Every year, the SSC holds several exams to find applicants for various posts in various government agencies across the nation. The SSC administers numerous exams; the most popular competitive exams in India are SSC CGL and SSC CHSL. The SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL) for the positions such as Lower Divisional Clerk (LDC) and Data Entry Operator (DEO) and the SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGL) for graduate students in various Group B and Group C categories.
The SSC exam is one of the most difficult and competitive exams in India, where more than 20 lakhs of aspirants apply for thousands of vacancies every year. The SSC full form is the Staff Selection Commission which is a conducting body that is responsible for recruiting staff for various Ministries and Departments of India. It works independently as a body that primarily focuses on recruiting qualified applicants by holding numerous exams for various departments.
Due to the intense competition in the SSC exams, candidates’ biggest concern is if it is indeed possible to pass the exams on the first attempt. This article will guide all the aspirants in the right direction by providing relevant tips and suggestions for SSC exam preparation to improve aspirants’ preparation levels.
How to Crack SSC Exams on the First Attempt?
To clear the exam on the first attempt, it is imperative to understand the exam pattern and syllabus of the SSC exams. Also, aspirants need to put in a lot of effort and stick to a structured study schedule. All SSC exams have four common sections: English Comprehension, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness. Since every section is important from the exam point of view; therefore, the following tips should be used to prepare for each section:
- English Comprehension: It is one section that can either make or break one’s chances of selection for the exam. Most aspirants find the section challenging to score well in the exam.
- SSC has increased the level of this section over the years; therefore, candidates have to be very careful while preparing for this section.
- Reading an English newspaper every day will increase aspirants’ chances of doing well on this subject. Reading the newspaper every day will aid aspirants in the general awareness section of the exam in addition to helping them with their English.
- Practising previous years’ papers of at least the last 10 years will help immensely to score well and understand the pattern of the types of questions asked in the exam.
- Topics to focus more on: Wrongly Spelt words, Idioms/Phrases, One-word Substitution, Synonyms, and Antonyms, Spotting Errors, Reading Comprehension and Grammar.
- Reasoning Ability: Reasoning is one of the most scoring sections.
- The section is simple yet time-consuming; hence, candidates should practice questions frequently to increase their speed.
- In this section, with very little effort, aspirants can score good marks and hence increase the overall chances of selection.
- Practising as many questions as one can from Logical Reasoning by R.S Agrawal will help to solve different types of questions and complete the SSC syllabus.
- Take topic-wise as well as full-length mock tests for the reasoning section.
- Topics to focus on are Blood Relations, Analogy, Ages, Number Series, Miscellaneous, Non-verbal Reasoning, Coding and Decoding and Word Arrangement.
- Quantitative Aptitude: This section is one of the easiest and most scoring if the fundamental concepts are clear.
- The most important thing to prepare for this section is to learn short tricks and formulae for different topics. Most questions can be solved by applying a direct formula.
- Aspirants need to improve their calculation speed if they want to do well in this section because solving questions is another part, but solving a question in that time interval is the thing that matters most.
- Apart from learning short tricks and formulae, learn tables, squares, square roots, cubes and cube roots of numbers for faster calculations.
- Topics which need more focus are Algebra, Geometry, DI (Bar Graph/Pie Chart), Profit and Loss, SI & CI, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Time & Distance and Time & Work.
- Practice questions from previous years’ papers and take many mock tests to increase speed and manage time.
- General Awareness: It is one of the sections in which the majority of applicants fall short.
- To do well in this area, prepare Indian History, Geography, Economics and various constitutional acts of Polity.
- Prepare Science well since most of the questions in this subject are related to it, and most aspirants neglect this section.
- Stay updated with the latest events of national and international affairs by reading a newspaper daily.
- Make a list of frequently asked questions and examine the trend of last year’s papers to score well in this section. Take short notes and periodically revise them. These notes will be useful for last-time revisions.
- Solve previous years’ papers as SSC generally repeats its questions in the exam.
General Tips to Prepare for SSC Exams
Here are a few suggestions on how to successfully pass the SSC exams on the first attempt.
- Read the syllabus meticulously and plan the timetable accordingly.
- Make a realistic study plan and follow it religiously.
- Always opt for the right books and limit the sources.
- Make short study notes for easier revision.
- Solve previous exam papers to grasp the types of questions.
- Solve maximum practice papers and sign up for all the free mock tests available online, to increase speed and accuracy in the exam.
- Revise rigorously for a better understanding of the concepts.
- Stay motivated and be determined to clear the exam.
Completing the syllabus, practising previous years’ papers, solving mock tests and regular revisions are the key tips to excel in SSC exams. Don’t ignore current affairs, as its weightage in the recent SSC exam has increased greatly. Lastly, maintain calm and composure during the exam in the examination hall. Being positive and confident is most important to do well in any competitive exam.
Success does not just happen, and rewards don’t materialise overnight. Keep in mind that there are only hard-and-hard rules for success. Be determined and work hard to ace the SSC exam on the first attempt.