SSC CGL 2024: Tips To Score Maximum Marks in SSC CGL Exam

Staff Selection Commission has scheduled the Combined Graduate Level Examination from 9 September to 26 September 2024. As only few days are left, candidates appearing for this examination must be fully engaged in their preparations with utmost concentration and determination. To help the appearing candidates to score maximum marks in SSC CGL Tier 1 Examination, we have provided some valuable tips that will surely help candidates to enhance their performance in SSC CGL Examination .

Tips To Score Maximum Marks in SSC CGL Exam

Understanding the Exam Pattern and syllabus

The very first thing that a candidate must do is thoroughly review the exam pattern of the Tier I as well as Tier II examinations. A thorough understanding of the exam pattern enables candidates to develop effective strategies for achieving success in the exam. By comprehending the exam pattern, candidates can identify the sections that require more emphasis and concentration. This knowledge will assist applicants in allocating their study time and efforts appropriately.

Preparation Plan for each section

SSC CGL Tier-1 Exam contains 4 sections namely: Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, General English, and General Awareness. In order to crack the exam, it is really important to make a preparation strategy accordingly. While working on strengths gives us confidence, improving our weak points may become a big pain. To help you with that here are the section-wise preparation tips.

1. General Intelligence and Reasoning: The Reasoning section of the exam tests the candidates’ logical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills. The questions are asked under the topics of Coding-Decoding, Analogy, Syllogism, Puzzles, Seating Arrangement, Alphanumeric Series, Non-Verbal Reasoning, etc. Here are some tips that will help you ace the General Intelligence and Reasoning Section of the SSC CGL Exam 2024

• Improve your logical skills: This section tests the candidate’s problem-solving and thinking ability, so you need to sharpen your logical and analytical skills.
• Focus on one topic at a time: Take one topic at a time, reasoning requires you to think in a certain way, and doing 2-3 different types of topics in one go may not be fruitful.
• Think Logically: Always remember that the given question will be solved by the data given only, and you need to apply logic to the provided data. Use smart and appropriate tricks and methods for solving any problem.

2. Quantitative Aptitude: To prepare for this subject, candidates need a strong hold on various concepts, ample practice and revision to score well in the exam. The topics under this section can broadly be divided into Number Systems, Arithmetic, Advance Maths and Data Interpretation. This section is there in both Tier I and II Papers and is very important in order to score good marks in SSC CGL.

• Working on Basics: In this section, there are a large number of topics that require a good amount of time and effort to cover. It is a common notion among candidates that knowing shortcuts and smart techniques get good marks in the exam. Don’t start using shortcuts from the first day itself. Try to learn the basics of all the topics first and get in-depth knowledge.
• Managing Time: Give proper time to important topics covered in the exam. First, you need to focus on your weak areas and spend more time solving them to strengthen them. Do practice your strong but, allocate a little less time to them. As you gain more and more confidence slowly increase your speed too and try to solve every question within one minute.
• Learn Short-cut Methods: In order to solve a question within a minute you need to increase your calculation speed, students must focus on the short-cut methods and tricks which will help in saving time for solving tough questions in the exam. To gain accuracy and speed try to practice tricks and remember tables, cubes, squares, square roots, etc.

3. General English: As the CGL exam is conducted to recruit Group B and C officers for various departments of the Government of India, it is necessary to ensure that the candidates appearing for the exam have a good knowledge of the English Language and communication skills. so, the English section of the paper covers questions under Vocabulary, Grammar and Comprehension. Here are some tips that will help you score a decent score in this section.

• Improve your Vocabulary: Vocabulary is useful not only to score well in this exam but also for life in general. It is said that the level of knowledge in a person can be assessed by his/her use of vocabulary. Here are some ways through which you can improve your vocabulary:
  • Thesaurus: This is an easy way to study and memorize words. There are a lot of online thesauruses available in which a word and its opposite words can be found in one place.
  •  Learn at least one word a day: Cultivate a routine of learning at least one new word every day.  This will help in improving your vocab and will enhance your command over the English language.
  • Read More: It is not enough to just learn/memorize a word because without seeing it being used in a sentence or paragraph, it slowly fades away from our memory. So reading English content as much as possible will provide you with the practical use of the words you have learned. This will help retain the vocabulary and will also help recall the meaning in the examination hall.

• Improve your English Grammar: To achieve higher scores in the English section, candidates need a solid grasp of grammar rules when tackling questions from the “English Language and Comprehension” section. Spotting the errors, and jumbled phrases requires good knowledge of English grammar. Knowledge of grammar comes over a period of time and it can’t be gained in a few days. Following the rules of grammar is very important to score marks in this section.
• Improve your Reading Comprehension Skills: Just like grammar, reading comprehension skills also cannot be built overnight. In order to crack the reading comprehension part, it is suggested to develop a habit of reading daily. Reading newspapers is a good option and will surely improve your reading skills as well as Current Affairs. Try to read editorial sections especially to improve your reading skills.

4. General Awareness: General Awareness is the most important section of the SSC CGL Tier-1 Exam. This is the only section that can be attempted quickly and at the same time, very high marks can be scored in this section. Questions asked in this section can be grouped under three categories: Important Subjects (like History, Polity, Geography, Economics and Science); Static General Knowledge and Current Affairs. A comprehensive plan to prepare for this section is discussed in the points below.

• Make Notes & Study Daily: Making notes on the topics and start studying them daily is very important if you want to score well in this section. You should jot down all the points in one place to make it easy for revision. You can also make a study plan and allot proper time for each topic of the subject. This will help you in covering all the topics of the subject.
• Stay updated with current affairs: Current affairs are majorly asked in the SSC CGL Tier I Exam. To prepare current affairs you will have to prepare them on a daily basis and revise them at least once a week. In the SSC CGL Exam, normally current affairs of the last 6 months are majorly asked.