Day 2

This test is similar to the PPDT which was the one of the tests during screening on the first day. The difference was that this time 12 stories are to be written as 11 pictures (Black & white and slightly blur) come up on the screen one after another, with each staying for 30 seconds. Then we have 4 mins to write on it. Interestingly on the 12^th time no picture is shown but the screen remains blank for the 30s and we have to write this last story completely from our imagination.

As I had not been able to complete my story for PPDT on Day 1, I was more prepared and was able to complete these stories within time. About the content which I wrote in these stories – some of the guides on the internet which I had read stated that the candidate has to write these stories keeping in mind that they are the main character of the story – I followed this notion and hence most of my answers were based on the thoughts or incidents which I had experienced till date.

The Word Association Test started after TAT with a 30s break in between. In WAT 60 words appear on the screen one after another, with each staying for 15s. In these 15s a candidate is expected to read the word on screen and write a short sentence using the shown word.

The pages in the answer booklet for this test had 20 lines (without numbering) on each page. So, after 20 words appeared on the screen an additional 15s of break occurred which helped to keep a match between order of words and the sentences.

I was able to write sentences for all the 60 words. Some examples of words that appear are –

BOOK, BIRD, EXCUSE, LIFE, FILM, ANGER, ROSE.

There is no rule as to what form of the word should be used in the sentence, so we are free to use book, booked, booking for the word BOOK. Also, there is no fixed directive as to what the sentence should say other than it should include the given word. But a general notion is to write something factual, positive and that reflects your own beliefs and values.

Couple sentence I remember writing are:

1. Online ticket booking has grown in recent times.

2. Birds are masters of flight.

After the WRT and a 30s break it was time for the Situation Reaction Test. For this test the answer booklet had 60 printed sentences each describing a situation and couple lines blank after it. The candidate has to write his/her reaction to the situation in those blank lines in 60 minutes. The ‘reaction’ here meaning what steps, actions would you take to bring the given situation to a conclusion.

For ex.

• In the cinema hall he is sitting in the last row and watching the movie with his friends. Some bad elements are teasing a girl in the front row. ______________________________________________________________________________________________.

Answer could be :

In the cinema hall he is sitting in the last row and watching the movie with his friends. Some bad elements are teasing a girl in the front row. He will intervene and stop them from doing so. He will also make sure that the culprits are sent out of the cinema hall.

• His friend is extremely poor but good in studies. He can’t pay his fees. His own financial condition is also not very sound but the wants to help his friend. ___________________________________________________________________________________.

Answer could be :

His friend is extremely poor but good in studies. He can’t pay his fees. His own financial condition is also not very sound but he wants to help his friend. He will help his friend to the extent possible and seek his help in studies. Thus, both benefit and do well together.

I was able to complete only 33-34 sentences in the SRT. I was thinking longer on trying to find a good closure for each sentence, which hampered my performance in this. In hindsight more practice on this could have helped.

In the SDT, we got 15 minutes and to write 5 different paragraphs describing –

1. What his/her parents think of him/her?

2. What does the teacher/employer think?

3. What do friends and colleagues think?

4. What does he think of himself?

5. What kind of person he would like to become?

For this test I had asked my family and friends, before the SSB, about their thoughts about me. I had prepared a rough paragraph for each question from their responses. This helped me not only in writing the answers but also tremendously personally.

On the day of the test, I wrote the first four answers but was unable to complete the last question and ended up writing only a sentence for it. I think the other answers were also not as well written, as I fumbled a bit and wasted time in search of suitable words to complete them. Again, more practice in writing could have helped here.