SSC CGL Preparation Tips 2023: Get Last Minute Preparation Tips

The SSC CGL exam is conducted every year for the recruitment of candidates in various Grade‘B’ and ‘C’ posts in different departments and ministries under the Government of India. The SSC CGL exam pattern and syllabus are released by the authorities in the official notification. The authorities have announced April 2022 as the tentative SSC CGL exam date for Tier 1 exam. This article will provide you with information regarding SSC CGL 2022 and help you devise a strategy that shall give you the impetus required to ace the exam.

Candidates must check the SSC CGL Syllabus before starting to prepare for the SSC CGL exam and also download SSC CGL previous year question papers. SSC CGL selection process comprises 4 tiers. While the first two tiers are computer-based objective examinations, the third tier is a descriptive pen and paper-based examination to be conducted in both English and Hindi, and the fourth is a skill-based test. Tier 4 consists of DEST (Data Entry Skill Test) or CPT (Computer Proficiency Test) depending on the selected posts.

SSC CGL Preparation Tips for Tier 1 Exam

The preparation tips for each section of SSC CGL Tier 1 are listed below, the candidates must refer to and implement them while studying.

How to Prepare General Intelligence and Reasoning for SSC CGL ExamTier 1?

• Solve SSC CGL Practice Set of last year's question papers as much as possible.
• Practice GI and Reasoning questions every day.
• Topics like puzzles, figure-based questions, analogy, coding-decoding, series, are particularly scoring. Start solving these and then, move on to more versatile questions. You will witness a significant improvement in your accuracy level within a few weeks if you practice regularly.
• Non-verbal reasoning topics like image assembling, figure-counting, etc. demand you to employ visual imagination. Do not skip or ignore these questions as they may seem time-consuming to you initially. Practicing them is the best way to make them less time-consuming.
• While practicing, you should aim at attempting at least 15-20 questions in 20 minutes with reasonable accuracy. In the exam as well, try to complete this section in not more than 20 minutes.
• If you find any difficulty in solving any particular question on the exam day or if you need much time to solve one question, then you are suggested to move to the next one. Do not waste your precious time solving one question. If time permits, then come back and solve that left question.

How to Prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL Tier 1?

General Awareness (GA) is observed to be the most scoring section of the exam in recent years.

• If you start preparing this section thoroughly two months before the exam, it will not take you more than 10 minutes to finish this section. You can utilize the time saved here for doing calculations in Quantitative Aptitude.
• This section mostly consists of more questions from Static GK than current affairs. Thus, focus more on static GK and concurrently stay in touch with the current affairs.
• Prepare the subjects in the order of priority mentioned here; it is in accordance with the trends observed in the last few years. Science> Polity> History> Geography> Economy> Miscellaneous
• Static GK is related to Culture, Indian History, Economy, Geography (India + World), Polity, and Environment.
• Avoid cramming, make notes and mind maps to remember facts, a chronology of historical events, and dates.
• Try attempting at least 75 questions of GA every day within a span of 30 minutes.
• When it comes to General Awareness, revision is the key to success.
• The aspirants should make a habit of reading newspapers, blogs, and magazines on a regular basis.
• To memorize the facts and events, the candidates can make notes on the important current affairs.

How to Prepare Quantitative Aptitude for SSC CGL Tier 1

Quantitative Aptitude (QA) is the toughest and most time-consuming segment of this exam.

• It is recommended to follow SSC CGL study materials for understanding every concept properly and get summarised notes to save time in exams.
• Begin with topics like percentage; profit and loss; speed, distance and time; boat and stream questions; ratio and proportion; data interpretation, etc.
• Formulate a list of all shortcuts, formulae, concepts, and tips. Shortcut tricks can help you save a lot of time in Quantitative Aptitude.
• Focus on topics like simplification, age problems, interest, percentages, ratio, and proportion as they are simple and quite scoring.
• Memorize all important formulae by heart. Solve an array of questions so you are aware of your strong and weak areas.
• The aspirants need to work more on the basics and should learn the shortcut methods to increase the calculation speed so that they can learn the management of time properly.
• Try to allow at least 2 hours every day to practice questions from QA.
• In the exam, do not devote more than 25 minutes to this section.

How to Prepare English Section for SSC CGL Tier 1

• The three key aspects that you need to efficiently prepare for SSC CGL Tier 1 English test are vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension. Half the battle is won if you achieve proficiency in vocabulary and grammar.
• The aspirants should increase their comprehension skills by reading the featured stories and opinion pieces in editorials and magazines etc.
• Get hold of recommended SSC CGL books for English language and grammar.
• The pattern and questions in this exam are repeated time and again. Thus, thorough preparation can help you wrap up this whole section in not more than 20 minutes.
• Practice at least 2 comprehension passages each day. Whenever you come across a new word, look for its meaning, synonyms, and antonyms.
• Skim through the newspapers daily.

Check out SSC CGL Tier 1 Paper Analysis

SSC CGL Preparation Tips for Tier 2 Exam

The candidates who qualify the Tier 1 exam have to appear for the Tier 2 exam. Here, the candidates applying for different posts appear for different papers.

How to Prepare English Language and Comprehension Paper for SSC CGL Tier 2?

SSC CGL Tier 2 English Language Paper has 200 questions carrying 1 mark each. The duration of this paper is 2 hours.

• 0.25 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer. So if you are not confident about a particular question, it is preferable not to attempt it.
• The pattern of this section is very similar to that of tier 1 but the level of difficulty is much higher.
• Nearly 40- 50% of the question is based on grammar. So, if you are adept in the language you will not face difficulty in attempting this paper.
• Read newspapers with attention to detail. Practice the questions given in the books on grammar and last year's question papers.

How to Prepare Statistics Paper for SSC CGL 2022 Tier 2?

SSC CGL Tier 2 Statistics Paper has 100 questions carrying one mark each. The duration of this paper is 2 hours. Each correct answer will fetch 2 marks while ½ a mark will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

• SSC CGL Statistics Tier 2 (Paper - 3) Practice Work Book is a comprehensive book for students preparing for SSC CGL exams. It is based on the new pattern and comprises solved papers of exams held in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
• Focus on important topics like skewness and kurtosis, correlation and regression, probability theory, time series analysis, sampling theory, statistical inference, etc.

How to Prepare General Studies (Finance and Economics) Paper for SSC CGL Tier 2?

With the introduction of the new post of Assistant Audit Officer (AAO), Paper 4 has been added to CGL Tier 2. The duration of this paper is 120 minutes. It will consist of 100 questions of 2 marks each. 0.5 mark will be deducted for an incorrect answer.

• This paper does not involve the application of formulae and tricks or cramming vocabulary which takes a lot of time. It is easy to learn and score in Economics and Finance with accuracy.
• Prepare thorough definitions and concepts pertaining to Indian and world economies. It takes hardly 2-3 seconds to answer questions based on them.
• Candidates should have the knowledge of basic topics of class XI and XII like national income and aggregates, foreign exchange demand, supply, economic development, the balance of payment, and national and international financial institutions.
• This paper holds maximum weightage in the general awareness section. About 3-5 questions are asked from this section. Here are the topics you should cover at any cost as it is observed that approximately 7-10 questions are based on them in the SSC exam:
  • Five Year Plans
  • Indian Tax Structure
  • Money and Banking
  • Economic Terms
  • Economic Reforms in India

Check SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper Analysis

SSC CGL Preparation Tips for Tier 3

SSC CGL Tier 3 is a newly added tier in lieu of the interview conducted for various posts before 2016. It is also aimed at assessing candidates’ ability to manage official communication and correspondence. Candidates have to write an Essay/Precis/Letter /Application Writing in the examination.

Tips to Prepare for SSC CGL Tier 3

• This paper is introduced to assess the writing skills of candidates. The best strategy for this paper is to practice. The more you write, the better you get.
• Good content and the ability to provide a proper structure to content are significant to write an essay or letter. If you practice, then both these skills can be improved over time.
• There will be an essay/ letter/ application/ precise to write in the exam. So, practice writing essays as that will build your confidence.
• Read the newspaper every day to comprehend the efficacious way of writing and be aware of the latest crucial happenings. Analyze how the paragraphs are connected to each other and the approach that the editor has taken. Some of the useful English Newspapers are highlighted in the following, which are essential for SSC CGL Preparation 2022
  • The Hindu
  • The Telegraph
  • The Hindustan Times
  • The Indian Express
• Read the editorial section of an established newspaper and try to contrive your own arguments pertaining to the topics.
• Buy a good book that contains a number of essays as it will provide good content on important topics and enhance your vocabulary.

SSC CGL Preparation Tips for Tier 4 Exam

SSC CGL Tier 4 exam is held after the declaration of the Tier 3 result of the Combined Graduate Level Exam (CGL). Candidates who successfully qualify the Tier 3 exam are eligible for the Tier 4 exam. Hence the aspirants should get the basic SSC CGL Cutoff score to appear for the tier 4 exam.

It comprises two types of tests i.e Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) and Data Entry Speed Test (DEST). The candidates have to appear for any one of them, based on the post they have applied for. The objective is to test their ability to do basic tasks such as typing correctly at a reasonable speed and their knowledge of fundamental office software tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Computer Proficiency Test (CPT)

CPT includes the following three modules:

1. Word Processing: You will be given an English passage; 2000 key depressions have to be made in 15 minutes. This is not difficult if you practice typing daily.
2. Spread Sheet: In this module, the students will be asked to perform basic mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on the Microsoft Excel sheet. For this, they should be well-versed with the basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
3. Generation of slides: The students will be asked to create slides on Microsoft Powerpoint. To do well, it is necessary to have an understanding of header, footer, inserting date and time, and foundational skills of Microsoft Powerpoint.

Data Entry Speed Test (DEST)

DEST consists of only a typing test wherein the students have to make 2000 key depressions in 15 minutes. It is a speed test that can be cleared without a hitch with regular practice.

Books are the best resources to prepare for the exams. It helps the candidates to build in-depth knowledge before appearing for the exam. To crack the SSC CGL exam in one go, the aspirants should pick the right books for SSC CGL. The candidates must also solve practice papers and evaluate their preparations using the SSC CGL answer keys. The answer keys for each tier of the exam are released soon after the exam or along with SSC CGL results.