How To Prepare for General Awareness in SSC CGL

The Staff Selection Commission conducts SSC CGL Combined Graduate Level Examination for the recruitment to different Central Civil Posts like Inspector, Divisional Accountant, Statistical Officer, Auditor, Tax Assistant etc. In our previous article, we covered the exam preparation strategy for Reasoning Ability for SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination.

In this article, we will be guiding candidates on how to prepare for General Awareness Section in SSC CGL Examination. Let us understand the exam pattern, importance and sectional weightage of the general awareness section.null

SSC CGL Exam Pattern

Candidates must know the SSC CGL exam pattern and important topics before starting their preparation. Check the table below to know the SSC CGL Exam pattern for Tier-I and Tier-II.

SSC CGL Tier-I Exam Pattern

Subject	No. of Questions	Max. Marks
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50
General Awareness	25	50
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50
English Language	25	50
Total	100	200

1. The total time duration to complete the test is of 60 Minutes (80 minutes for students suffering from disabilities like Visual Handicap and Cerebral Palsy)
2. For every correct answer, two marks will be awarded.
3. On the other hand for every wrong answer, 0.5 marks will be deducted.

SSC CGL Tier-II Exam Pattern

Subject	Questions	Marks
Quantitative Abilities	100	200
English Language and Comprehension	200	200
Statistics	100	200
General Studies (Finance and Economics)	100	200
Total	500	800

General Awareness Section in SSC CGL

The SSC CGL Examination consists of the following phases – Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 (if required). Mainly it consists of three Phases i.e. Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.

In Tier I, there will be 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to be asked from 4 sections i.e. English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness.

• Each section has 25 questions and each question carry 2 mark.
• 0.5 marks will be deducted for every wrong answer.
• The total duration of Tier 1 exam is 75 minutes.
• Those who clear Tier 1 exam will appear for Tier 2 exam and similar will be applied for Tier 3.

For Tier II, there will be compulsory two papers viz., English and Quantitative aptitude.

• Quantitative aptitude consists of 100 multiple choice questions and each carry 2 marks. The duration of this exam will be 2 hours. In this exam, 0.50 marks will be deducted as a penalty for the wrong answer.
• English section also carries 200 multiple choice questions of 1 mark each. The duration of this exam is 2 hours. In this 0.25 marks will be deducted as a penalty for the wrong answer.
• There will be two post specific papers i.e. Statistics (For Statistical Investigator and Compiler) and General Studies (For AAO). This paper also carries 200 multiple choice questions of 1 mark each.

Tier III Examination will be a pen paper based Descriptive paper of English/ Hindi Language of 100 Marks to be answered within a duration of 60 minutes. This paper will consist of Essay/ Precis/ Application/ Letter Writing.

The Tier IV exam can be Computer Proficiency Test/ Skill Test (if applicable)/ Document Verification.

Note: The Interview component has been dispensed with. There will, therefore, be no interview.

Even though the sectional weightage for General Awareness is the same as others, you still need a good strategy in order to maximize final scores.

How to Prepare for General Awareness Section

For SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination, the General Awareness Section plays a very important role, due to the fact that it is very scoring. For a well prepared SSC candidate, it will take less time to answer the questions in a written examination.

General Awareness Section which comes in SSC CGL is very different from those asked in Banking and Insurance Examination. In prominent Banking and Insurance Exams, General Awareness Section is more focussed on Current Affairs whereas, in the case of SSC CGL, more questions will be based on Static General Knowledge.

In SSC CGL 2021, there will be 50 questions on 1 mark each and topics can be from the following list.

1. Indian History
2. Indian Polity
3. Geography
4. Indian Economy
5. Science (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)
6. Miscellaneous

There are almost 5-6 questions from each topic mentioned above except the miscellaneous section. Among all the topics, General Science is expected to have 10-15 questions.

History Questions in SSC CGL

Understanding History Topics is very important for SSC CGL because it is the backbone for most of the topics in GA.

It is very rare that questions from World History have been asked, so there is no need to waste much time on World History. Instead, candidates must concentrate on Indian History.

Geography Questions in SSC CGL

There are two parts of Geography from where the questions are asked, these are – Indian Geography and Physical Geography. For covering basics, NCERT Books of Class XI and XII will be sufficient. 

If you wish to cover more ground, we suggest you attempt a few mock tests and question banks to know the type of questions asked in SSC Tier 1 Exams.

Polity Questions in SSC CGL 2016

Again, Read NCERT Books of Class VIII to X for Polity, as it will cover most of the topics asked under the banner of Polity.

Laxmikanth can be referred for the preparation of polity questions as all the relevant topics are covered in this book.

Economy Questions in SSC CGL

The economy also contains 2 parts – the Indian Economy and Economics. Indian Economy is the study of the Indian Economics system and Economics. It comprises two topics which include: Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. There is a few ambiguous topics which one should only prepare from trusted sources.

The Miscellaneous Section may contain various topics like Current affairs, Computer Knowledge, Technology, Books and Authors, Sports, Persons and Places in News, Abbreviations, etc.

Step by Step SSC CGL GK Prep Guide

While you prepare for the upcoming SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination GA Section, here are a few important points to keep in mind.

• Read at least 2 newspapers daily, as it will help in both GA and English Sectional Preparation.
• Solve the Previous Year’s Question Paper of SSC CGL as it helps one to know the type of questions asked and the difficulty level.
• Follow News sites for Daily Updates on GK and Current affairs.
• Unlike UPSC Civil Services Exam, the questions asked in SSC CGL are a bit easy and direct. So, even with a rudimentary understanding of the basics, you can score good marks.
• From the analysis of previous years question paper, it has been observed that most questions are repeated but asked in different types. So solving previous years question paper would prove to be beneficial.
• Try to dedicate some time to revise what you’ve learnt. It is most important tip anyone can give.

We hope you are able to inculcate this exam preparation study on how to prepare for the general awareness section for SSC CGL. We will be adding more study plans in the days to come. Let us know if more information is needed in the comments section below.

FAQs on How to Prepare for General Awareness in SSC CGL

Q. How much marks does the General Awareness section carry in Tier I? A. The General Awareness section carries 50 marks in Tier I examination.

Q. Is there a negative marking in SSC CGL? A. Yes, there is a negative marking of 0.50 Marks for each wrong answer.

Q. How can I score more marks in the General Awareness section of SSC CGL? A. Read newspapers, practice previous year papers, prepare your notes. Revise the known topics regularly. This will help you to score more marks in the General Awareness section.

Also, check,

SSC CGL Recruitment	SSC CGL Application Form
SSC CGL Exam Pattern	SSC CGL Syllabus
SSC CGL Preparation	SSC CGL Books
SSC CGL Previous Year Papers	SSC CGL Salary

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