – Easy to Moderate.

Cloze Test – 10 questions. Difficulty level – Easy.

Sentence Correction – 10 questions. Difficulty Level – Easy.

Sentence Jumbling – 5 questions. Difficulty level – Moderate.

Antonyms – 2 questions. Difficulty level – Easy to Moderate.

Overall Difficulty level – Easy.

Good attempts – 32

Section 2: Quantitative Aptitude + Data Interpretation

Table – 5 (5 questions)

Pie – 2 (5 questions)

Line – 1 (5 questions)

All questions were direct data based and percentage based questions. The questions needed basic arithmetic and some smaller applications of mental calculations and approximations. Difficulty level – easy.

Data Sufficiency – 5 questions. Difficulty Level – Easy.

Arithmetic – 5 questions. Difficulty level – Easy. (Probability (3), Ratio and Proportion (2))

Overall Difficulty Level – Easy.

Good Attempts – 35

Section 3: Reasoning Skills

Data Sufficiency – 5 questions

Arrangement – 4 sets – 28 questions in total. Difficulty level – Moderate to Difficult.

Syllogisms – 6 questions – Difficulty Level – Easy..

Analytical Reasoning – 5 questions (coding decoding (2), odd – one out (3))

Decision Making – 6 questions. Difficulty level – Easy.

The section overall was Difficulty Level – Moderate.

Good Attempts – 30.

Section 4: Issues on Social Concern

Total Questions: 60 questions in 2 section – Section 1: 30 Quant, Section 2: 30 Verbal.

Duration: 140 mins – 70 + 70 mins

Sectional Cut-offs: Yes

‘First day, first slot’ – an expression that seems quite filmy, but then CAT has never had a build-up lesser than any mainstream cinema, so this expression fits well.

I feel like starting on a good note because nothing notably went wrong. And rather than giving a bland descriptive note, I feel like presenting a direct comparison between last year’s CAT and this year’s CAT.

First things first, I shall talk about the testing environment. There was surely some apprehension about the reduction in the number of test centers and whether it had some implication to cutting costs, but then, the arrangements were upto the mark. The test center was far more organised, the number of authorities at the center easily outnumbered that of last year. The computers, the cabin, the pencils, the eraser, the testing platform – with the 15 min demo, the instructions – verbal, written and electronic – were the same (on a lighter note, it was taken care that the same talkative authorities were around and that their mobile phones weren’t on silent mode!). All in all, a near-perfect simulation of last year and so far so good!

The test was pretty much in line with the demo put up on www.catiim.in. It started with Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation section followed by Verbal + Analytical / logical reasoning.

The Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation section was very close to expected with two-thirds of the section comprising QA questions. It was a well balanced paper emphasizing all the topics starting from arithmetic to algebra to modern mathematics to geometry to questions based on application of logic. There was a good mix of sitters, conceptual questions and application based tough-nuts to crack. The DI section was calculative and based on application of percentages and ratios. Caselets in DI however made its re-appearance in CAT after being mysterious absconding for few years. It will be easy for a well prepared test taker to attempt 60% of the questions but an IIM aspirant would have to attempt close to 80% of the questions with good accuracy.

The Verbal Ability & Analytical Reasoning / Logical Reasoning had a near similar break-up. The Verbal Ability spanning two-thirds of the section and the remaining was AR-LR. Verbal Ability was also well balanced with a reasonable justice to all its subsections like reading comprehension, verbal logic and vocabulary based fill-in-the-blanks. The RCs and passage completion required a complete understanding of the content in question and was inference based rather than information based in nature. The AR-LR section was based on arrangement and puzzles. This wasn’t the trickiest part of the paper and demanded simple application of logic and patience and was less time consuming as compared to the rest of the paper.

The overall paper was an attempt to come closer to the international standards. This paper – by format as well as difficulty level – would be considered far more standard and replicable. This will reduce the luck factor if not eliminate it. There is a definite difference in the difficulty level of the paper as compared to last year, and it was evident that the challenge of 70-70 mins to a section was bigger and better than the last year’s blanket format. The difference came in the form of the compelling situation where the aspirant had to focus on one section at a time. Both sections had sufficient content to stimulate intellect and common sense. Finally, an exam that will be appreciated by aspirants who have burnt their midnight oil to get their preparation right.

Keeping the confidentiality norms of CAT in mind, this is the maximum we can share. However, the overall feel is good and there are no shock elements, and if you are prepared well, you will surely end up BELL-ING This CAT.

All the best!

Warm Regards,

Parasharan Chari

To be decided at the end of the paper

Total Questions: 100 questions – 30 Quant, 30 AR, 20 Verbal. MCA – 10 Quant, 10 AR. MBA – 20 GK.

Duration: 80 mins – 64 + 16 mins

Sectional Cut-offs: Yes

PATTERN- all questions of 1 mark.

RC – one RC (4 questions). 3 direct answers. 1 inferential. Level – easy.

Fill In the Blanks – 8 in number. Based on tenses, preposition. Level – easy.

Syllogisms – 1.

Statement Conclusion – 1

Analogy - 6

Overall Difficulty level – Easy.

Section : Quantitative Aptitude

BODMAS – 1 question. Difficulty Level – Easy.

Percentage – 3 questions. Level – easy.

Profit and loss – 3 questions. Level –  easy to medium.

Ratio and Proportion – 2 questions. Level – easy to medium.

Set Theory – 1 question. Level – easy.

Time and work – 1 question. Level – easy.

Time and distance – 1 question. Level – easy.

Numbers – divisibility (2), LCM (1), remainder (3)

SICI – 1 questions. Level – difficult.

Functions – 3 questions. Level – easy.

Average – 2 questions. Level – easy

Geometry – 2 questions. Level – easy.

Area and volume – 2 questions. Level – easy.

Overall Difficulty Level – Easy.

Section 3: Reasoning Skills

Blood Relation – 1 questions. Level – easy.

Arrangement – 6 questions. Level – easy.

Line Arrangement – 5 questions. Level – easy.

Puzzles – 2 questions. Level – easy to medium.

Series – 6 questions. Level – medium.

Coding-decoding – 5 questions. Level – easy.

The section overall was Difficulty Level – Easy to Moderate.

Section : GK

Current Awareness - 13

Static GK – 13

Others – 4

Level – moderate.

Section : MCA

Along the lines of the normal Quant and AR. Just one question on higher mathematics – coordinate geometry.

Synopsis :

-       This paper was easier than the easiest OMG / FLT.

-       So last minute revision should include :

o     Verbal Logic – analogies. GCET Essentials – analogies.

o     Chap 15 of Language Structure. Tests given behind Language Structure Module.

o     Quant Aptitude 1 : Strictly exercise 1, emphasizing on topics like : Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Number systems, functions, time and work, time, speed and distance, Profit and loss, SICI, average, linear equations, set theory.

o     QA Module Zero: Full Module, emphasize on two unit tests of QA Module Zero.

o     QA Module 2: Strictly exercise 1.

o     Analytical Reasoning: Series, coding decoding, arrangement, blood relations (ex 1) from AR module.

-         Some tips :

o     Speed will be the key.

o     Overall Distribution: 80 questions – 50 easy. 20 moderate, 10 tough.

o     So, leave any question that seems calculative or tricky and first focus has to be on attempting those 50 questions by selecting the questions well.

o     Infrastructure / conduction – hassle free. The coordinators were very cooperative.

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Cutoffs can be calculated at the end of the entire testing window.