Reasoning, General Intelligence (Tier 1)

Just like how we did the Maths- first well divide [Reasoning] into subtopics
Subtopics 2010 11 12

Topic
1. Analogy (both word based and numerical) 27 26 30

Series

2. Odd pair (both word based and numerical) 3. English Dictionary based word arrangements, missing letters 4. Box containing some number, youve to find missing number. 5. Ranking, missing characters etc. 1. Typical coding decoding (PEAR written as 7 8 11

Coding

GFDN then REAP is written as..) 2. Symbols (circle is greater than, square is less than..) 3. Maths operations (L=x, M=+, then value of 16L12M13 is..) 1. Sitting arrangement (line, table and circular) 5 7 2

Arrangement

2. Blood relations (mom-dad-father in law) 3. Building, car, colour, occupations of persons. 4. Schedules (lecture on Monday..etc.) 5. Direction based (Mohan moves three kms northhow far he is from home) 1. Syllogism (2 statements and 3 statements): 4 2 2

Logic

shortcut techniques explained here: click ME 2. Conventional Venn Diagrams (Venn diagrams (in a class 40 students like coffee and 50 like both tea and coffee..) 3. Assumption, interference, conclusion etc. 1. Clock, calendar 3 3 1

Misc.

2. Permutation Combination (rare) 3. Age related problems (dad is 22 older than..) 4. Geometry (lolz in 2012, one question in reasoning section was from Geometry!)

1. Cubes-dices: predicting color, numbers in other

Image based (non-verbal)

faces 2. Sequence of figures 3. Paper-cutting, folding, punching 4. Mirrors and water reflection 5. Configuration, fitting pieces, odd pieces etc. Total 50 50 50

Total

Breakup : Last three years papers Priority order

Logical Reasoning portion doesnt have much theory/formulas as such, except for Syllogism, clock-Calendars, Permutation combinations etc. so the only way to master Reasoning= via maximum practice at home. Here comes the problem: Youve to face Reasoning/General Intelligence only at the tier-I stage. (50Q) But In tier II: there is no reasoning, but only Maths +English. Besides, you dont have to tick 200/200 questions in tier-I, to pass the exam. So, you should have some sort of strategy about how much time and energy should be invested in Logical Reasoning portion. (like in General Awareness , the priority order was Static>>Science>>Crap.)

Task #1:Series

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

As you can see from the topic wise breakup charts given above, majority of the questions are asked from series(analogy, odd pairs, dictionary etc). Around half of the reasoning questions are based on this topic only. In fact in every SSC- CGL paper, first 8-9 question are from analogy, next 7-8 question from Find odd word/number and so on. Therefore, I suggest you first solve all the sums related to series from your reasoning book. And within that, more emphasis should be given to Analogy (words and numbers) odd pair (same) classification dictionary based series inserting missing characters logical sequence of words

The word based analogy/odd pair is very easy (compared to number based or letter based). But number based analogy/odd pair etc. can be a tough cookie. So while in exam, keep an eye on wrist watch. Dont spend too much time in just one question. For example: find Missing number in the box?

11 126 107

?? 9

Answer choice:

If youre able to solve this quickly=well and good. But sometimes the logic behind above number pairing wont click in your mind immediately in the exam. So there is no point in wasting 5-7 minutes in just one question here. Just leave it and move on to next question. On the last page of your question paper (space for rough work), write down the Question number of such time-consuming sums and leave them for the end part of exam. (same advice for coding-decoding).

Task #2: Arrangement-Direction tests

This includes blood-relation, arrangements (circular, line, building etc.) To a new player, the arrangement questions may appear time-consuming. But once youve practiced enough sums, your speed will improve. But the best thing with arrangement question= you can verify the answer (by applying the conditions given in the question to your arrangement). Easiest of all arrangement is circular arrangement. I consider it no-excuse topic. Solve each and every sum given in your book. Once youre comfortable with circular, move to linear and rectangular (dining table). Next comes, Direction based question. Mohan walks 5 km north then Again no-excuse. Solve each and every sum given in your book. Then building-car-job, lecture schedules etc. arrangements. Finally blood relations.

Task #3: Non-verbal

Image based question. Again no excuse, solve all the sums and it wont pose much difficulty during exam. But yes keep an eye on wrist-watch.

Task #4: Coding-Decoding

This involves 1. Typical coding decoding (PEAR written as GFDN then REAP is written as..) 2. Symbols (circle is greater than, square is less than..) 3. Maths operations (L=x, M=+, then value of 16L(12M13) is..) 4. And other misc. questions. Math operation =no excuse. Can be mastered with practice and can be solved quickly and accurately. Same for symbol. So practice as much as you can.

Task #5 remaining stuff

Here, first finish Syllogism (All cats are dogs..): use the UP-UN method to quickly solve them. click me to learn it. Please note, in SSC, at most two questions on syllogism per year. But cost-benefit ratio is very good. So dont avoid). Conventional Venn Diagram questions. (50 drink coffee, 40 drink tea) Usually just 1 question comes. Good part= answer can be verified and once you practice enough it doesnt even take one minute to solve it (2 circle venn diagram cases). Therefore, no excuse must be prepared. Now once youve done Above things then spend remaining time in whatever topics are left. Clock, calendar etc. (based on time and mood.)

Book for Reasoning?

Since Reasoning/ General Intelligence topic doesnt have much theory, the only way to approach it= practice maximum number of questions at home from your reasoning book. Im going to repeat the advice given in maths article: You should simultaneously appear for IBPS, LIC, CDS, CAPF and all such exams depending on your career taste. (because putting all eggs in one SSC basket= bad idea sir-ji). So you want to use one reasoning book that is universally applicable to all such exams. I suggest use either one of the following books: While content and coverage is almost the same in both these books, They differ mainly in terms of size (=no. of practice questions given in each book.). BS Sijwali has less number of practice question (around 750 pages) while R.S.Agarwals reasoning book has about 1500 paper. Both of them quite helpful in SSC-CGL, IBPS, LIC-ADO, AAO, CDS, and similar exams. You dont need to use both of them, just use any one of them. And practice as many questions as you can at home.

This concludes the discussion on How to approach Logical Reasoning/ General Intelligence for SSC-CGL exam. Now only one topic remains: how to approach English vocabulary, grammar and comprehension. Will be discussed in a separate article.

introduction
Competitive exams are meant for real-men and women. This is no country for crybabies, kids, college teens and no0bs. So first of all, you must get rid of the following loser mindsets: 1. Yaar this maths is so hard, I cant do it. 2. Im not from science/engineering background hence this is not my cup of tea. 3. Im poor in maths and I cannot improve. 4. Thik hai, dekh lenge. (alright, Ill see). Maths is not difficult. All it requires is concept clarity + lot of practice. In SSC-CGL exam, youve to face Mathematics at two stages
Stage Tier-I (Prelims) Maths-Questions 50 Qs Penalty Negative 0.25

Tier-II (Mains) Paper I: Arithmetical Ability 100 Qs worth 200 marks Negative 0.50

The Approach for Maths, stands on two pillars.

Pillars
1. Conceptual clarity 1. NCERTs (Free download links @bottom) 2. Mrunal.org/aptitude 3. For some topics, directly Quantitative aptitude books. 1. Lot of practice From Quantitative aptitude books. There are lot of books in market, the question is, which one to refer? It is explained at the bottom of this article.

#1: Getting the conceptual clarity

Well divide Maths or Quantitative Aptitude, into topics and further into subtopics. Your task is to cover one topic at a time, first get conceptual-clarity and then solve maximum questions at home. Whenever you learn any shortcut technique, you note it down in your diary. Similarly, whenever you make any mistake while solving sums, you also note that down in your diary. Night before the exam, you review that diary of mistakes. (why do this? Because it is the Art of Aptitude (Click ME)
Topic Subtopics 1. Divisibility, How to approach NCERT Class 7 Chap 2, 9 (fraction) NCERT Class 10 Chap 1 (divisibility) Finally your Quantitative aptitude book.

Number

remainders 2. LCM and HCF 3. Unknown

theory

numbers from given conditiofor 4. Fractionscomparisions. 1. Simplification 1. Roots, squares, Cubes 1. Linear equation Mothers age was x and daughters age.. 3 mangos and 5 bananas purchased for X+1/2x+3=3/8 then find X. ^This type of stuff. Just practice and youll get a hang of it. 1. Quadratic equations, Polynomials 1. Wine-Water Basics given in NCERT Class 8 Chap 2 and 9. Then NCERT Class 9 Chap 4 Lastly NCERT Class 10 Chap 3. Factorization and roots. Heavily asked in Tier-II. NCERT Class 8 Chap 14 And then NCERT Class 9 Chap 2 Lastly NCERT Class 10 Chap 4 Can be solved without formula. Go through http://mrunal.org/2012/03/aptitudealligationsmixturesalloys.html Lolz For ratio-proportion NCERT Class 8 Chap 13. NCERT Class 8 Chap 1

Basic Maths

(BODMAS) 1. Surds, indices NCERT Class 8 Chap 12 Then NCERT Class 9 Chap 1 Basics from NCERT Class 8 Chap 6 and 7.

Algebra

Avg and Ratios

mixture (Alligations) 1. Simple Average 1. RatioProportionvariations 1. Partnership

http://mrunal.org/2012/05/aptitude-partnership-and-profitsharing.html

1. Time speed distance 2. Trains, platforms 3. Boats-streams 4. Time and Work 5. Pipes and Cisterns 1. Angles, sides,

All of them can be solved with just one Universal STD formula. Explained in www.Mrunal.org/aptitude

NCERT Class 9 Chap 6, 7, 8 and 10. Quantitative

Geometry

bisectors, circles etc 1. Mensuration (area and volume). 1. Trigonometry

aptitude book.

Basics explained in NCERT Class 8 Chap 3, 11. Then NCERT Class 9 Chap 9, 12, 13. Lastly Lastly NCERT Class 10 Chap 13 Understand basics from NCERT Class 10 Chap 8 and 9. Then exam-oriented concepts from your Quantitative Aptitude book.

Basic % (increase, decrease in consumption, population)

Also do NCERT Class 8 Chap 8.

Datainterpretation cases.

Mere extention of % concept. Just practice. For long division, use this approximation method: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/aptitude-long-divisiontwo-digit-division-calculation-without-tears-and-withoutboring-vedic-speed-maths.html

Profit, loss, discount, marked price. Simple and compound interest rate 1. Permutation 2. Combination 3. Probability

http://mrunal.org/2012/11/aptitude-concepts-of-markedprice-and-successive-discounts-profit-loss-without-stupidformulas.html http://mrunal.org/2012/04/aptitude-compound-interestrate.html

Not asked as such. But Sometimes a question or two comes in the Reasoning portion of Tier-I. Hence not much attention necessary. But again, they too can be solved without mugging up formulas: go through various articles on www.Mrunal.org/aptitude

1. Coordinate

Lately SSC has started asking 1-2 question in each of Tier I and II. But they can be solved by merely plugging numbers in the readymade formulas given in your Quantitative Aptitude book.

Misc.

Geometry

1. Progression: Arithmetic+ Geometry

Again, rarely asked in SSC. Sometimes a question or two comes in the Reasoning portion of Tier-I. Basically you just have to plug in the values in formulas. Basics of Arithmetic progression explained in NCERT Class 10 Chap 5.

1. Logerithms

Not asked.

Breakup: SSC-CGL Tier I (2010, 2011, 2012)

Topic 2010 2011 2012 3 5 3 5 0 11 0 4 14 0 5 50 1 2 2 2 2 5 5 5 5 9 12 50 Ratio+Partnership 3 number theory Avg+alligation TSD Misc. basic math algebra DI % Trigonometry Geometry Total 6 3 6 3 11 6 3 6 0 3 50

The 2012s Tier-I paper, is trend-breaker. Because 1. The conventional questions from ratio-proportion, basic maths, time-speed-work are asked for namesake only. 2. Otherwise, Out of 50 Maths questions in tier-I, almost 30 questions are from just Geometry+Trig+Percentage application. 3. Earlier, they used to ask mostly area-volume-perimeter type questions from Geometry segment. You just had to plug-in values into the formulas and get the answer. 4. But This 2012s paper has mostly theory based geometry (angle, bisector, tangent, inequality of triangles etc.) 5. Similarly the difficulty level of algebra, number theory based questions is bit raised. Or perhaps SSC too decided to employ the Backbreaking move of UPSC! Anyways, jokes apart, the lesson here is, adapt.

Breakup: SSC-CGL Tier II (2010, 2011, 2012)

Type basic math Misc. number theory DI

2010 2011 2012 11 2 8 10 4 2 7 20 4 6 12 4 13 18 10 100 3 3 5 5 6 7 7 8 10 19 27 100

Ratio+Partnership 6 Avg+alligation TSD Trigonometry Algebra % Geometry Total 5 7 0 10 27 14 100

Here too, Geometry+Trigonometry have been given emphasis like never before. Almost 65% of the paper is made up of Geometry, Trig, Percentage and Algebra (and in that too, mostly Quadratic equations.)

#2: Practice

Merely knowing the concepts or formulas wont help. Because unless you practice different variety of questions, you wont become proficient in applying those concepts flawlessly in the actual-exam. Second, despite knowing concept and formulas, people make silly mistakes either in calculation or in pluging the values. Third reason- Tier I has 200 questions in 120 limits. =not even 2 minutes per question. Plus, questions reasoning and comprehension might take more than 5 minutes! Therefore speed is essential. Since there is negative marking system, accuracy also matters. So it is beyond doubt that you have to practice excimer number of questions at home. The question is where to get the practice? Which book should be used for SSC exam?

Choice of Quantitative Aptitude Book?

In all competitive exams, uncertainity factor is involved. Despite your best preparation, you might lose the success-train by 2-3 marks. Therefore you must never put all eggs in one basket.

While you are preparing for SSC, you should also keep open mind and apply for other competitive exams, such as IBPS, ACIO, ONGC, Railways, LIC, CDS, Coast Guard etc. (Depending on your career-taste). Publication houses will come up with new books for each and every of ^these exams, but we have neither the time nor the money to buy a new book for every new exam. Such readymade books are only skimmed down version of original topicbooks. For example, if there is SSC-FCI exam, or ACIO exam, these people will combine a few topics of GK, maths, reasoning and english. And present you a book. Problem= you dont get comprehensive understanding or coverage. Besides, given the population of India, competition level is always high, irrespective of exam. So half-hearted preparations with readymade condensed books dont help much. Almost all of these exams follow same structure: 1. 2. 3. 4.

General awareness Maths Reasoning (Verbal, Non-Verbal) English vocabularly, grammar and comprehension. How do they differ from each other?= number of questions, difficulty level and inclusion / exclusion of particular subtopics. So when youre picking up books for the first time, you should choose the books, that have universal usefulness for similar exams. That way your time, effort and money will be saved.

Books for Maths/Quantitative Aptitude

DONOT use Quantitative Aptitude by R.S.Agarwal for SSC-CGL.

Problems with RS Agarwals Math book:

1. The way SSC-CGL question pattern is transforming, R.S.Agarwals book on Quantitative aptitude, is just not upto the mark to match this changing environment. 2. Its chapter on Trigonometry (Height and Distance) is simply insufficient to handle SSC-CGL level bombarding. 3. Similarly coverage of algebra, quadratic equations and number theory is either absent or just for namesake. 4. Geometry coverage is mostly confined to area-volume-perimeter (=mensuration). But SSCCGL is moving towards Non-mensuration geometry (angle, bisectors, midpoint, circles, triangles etc.) 5. The printing and presentation is very cluttered. He has written the book assuming that you were already good at maths from school level. 6. If youre already good at basic concepts, use this book for practicing and improving your speed, else dont bother, there are better books in market.

Pricing factor

The point is, both books of Arihant Publication (Sarvesh or Rajesh) are way better than R.S.Agarwal, in terms of content, presentation, language and coverage, without being too expensive than R.S.Agarwals book. And both of them have universal application for almost all of the competitive exams in India (for maths segment). My advice, go with either Rajesh Verma or Sarvesh Kumar. Then the question, which one to pick up?

Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma.

The size and price factor goes in favor of this book. Concepts, techqniues, readymade formulas given here and there. Language, presentation is lucid. Algebra, quadratic equation and Trigonometry specific chapters are given for exclusively for SSC. If you solve all the sums of this book, then mathematics portion of SSC-CGL (Tier-I and II) will be as easy as a walk in the park. While it is excellent for SSC, IBPS, UGC, LIC, CDS etc. level exams, its utility starts diminishing as you move towards higher-end exams.

Quantam CAT by Sarvesh Kumar

Although book is written for CAT and Management exams, he starts explaining everything from basics. Then exercises are divided into Introductory<level 1<Level 2<Final round, based on difficulty level. Thus it becomes ideal choice for any aptitude exam. So for lower level exams (SSC/IBPS), you should solve all his solved examples, then introductory exercises, finally level 1. Thatll be quite sufficient.

Function, graphs, Quadratic equations, Geometry, Permutation-Combination-Probability coverage is Thorough. (Hell even more sums than Arun Sharmas). This make it ideal text-book for CAT/CMAT and other higher end exams.

^But merely getting either of these books, is not going to make you a topper. If you want to become truly invincible for the maths portion of any competitive exam, then you must practice maximum numbers of questions at home and maintain a diary of mistakes. This concludes how to approach Mathematics/Quantiative Aptitude for SSC-CGL exam. Now only two topics remain (will be discussed later, in separate articles):

1. How to approach Logical Reasoning 2. How to approach English vocabulary, grammar and comprehension

Download: NCERT Maths Textbooks

Mathematics Class 8 Mathematics Class 9 Download Download Mathematics Class 10 Download

Download: Blank answersheet

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9AJvFSzIyiwVGZBbHMtUWEwV2M

Studyplans for other topics of SSC-CGL

Click on following articles to know strategy, booklist for General Awareness, Reasoning and English.

General Awareness for Tier I Reasoning / General Intelligence for Tier I

Click me Click me

English Grammar, Vocabulary, Comprehension for Tier I and II Click me

[Studyplan] SSC CGL 2013 (General Awareness) Tier-1: Booklist, approach, free study material for Combined Graduate Level exam
This article only deals with General Awareness part. The approach to Maths, English and reasoning, covered in separate articles.

Introduction

Notification for SSC-Combined Graduate Level exam was released on 19 Jan 2013. Click ME to read it SSC-CGL exam is made up of three stages: Tier 1, 2 and 3.

Tier I (prelims)
Subject General Awareness 50 Reasoning Maths English Total 50 50 50 200

Time-2 hours. No. of question =200 Negative marking: 0.25 marks

Tier II (mains)
Those who qualify in the Tier-I, have to appear for Tier-II. But unlike the UPSC mains, the SSC tier-II doesnt have descriptive paper. You just have to face Multichoie Questions (MCQ).
Total Paper I (Maths) Total Duration Negative marking? - 0.50 - 0.25

200 marks 2 hrs 400 marks

Paper II (English) 200 marks 2 hrs

These two papers are compulsory for all candidates. But If youre applying for Statistical Investigator Grade-II, then youve to appear for one more paper, that is Paper III for Statistics, worth 200 marks.

Tier III (interview/CPT)

Those who qualify in Tier II (Mains), are called up for third stage (Tier III)

For some posts youve to appear for Interview worth 100 marks. For some posts, youve to give computer proficiency test or Skill Test. For example, Candidate for Tax Assistant job, will have to give test for data entry speed.

Whats the reform/change?

candidates qualifying in Tier-II of the Examination, will be subjected to a short descriptive paper of not more than one hours duration, with questions drawn from 1. English Language and Comprehension 2. Quantitative Abilities

3. General Awareness Please note: The main objective of above Descriptive-Paper reform is to prevent cheaters and dummy candidates. So there is no need fear the descriptive paper. If youve the guts and brains to clear Tier II (Mains), then you can handle this descriptive paper without much trouble. And SSC chairman says if possible, theyll conduct this descriptive paper via computer. Anyways, lets start. The studyplan is divided into four articles.
General Awareness Tier I Maths / Quantitative Aptitude for Tier I and II Reasoning / General Intelligence for Tier I Job profiles of various posts offered under SSC-CGL Explained here in this article. Click me Click me Click me

English Grammar, Vocabulary, Comprehension for Tier I and II Click me

Tier I (Prelims)

Here youve to face Multichoice questions on General Awareness, English, Maths and Reasoning. (50 questions each). This article only deals with how approach General Awareness. How to approach Maths, Reasoning and English= will be explained later, in separate articles.

General Awareness (Tier I)

First of all, throw away Manorama Yearbook from your study-desk. That book doesnt have much use for competitive exams.

Topicwise Analysis: 2010, 11, 12

Topic Static Polity Indian History+Culture Geograhpy (Physical+Indian)+Biodiversity Economy Subtotal (Static) Science Biology Chemistry Physics+Space Computer Subtotal (Science) Crap Yearbook (institutes, schemes, dates etc.) Subtotal (Crap) Grand Total 2010 2011 2012 7 5 6 11 29 6 4 7 1 18 0 3 50 5 6 11 7 29 4 4 6 2 16 3 2 5 50 8 5 6 4 23 8 3 4 2 17 6 4 10 50

Misc.GK, Sports, PIN, Books, Current Affairs 3

Ive divided the General awareness portion of SSC-CGL exam, into

S+S+C= Static + Science + Crap. (^in decreasing order of priority and importance.) In the SSC exams, new players tend to pay too much attention to the crap part. They keep buying books and magazines all the time as if there is nothing else to prepare except currentaffairs. But you must keep in mind that the Cost-benefit ratio is not really great for crap questions = no. of data entries to be mugged up vs probability of getting a question vs probability of recalling the correct answer in actual exam. Im not saying ignore current affairs, all Im saying is, dont invest too much time and energy in them. On the other hand, If you look at bigger picture, almost 80% of General awareness questions come from Static + Science portion alone. Hence they should form the priority. The Action-Plan of SSC General awareness, rests on three pillars
1. 1. 1. NCERT+NIOS Lucent General Knowledge Competitionmaster.com OR Pratiyogita Darpan Static + Science. Filling up any missing details in Static + Science Part For crap current affairs.

Indian Polity

If youre simultaneously preparing for UPSC or State PSC exams, then just go with Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth. Same book available in Hindi, under the name Bharat Ki Rajya Vyavastha So, if youve Laxmikanth, dont bother much with NCERT/NIOS/Lucent etc. But If you dont have Laxmikanth there is no need to specifically buy/borrow Laxmikanth for SSC Exam alone, because the questions are very rudimentary in nature and can be solved via NIOS zip files (given @Bottom), in combination with Lucent. Also prepare current affairs associated with polity. But major current affairs only. For example Shree-Krishna Committee =Telengana. Who is the chairman of new Finance Commission, who is the new CJI etc.etc.etc.

Indian History + Culture

In SSC exam, History means Indian History only. So donot waste time preparing World History. Sometimes one question may comes, but that is not worth the Cost-benefit.

Approach Indian History?

Indian History is subdivided into three parts
Ancient Modern Harappa, Vedic Age, Maurya, Sangam etc. 1857 Sepoy Mutiny + Freedom struggle.

Medieval Delhi Sultanate, Mughals etc.

Start with TN State education board books class 11 and 12 (theyre better than NCERT for the history portion, free download at bottom). Then use Lucent to fill up the missing details. SSC questions on History, are mostly from the important personalities and events. So, Please donot waste too much time in mugging up trivial names, dates etc.

Approach Culture?

Culture= art, painting, dances, temples, mosques, Architecture etc. Most of the Culture happened during Ancient + medieval. So, youll simultaneously prepare it while going through NCERT Textbooks. Also use the NIOS ZIP file. Given @Bottom of this article. Lastly Lucent to fill up the missing details. +Winner of Gyanpith award, Sangeet Natak etc. (ONLY IF youve time, else dont bother much.) That pretty much sums up History + culture. Although revision =essential.

Geography+Biodiversity+Environment

For SSC exam, weve to prepare only Physical Geography + Indian Geography. World Geography doesnt come into picture. (sometimes a question or two, but thats again not worth our trouble, remember the Cost-benefit.) Lately SSC too has started asking questions on Biodiversity and environment. Although they overlap with biology/science portion.

Source?
1. NCERT textbooks: Social Science Class 7 to 10 2. NCERT Geography Class 11, 12. 3. Environment and biodiversity ZIP file of NIOS. (^free download links given @bottom of this article) Finally Lucent to fill up any missing details, such as names of multipurpose river valley projects. But here again, dont waste time with numbers.

Hirakud=Mahanadi River in Odisha=important. Hirakud=4800m long = useless.

Economy

Generally very straightforward questions based on definition and concepts of Economy. NCERT Economy book Class 11. (Indias economy and Development.) NIOS Zip file given @bottom.

Only major current affairs. Usually SSCs Economy questions are based on budget. (if at all they ask from current affairs.) This concludes reading sources for Static. Moving to the next important portion for SSCGeneral Awareness.

Science
Physics 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Gravity Motion Pressure Units of measurement Sound Eletronics Magnetism Chem 1. 2. 3. uses, common names and composition of various chemicals. Alloys Definition based questions. (heat, oxidation, reduction etc) Bio 1. 2. 3. 4. Parts of plant and their functions Parts of body, their functions Basics of animal kingdom. Disease

By and large the science questions come from ^above topics. (it doesnt mean other topics are not important though!) Best way to prepare science=NCERTs. Science tech related current affairs are usually not asked in SSC exam. At most sometimes current-affairs question on NASA satellite launch etc. So just keep an eye on major events, without doing any Ph.D. Candidates from science background shouldnot ride with overconfidence. Because whatever you have learned in college = not asked here. And whatever you had prepared in highschool= long evaporated from your memory. Hence start with the basic NCERT Science textbooks of Class 7 to 10, irrespective of graduation.

Source
1. NCERT Science Text books from Class 7 to 10 2. NIOS material almost overlaps with whatever science is discussed in NCERTs. So not much point in doing double-majoori, unless youve time and mood. 3. Finally Lucent to fill up any missing details Big inventions/inventors, applications of various chemicals, computer related terms etc. (again dont go in trivial details, for example Lucent has even given long chemical reaction formulas= useless.) This concludes science. Now the final part

CRAP (Misc.GK, Sports, PIN etc.)

Duration

Based on SSC-CGL Tier I conducted in July 2012.

1. They had asked question on Shree Krishna Committee report. (which was released somewhere in Jan 2011) 2. Author of book Kurukshetra to Kargil. (again launched in Jan 2011) 3. Santosh Football trophy (somewhere in May 2011) So, Duration of Current affairs for SSC-CGL, is last one calendar year. (i.e. if youre preparing for 2013, then prepare major events starting from Jan 2012.)

PIN=persons in news, like xyz person won ICC cricketer of the year award, new CJI, new army chief, sports winners etc. There is no dearth of magazines and books circulating this garbage. But always remember, your mind has a limited memory capacity. So prepare the big personas, major events, avoid the small timers. Same for books and authors. Same for places in news. Same for [Yearbook]: Government schemes, location of various Government institutes etc. (youll find them in Lucent.) Most importantly: these things dont stay in long term memory. Hence frequent revision essential.

Source?
Competitionmaster.com (they release monthly updates) OR Pratiyogita Darpan (PD).

Extra-preparation

Once youve sufficiently prepared Maths+English+Reasoning+General Awareness, solve the as many old question papers of SSC exam as you can. (Blank answersheets given @bottom)

Why should you practice old papers?

1. SSC recycles questions. You solve 10 papers, then 11 paper has hardly anything new, surprizing or challanging for you. 2. Trains Your Brain For Negative Marking 3. Improves Your Speed. Google search will lead you to many download links for SSC papersets. Problem? 1) scanned PDF files are in very poor quality. + the half mile long watermark only blocks the view= very tiresome for the eyes to read. 2) most of the time, they dont contain solutions. Hence makes the whole exercise frustrating. Because you cant evaluate your performance without going wasting another hour and so in searching the answers manually (for GK etc.) So if you can afford, just go for the Paperset of Kiran Prakashan. Good thing: they give detailed solution of each and every question.

Same way, if you can afford, buy the NCERT textbooks from market (even second hand-used books will work).

Summary: Plan for SSC-CGL (GK)

Priority order for General Awareness preparation= static >> science >> crap Essential booklist/reading list for SSC-CGL (GA) 1. NCERT, NIOS (free download links @bottom) 2. Lucents General Knowledge book 3. competitionmaster.com OR Pratiyogita Darpan (from Jan 2012) Revise minimum three times, practice a few old papers. General awareness shouldnt give much trouble.

This concludes how to approach General Awareness for SSC-CGL Exam. In the upcoming articles, well see how to approach 1. English vocabulary, Grammar and Comprehension (Tier I and II) 2. Maths (Tier I and II) (update: article published-CLICK ME) 3. Reasoning (Tier-I)

Free Download material for SSC General Awareness NCERTs (English) Free download
TN State edu Books (for History) https://files.secureserver.net/0fnzZYT7SDNuC9 NIOS (for Culture) https://files.secureserver.net/0fdAWETp4sONW5 NCERT files: topicwise: https://files.secureserver.net/0fHCh0CLd6Az63 NCERT file: classwise (theyve same pdfs as above)
Science Class 7 Our Pasts Part 2 Class 7 Social and Political Life Part 2 Class 7 Our Environment Class 7 Science Class 8 Our Pasts Part 3 Class 8 Resource and Development Class 8 Social and Political Life Class 8 Science Class 9 Contemporary India Social Science for Class 9 Economics for Class 9 India and Contemporary World 1 for Class 9 Science Class X India and the Contemporary World 2 Class X Social Science Democratic Politics Part 2 for Class X Social Science Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download

Contemporary India Part 2 for Class X Social Science Understanding Economic Development Class X Social Science Fundamentals of Physical Geography Class 11 India Physical Environment Geography Class 11 Indian Economic Development Economics Class 11 Themes in World History Class 11 India People and Economy Class 12 Introductory Microeconomics Class 12 Macroeconomics Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography Class 12 Themes in India History 1 Class 12 Themes in India History 2 Class 12 Themes in India History 3 Class 12

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Description Economy, Environment n Biodiversity, Polity etc.Many zip files on various subjects. Download as per your requirements. Download Link click ME

NIOS study Material Blank Answersheets

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SSC CGL Tier 1 Cutoffs (2011, 2012)

Out of 200 marks.
Year SC ST OBC EXS OH HH VH 2011 63.5 2012 64 General 86.75 82 63.25 62 70.25 70 60 50 50 50 25 60 25 25

(excluding Statistical Investigator/Compiler.)

SSC CGL Tier-2 Cutoffs (2011, 2012)

category 2011 Interview posts Non-Interview posts General SC ST OBC EXS OH HH VH 354.75 281.25 295.75 323.75 293 246.5 200 246.5 315.25 247.25 251.75 283.75 180 208 150 150 2012 Interview posts Non-Interview posts 349 284 282 319 308 274 191 261 313.5 251 242 281.5 211 227 123 225

(excluding Statistical Investigator/Compiler.)

[Studyplan] SSC-CGL English Vocabulary, Grammar and Comprehension: preparation strategy, tips, booklist, analysis Introduction
In the previous articles we saw how to approach
General Awareness for Tier I Reasoning/ General Intelligence for Tier I Click me Click me Maths / Quantitative Aptitude for Tier I and II Click me

In this article, well see how to approach English for SSC-CGL exam.

In the SSC exam, you have to face English at two stages

Tier I (prelims) 50 questions (other 150 question will come from GK, Maths and Reasoning) Tier II (mains) Paper II 200 questions 2 hours 2 hours

Negative marking: Yes

Topic-wise breakup for SSC-English (tier I and II)

Vocabulary

Tier I Antonym Idioms Spelling Fill In Blanks Vocab Subtotal 5 0 5 0 20 5 5 5 5 15 35 5 10 5 5 5 30

Tier II 5 10 5 5 30 55 5 10 5 5 20 45 3 15 10 3 10 41

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 Synonym/Substitution 10

Grammar
Tier I Sentence Correction Direct-Indirect Active-Passive Grammar Subtotal 5 5 5 20 5 5 5 0 15 5 5 0 0 10 Tier II 20 20 25 20 85 20 20 25 20 85 20 22 27 20 89 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 Sentence Improvement 5

Sentence Arrangement + Comprehension

Tier I Sentence Arrangement 5 Comprehension Subtotal 5 10 0 0 0 0 10 10 Tier II 10 50 60 20 50 70 20 50 70 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012

Overall: SSC-English (Tier 1 And 2)

Tier I 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. Synonyms Antonyms Fill in the blanks (single statement) Fill in the blank (huge paragraph) Spelling mistake Idioms and phrases One word substitution (similar to synonyms) Sentence improvement sentence correction Active passive Direct-indirect Comprehension Sentence Arrangement 20 35 30 Tier II 55 45 41 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012

Vocabulary

20

15

10

85

85

89

Grammar Comprehension
Total

10

10

60

70

70

Grand Total

50

50

50

200

200

200

The SSC exams, the English questions usually come in the multiple of fives e.g. 5 question on synonyms, then 5 on antonyms and so on. (tier 1) Similarly in tier-ii, 10 questions on fill in the blanks, 20 questions on active passive and so on.

Please do not live in overconfidence that SSC is a pappu exam and Im a master of English. so I dont need to prepare anything for vocabulary or grammar. If you observe the previous SSC papers particularly the tier-II papers of English, the vocabulary portion is not pappu at times, they ask meaning of words that are not used in the day to day English. Similarly, a lot of things that we say and write in English in our day-to-day life, are not grammatically correct. So you may not be able to tick the right choice in sentence correct/ improvement question. First of all, get a fullscape notebook / diary. Divide it into two parts 1. Grammar 2. Vocabulary. (last 50 pages)

Vocabulary?
Vocabulary is of critical importance in SSC exam because of following reasons 1. There are direct questions on synonyms, antonyms, idioms and phrases. 2. You can read the passage faster, if your vocabulary is good, else youll have to pause and think. 3. In comprehension passages, some questions are in the format of what is the meaning of XYZ word in the sentence Apart from SSC, if youre planning to appear for CAPF , LIC or PSU exams they usually have a descriptive paper (prcis, letter writing, essay etc.)

If youre planning for UPSC, or State PSC, both have compulsory English paper during Mains. Again (prcis, letter writing, essay etc.) So, youll have to write English essay someday and without good vocabulary you cant write a decent essay.

How to improve vocabulary?

There is no dearth of ready-made books in the market for vocabulary. Any Tom Dick or Harry can download a list of synonyms, antonyms, idioms and phrases from Google search and publish a book. But such books are useless because unfamiliar words dont stay long-term memory.

Vocab: Basics
Most of the so-called books on English vocabulary, written by Indian authors, and merely rephrasing the concept of Norman Lewiss book Word Power made easy+ copy pasting some synonyms -antonym list from google search. This book does not merely contain meaning of words but also helps you guestimate answers and probable meanings of unfamiliar words. Because Norman Lewis explains how English vocabulary has evolved from certain roots. He has also explained the spelling rules. Once youre selected in some exam, gift this book to your siblings, friends or cousin. Really helpful for

everyone, irrespective whether he/she is appearing in some competitive exam / not.

How-to approach Norman Lewis?

From outside, the book looks very thick and heavy just like Manorama yearbook. But actually this book is written in a very lucid, easy, reader friendly language. You can read it like a storybook after-dinner.

Structure of the book

Basics of vocabulary

This is subdivided into About 40 sessions (mini-chapters). Try to finish 3-4 sessions per day. Complete all the exercises given at the end of each session.

Appendix

In the appendix, he has given meaning of all the words you learned in above sessions. I suggest you go through this list at least three times. Why? Because while going through old papers of SSC, I realized that sometimes theyve directly lifted words from this book in synonyms question!

Vocabulary: Advanced

Download free software called WordWeb: http://wordweb.info/free/ It is also available for android phones, tablets etc. for free (links on the same site). Keep a habit of reading in English on daily basis- be it English-newspaper, magazine or some web-article. While reading such things, whenever you come across any difficult word- note down in your

diary, along with the sentence in which it appeared. (please keep in mind that absolute words do not stay long-term memory. You have to connect them with a sentence or context.) Then lookup for its meaning in the Wordweb software, and write down the meaning back in your diary/notebook. Repeat this exercise, until youre selected in some exam. This pretty concludes the approach for Vocabulary. Moving to the next topic:

English Grammar: Approach

In the SSC exam, you have to face English grammar in following areas 1. Sentence correction

2. Sentence improvement. 3. Active passive 4. direct indirect speech

Approaching Grammar Task #1: Active Passive (voice) and Direct-Indirect (speech)

This is no-excuse topic. Because it relies on a set of simple rules, almost like math formulas. And usually Tier I has 10 questions on Voice+speech and tier-II has almost 40-45 questions on these two topics alone. Understand the grammar rules and practice maximum questions. In your diary note down any special/odd rules you come across- including example sentences.

Task #2: Sentence Correction+Improvement

To master sentence correction, youve to master two subtopics: 1. Grammar rules 2. Phrasal verbs

Grammar Rules

First of all you need to know the grammar rules. But you dont need to know all grammar rules! Because in competitive exam, sentence correction relies on certain specific mistakes only. For example: The topic verb has lot of theory and classifications. But for sentence correction, it boils down to very few rules for example 1. Either, Neither, none, each and every is singular.
Wrong Each of the soldiers are disciplined Right Each of the soldiers is disciplined.

Your task = first go through your grammar book, and note down such rules with example statements, in your note book. Revise these rules often (along with example sentences).

Phrasal Verbs

Grammar rules are like maths. Universal valid.

But Phrasal verbs are different game altogether. You need to know memorize the correct usage- case to case basis. For example:
Correct phrasal verb Dispose of= sell. Wrong Usage He has decided to dispose off his property.

Dispose to= willing, interested. He is disposed in discussing that business proposition.

Both statements are wrong because phrasal verbs are incorrectly used. Many a times, candidates know the grammar rules very well, but they fail to detect the error in sentence because theyve not prepared the phrasal verbs. Standard English has truckload of phrasal verbs. But you should at least know the top/common 200 of them. (can be goggled and also available in various grammar books). You next task: revise the list often and write down the very confusing ones into your diary: with example sentence. Once this is done, try to solve as many practice questions as you can.

Comprehension + Sentence Arrangement

Just one word: Practice. The best source for practice= old papers of SSC, IBPS.

Recommended Book for English Grammar

There is no dearth of books on in English-grammar in the market. Some people might even advise you to use Wren and Martin etc. but such books are written from board exams/ academic point of view. And for the competitive exams, we dont need to study everything of English grammar, we just need a set of rules and practice questions. If you already have some IBPS Manual/ some English grammar book (R.S.Agarwal, A.P.Bhardwaj) etc. use it. If you dont have any book, I suggest you go for objective general English by SP Bakshi (Arihant Publication). He has given direct rules and example-sentences from competitive exam point of view. =makes it easy to handle sentence correction. Plus, the book also contains good list of phrasal verbs, idioms and vocabulary. While most English grammar books cost for around Rs.300, SP Bakshi is half that price. (Around 150) and yet coverage is same, including number of pages. And it has Universal application for all exams: IBPS, LIC, PSU, CDS etc.

Note: Arihant publication has released multiple books on English grammar and two of them have similar sounding names. So please donot mixup.
Author General English for All Competitive Examinations by S.C.Gupta Objective general English by S.C.Gupta Pages (approx.) 370 Comment Not recommended because it contains mostly practice tests and very few rules on grammar= not comprehensive enough. This is the recommended book.

S.P.Bakshi 730

SP Bakshi.