How to prepare for SSC CGL

What is SSC CGL?

Before going further to known about how to prepare for SSC CGL, first understand about What is SSC CGL. Staff Selection Commission which we all well-known as SSC has been one of the most desirable organizations for prestigious Government exams in India. It conducts Combined Graduate Level - SSC CGL exam through which they recruit various Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations of the Government of India to non-technical Group ‘B’ and Group ‘C’ non gazetted posts every year.

SSC filled thousands of vacancies every year announced by various Government departments. In India, Govt. jobs are considered as the most sought after career choice. Moreover, Indian government is focusing on providing better facilities and services in the growth of our nation and to do that millions of Jobs will be created in the coming years.

SSC organizes the CGL Exam for recruitment to various subordinate services like:

• Preventive Officers in Customs.
• Assistants in Attached and Subordinate office, Ministries/Departments, of the GOI.
• Divisional Accountant, Auditor, Jr. Accountant, & UDCs in various offices of GOI.
• Tax Assistant in CBDT and CBEC
• Placed as Auditor Offices under C&AG, CGDA, CGA & others.
• Inspectors of Central Excise & Customs.
• Inspectors of Income Tax.
• Examiner in Customs.
• Recruited in Central Bureau of Narcotics & CBI as a Sub-Inspectors.
• Directorate of Enforcement, Department of Revenue recruit Assistant Enforcement Officer.
• Accountant/ Junior Accountant
• Compiler in Registrar General of India.

Things a candidate Should Know about SSC CGL

Before proceeding towards how to prepare for SSC CGL, you should know the essential things about the SSC CGL.

#1) Posts Recruited through SSC CGL 2016 Exam and Pay Scale

Let’s have a look to the (non-exhaustive) list of posts recruited through the SSC CGL Exam and the corresponding pay scale.

 #2) Eligibility – Who can Apply?

• Qualification:A willing aspirants must possess a graduation in a relevant subject from any recognized institute by UGC. The one who are in their final year of graduation are eligible if their degree completes by 1^st
• Age Limit-An age limit of a candidate varies for various posts but it must be between 18 to 27 years.
• Citizenship– A candidate must be a citizen of India and or a subject of Nepal/Bhutan or a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1st January 1972, with the intention of permanently settling in India.
  

#3)  How to Apply for SSC CGL Exam

A candidate can apply online from the official website of SSC CGL. you have to upload the scan photograph and signature to the application form. You can make the payment through Bank Challan or internet banking or debit/credit card. The one who belong to general Category need to pay a prescribed fee (likely Rs. 100/-) and for reserved category, there will (likely) be no need to pay any fee. 

#4)  Selection Process for SSC CGL

The selection process for SSC CGL has been officially announced. 

• Combined Graduate Level (Preliminary) Examination (Tier-1) (MCQ | Online)
• Combined Graduate Level (Main) Examination (Tier-2) (MCQ | Online)
• Descriptive Test (Tier-3) (Written | Pen & Paper Based)
• Skills Test (where applicable) (Qualifying only)
  

#5)  Exam Pattern for SSC CGL Tier 1 and Tier 2

TIER 1

TIER 2

A definite no. of candidates will be shortlisted for the CGL Mains (Tier 2) exam on the basis of their performance in the CGL-Pre (Tier 1) exam.

TIER III

It’s a pen and paper based exam or we can say its a Descriptive Test on English or Hindi Language, this paper checks the candidates quality on Essay/ Precis/ Letter/ Application Writing.

SKILLS TEST

This will be conducted for certain posts alone.

1. For Assistant Post in CSS only – Computer Proficiency Test (CPT).
2. For Post of Tax Assistant – Data Entry Skill Test at Speed of 8000 key depressions per hour.
   

#6)  Important Date for SSC CGL

The tentatives dates for SSC CGL is based on the notification announced by the Govt. Of India.

It is essential that to understand how to prepare for SSC CGL and begin its preparation before time. In this article we will give you the guidelines of how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam along with time management tips given by experts on how much time you need to devote to each section while preparing for SSC CGL Tier I.

Before you read ahead on how to prepare for SSC CGL, don’t forget to check the detailed Syllabus to know the detailed break-up of various sections and mark-distribution. 

SSC CGL Exam Pattern for preparation of Tier 1 Exam 

You will get the overall time of 60 min to solve the paper. There is no sectional time limit so you can attempt any section in any order as you want. Let’s have a look to the SSC CGL Study Plan for 1 month:

SSC CGL Study Plan Tier I 2018

SSC CGL Syllabus

The prescribed syllabus for exam has been conducted by the authority, SSC. It comprises the topics for Tier 1 and 2 exam. Check below SSC CGL syllabus for Tier 1.

 How to Prepare for SSC CGL – General Intelligence & Reasoning

To solve the tricky questions from General Intelligence (GI) & Reasoning you need to do proper practice. For practice, you have to solve at least 50 GI and reasoning questions every day. Regularly doing this, you will have practised around 2000 questions of related topic before your exam.

Initiate your Reasoning Preparation from here: 

• Testbook Reasoning: This is perfect to clear your concepts and to learn how to prepare for SSC CGL Tier 1 exam.
• Testbook Reasoning Quiz: Not only read, take quizzes related to these topics to check your performabce and how much you prepared for the exam.

You need to prepare these topics strongly like analogy, Puzzles, series, coding-decoding, figure-based questions, etc. Furthermore, also prepare non-verbal reasoning topics like figure-counting,  image assembling, etc. Do not skip or ignore questions as they seem time-consuming but solving them is the perfect way to make them less time-consuming. 

General Awareness  - How to Prepare for SSC CGL  

This is the most scoring section of the exam. If you prepared well for this section then you can solve it in just 10 min which will be beneficial for you for other sections like Quantitative Aptitude. This section has more questions from static GK than Current Affairs.

• Current Affairs App: Take Daily/Weekly/Monthly Quizzes, read current affairs.
• Static GK
• GK Quiz: Enhance your General Awareness with taking short quizzes.
• Current Affairs Capsules
• Current Affairs Quiz
  

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Quantitative Aptitude - How to Prepare for SSC CGL

This section is considered to be the most difficult and time-consuming part of the exam. Try to prepare for this section at early stage so that you will get sufficient time. Utilise this time efficiently & make yourself perfect or expertise in at least some of the parts of quant section. Important topics of quant section which need to prepare such as ratio & proportion, percentage, speed distance & time, profit & loss, boat & stream, data interpretation etc. Begin your preparation here:

• Testbook Quant: Learn thoroughly all the concepts, shortcuts, and tips to solve the questions.
• Testbook Quant Quiz: Solve more and more quizzes.
• Math Shortcut Tricks: It will help to save time during the exam.
• Take one mock test daily.
• Practice on app daily.
• Read carefully before solving any question.

Spend more time on topics like percentages, Simplification, interest, ratio and proportion and age-problems. Work on some time consuming but scoring topics like number series, Profit and loss, mensuration, speed and distance, number systems, etc. Memorize by heart  all the important formulas. 

How to Prepare for SSC CGL – English Language

The three essential aspects of English test which a candidate need to prepare well are vocabulary, grammar and comprehension. Proficiency in vocabulary and grammar ill help you to win half the battle. After this, you need to focus on comprehension. If you well prepared for this section then it will take only 10 min to complete this section in the exam.

Let’s have a look to the type of questions asked in English are: 

Comprehension: For this part, a candidate need to practice at least 10 comprehension passages daily.

Vocabulary: For this part you have to read a lot. Learn more and more words their synonyms and antonyms.

Grammar: In grammar you need to practice more and more on topics like:

• Error Spotting
• Phrase Replacement
• Fill in the Blanks

To improve your grammar solve around 30 questions on daily basis from the previous years’ papers. Regularly read ‘The Hindu’ newspaper. There are some other sources too in which you can rely on are:

• Competitive Exams Modules of English: This is perfect technique for grammar and contextual usage.
• English Testbook Quiz: To check your accuracy level and ability, practice questions in tiny quizzes.
• Grammarly: To solve your grammar related issues go to the grammarly.
• English Stack Exchange: This is to solve your grammar related questions or visit the forum to learn English in an unstructured format, one doubt at a time.
• Thesaurus: Learn synonyms and antonyms for different words.
  

More Rules or guidelines to Follow for how to prepare for SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam: 

1. One of the most important thing to do while you sit to study is to take a mock test. Try to solve one mock paper daily.
2. Distribute your time section-wise.
3. Once you finished your mock test, go through your paper thoroughly and analyze your mistakes, how much time you taken, accuracy level, and approach.
4. Try various strategies for time-management that suits you the best.
5. Try more SSC CGL Tests.
   

Tips for how to prepare for SSC CGL | Tips During the Exam 

1. Don’t waste your time in solving the questions which you found difficult. Instead of that, you should move to the next question and if you have time left then you can come back to this question later.
2. Candidates need to clear the sectional cut-off of each section along with the overall cut-off.
3. Its an expert advice that, if in the exam, you find any specific section tough or challenging, then attempt the min. No. of questions which are required to clear the sectional cut-off of that particular section.
4. Read the questions very carefully as sometimes, the questions can be very tricky.
5. Mrk only those answers in which you are absolutely sure otherwise left them untouched.
6. Avoid Guesswork in the Exam.

Best books how to prepare for SSC CGL exam

To understand how to prepare for SSC CGL, candidates need to refer best books for the preparation. Few best books for SSC CGL exam preparation refer given below books. These books provide you detailed solutions of your problems. 

Best books for English Comprehension how to prepare for SSC CGL exam

Best books for Quantitative Aptitude for how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam

Best books for Logical Reasoning for how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam

Best books for General Knowledge for how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam

Best Question banks for how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam

Important Topics for how to prepare for SSC CGL

Lists of important topics for how to prepare for SSC CGL that candidates must prepare for the exam are given below.

General Intelligence and Reasoning

• Classification
• coding-decoding
• analogy
• venn diagram
• series
• Word Formation
• Direction & Distances
• Missing Number
• Blood Relations
• Verbal Reasoning 
  

General Awareness

• Politics
• History
• Geography
• Economics
• Current Affairs
• Sports
• Physics
• Chemistry 
  

Quantitative Aptitude

• Percentage
• profit & loss
• ratio & proportion
• speed distance & time
• boat & stream
• data interpretation
• Geometry
• Trigonometry
• Algebra
• Mensuration 
  

English Comprehension

• Reading Comprehension
• Sentence Correction
• One word substitution
• Narration
• Spotting Error
• Fill in the blanks

SSC CGL Cut-Off

To understand better the concept of how to prepare for SSC CGL, a candidate also get help from the details of SSC CGL Cut-Off marks for Tier-II Exam. Candidates can analyze and check Tier-II Cut-Off to understand how to prepare for SSC CGL Exam.

SSC CGL Tier-II Cut-Off 2017-18

List-1: Here is the list of the candidates who qualified for appearing in CGL 2017 (Tier-III) for the position of Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer:

List-2: Qualified candidates for the post of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO):

List-3: Qualified candidates for other posts:

SSC CGL Tier-I Revised Cut-Off (2017) 

List-I: Qualified candidates of Tier-I and appearing in Tier-II (Paper-I, Paper-II, Paper-IV (General Studies (Finance & Accounts) and Tier-III

 List-II : Qualified candidates for appearing in Tier-II (Paper-I, Paper-II, Paper-III (Statistics)) and Tier-III

Candidates who had applied for the post of J.S.O. have been considered for Paper-III. 

List – III : The candidates who qualified in Tier-I for appearing in Tier-II (Paper-I and Paper-II) and Tier-III

SSC CGL Cut-off 2016

SSC CGL 2016 Tier-II Cut Off

SSC CGL 2016 Tier-II Cut Off