The Staff Selection Commission [SSC] conducts the Combined Graduate Level [CGL] examination to fill vacancies in posts of Non-Technical ‘Group B’ as well as ‘Group C’ Non-Gazetted across Ministries/Departments of Govt of India.
According to the latest notice, SSC CGL 2019-20 Tier 2 exam will be held onNov 15th-18th 2020. The flipside of the popularity is the break-neck competition that candidates have to face, but fret not, we are here guide through the process. In this article, we provide the best tipsnot only to tackle the SSC CGL Tier 2 important questions as well as how to formulate your overall attempting approach and SSC CGL Tier 2 preparation books.
SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Strategy: Exam Pattern
Before moving on, let’s have a look at the exam pattern around which you give the right direction to your SSC CGL Tier 2 preparation strategy as well as the right study plan for SSC CGL Tier 2. There are two mandatory papers [Paper 1 and Paper 2] carrying a total of 300 questions and 400 marks. Total time allotted is 2 hours only for each paper. The marking scheme delineates a negative marking 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer. In the following points, we limit ourselves to Paper 1 and Paper 2.
| Paper | Section | No of Questions | Maximum Marks |
| Paper 1 | Quantitative Abilities | 100 | 200 |
| Paper 2 | English Language & Comprehension | 200 | 200 |
| Paper 3 | Statistics | 100 | 200 |
| Paper 4 | General Studies(Finance & Economics) | 100 | 200 |
Note: Only Paper 1 and Paper 2 is applicable for all candidates. Paper 3 is only for Statistical Investigator Gr-II and Compiler Post and Paper 4 is only for Asst. Audit Officer Gazetted Group “B” Post only.
SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Strategy: How to Attempt Paper 1 Quantitative Abilities
Given below are some of the highly favoured question paper attempting tips you must follow in your
study plan for SSC CGL Tier 2.
- Topic-wise weightage:As you can see from the below-mentioned table, Geometry, Mensuration and Trigonometry accounted for the highest number of SSC CGL Tier 2 important questions in Paper 2. The difficulty level, according to previous year papers was adjudged to be at the easy-moderate level.
| Topics | Questions |
| Geometry | 10-15 |
| Mensuration | 10-12 |
| Trigonometry | 10-12 |
| Algebra | 9-10 |
| Number System | 7-9 |
| Profit & Loss | 8-9 |
| Miscellaneous [Ratio & Proportion, Speed & Distance, Simplification/Approximation, Percentages, Average, Inequalities, Linear Equations, Series & Sequences, Simple & Compound Interest, Ages] | 23-46 |
| Total | 100 |
- Answering Tactic: As an answering objective, you must aim for 70-80 questions with 100% accuracy. As the cut-off is calculated on your overall performance, it is difficult to pinpoint exact cut off marks per section. Further, if quant is not your forte, aim for 57-67 questions correct and focus on the English section.
- In this section, topics like averages, percentages, linear equations, profit and loss, ratio and proportion generally tend to be asked simply and straightforwardly. So, in the first 10 minutes skim through the paper and mark such questions and get done with it. This gives much-needed confidence and a good start.
- Time Management: You have 120 minutes to attempt 100 questions which comes out to be roughly 72 seconds per question. Therefore, stick to this rule and save up your time for those odd knotty questions. Remember to keep 5-8 minutes in the end for revision. Further, it is crucial to as much time-based practice as you can during your study plan for SSC CGL Tier 2.
- RecommendedSSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Books: NCERT Mathematics textbooks Class IX & X; Quantitative Aptitude by R.S Aggarwal; Quantitative Aptitude for All Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha [McGraw Hill Publications].
SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Strategy: How to Attempt Paper 2 English Language and Comprehension
Here are a few points which you must incorporate into your Paper 2 study plan for SSC CGL Tier 2 to get past the cut-off mark.
- Topic-wise weightage: Typically, Reading Comprehension, Direct & Indirect Speech, Jumbled Sentences/Paragraphs and Sentence Correction account for the most number of SSC CGL Tier 2 important questions and consequently, the highest marks. This comes out to around nearly half or 109-122 questions. The given table gives more details. Follow the latest SSC CGL Tier 2 preparation books to have sample papers that follow this distribution.
Topic
| Questions | |
| Reading Comprehension | 25-30 |
| Direct & Indirect Speech | 23-25 |
| Jumbled Sentences/Paragraphs | 21-23 |
| Sentence Correction | 20-22 |
| Active & Passive Voice | 20-22 |
| Cloze Test | 20-25 |
| Error Detection | 20 |
| Synonyms/Antonyms/Idioms & Phrases | 11-13 |
| One-Word Substitution | 8-10 |
| Miscellaneous | 17-20 |
| Total | 200 |
- Answering Tactic: It is highly suggested to keep the aim of 165-170 questions with maximum accuracy. The overall difficulty level of the paper is said to be close to moderate. But, do not go overboard since the bane of negative marking may do more harm than good. Don’t take chances.
- Reading Approaches: As mentioned above, Reading Comprehension is one of the most important sections in the paper and needless to say, it is a quite comprehensive test of critical analysis and vocabulary. Thus, having the right reading approach with you is critical. There are two major styles namely, the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach. The former is a more traditional way which starts from meticulously reading the entire passage and then attempting the questions. The latter is an alternative way wherein you know the questions first and then the reference is with the information in the passage.
Both approaches give results but it all depends on your suitability. But we would say that the top-down approach is apt for longer passages and the bottoms-up approach suits shorter passages.
- Time Management:In this section, you are allotted 120 minutes for 200 questions [36 seconds per question] which seems quite an uphill task. So don’t get stuck up on questions, mark it for revision and move on to the next one.
- Important English SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Books: A few of the highly trusted books and writersare‘Objective General English’ by S.P. Bakshi,Wren & Martin’s ‘English Language & Comprehension’, and ‘Word Power Made Easy’ by Norman Lewis.
The above tips will help you work your way through the SSC CGL Tier 2 important questions and hopefully get past cut-off with flying colours.
