SNAP Books & Study Material recommended by experts

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.

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.

It is advised that candidates must not rely only on SNAP books but also practice previous years SNAP question papers and mock tests. For English, they must read various fiction and non-fiction books. SNAP authorities provide official mock tests a month before the exam and candidates must practice the SNAP mock tests at least once. Yes, SNAP preparation books recommended by the experts have sample questions with solved answers. All the books mentioned above have sample questions and their process to solve and answers so that candidates can understand and practice well. The questions range from easy to tough and are of various types which help candidates in preparation. However, you should nor rely on the sample questions of course books only. You should practice official as well as unofficial SNAP mock tests of different difficulty levels and types.

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.

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.

The syllabus for Analytical and Logical Reasoning section of SNAP exam includes topics such as Family Tree/Blood Relations, Coding/Decoding, Analogy & Series, Seating Arrangement, Direction Sense, Mathematical Reasoning, Clocks & Calendars, Syllogisms, Meaningful Word/Matrix, Critical Reasoning, Visual Reasoning, Verbal & Miscellaneous Reasoning. The Analytical and Logical Reasoning section of SNAP carries maximum number of questions i.e. 25. Candidates have to choose the questions they can answer correctly, otherwise they will be given negative marks. So, SNAP aspirants must practice ample number of sample questions from these topics. The more they will practice, the better they will get at solving reasoning questions as it is all about knowing the patterns and unravelling the puzzles. Since, this section carries maximum marks, you cannot be ill prepared for it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

SNAP syllabus is similar to other MBA entrance exams, so candidates can prepare for it by referring to books for CAT and XAT, etc. But they must solve SNAP specific sample paper and mock tests to develop the skill to solve SNAP questions which are slightly different from other MBA entrance exams. Some of the books that are recommended for SNAP preparation have been listed below:

• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Varun Gupta
• Quantitative Aptitude for All Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by R S Aggarwal
• SNAP Symbiosis MBA Admission Test by Priyanka Prakashan
• A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by R S Aggarwal
• Objective General English by R.S. Aggarwal, Vikas Aggarwal
• Competitive General English by Kiran Prakashan
• General English for Competitive Exams by Disha Experts
• High School English Grammar by Wren & Martin
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis     

The official SNAP mock test will be accessible to only those candidates who will register for the exam. You will need to register for the SNAP exam before a certain deadline (the SNAP authorities will inform regarding the same at the official website) to be eligible for official SNAP mock test. The SNAP authorities conduct SNAP mock test twice in a gap of two months. The first mock test is conducted in October and the second mock test is conducted in November. Candidates can book a slot and appear for the official mock test from home in remote proctored mode. The SNAP mock test is only for practice purpose and its performance has no bearing on candidate’s SNAP result.

The SNAP mock test toppers are in fact rewarded with cash back and shopping vouchers by the SNAP conducting body.