The PPDT screening test in detail

The PPDT runs back to back with the Intelligence Test on Day 1 morning, and together they form the screening round. Because the result is announced the same morning, this is the first moment a candidate can be eliminated, so the procedure is worth understanding precisely.

The exact procedure

• A single hazy, ambiguous picture is shown to the whole group for about 30 seconds.
• You are then given a short window to note down what you saw: the number of characters, their likely gender and age, their mood, and the action you think is happening. Reading the age, sex, and mood of the people in the picture correctly is part of what is checked.
• You write a short story (roughly 80–100 words) about what the picture shows: who the people are, what led to this moment, and how it resolves. You typically get about 4.5–5 minutes for this, and the story should carry a title and a positive, constructive ending.
• Candidates narrate their stories one by one to the group, in turn.
• The group then discusses and must arrive at one shared narrative that everyone can accept.

The story formula

A strong PPDT story follows a simple arc: establish the people and setting, introduce a realistic problem or situation, and resolve it in a practical, constructive way. The story should be grounded and unchanged, believable rather than dramatic or cinematic. A useful skeleton is past → present → future: what happened before the moment in the picture, what is happening now, and how it ends well.

What is being tested

The individual story tests imagination and how quickly you can structure a clear narrative under time pressure. The narration and group discussion test communication, initiative, and behaviour in a group: who listens, who pushes their own version, and who helps the group converge on a story everyone can own.

Common mistakes

• Including details that were not in the picture
• Writing an overly dark, violent, or dramatic story
• Refusing to accept the group's decision and insisting on your own story
• Staying silent during the group discussion

Example story: the shape of a good answer

Picture shown: a hazy rural scene with three or four young people around a broken hand pump near a school building. A story written to the PPDT formula might look like this:

Example story

“In the village of Charpara the only hand pump of the local school broke down in the dry season. Four students of class nine found the pump useless during their morning duty, and the school had no drinking water for the day. The group did not wait for the authorities. One student, Rahim, walked two kilometres to borrow a repair kit from the Union Parishad office. The others fetched water from the nearby pond for immediate use and informed the head teacher. Together they repaired the pump by the afternoon and tested the water. The school went back to its routine, and the students were praised in the assembly for their initiative and teamwork.”

Notice what this story does: it is set in a believable Bangladeshi context, the characters' age and situation match the picture, there is a real problem and a practical solution, teamwork is central, and it ends constructively. It does not invent characters who were not visible, and it does not reach for drama. Yours does not need to be literary; it needs to be clear, positive, and quick to write.