How to Crack the SSC CGL Exam - Check Study Plan and Preparation Tips

How to crack the SSC CGL Exam? - SSC CGL is one of the most popular government recruitment exams. The exam is conducted at the central level. One thing that always confuses aspirants is how to crack the SSC CGL exam? To prepare for the SSC CGL exam, candidates need to follow a proper study plan for each stage. As per the exam pattern of SSC CGL 2021, there are four tiers of SSC CGL exam.

This year, the SSC CGL exam got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and now rescheduled to be conducted from August 13, 2021. Aspirants still have a month in hand to ace the SSC CGL exam. In this article, we are going to throw light on all the aspects regarding how to crack SSC CGL exam 2021, preparation strategy and many more.

Who Can Crack the SSC-CGL Exam

Aspirants who focus on SSC CGL as their only goal, analyse & strategize exam preparation crack CGL exam and finally become Central Government officers. For this, they must visualise only their goal and the path to reach it just like Arjuna’s arrow in Draupadi’s Swayamvar won him her hand.

There are many examples of SSC-CGL qualifiers from underprivileged backgrounds or of odd situations who have cracked it no one can believe, for examples: Mohit Goyal SSC CGL- 2016, Sagar Gupta- 2013, Ghan Shyam Verma. Thus, any competitive aspirant can crack it if he or she fulfils the eligibility requirements, and have the following qualities:

• Winner’s mindset and attitude.

• Confidence in self.

• Ability to do hard work to win.

• Focus on strategy and preparation tips.

How to crack the SSC CGL Exam 2021: TIER- I, II, III & IV EXAMS

1. Preparation Strategy & Tips for SSC CGL Tier-I Exam

Some important points to note:

• It is a computer based objective type online exam

• It consists of Objective Type, Multiple choice questions.

• The questions will be set both in English & Hindi except for English Comprehension.

• There will be a negative marking of 0.50 for each wrong answer.

(a) Exam Pattern: Section-wise Questions and Marks Distribution

(b) Subject-wise Questions Trend Analysis of Previous Years Exams

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(i) Strategy & Tips for General Intelligence and Reasoning

During SSC CGL preparation, students need to understand that the General Intelligence and Reasoning section of Tier-I exam is a tough area and consists of many topics. Analysis of previous papers as given above shows the trends of questions from topics. It helps in preparation of those topics in depth which are important, like Analogy, Coding-Decoding, Series, Odd One Out, Missing Term, etc. The following tips will be helpful:

• Solve previous papers to understand questions patterns and trends.

• Learning the general problem-solving skills, like logical deductions and applications to avoid silly mistakes.

• Practice mock tests to keep learning and speed as required.

• Switch to the next question if a question is taking precious time and come back if time permits.

(ii) Strategy & Tips for General Awareness

According to the SSC CGL syllabus 2021, General Awareness (GA) is a scoring section which consists of questions from static subjects like history, polity, biology, chemistry, physics economics, geography, GK, and recently more questions are current affairs. This section takes less time and spare for other sections, so it should be tackled wisely. Some important tips for this are:

• Going through previous year's papers helps in understanding the nature of questions.

• Practice mock tests as much as possible regularly.

• 60% of the questions are from the static part of its traditional subjects, so focus on it.

• Be aware of current affairs topics like Union Budget, Covid-19, Economic Survey, etc.

• Miscellaneous portions like t Authors, Award Winners, sea & airports and their location, State Animals, etc. you should also cover.

(iii) Strategy & Tips for Quantitative Aptitude

According to the SSC CGL study plan 2021, it is the most important section for selection. This section consists of questions from 12 to 15 topics but five categories like Arithmetic, Data Interpretation, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Algebra are more important. So, candidates should give more emphasis for. Some tips for this section are:

• Learn and work on the basics of all the topics.

• Take care of time speed in solving questions.

• Learn and work short-cut methods.

• Don’t use a risky method on which you don’t have a command.

(iv) Strategy & Tips for English Language & Comprehension

Section D of Tier-I i.e. English subject consists of major 3 categories with % of marks as:

Some important tips to prepare for English subject:

• Read the newspapers, especially editorial, half an hour daily.

• Improve your English Grammar.

• Practice Reading Comprehension after understanding the essence of the article.

• Solve previous papers and Practice mock tests regularly.

2. Preparation Strategy & Tips for CGL Tier-II Exam

(a) Points to note:

• Paper-I and -II of Tier-II are compulsory for all posts.

• Paper-III needs to be given by candidates who apply for the posts of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and who are shortlisted in Tier-I for the Posts.

• Paper-IV needs to be given by candidates who are shortlisted in Tier-I for the posts of Assistant Audit Officer/ Assistant Accounts Officer.

Tier-II has four papers of 500 MCQs questions and each paper to be completed in 120 minutes.

(b) Exam Pattern

3. Preparation Strategy & Tips for CGL Tier-III Exam

(a) Points to note:

The Paper in Tier-III will have to be written either in Hindi or in English but not a mix of both. If some part of the paper is written in Hindi and some in English will be awarded zero marks. The pattern of this paper is:

(b) Some tips for descriptive paper:

• Check previous papers on the essay, precis, letter, and application writing to know the nature of topics.

• Guess some topics for this paper and practice them.

• Present your essay starting with an introduction and end with the conclusion.

• Prepare letters and precis according to their pattern and practice them.

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4. Preparation Strategy & Tips for CGL Tier-IV Exam

Points to note: Tier-IV is the skill test of the candidate for:

(a) Data Entry Speed Test (DEST): This test is for Tax Assistants based on

• It will be conducted for a passage of 2000 key depressions for a duration of 15 minutes.

• This test will be of qualifying nature and will be designed as per the SSC CGL question paper.

(b) Computer Proficiency Test (CPT): It comprises of three modules

(i) Word Processing,

(ii) Spreadsheet, and

(iii) Generation of Slides,

• The duration of each module will be 15 minutes one after the other.

• Module-I will comprise DEST for a passage of 2000 key depressions.

• Module-II will comprise the preparation of the spreadsheet as per the exercise.

• Module-III will comprise the preparation of the PowerPoint Presentation as per the exercise.

How to crack the SSC CGL exam 2021: Success Plan

1. Analytical Approach

(a) Setting up a Goal: First step towards cracking the SSC-CGL exam is to analyse eligibility, capabilities, and the required means/resources to achieve it. The goal should be SMART (i.e. S- Specific; M-Measurable; A-Achievable; R-Realistic; and T- Time-bound).

“A set goal serves as a GPS device to keep on the right track towards the destination and saves you from wandering aimlessly in your life journey.”

__ Dr. Md. Usmangani Ansari

Setting up a goal for SSC-CGL helps aspirants in many ways like:

1. A set goal helps you stay focussed.

2. In overcoming delay.

3. Measures study and preparation progress.

4. Setting barriers against distraction.

5. Managing time as per schedules set for preparation.

6. It motivates in scaling milestones.

7. Choose the best books for SSC CGL 2021

(b) Daily Routine (Time Management) through a timetable: Everyone has 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, and 12 months in a year for doing any work including preparation for entrance examinations. One of the key factors which plays the most important role in how to crack the SSC CGL exam is having a balanced routine or timetable that focuses upon studies as well as the normal daily activities. A timetable helps keep the study schedule on track.

"Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose." - Thomas Edison

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However, no fixed timetable suits every aspirant. They should prepare their own timetable chart based on their strengths and weaknesses, their convenience, etc. for the SSC CGL preparation.

(c) Importance of Good Health for Cracking SSC CGL Exam: The Greek philosopher Thales said, “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body”means a sound body would ideally function better. A healthy diet, sound sleep, and activities to de-stress and keep the body fit should be part of the routine for every SSC- CGL aspirant.

(d) Emotion Management for SSC CGL Exam: According to the SSC CGL preparation tips, some serious aspirants follow hectic study schedules to cover all the topics in time. Bonding with like-minded professionals preparing for the exam will help make the preparation journey better.

2. How to Manage Study for SSC- CGL Preparation

(a) How to Manage Reading Speed: This is important as the syllabus is vast and aspirants need speed to cover it all. Some habits that help are

• Concentration and focus on the content.

• Avoid rereading and move on to new topics once done.

• Use a timer to gauge your reading time and fix time slots for particular texts or pages.

• Learn to skim through the important facts.

• Practice till the desirable reading speed is achieved.

(b) Make your own Study Timetable

• As per the SSC CGL study plan 2021, students must divide the syllabus into Tier-I, Tier-II, and Tier-III. Further, divide each one into subjects and chapters/topics.

• Then divide the time span, say a year into months, a month into weeks, and a week into days. Now divide the day into a group of hours.

• Next, make a chronological classification of subjects, topics, and sub-topics of all three tiers syllabus according to strong and weak areas and the importance of questions asked in the examinations.

• Put the chapters subject-wise in months and topics/ subtopics in weeks and days categories to fix a schedule that completes them all.

• Incorporate revision time every day, every week, every month, and every third month.

(c) How to Schedule Revision for SSC- CGL Preparation?

Revision is the key element of preparation for any competitive exam. The concepts, facts, and other information studied have to be revised to avoid forgetting them. So most of the CGL toppers recommend a 3 Tier Revision Plan as given below:

Practice Sessions: Revision every 15th day and every 3rd month with not just study material but mock papers, past years' question papers will make the plan a better and a viable one.

Daily Revision Schedule: Aspirants should look at all important points which they studied the whole day before going to sleep. Likewise in the morning, they should quickly revise all chapters and topics they studied the previous day.

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Weekly Revision Schedule: While following the SSC CGL study plan 2021, Aspirants should revise all the subjects, chapters, and topics that they studied in the past 6 days of the week.

Monthly Revision Schedule: This is the third stage of revision which is better fixed on the last day of every month. The aspirants should revise all the subjects, chapters, and topics along with solved papers, and mock tests for topics they have revised in that month.

3. How to Evaluate Study Progress for SSC- CGL Exam

(a) Learning Evaluation: SSC- CGL aspirants must check their learning progress and evaluate their preparation from time to time (weekly and monthly). For this, they can take a mock test and previous questions asked from a particular topic and solve them.

(b) Speed Evaluation: Mock tests are the best tools to evaluate speed as well as for improvement. Aspirants need to solve papers within a set time limit and gauge their performance. They should strive to improve on it with every test they take till the target is achieved.

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