The overall difficulty level of the paper was moderate to difficult. A well-prepared student should be able to attempt upwards of 85 questions. In comparison to last year, the Verbal Ability, Reasoning and General Awareness sections were on the tougher side while the Quantitative Aptitude section was on the easier side.
The analysis of individual sections is given below.
The detailed break-up of the section is given as follows:
| Topic | Number of questions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 5 | Easy - Moderate |
| Vocabulary | 15 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Analogy | 2 | Easy |
| Odd one out | 3 | Easy |
| Idioms | 4 | Difficult |
| FIB - Vocabulary based | 2 | Moderate |
| FIB - Grammar based | 2 | Easy |
| Spot the Error | 5 | Easy - Moderate |
| Sentence Correction | 2 | Easy |
The section was dominated by vocabulary. The emphasis was on migratory words and word usage. There were questions on grammatical usage and verbal analogy. There was only one Reading Comprehension passage which was difficult to read but the questions were simple. The students found the section to be quite difficult to attempt. It was certainly more difficult than the 2014 SNAP paper. An attempt of 21-23 with a net score of 18-20 would be considered to be a reasonably good score. One should have taken around 22-25 minutes to attempt the section.
The detailed break-up of the section is given as follows:
| Topic | Number of questions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Percentages, SICI | 4 | Easy - Moderate |
| P&L | 3 | Easy - Moderate |
| R&P | 1 | Easy |
| TSD, Work | 3 | Easy - Moderate |
| Averages | 1 | Easy |
| Number System | 8 | Easy - Moderate |
| Algebra | 3 | Easy - Moderate |
| Logarithm | 2 | Easy - Moderate |
| Geometry, Mensuration | 2 | Moderate -Difficult |
| P&C | 1 | Easy |
| Probability | 3 | Easy - Moderate |
| Trigonometry | 1 | Easy |
| Age Problem | 1 | Easy |
| Set Theory | 1 | Moderate |
| DI-Pie Chart | 4 | Easy - Moderate |
| Puzzles | 2 | Easy - Moderate |
The difficulty level of this section was easy to moderate. While most questions were easy, 4-5 questions were tricky. Questions from Number System and Arithmetic dominated the paper. An attempt of 30-32 with 85% accuracy should fetch a good score in this section.
The detailed break-up of the section is given as follows:
| Topic | Number of questions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Blood Relation-Tree Based | 2 | Easy - Moderate |
| Coding Decoding | 5 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Series | 2 | Moderate -Difficult |
| Selection | 4 | Easy |
| Seating Arrangement | 5 | Moderate |
| Linear Arrangement | 1 | Easy |
| Mathematical | 4 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Analogy | 2 | Difficult |
| CR | 1 | Difficult |
| Puzzles | 2 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Statement Argument | 2 | Moderate - Difficult |
This section had 4 questions that could be put in Quantitative Aptitude section as well. The two caselets were easy. Almost all the typical areas of the Reasoning section were present. The questions based upon Analogy and Coding Decoding were quite difficult. An attempt of 18-20 and a score of 32-34 in 45-50 minutes is possible in this section. This is about 10 marks lesser than what was possible last year.
The detailed break-up of the section is given as follows:
| Topic | Number of questions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Polity | 2 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Geography | 4 | Moderate - Difficult |
| History | 7 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Economy | 4 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Miscellaneous | 11 | Moderate - Difficult |
| Topic | Number of questions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Business Economy | 2 | Easy |
| Contemporary GK | 10 | Easy - Moderate |
This section was a good mix of all the areas of Current Affairs(Persons, Business Awareness, Sports, Science &technology, Awards, Government Programmes/Operations, Current affairs-Geography and Miscellaneous GK ).