The SSC CGL(Staff Selection commission-combined graduate level) exam is conducted every year for recruitment to non-technical group “B” and group “C” non gazetted posts in various offices/ministries/departments/ organizations in the Government of India. This exam will ensure recruitment of suitable staff for government posts.
In this article, the four tiers of the SSC CGL exams, the syllabus and books required and 10 tips for cracking the exam (in the first attempt) will be discussed.
The four tiers:
The process of registration and application is completely online and you can do it via the official website.
The exam is conducted in four tiers. The first two tiers are online and MCQ / objective-type questions and tier 3 is descriptive in nature. Tier 1 has the following subjects:
General intelligence and reasoning
This subject is said, by students, as the subject where you can score more marks in. This includes verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Some of the topics under it are word building, decision making, visual memory, semantic and number classification etc. The major book that you will need for this subject is Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-verbal reasoning by R S.Aggarwall
General awareness
This is to know if the candidate is aware of the happenings in the world. The questions will be mostly about the home country but it might also include questions about neighbouring countries. The topics include sports, current affairs, health and education, history, geography etc. Quarterly current affairs for competitive exams will be a great addition to your learning.
Quantitative aptitude
This paper is related to the numerical side and the appropriate use of numbers. The scope of this paper pertains to the computation of the whole numbers, decimals, fractions and relationships between numbers. Quantitative aptitude for CAT is a great choice for this topic.
English comprehension
This is for the testing of the candidate’s English vocabulary, fluency and their understanding of the language. Competitive general English by Kiran Prakashan is an optimal choice for this subject.
Tier 1 is computer-based examination and it will be conducted for 60 minutes.
You can go to Tier II if you pass the Tier I paper.
Tier II has the following subjects:
Quantitative Aptitude
This arithmetic topic is the same as Tier II, though the difficulty level rises. Some of the topics include Frequency Polygon, Bar diagram and pie chart, hemispheres, time and distance, degree and radian measures. ACE arithmetic Maths, cracker for menstruation are good books for this course of study.
English language and comprehension
The topics covered under this paper are reading comprehension, spellings, fill in the blanks, phrases and idioms etc. You can refer the books of
Statistics (Junior statistics officer)
Collection and Representation of Data, Measure of dispersion, measure of central tendency, moments, skewness and Kurtosi, correlation and regression etc.are the topics comprised.
Finance and Economics( AAO)
Finance and Accounting, fundamental principles, financial accounting, basic concepts of accounting, self-balancing ledger, error spotting and correction are contained.
The 3rd tier is descriptive and so it is written in offline mode. It consists of application writing, letter writing, essay writing etc. In English/Hindi.
Tier IV consists of document verification, data entry skill and computer proficiency.
How to Crack the Staff Selection commission-combined graduate level exam?
Know SSC CGL pattern and syllabus
The key to cracking any exam is to know your portions thoroughly. Be sure to update yourself about the exam portions and for better understanding, you can check previous years’ question papers, strengthen your skills through mock tests. The aspirants can do this to check the knowledge of pattern, quality, important topics and the types of questions asked. You can come across the repeated questions in the papers and this might give you an insight into how the paper will be. You can either get books of previous years’ question papers or source them online.
Study plan
As this exam is not a UPSC(Union public service commission) exam, the main subject will not be on general studies. The primary focus of this exam is mainly on Math's and English. For math's, you can brush up on your arithmetic skills and widen your vocabulary for the English paper. You can analyze the weightage of how the questions are arranged, according to question papers of previous years . You can keep a timetable or an exam schedule and also, have weekly or daily deadlines.
Time management during preparation
As the subject matter is vast and comprehensive, it may take time to finish all of the topics and this is what most students complain of. But, having a balance is what gets us through the daunting task of preparing for an exam. Give equal amount of time to each subject and try to cover as much as you can. Don’t waste your time by reading irrelevant topics.
Preparation has to be done daily
Daily practice is mandatory, if you wish to Crack the SSC CGL examination. It is a four-tier program so it can take a long time to cover, so strategizing logically and practically is the best choice. Every stage of the SSC CGL exam is important, as bad performance in even one can impede your grade, overall.
Stay off phones, laptops etc.
Unless absolutely necessary, do not indulge in activities like mindless scrolling through Instagram, binge-watching on Netflix etc. You can use it as a reward but until you your exam, it is better to stay off of them.
Strategize
The materials to be covered are vast, so strategizing, according to your strengths and weaknesses will prove to be Highly helpful. Mock tests can be attempted for self-evaluation and you can refer to notes for quick skimming of topics. Noting down formulae, tricks etc. Can also be helpful for your study.
Daily revision
All your formulae, important points, tricks have to be revised regularly because they can be helpful in the exam. It does not take up much time and you can do it, after you have completed your time of study or you can allocate a special time for daily revision.
Clearing of doubts
Some questions and concepts will be new to you, so doubts are bound to arise. You can search your questions on Google and receive answers from Brainly, Toppr etc. Or if you are going to a coaching center, you can clear the doubt with your teacher.
Thorough learning of topics
The common mistake of aspirants is that they focus too much on one topic and completely ignore the others. Every topic has to be read and nothing should be slighted away. A good revision is already half the win
Positive attitude
The thought of writing an exam as the SSC CGL can be tough but you have to keep your head above water and persevere. Keep motivating yourself even when you feel down, be proud of how far you’ve come.
