“In the PPDT test, you’re shown a blurry picture for 30 seconds. Then, you have a minute to guess the age, sex, and mood of the people in the picture. After that, you get 4 minutes to write a story based on what you think is happening in the picture.
Your story should show what happened before, during, and after the scene in the picture. You should take charge and suggest solutions for any problems shown. The test aims to reveal your subconscious reactions to the picture.
Your story should be about real-life situations and how you dealt with them. It should reflect your social attitudes and responsibilities. A good story combines your thoughts with action.
Keep your story short, clear, and impactful. Practice writing daily to improve your sentence structure and expression. Your story reveals your mindset and can affect whether you move to the next stage of selection.”
Let us know about the Tips to Write a Good Story based on your stimulus in PPDT
- Look at the blurry picture for just 30 seconds. Focus on the background details to set the scene for your story. Try to notice small things to make your story more realistic.
- Make sure your main character does things that could happen in real life. Imagine yourself in their shoes and think about what you would do in that situation.
- Stick to the theme of the picture. Don’t change it completely or add unrelated problems or disasters to your story.
- Don’t plan your story too much. The assessors want to see your natural responses and creative thinking, not a scripted story. Show your Officer Like Qualities (OLQs).
- Time is limited, so write clearly and in proper sentences. Practice writing stories quickly with blurry pictures to get used to reacting naturally to the stimulus.
- Introduce your main character in a way that shows their motives clearly. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives to describe them.
7. Try to write the story from the point of view of a common but aware man. You should be able to convey your exact thoughts through your story as it shows that you do possess good imaginative and practical skills.
8. The story written by you should be divided into three parts and described accordingly. The three parts should be “What has happened in the picture?”, “What is currently happening in the story/picture?” and “What are the possible future outcomes or What will happen in the story?”
