What should be the strategy to crack SSC CGL Exam 2024?

The SSC Graduate Level Examination 2024 will be conducted in September-October 2024 which is almost 8 months away and gives the candidates plenty of time to prepare. The exam in itself is an elaborate process that tests the candidates not only on their knowledge but also checks their ability of decision-making and problem-solving. Building these abilities takes some time and practice. Every candidate has his/her strategy however here are some points that can help an aspirant get some idea about the SSC CGL exam and formulate their strategy.

Strategy to crack SSC CGL 2024 Exam

Every year lakhs of aspirants from across the nation resolve to appear and clear the SSC CGL exam with flying colours. All of us are aware that to clear such an elaborate exam with multiple levels, we need to come up with a clear-cut strategy that will help us achieve the goal. However, we should ensure that our strategy should be practical and tailored to our strengths and weaknesses. In general terms we should be aware of what works for us and what doesn’t.

Our focus here will be a comprehensive preparation plan for tier 1 as well as tier 2. Keep in mind the overall layout of preparation of all the sections of the SSC CGL exam is a 3 fold process:

• Step 1- Learn the concepts
• Step 2– Practice solving Previous Year Questions(PYQs)
• Step 3– Solve more and more questions again and again.

Learning the concepts includes going through textbooks, watching online tutorials and making notes. PYQs are available both online and offline. Solving them and learning from the given solutions help clarify the application of the concepts.

Solving new questions, mock tests and quizzes provided by Adda247,  enhances the skills acquired. However, the most important part of the preparation phase is Revision. Having a collection of hand written notes and going through them again and again assures the aspirant of recalling the concept instantly in the examination hall.

There are some common subjects in both levels. Preparing for these subjects is a fine balance between practice and revision. These subjects are:

1. Quantitative Aptitude
2. English Comprehension
3. General Intelligence and reasoning
4. General Awareness

All these are of different flavours and require different plans of action.
1. First of all, let’s tackle the most talked about section i.e. Quantitative Aptitude. This is the most time-consuming and practice-intensive section out of the four and usually requires the highest investments in terms of time and energy.
The preparation of this section comprises of 2 stages – Learning and practice.
If we look at the SSC CGL syllabus 2024, we can divide it in 4 subsections:

• a) Number System
• b) Arithmetic
• c) Advance Maths
• d) Statistics & Probability.

There is no fixed order of preparing these and it is always great to try different approaches before landing on the one that works for us.
The level of practice for each of these differs from candidate to candidate. However, keeping a formula book handy is great for covering all the concepts on a regular basis.

2. Next we take a look at the English Comprehension section. This section has 3 main parts – Vocabulary, Grammar and Comprehension.

• The key to a strong vocabulary is a regular practice of memorising and revision. Synonyms, antonyms, Idioms, phrases and Phrasal Verbs are the main components of vocabulary.
• Grammar has multiple concepts that are easy to grasp but require a lot of practice. The goal should be to instantly recognise the concept used in the given sentence and perform the analysis as required.
• Having good comprehension skills are essential not only for this section but in all the sections of the exam as analysing what is being asked is the first step of working towards a solution.
• Having a good grip on vocabulary, grammar as well as comprehension can be achieved by having a regular habit of reading articles on varied topics from trusted sources like newspapers and journals.

3. A strong foundation of Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension leads the candidate automatically to General Intelligence and Reasoning. The most important skill in this section is pattern recognition. The candidate after learning the basic concepts should try to build logic in solving various levels of questions through previous year papers. Practicing to mentally visualize the given statements and trying find the required answer is a great way to add value to problem-solving in not just this question but all the sections of the exam.

4. Last but not least comes the General Awareness section. This is a pretty straightforward area of the paper with two main sub sections- Static GK and Current Affairs. In the recent years CGL, just like other competitive exams, has also been leaning more toward Current Affairs however having a strong hold on static topics still holds great importance.. As we know current affairs has a vast syllabus, so we have to be smart about what to study and practice. To do so we have to keep a keen eye on the recently conducted exams of various levels and filter out what are the most relevant and important topics to focus on while preparing for this section.

Apart from these 4 sections, Tier 2 also has Computer Knowledge Test and Data Entry Speed Test which are qualifying in nature but hold very high value in deciding the merit of the candidate. Computer Knowledge should be given great importance as it also overlaps with the static GK portion of the General Awareness section of the exam. To prepare this, a candidate should use 1 or 2 sources and go through the material again and again. For Data Entry Speed Test, there is no alternative to the age-old tradition of practice, practice and practice.

Learning to type with all ten fingers and without looking down at the keyboard should be the goal. Having a net typing speed of 35+ wpm is more than sufficient for this exam so the aspirant should target to dedicate at least 15 to 30 minutes each day diligently. There are various free typing software and websites to practice and test oneself.

No matter what the task is or how much time are we given to accomplish it, having a practical and smart strategy is definitely an inevitable step towards success.