How to prepare for SSC?

How to prepare for SSC?

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is one of India’s most popular exams. SSC presents an opportunity for various government jobs. There is a spectrum of jobs, and you need to score well to land some coveted jobs in ministries, government departments and subordinate offices. SSC calls for diligence, hard work, and determination. But, what helps one crack the exams is the extra mile they are willing to cover for their examinations. And that extra mile is having and following the right tips for the preparation for the SSC examinations. Reading, memorising, and studying comprise a large part of the exam, but proper preparation involves a lot more than that. Here are the different ways to help you prepare for the SSC examination. 

Be sure why you want to prepare for SSC: Are you really excited about the opportunities that will come your way once you clear SSC? SSC preparation though achievable still needs sincerity & hard work. If you have a big goal in your mind, it will be easy to go through the preparation phase.

Keep the syllabus in your grip: You must be wholly and partially aware of the syllabus. There must not be a single ounce of fog about the syllabus. You must know that there are four subjects involved in the examination. It includes General English, General Awareness, Qualitative Aptitude and Reasoning. As a capable aspirant, you must know every nook and corner of the syllabus for the examination. 

Be aware of the changes in the exam pattern: Being acquainted with the changes in the examination patterns is essential. The CGL pattern changes include conducting both Tier-I and Tier-II examinations in the online platform. A descriptive paper has also been introduced of 100 marks that must be completed in 60 minutes in paper-pen mode. The time limit for the examination for Tier-I has also been reduced to 75 minutes from 120 minutes. There have been no changes to Tier II. And there will be no sectional cutoff. 

It also includes being aware of the examination pattern. The better understanding and awareness you have about the syllabus and the pattern, the better your strategy and quality of preparation for the exam will be. 

Strategize your preparation: Once you are clear with the syllabus, determine the best strategy for you. You can plan for coaching, self-study, group study, online classes & mock tests. No matter what medium you choose, you should definitely include at least one mock test in your preparation strategy.

Blinding reading through your notes and texts will not help at all. Instead, you must chalk out a strategy for your preparation. It might include deciding which topics you would be completed first and last and how much time you will be spending on each topic. You must decide on keeping some time for revision as well. Revising the topics that you have read becomes heavily fruitful on D-day. 

For quant, the approach is to build your conceptual understanding and start with easy questions. Gradually, start practising tougher questions and build your confidence. If you are unclear on any steps of any problem, you must be very thorough with the underlying concept. Additionally, practice mental calculations when free and for fun. You should also sign up for learntheta’s adaptive platform to update you on real-time preparation levels.

Assess yourself: Attempt one of the previous exam papers for SSC and see where you stand with respect to cut-offs for your respective category. This will give you a reality check on how much you must prepare.

Create a schedule: Break down your schedule from today to exam day thoroughly, and try to balance all subjects every week. In other words, don’t just practice quant for weeks and then go to a second subject. Rather you should practise all subjects every week.

If you already have other commitments like your regular job or undergrad degree, then plan a longer duration of preparation. Even with other commitments, you should at least spend 4 hours a day studying six days a week.

Read the newspaper every day: Start with 10-15 mins and go up to 1 hour as you start grasping it better. Please focus more on the editorial section.

Gather all the study material and organise: You must know that referring and preparing from a single book will not benefit a successful preparation. You will have to resort to different books, refer to various study materials and make hefty notes. And you should never compromise in collecting all the study materials available. After you gather all your study material and during the process as well, ensure that you keep them organised. This helps you access whatever notes and material you need anytime without the hassle and tiresome searches. Some of the essential books to refer to include Analytical Reasoning (M K Pandey), Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning (R S Aggarwal), A New Approach to Reasoning Verbal & Non-Verbal English (B S Sijwali, Indu Sijwali), Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning Hindi (Kiran Publication) and Logical & Analytical Reasoning – English (A K Gupta)

Solve old question papers: Being acquainted with the nature and pattern of questions is crucial for any aspiring looking forward to cracking this examination. Thus, you can gather all the old and previous year’s question papers and solve them diligently. Once you have gone through the entire syllabus at least once, please thoroughly review the previous years’ papers for the last ten years. 

Take sufficient mocks: Additionally, you can find numerous mock tests available. You must include taking the mock tests as a part of your preparation. Practice enough mocks, and you should improve your score with every mock. If you are not improving your score, you are doing something wrong with your exam strategy. Focus more on accuracy and less on the number of attempts in the beginning. To be able to attempt more questions correctly, first, you will need to be good at solving them correctly at a slow speed.

Can a below-average student clear SSC?

Anyone and everyone can clear SSC, provided they are willing to put in enough hard work. The problem with average or below-average students is their attitude. They consider it impossible, and as soon as it feels difficult, they give up. If you are willing to put in 6 – 12 months of sincere preparation, then there is no way that you will not be able to crack the exam. The issue is that most students just give up in not even one month.

Not everyone who has cleared SSC was an above-average student always. But they decided to go through the grind and made it happen. The moment you chase the dream and sacrifice for the cause, you have already become an above-average person. So just trust yourself.

SSC is a very predictable exam with definite patterns. You know what kind of questions will be asked, and the only thing you need to do is to practice each pattern enough times to be very much familiar and comfortable with the questions so that on exam day, you can attempt it with a lot of ease.

It just needs you to focus exclusively on the preparation part for 6 – 12 months. And honestly, 6 – 12 months is not even that long. If you decide to take it up, you can change your life for the best. If you don’t, anyways, these 6 – 12 months will pass without making any difference to your life.

Preparing for the SSC examinations is not a simple task. But, you can make it possible with your effective and, most importantly, efficient quality of preparation. Following the above-mentioned aspects can readily help you boost your preparation with the diligent study you must do for the examinations. Carefully plan your preparations and give your best efforts for the examinations.