SSC CGL Preparation plan: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruits candidates at various grades of B & C in various departments and ministries under the government every year.
Every Year, lakhs of candidates applied and prepare for the SSC CGL Exam.
SSC graduate level exam comprises 4 tiers.
Before starting SSC graduate-level preparation, you have an idea about the SSC CGL syllabus and SSC CGL exam pattern.
Below the table, I give you a quick overview of the SSC CGL exam.
| Tier | Exam Type | Exam Mode |
| I | Objective Multiple Choice(MCQ) | Computer-Based (Online) |
| II | Objective Multiple Choice(MCQ) | Computer-Based (Online) |
| III | Descriptive Paper in English or Hindi | Pen-Paper Based (Offline) |
| IV | Skill Test: Data Entry Speed Test (DEST)/ Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) | Wherever Applicable (Not necessary for all the post) |
| Document Verification | Applicable for all |
Official website- SSC.nic.in
In this article, I will discuss with you about SSC CGL exam preparation strategy (subjects wise) and focus on how to pass the SSC exam in first attempt.
SSC CGL Tier I and Tier 2 Exam Preparation
Complete Preparation strategy to clear SSC CGL Exam
So, If you are looking for
Best Books
High Rank
Preparation Guide of all tier
Previous Year Question Paper
Let’s get started
Both tiers are similar. So first, I will discuss tier 1st and 2nd exam preparation.
Both are computer-based online exams.
In the Tier 1 exam, there are four subjects listed. Which contain 200 marks.
| Subject in Tier 1 | Number of Questions asked | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | 25 | 50 marks |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 marks |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 marks |
| English Comprehension | 25 | 50 marks |
| Total | 100 | 200 marks |
General Intelligence and Reasoning Section
This section only checks the mental ability and problem-solving skills of the candidate.
These questions are only brain teasers and tricky.
In this section, the question asked from the verbal and non-verbal topic.
Practice GI and Reasoning section question every day.
| Subjects | Topics |
| Verbal Reasoning | Series, Ranks, Direction, Arrangement, Coding, Decoding, Analogy and Classification/Odd Pair, Syllogism and Statement Conclusion. |
| Non-verbal | Figure Formation, Dice, Triangle, Rule Detection, Images, Completion of Pattern, Mirror Images, Figure Matrix, and Paper Folding, etc. |
Ex.- decision making, visual memory, discriminating observation, relationship concepts, figure classification, arithmetical number series, non-verbal series, etc.
Let’s looks at some important point which helps you to clear SSC CGL GI and Reasoning section
- Focus on improve your logical skill – It is required that the candidate sharpen their logical and analytical skills.
- You should have command over both verbal and non-verbal types of concepts. Improve your understanding level and master their concept.
- Focus on one concept at one time.
- Given question solved only given data. So, don’t make the unuseful judgment for solving questions. Use only appreciative methods to solve any question.
- Mus read the question properly and then solve it with the appreciative method.
- Don’t waste your time. Switch another question, if you are not able to solve any question.
- Practice Previous year question paper
Click Here ? Get Best Books For Reasoning
English Language and Comprehension Section
This section test candidate’s knowledge and understanding of English.
This section takes less time to solve the question.
If you have knowledge about English grammar rules and vocabulary usage with good understanding level, then this section is the strength of your SSC CGL exam.
This section syllabus divides into three parts- vocabulary, English grammar, and reading comprehension.
| Topic | Percentage in question asked |
| Vocabulary | 48% |
| Grammar | 32% |
| Reading Comprehensive | 20% |
Let’s see below the paragraph, some ways through which you able to learn the English language and comprehension section.
- Learn vocabulary through Thesaurus. Lots of online Thesaurus and the dictionary is available to learn English words.
- Learn daily 10-20 English words to improve your vocabulary.
- Don’t do grammar mistakes. Learn from youtube, books, apps, and read English newspapers.
- Mostly asked questions in English from the topic spotting the errors. Follow grammar rules properly.
- For a comprehensive reading, you must read daily English newspapers, books in English, blogs, English movies, and talk in English.
- It’s not a one-day process. Also, read the magazine, opinion pieces in editorials for quick reading.
- For every wrong answer, 0.25 marks will be deducted. Don’t do the guesswork for this section.
Click here ? to Get Best of English comprehensive for SSC CGL
General Awareness (GA) and General Knowledge (GK) Section
This section is also a high-scoring section in the SSC CGL tier 1 exam.
The motive of this section is to test the candidate’s general awareness of the nation.
The topic in this section is General Science, Static GK, Current Affairs, and miscellaneous. Static GK and General science most important parts of the SSC CGL tier 1 section.
Check the below table to understand topic in GA and GK Section
| Topic | Mostly Question Asked topics |
| General Science | Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Daily Science, etc. |
| Static GK | Indian Politics, History, and Culture, Economy, Geography, etc. |
| Current Affairs | Sports, Awards, Politics, Finance and Banking sector, International happening, etc. |
| Miscellaneous | National Schemes, Computers, Book Names and Authors, Logical Analysis, Important Days, etc. |
If you prepare properly for this section, its section will take only 10-15 minutes.
After knowing basic knowledge about General awareness and GK, we look at “how to prepare for GK?”.
so, let’s get started
- You must read the daily newspaper, a monthly magazine, GK-related blog, watch news channel, etc.
- Avoid cramming. Create your own noted and mind map to learn about the fact.
- First, you read General Science then polity then history then geography and others.
- Focus on static GK more than current affairs.
- Try to attempt 70 questions on a day. Spend 30 minutes to solve questions.
Click here ? Get Books for preparation
Tier 1 or II Quantitative Aptitude Section
This is the most important section in the SSC CGL tier 1 exam. This section decides your result on the SSC CGL exam.
For this section, you must have basic knowledge of formulas of mathematics, and how to solve a question.
Check this table to know about topics
| Topic | Percentage of question asked |
| Arithmetic | 48% |
| Data Interpretation | 20% |
| Trigonometry | 8% |
| Geometry Mensuration. | 16% |
| Algebra | 8% |
Let’s see some way through you can able to clear your CGL quantitative aptitude section
- Make a notebook to write list of formulas, concepts, important points, and shortcuts.
- You must read these topics like simplification, age problems, interest, percentages, ratio, and proportion. Because these are easy, simple, and scoring.
- The candidate needs to sharpen their basic, learn shortcuts, and improve your calculation speed with proper time management.
- Practice daily questions, attempt mock tests and solve previous year’s questions.
Click Here ? to get SSC CGL Mathematics books
Tier II General Studies (Finance and Economics)
When the new post of Assistant Audit Officer(AAO) add-in SSC CGL, this section added to CGL tier 2.
Check Exam pattern of general studies
| Question Asked in exam | 100 |
| Marks on each question | 2 |
| Deduction marks per question | 0.5 |
| Duration | 2 Hours |
Let’s start some way to prepare for General studies
- Finance and Economics subjects are included in this section, which is easy to score.
- You can prepare with definition and concept of related to Indian and economy world.
- You have 12th level knowledge of national income and aggregates, foreign exchange demand, supply, economic development, the balance of payment, financial institutions.
- And mostly asked questions from these topics like- Indian Tax Structure, Money and Banking, Economic Terms, Economic Reforms in India.
- Solve SSC CGL previous year question paper
Click here ? Get Best Books for General Studies
Tier II- Statistics Paper
Solve SSC CGL tier 2nd statistics paper topic which given below paragraph.
Focus on these important topics like skewness and kurtosis, correlation and regression, probability theory, time series analysis, sampling theory, statistical inference, etc.
100 Questions asked from this section.
To solve the paper, the time limit is 2hours.
SSC CGL Tier 3rd preparation strategy
- Understanding of tier III and IV
- What topic you need to improve in tier 3 and 4
Let’s get start
SSC CGL Tier III is a newly added tier in lieu of the interview conducted for various posts till last year.
The motive of this tier to find the candidate’s ability to manage official communication and correspondence.
- Do work on your writing skills. The more you write, the better you get.
- Focus on writing good content and provide a proper structure to your content. Manage the tone of voice of your content.
- Build your confidence in writing essays / papers / applications / precision.
- Read daily newspaper and blog. And learn about effective writing, tone of voice, and be aware of the latest crucial happenings.
- Buy good books which provide you good knowledge, content on important topics and enhance your vocabulary.
SSC CGL Tier IV Preparation Strategy
After cleared the SSC CGL tier III exam, every candidate successfully eligible for tier-IV.
Hence the candidate should have enough SSC cut-off score to appear for the tier-IV exam.
For this tier, you should have to prepare for the Computer Proficiency Test(CPT) and Data Entry Speed Test(DEST).
Also, you have basic fundamental knowledge about Microsoft Office tools like Excel, Word, and Powerpoint on computer.
And you should have a good typing speed.
Let’s get some way to clear SSC CGL Tier IV
- Practice Word Processing: From an English passage, 2000 key depressions have to be made in 15 minutes. For with regular Practice you can do it easily.
- Spread Sheet: For this module, you should have basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on the Excel sheet.
- Microsoft Powerpoint- To clear this module, you must know about creating slides through PowerPoint. Also understanding of header, footer, date, time, and many other basic skills of PowerPoint.
- Practice regularly to improve your typing speed. Must sure that your typing speed should have 2000 key depressions in 15 minutes.
Click to Download Tier IV Previous Year Question paper
Final Thought-
All these preparation tips are talked about by previous SSC CGL toppers and mentors. Create an effective preparation plan by following these points.
These points definitely boost your preparation.
