SSB PREPARATION -- HOW TO PREPARE FOR PPDT & TAT

PPDT and TAT are two different tests where candidates need to write a story based on the picture shown to them. PPDT pictures are sometimes hazy and it has only one picture, PPDT picture story need action and identification of number of characters, their mood and age. In case of TAT, which has around 11 picture including on blank picture, candidates are required to write the story only. Many candidates are asking for sample PPDT and TAT pictures, so here we are posting some TAT and PPDT pictures which you might face in SSB during TAT and PPDT test. Though most the pictures are not exactly the same but with matching theme

HOW TO PERFORM DURING PPDT

Assume that you have seen the picture(above) during story writing, it will be displayed till 30 secs and then 1 min for noting down few details. Assumptions may vary person to person, but try to assume practical and logical, if you find the character as a female, then write it as a female but male.

Details in the Box

·         According to the picture, I have seen a female[F] character first on the very left side of the frame with positive mode and age around 26 years. So you can see what I have mentioned it in the box given.

·         I have also seen another female[F] on the right hand side of the frame with little sad facial expression (negative mood) and age around 40 years.

·         I have seen another character in the middle of the frame, I not able to guess the gender so I marked it as a person [P] but I guess the age would be 45 years and mood is neutral.

·         These assumptions may vary person to person, one may see only two characters and other may assume it as a battle ground, so it depends on how you think and respond to what you see.

Action Part

Coming to action part, I find the scene of an agricultural land, so my story is related to farming/ agricultural. After seeing the picture few keywords came to my mind like farming+poor+agriculture+help+fertilizers+drought+earning+livelihood  etc etc , so based on that I assumed some story in my mind and based on that I wrote the action in very short.Your Story
Once you are done with above, you will get 4 mins to write the story, keep your story relavent to the picture and characters mentioned by you. Sometime you may not be able to finish the story in time, but that’s okay, you can add the missing parts while narrating but again make sure you do not change your story completely, but try to keep it relevant.

Discussion Test [Individual Narration + Group Discussion]

This part of screening which can make most of us nervous, as a matter of fact, individual narration and group discussion decides whether you stay for the day or screened out. So, use your full ability to perform well enough during narration and discussion.

This part consist two things, one is individual narration and another is group discussion. After the story writing, candidates will be divided in a group of 12 -14, all group members are suppose to sit in a semi circular fashion. You will be getting chance to read your story again just to revise before the individual narration starts.

Individual narration:

1.    Candidate with the least chest number start narrating his/her story, once finished, the next candidate will start his/her narration. This will proceeds till last candidate.

2.    Once the narration start, assessors will not interrupt neither you are suppose to look or talk to assessors.

3.    You will be getting sufficient instructions from assessors before the narration starts.

4.    Try to keep your story short and to the point, you may get maximum 1 min to finish your narration.

Group Discussion:

1.    As soon as the last candidate completes his/her narration, group discussion begins among group members without any interruption from assessors.

2.    Generally it starts with 6-7 candidates speaking/yelling at the same time, you are suppose to keep your calm and show maturity.

3.    The motto of the group discussion is to make a common story out of the picture shown.

4.    If the group discussion becomes fish market, assessors may divide the group into two halves. This makes the discussion easier because of less candidates in each group.

5.    You may get 5-10 mins for discussion.

6.    At last assessors will stop the discussion and tell the group to move out of the room.

PPDT/Screening Result:

1.    You will get your results after few hours, those who are selected stay back for next few days for stage-II testing.

2.    Don’t loose hope if you are not selected. Try to learn from your experiences.

Thematic Apperception Test of SSB Interview

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The TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) of SSB Interview is popularly known as the picture interpretation technique because it uses a standard series of provocative yet ambiguous pictures about which the subject is asked to tell a story. 

The subject is asked to tell as dramatic a story as they can for each picture presented, including the followin

·         What has led up to the situation

·         What is happening at the moment

·         What the characters are feeling and thinking their mood.

·         What is the outcome of the story.

How to prepare for TAT- Thematic Apperception Test

1.      Keep on practice by writing stories on various pictures

2.       Improve your writing speed.

3.       Keep a clean and calm thought process while writing story.

4.       Always write a practically possible story.

5.       Writing something from real life situations is also helpful.

6.       Do not use very tough language which is hard to understand.

7.       Write legible.