SET BA Mass Communication Books 2026: Check best books for exam preparation

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Registration - 15 Apr '26

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This exam is conducted for courses given below:

BBA BCA BA Mass Communication BSc Eco/Eco (H)

Updated on Apr 8, 2026 21:37 IST

By Saumya Jain, Assistant Manager- Content

SET books 2026: Students interested in taking the SET exam 2026 should get hold of the best and recommended SET books to score well in the exam. The best way to prepare for the SET exam is through studying with the right set of books and study materials. Various SET books also have SET practice question papers based on the concepts studied in the SET book.

SET is a gateway to the Symbiosis Institutes for admission into the BBA programme. Symbiosis International (Deemed) University will conduct the SET 2026 exam in about 80 cities across India. Choosing the right preparation books is an integral part of any entrance exam preparation. Shiksha brings you a compilation of best books for SET exam 2026.

Table of contents

Best Books for SET Exam 2026
How to Choose Best Books for SET Exam 2026
Section-wise Best Books for SET 2026
SET Exam 2026 Important Topics
Quick Preparation Tips to Prepare for SET Exam 2026
FAQs on SET Exam Preparation Books

Best Books for SET Exam 2026

It is very important to have a good set of SET exam books and study material to ace the entrance test. Candidates must know that choosing the best books for SET exam 2026 is an imperative part of SET exam preparation. In order to have a stronghold over the SET syllabus 2026, having the best books for SET and study material is also very crucial. Read below to know the section-wise best books for SET.

Also Read:

Commonly asked questions

Q: What are the common mistakes to avoid in SET?

Common mistakes to avoid in SET exam include:

Poor Time Management
Neglecting Planning
Procrastination
Lack of Conceptual Clarity
Overlooking Sectional Preparation
Ignoring Previous Years' SET Question Papers

Q: Are Class 12th Maths questions asked in SET exam?

Questions on mathematics in the SET exam are based on Class 10 and Class 12 levels. The SET entrance is a popular BBA exam that the students can take after Class 12. The difficulty level of the SET exam is usually easy. The SET question paper is divided into four sections, i.e. General English, Quantitative Aptitude, General Knowledge and Logical Reasoning. The QA (Maths) is an important section of the SET exam and usually of a moderate difficulty level. The exam is a test of your speed and ability to pick and solve the right questions. Class 10 and Class 12 Maths dominate the exam. To score well in the SET exam, students must be very clear with the concepts of NCERT Mathematics.

Subject	Questions	Marks
General English	16	16
Quantitative	16	16
General Awareness	16	16
Analytical and Logical Reasoning	12	12
Total	60	60

How to Choose Best Books for SET Exam 2026

Take a look at the factors which must be kept in mind before choosing the best books for SET.

SET syllabus: When choosing the study material for the SET exam, one must keep in mind that the books that they choose must cover entire SET syllabus. It must cover all the important topics which can be asked in the SET question paper.
Edition: The books that students choose should be of most recent edition which must contain the latest topics and syllabus
Solved Sample Papers: A book with solved SET sample papers will be of great help. Sample papers give an insight intoSET exam pattern, type of questions and at the same time help in analysing progress.

Also Read: Is IPMAT tougher than SET?

Commonly asked questions

Q: What is the ideal time to prepare for SET exam?

Aspirants should start preparing for the SET exam at least six months before the test date. SET preparation requires planning thus one must start early. They can also join coaching institutes for focused preparation. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not. Divide your preparation into three phases - 1. Covering the syllabus 2. Practicing mock tests, sample questions and 3. Revision.

The SET syllabus includes the following topics:

General English: Parajumbles, Sentence Completion, Grammar, Comprehension Passages, Synonyms and Antonyms, etc.

Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Strong and Weak Arguments, and Syllogism

Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Arithmetic, Mensuration etc.

General Awareness: Companies and Founders, Awards, Books and Authors, Sports, Politics, Current Affairs, etc.

You can read the following SET books for exam preparation:

A New Approach to Reasoning by BS Sijawali
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
Multi-Dimensional Reasoning by Mishra Kumar and Dr Lal
Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin
How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
Class 9 and Class 10 NCERT Mathematics books
Quantitative Aptitude by R. S Aggarwal
Manorama Year Book

Q: How to download SET syllabus PDF?

To download SET syllabus PDF, follow process below:

Click on SET Exam Syllabus 2026 PDF link
Login to Shiksha.com with user ID and password
Click on Download buttton

Q: Which are the best books for the General English section of the SET question paper?

General English section of SET exam important books are:

Name of the Book	Author/ Publication
Word Power Made Easy	Norman Lewis
High School English Grammar and Composition	Wren and Martin
Pearson Guide to IIM Indore-IPM Entrance Examination	Pearson
Objective General English	SP Bakshi

Section-wise Best Books for SET 2026

Check out the section-wise best books for all the sections of the SET exam in the tables below.

Best Books for General English Section

This section of the SET 2026 question paper comprises topics such as Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Vocabulary, Sentence Completion, Phrases and Idioms, Prepositions, Error Spotting, Analogy, etc. Look at the table below to know the important books for the General English section.

Book name	Author/Publisher
High School English Grammar and Composition Key	Wren and Martin
Word Power Made Easy	Norman Lewis
Objective General English	SP Bakshi

Best Books for Quantitative Aptitude Section

Check the table below to know the best books for the Quantitative Aptitude section of the SET question paper. The section includes topics such as Number systems, Graphs, Arithmetic Equations, Ratio and Proportion, Time, Speed and Distance, Probability, etc.

Book Name	Author/ Publisher
Quantitative Aptitude for All Competitive Examinations	Abhijit Guha
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examination	RS Aggarwal
Fast Track Objective Arithmetic	Arihant Publications
NCERT Mathematics Book for 9^th and 12^th class	NCERT

Best Books for Logical Reasoning Section

This section of the SET question paper comprises topics such as Verbal Reasoning, Blood Relations, Analogy, Coding and Series, Syllogisms, Assumptions, Venn Diagram, etc. Check out the best books for Logical Reasoning section in the table below.

Book Name	Author/ Publisher
A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning	R.S. Aggarwal
How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for the CAT	Arun Sharma
Analytical and Logical Reasoning for CAT & Other Management Exams	Peeyush Bharadwaj
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT	Nishit K. Sinha

Best Books for General Knowledge Section

This section of the SET exam has topics on Current Affairs, Awards, the Latest Trends, Sports, Events, etc. The best study material for this section would be newspapers such as The Hindu, Financial Express, and Economic Times, etc. and magazines such as India Today, Business Today, Wall Street Journal, etc. Candidates should also be updated with the latest trends. For static GK, candidates can refer to the Manorama Year Book. Also Read: Current Affairs Guide

Read More:

Tips to prepare for GK	How to ace the General English section of SET
Tips and tricks to ace the Quant section	How to score well in Logical Reasoning section: Tips and Tricks
SET cutoff	SET application form 2026
SET counselling	SET admit card 2026

Commonly asked questions

Q: What are the important topics of General Knowledge section of SET exam?

The General Knowledge section of SET is usually of a higher difficulty level but it can be completed in maximum 15 minutes. The questions pertain to static GK and Current Affairs. Topics included in SET GK section are: 1. Business 2. Politics 3. Awards 4. Inventions 5. Science and Technology 6. Sports 7. Society 8. World 9. Advertising 10. Books and Authors 11. Entertainment 12. History 13. Geography 14. Politics.

View list of Books

SET Exam 2026 Important Topics

Check the table below to know the most important topics of SET syllabus 2026:

Section	SET Syllabus
General English	Figures of Speech, Antonyms, Vocabulary, Idioms and Phrases, Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Parts of Speech
General Knowledge	Current Affairs, Science, History, Geography, Economics, Politics
Quantitative	Probability, Percentages, Arithmetic, Equations, Mensuration
Analytical and Logical Reasoning	Syllogisms, Blood Relations, Arrangements, Coding and Decoding, Puzzles, Cause and Effect

Also Read:

SET 2026 Section-Wise Weightage and Difficulty Level

Check the table below to know the difficulty level of SET sections and their weightage:

Section	Weightage	Difficulty Level
General English	16	Easy
General Awareness	16	Easy
Quantitative	16	Moderate
Analytical and Logical Reasoning	12	Easy
Total	60	Easy to Moderate

Commonly asked questions

Q: What are the important topics of the Analytical and Logical Reasoning section in SET question paper?

Important topics are:

Syllogisms
Critical Reasoning
Cause and Effect
Statement and Conclusion
Strong and Weak Arguments
Coding and Decoding
Statement and Inference
Data Sufficiency
Data Interpretation
Arrangements

Q: Where can I check the SET syllabus?

Students can download the SET syllabus PDF from Shiksha's website. SIU does not release an official exam syllabus, but based on the trends and history, Shiksha has prepared the SET syllabus.

Q: What are the best books for SET BBA preparation?

SET exam preparation requires the best books for SET exam. Listed below are some of the best books for SET BBA exam:

General English: Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis, High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin, Objective General English by SP Bakshi

General Awareness: Manorama Yearbook, Pratiyogita Darpan, Lucent's General Knowledge, Current Affairs Magazines (e.g., Competition Success Review, Pratiyogita Darpan)

Quantitative Aptitude: Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Aggarwal, Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma, NCERT Mathematics textbooks of Class 9 and 10

Analytical & Logical Reasoning: A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT by Nishit K. Sinha,

View Syllabus

Quick Preparation Tips to Prepare for SET Exam 2026

Here are quick preparation tips for SET exam 2026:

Cover high weightage topics of SET exams syllabus 2026
Know SET exam format, know marking scheme and question distribution
Improve speed for solving Quantitative questions. Practice mental maths
Set timers for logical reasoning sets, quant questions, reading comprehension passages of SET exam
Do not overlook SET mock test

SET Preparation at Home

Use SET syllabus as a guide, make a list of subjects that study materials must cover.
Plan study time on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis according to the time available.
Start reading newspaper and magazine editorials to gain a command of the English language and GK section.
For quantitative section, read basic concepts and formulas from school textbooks.
Examine progress through mock test monthly.
Keep analyzing and improving score over time until test day.

Commonly asked questions

Q: Is SET easy or tough?

SET is conducted for BBA admissions at Symbiosis International University. SET is considered easy to moderate in terms of the difficulty.

Q: Is SET BBA exam difficult for students who have not studied Maths in high school?

Students can prepare for SET exam even if they have not studied mathematics in high school. To prepare for mathematics component of SET exam students can start their SET preparation by learning formulas and theorems. The difficulty level of the QA section is slightly higher than rest sections but with practice, even a non-maths student can score well.

Q: How to crack SET in first attempt?

To crack SET exam in first attempt, students should have a preparation plan for 3 to 6 months bifurcated according to topics, strengths and knowledge of students. Students should consistently practice to fetch good SET scores.

FAQs on SET Exam Preparation Books

Check some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on SET books.

Q: What are the important topics of the General English section of SET exam?

Like other management entrance exams, the General English section is divided into Reading Comprehension and English Usage. There are a few comprehension passages while the topics of English usage are as follows: 1. Synonyms 2. Antonyms 3. Grammar 4. Fill in the blanks 5. Word meanings 6. Vocabulary 7. Parajumbles 8. Idioms and Phrases 9. Error Identification 10. Para Formation Questions (PFQs) 11. Correct statement 12. Cloze 13. Incorrect word/phrase.

Q: What is the benefit of having SET books?

Preparing for the SET exam from books and study material recommended by experts is important in order to gain an in-depth knowledge on different topics included in the SET syllabus. SET reference books contain detailed information on each topic of SET syllabus and will acquaint the students with SET exam pattern and difficulty level of the questions. In addition, they also contain solved sample papers, which may or may not be present in online resources always. It is always a wise decision to refer to more than one book for SET exam. Test takers can make use of the additional information available in the books while preparing for SET exam. Cracking a competitive exam becomes easier with the right set of books and study material.

Q: Which are the high weightage topics for SET exam?

General English: Synonyms, Antonyms, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, correct grammar usage and their rules

Quantitative: Geometry, Algebra, Statistics.

General Awareness: General knowledge and current affairs.

Analytical Reasoning: Coding and decoding, Data interpretation, True or false statements, Probably true or false statements, etc.

Q: How to prepare for SET exam?

Understand the pattern of the question paper for your subject.
Examine previous year's questions to determine the requirements of each section.
SET question papers mostly consist of four sections, including English Quant, GK, and Reasoning.
Collect study material accordingly to study each concept in detail.
Make a proper study plan as per the time available and strengths in each section.
Take brief notes on important topics to aid in revision.
Practice as much as you can via sample papers to prepare well for SET exam day.

Q: Does SET exam have advanced level topics?

Syllabus in SET exam is based on Class 12 and students need not study advanced topics beyond Class 12. SET syllabus assesses knowledge of students and skills at Class 12 level.

Q: Are IPMAT preparation books useful for SET preparation?

Yes, IPMAT books can be used for SET exam preparation as both are BBA entrance exams. Candidates can use same books for preparing for topics such as Quantitative Aptitude and General English. However, the difficulty level of SET exam is much easier as compared to that of IPMAT exam.