Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts SSC CGL exams every year for the recruitment and selection of candidates in different Grade ‘B’ and ‘C’ posts in different ministries and departments under the Government of India. This article will help you to know How to Prepare For SSC CGL.
SSC CGL recruitment consists of Four tiers :
- First two Tiers: Computer-based objective examination
- Third Tier: Descriptive pen and paper-based examination (both in English and Hindi.)
- Fourth Tier: DEST (Data Entry Skill Test) and CPT (Computer Proficiency Test) (only for selective posts.)
SSC CGL Exam Preparation Tips (Tier 1) :
Duration of exam: 60 minutes
[Note: 80 minutes for visually handicapped candidates or those suffering from Cerebral Palsy]
Can attempt the sections in any order as there is no sectional time limit.
Exam Pattern :
| Subject | Questions | Marks | Duration of the Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 25 | 50 | – |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 | – |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 | – |
| English Language | 25 | 50 | – |
| Total | 100 | 200 | 60 minutes |
How To Prepare For SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam Section Wise:
     General Intelligence and Reasoning:
- Practice makes everything perfect so solve as many as practice papers you can.
- Solve the previous year’s question paper to get familiar with the pattern.
- Start with which are particularly scoring topics such as puzzles, figure-based questions, analogy, coding-decoding, series.
- Â Do not skip or ignore these questions which can be time-consuming i.e. questions related to non-verbal reasoning topics like image assembling, figure-counting, etc. as it needs visual imagination.
- Should always set goals while practicing, like how many questions you should aim at attempting at a particular time with accuracy like at least 15-20 questions in 20 minutes.
    General Awareness (GA) :
- As per the previous year’s observation, it is the most scoring section so if you prepare well it won’t take much of your time it can be done in 10 minutes or less.
- Mostly questions from Static GK are asked in this section’s current affairs. So, more focus on static GK and simultaneously stay in touch with the current affairs.
- To avoid cramming make notes and mind maps and lists to recall facts, a chronology of historical events, and dates.
- Revision is the key to this section so don’t forget to revise.
    Quantitative Aptitude :
- This is the most time-consuming section of the exam so you have to be strategic while solving this section.
- Start with topics like percentage; profit and loss; speed, distance and time; boat and stream questions; ratio and proportion; data interpretation, etc.
- Shortcuts and tricks should be known to you as it will help in your speed and accuracy.
- Topics on which you should focus like simplification, age problems, interest, percentages, ratio, and proportion because you can score easily, and it’s not that hard to understand.
- This section demands regular and daily practice as which will help in memorize the formulas as it is very important.
- Don’t devote more than 25mins to this section.
     English Section :
- Vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension are the three key aspects that you need to efficiently prepare for this exam.
- Solve the previous year’s papers and practice papers because the English section pattern is repeated and proper prep will help in completing this section in 20 mins or less.
- The reading newspaper regularly not only helps in preparing for current affairs but also helps in improving your vocab and comprehension skills.
- Start practicing 2 comprehension passages daily and if you come across new words try to learn their meaning, antonyms, and synonyms.
How To Prepare For SSC CGL Tier 2 :
The Level of Difficulty is increased in this Tier as compare to Tier 1, its an MCQ based exam in both English and Hindi.
Exam Pattern for Tier 2
| SSC CGL Tier-II Papers & Subjects | Number of Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper-I: Quantitative Abilities | 100 | 200 |
| Paper-II: English Language & Comprehension | 200 | 200 |
| Paper-III: Statistics | 100 | 200 |
| Paper-IV: General Studies (Finance and Economics) | 100 | 200 |
| Total | 500 | 800 |
Exam Marking Scheme for Tier-II :Â
| SSC CGL Tier-II Papers | Marks Awarded per Question | Negative Marking |
|---|---|---|
| I | 2 marks | 0.50 marks |
| II | 1 marks | 0.25 marks |
| III | 2 marks | 0.50 marks |
| IV | 2 marks | 0.50 marks |
 English Language and Comprehension :
- The level of difficulty is much higher in this tier but the pattern of this section is very similar to that of tier 1.
- Most of the questions are related to grammar so practice as much as questions and practice tests
- Mock Tests also help in preparing for the exams.
 Statistics :
- Important topics like skewness and kurtosis, correlation and regression, probability theory, time series analysis, sampling theory, statistical inference, etc. should be more focused to score high in this section.
General Studies (Finance and Economics)Â :
- Definitions and concepts should be prepared thoroughly about Indian and world economies. It doesn’t take much of your time to answer questions based on them.
- Also revise the knowledge of basic topics of class XI and XIIÂ economics like national income and aggregates, foreign exchange demand, supply, economic development, the balance of payment, and national and international financial institutions.
- There are some important topics on which approx 8-10 questions are based :
- Five Year Plans
- Indian Tax Structure
- Money and Banking
- Economic Terms
- Economic Reforms in India
How To Prepare For Tier 3 Exam :
In this Tier, the selected candidates have to be prepared for writing  Essay/Precis/Letter /Application Writing in the examination.
This Descriptive exam has replaced the interview to evaluate a candidate’s ability to manage official communication and correspondence.
Its a pen and paper mode exam for 100 marks and its a Descriptive Paper in English/Hindi.
Time Allotted: Â 60 minutes
Note: (80 minutes for visually handicapped candidates and those suffering from Cerebral Palsy).
- Write as much as you can it will improve your skills and will help in the flow of your content.
- Increase your reading too the more you read the more you will learn a new word to use in your writing.
- The editorial section of the newspaper is very important and will help you enhance vocabulary.
How To Prepare For Tier 4 Exam :
Tier 4 of the SSC CGL exam comprises of two types of tests :
- Computer Proficiency Test (CPT)
- Data Entry Speed Test (DEST).
Assessing the ability to do basic tasks such as type correctly at a reasonable speed and your knowledge of fundamental office software tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint is the objective of these exams.
Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) :
Three Modules are given under this :
- Word Processing
- Spread Sheet
- Generation of slides
Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) :
DEST is a speed test which consists of only a typing test in which the students have to make 2000 key depressions under 15 minutes.
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