Day 1- Screening Test
To qualify for Stage II, a candidate has to clear Screening Test. So screening is the first hurdle in SSB interview. Screening test decide that you will stay at selection centre for next 4 days or not. We can call it a day of rejection because 50- 70% of total candidates get rejected in screening test.
Screening consist of three things:
1. Intelligence Test (Verbal & Non-Verbal)
2. PPT (Picture Perception Test) &
3. Discussion.
In intelligence test, simple verbal and Non-Verbal reasoning questions are asked, which you can prepare easily from various reasoning books available in market. “Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning” by R. S. Aggerwal can be good choice for it.
Before starting of actual test, a practice booklet is provided to you, so that you become familiar with the actual test. This booklet usually contains 10-15 practice questions. After the practice test, main booklet is provided to you. It contains 60 questions and time given to you is 25-30 minutes. You are not allowed to write anything on question booklet. You can use the free space available on answer sheet for rough work. After the test, question booklet & answer sheet is taken back from you.
Then the 2nd Intelligence Test i.e. Non-Verbal test is conducted. Similar procedure is followed in this test. Firstly the practice booklet and then the main booklets are provided to you. It also contains 60 questions and 25-30 minutes are given to you to solve it. That’s all about the Intelligence Test. Keep one thing in mind that intelligence test result will not affect your screening result because they check intelligence test answer sheet of only screen in candidates .But don’t take it too lightly, because its marks will be added to the final All India Merit List.
PPT (Picture Perception Test) & Discussion are the next tests in day 1 process. In screening you mainly have to focus on these two tests. Here will talk about PPD&T in detail:
In PPT, a very hazy picture is shown to you .It remains on screen for 30 seconds. In next 1 minute you have to write down details like No. of characters, age, sex, mood & action on the answer sheet provided to you .The answer sheet having a rectangle box on top most corner. You have to mark details by making as many dots in box as there are no. of characters in your story. In the next 3 minutes you have to write a story on that picture according to your imagination. Candidates have to mark one of the characters as the central character or better say as a hero of story. They have to write story in a manner like-what led to the situation, what is going on in the situation (action), and what will happen at the end.
One Similar Example is Given Below
1. No. of characters:
There can be any number of characters depending on your imagination. There can be a single character, two, three characters or even more than that. So there is no limit on number of characters. You can assume as many characters as you want.
2. Age:
The characters can be of any age, but most probably of approx. your own age.
3. Sex:
It can be Male/Female/Person. When it is not clear from picture then simply write “person”.
4. Mood:
+ / – / neutral. You should try to think about positive and neutral Mood.
5. Action:
Write the action going on in picture according to your imagination in a single sentence.
After the story writing, answer sheets are taken back from you. All the candidates are divided into smaller groups of 12-15 candidates each. They are taken to separate rooms and made to sit in a semi-circle arrangement. Each candidate has to narrate his story in the group in about 1 minute. If you were not able to write the complete story in answer sheet, you can complete it in narration. As the last candidate complete his story, the discussion starts. Discussion can go for 10-20 minutes. After each group’s discussion is over, candidates are made to sit in the testing hall. Within an hour, the screening result is announced by one of the board member. Screen in candidate’s chest number are called and new chest number are allotted to them. Rest candidates are addressed by one of the board member, and wished good luck for their future and sent back to railway station. Hence the screening tests end.
NOTES:
1. You are not allowed to wear any kind of Wristwatch in screening test.
2. There is no negative marking in Verbal and Non-verbal test, so try to attempt all the questions.