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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Important topics are:

1. Syllogisms
2. Critical Reasoning
3. Cause and Effect
4. Statement and Conclusion
5. Strong and Weak Arguments
6. Coding and Decoding
7. Statement and Inference
8. Data Sufficiency
9. Data Interpretation
10. Arrangements

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. 

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, 

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

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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

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. 

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.