How to Crack SSC CGL Exam in the First Attempt?

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Every year, the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) organizes the SSC CGL Exam to select qualified candidates for Group B and Group C positions. It is one of the most highly sought-after exams in India. Numerous aspirants appear for the SSC CGL Exam, but cracking it can be challenging. Without adequate preparation and a solid strategy, candidates may find themselves attempting the exam multiple times. In this article, we provide some tips on how to crack SSC CGL Exam in the first attempt. Check the article below to get an idea of how to crack the SSC CGL Exam on the first attempt.

Understand the SSC CGL Exam First

The first step in any exam preparation is to understand the exam well. Candidates must first go through the SSC CGL Notification well and understand the eligibility criteria, exam pattern, and exam syllabus well. The SSC CGL Exam Pattern will help the candidates to understand the different levels of the exam, the marking scheme, and the topics that will be asked in different stages of the exam. The SSC CGL Syllabus will help the candidates to know the topics they need to cover and the topics they need to avoid. Check the SSC CGL Exam Pattern, which we have shared below for your reference.

SSC CGL Tier I Exam Pattern

SSC CGL Tier I Exam Pattern
Subject	Total Questions	Total Marks	Duration
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50	60 minutes
General Awareness	25	50
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50
English Comprehension	25	50
Total	100	200

SSC CGL Tier II Exam Pattern

Paper	Section	No. of Question	Maximum Marks	Duration
Paper I	Section I: Module I: Mathematical Module I: Reasoning and General Intelligence	30 30 Total= 60	60*3= 180	1 hour (for each section) 1 hour and 20 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe
	Section II: Module I: English Language and Comprehension Module II: General Awareness	45 25 Total =70	70* 3= 210
	Section III: Module I: Computer Knowledge Module	20	20*3 =60	15 Minutes (for each module) 20 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe
	Section III- Module II- Data Entry Speed Test Module	One Data Entry Task	—
Paper II	Statistics	100	100*2= 200	2 hours 2 hours and 40 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe
Paper III	General Studies (Finance and Economics)	100	100*2= 200	2 hours 2 hours and 40 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe

Analyzing the Previous Year Papers

Once candidates have understood the SSC CGL Exam Pattern and Syllabus, then they should analyze the SSC CGL Previous Year Papers. By analyzing the previous year’s papers, candidates will be able to understand the type of questions asked in different stages of the SSC CGL Exam, the difficulty level of the questions, and the areas/topics from which the questions were asked. SSC revamped the SSC CGL Exam Pattern recently but still candidates can analyze the SSC CGL Question Papers for the last five years to get an idea of the exam difficulty.

Build Your Strategy

Once, candidates have gained complete knowledge regarding the SSC CGL Exam and have identified their weak and strong areas, they can start the SSC CGL Exam preparation. But, before just jumping into the preparation phase, candidates should go through the planning phase. Candidates should devise their preparation strategy by dividing it into three stages- Macro, Mirco, and Mini stage. The macro stage means planning for months like 3 months or 6 months, the micro stage means planning for weeks, and the mini stage is per day planning or setting the per day study goal. In this way, candidates should create a roadmap for themselves and stick to them.

Plan Your Routine

Candidates should plan and follow a strict routine. They should divide their day into several shifts and then as per shift they should dedicate some hours to each subject/topic. Following a routine is very important to develop discipline and this will help the students to stay focused in the long run.

Fewer Resources Maximum Revisions

If you don’t want to burden yourself with resources and want to wrap up your exam preparation as soon as possible keep your resources few. Candidates should select only the standard books and should not just read from every resource available in the market. Instead, they should revise the same books the maximum number of times. Check the SSC CGL booklist below.

Subjects	Books	Author/Publisher
English	Word Power Made Easy	Goyal, Norman Lewis
English	English For General Competition	KD Publication, Neetu Singh
Maths	Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations	S CHAND, RS Agrawal
Maths	Elementary and Advanced Mathematics	KD Campus, Kiran Publication
Reasoning	A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning	S Chand and Sons
Reasoning	Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning	Disha Publication
General Awareness	Lucent GK	Lucent Publication
General Awareness	Newspapers	The Hindu/ Indian Express

Attempt Mock Tests

Mock Tests are the Key to success in the SSC CGL Exam. Candidates should attempt daily and weekly mocks to track their preparation. Candidates should not wait for the right time to complete their entire preparation and then attempt the mock tests. Instead, they should start attempting mock tests and then analyze their performance. Candidates can learn a lot more from mock tests than by any other means. The benefits of attending the SSC CGL Mock Tests are:

Gives candidates a chance to practice in an exam-like environment
Helps the candidates to track the exam duration and complete the exam in the stipulated time
The questions in the mock tests are more or less similar to that of the actual exam, hence candidates can get an idea of how well they are prepared for the exam
Helps in analyzing weak and strong topics for the exam.

After attempting the mock tests, candidates should also analyze their performance and then work on their weak topics. Above all, candidates should keep themselves motivated and avoid any kind of distractions. SSC CGL Exam is easy to crack only if candidates put in the right dedication, and effort, and have prepared the correct roadmap for themselves to follow.

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