How to crack SSC CGL 2016 in 30 days
SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) is undoubtedly the most prestigious and one of the highly competitive exams in India among all recruitment exams that Staff Selection Commission conducts every year. Another reason for high Competition, is that this Exam can help you is getting Central Govt Jobs that Offers High Perks and Salaries. SSC CGL is, next only to IBPS and SBI Exams. In 2015, about 17, 86,047 candidates appeared in this exam. As the number of candidates is almost certain to increase, competition will most likely stiffen this year.
With little over a month remaining in SSC CGL exam (tier-I), it is time interested candidates pull up their socks and do the best they can.
Here, you must realize that systematic exam-oriented preparation, from now on till the exam, can prove to be the difference between success and failure. Keeping this in mind, the subject-wise preparation tips and approach suggested below will be most beneficial in the run up to the exam.
SSC CGL Syllabus 2016
If you are preparing for SSC CGL 2016 Exam, then you must know the Syllabus for both the Tier-1 and Tier-2 Exams.
Tier-1 Syllabus: In the CGL Tier-1, there will be 200 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ’s) to be asked from 4 Sections viz. English , Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness. Each section has 50 Questions and Each Question carry 1 mark.
The Total Duration of Tier-1 Exam is 2 Hours.
Penalty: There will be deduction of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
Tier-2 Syllabus: Those who Pass the Tier-1 exam, can appear for Tier-2 Exam. The Tier-2 Exam will have Sections viz English and Quantitative Aptitude.
1) Quantitative Aptitude: In the Tier-2 Exam, there will be 100 Questions from the Quant section and each Question carries 2 marks. The Duration of this exam will be 2 hours.
2) English: This section contains 200 Questions, with each Question carrying 1 Mark. The Duration of this Exam is 2 Hours
Note: In tier-2 Exam, there will penalty of 0.50 marks for Quantitative Aptitude Sections, while there will be penalty for 0.25 marks for English Language and Comprehension.
Descriptive Paper: SSC had introduced a small pattern change in the CGL Examination, be introducing a Descriptive paper. This paper is only for those, who qualify the SSC Tier-2 Exam.
The Duration of this Paper is 1 hour only and Questions in this paper will be asked from the following sections:
1) English
2) Quantitative Aptitude
3) General Awareness
Section-wise Analysis for CGL Tier-1
TIER 1
Quantitative Aptitude (Maths):
The Maths section consists of four major areas: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry.
Geometry is the most important among all the areas. You must give it special emphasis.
Trigonometry must not be avoided at any cost. Focus on height and distance as well as trigonometric identities.
Data interpretation and analysis will become much easier if you have a good understanding of percentages and ratio and proportion.
Algebra, including simplification, is generally considered a tough nut to crack. It deserves more practice as compared to other areas.
Within arithmetic, profit and loss, simple interest and compound interest, time and distance and time and work happen to be the key topics.
Reasoning (General Intelligence):
For almost all candidates, reasoning is the most scoring section of the exam.
Out here, you must focus on key areas such as: Analogy and classification, non-verbal reasoning, syllogisms, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction test and series.
Within non-verbal reasoning, the major types of questions asked in the exam are: (a) mirror image and water image (b) paper cutting, punching and folding (c) figural series completion (d) embedded figures. Make sure you cover all of them.
When it comes to series and finding the missing number questions, you can expect both number series and semantic series to be there in the exam.
Don’t neglect statement-conclusion & statement-assumption questions from inferential reasoning. Even with limited practice, you can score 2 to 3 marks as these questions are fairly simple.
English Language:
Preparation for this section would include focusing on the following topics: one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, synonyms and antonyms, fill in the blanks (sentence completion), sentence errors, reading comprehension, sentence rearrangement and jumbled-up sentences.
Narration and active voice / passive voice may or may not be there in tier-I exam. You may overlook them if there is a scarcity of time. However, make sure you cover them for the tier-II exam.
Quite often vocabulary-based questions (one-word substitution, synonyms and antonyms) as well as idioms and phrases from past SSC papers get repeated. So, it makes a lot of sense to go through previous year exam papers and focus specifically on these questions.
The difficulty level of reading comprehension passages is not high. However, some practice is needed to locate the answers to comprehension questions asked from these passages.
For cracking sentence error spotting questions, knowledge of grammatical rules is essential. If you find yourself lacking in grammar, you should focus on practicing English usage questions such as fill in the blanks, sentence rearrangement and jumbled-up sentences.
General Knowledge (GK):
Among all sections, GK has the most comprehensive syllabus and requires a lot of time for preparation. So, it is a must to understand the pattern of questions.
While going through past year SSC questions papers, pay attention to the frequently asked questions from science, politics, history and geography. It is quite common for these questions to get repeated in the exam.
Within GK, current affairs do not carry that much weightage. So, if you are not in a position to brush up current affairs, you need not worry too much.
You must surely focus on questions based on (a) the firsts in India (b) common chemical compounds (c) folk dances of India & traditional festivals (d) Indian constitution (e) socio-religious movements of pre-independent India (f) national income & market structure (g) important scientific phenomena (h) medieval & modern Indian history
It is overall difficult to develop a competitive edge in this section, so over emphasis on GK may not be a very good investment of the precious time left.
Apart from keeping into consideration what’s mentioned above, take at least a couple of full-length mock tests every week. This will help you locate your weaknesses and understand how to maximize your overall score.
SSC CGL 2016 Tier II Syllabus:-
Paper-I ► Quantitative Ability: The questions will be designed to test the ability of appropriate use of numbers and number sense of the candidate. The scope of the test will be the computation of whole numbers, decimals, fractions and relationships between numbers, Percentage. Ratio & Proportion, Square roots, Averages, Interest, Profit and Loss, Discount, Partnership Business, Mixture and Alligation, Time and distance, Time & Work.
Basic algebraic identities of School Algebra & Elementary surds, Graphs of Linear Equations, Triangle and its various kinds of centres, Congruence and similarity of triangles, Circle and its chords, tangents, angles subtended by chords of a circle, common tangents to two or more circles, Triangle, Quadrilaterals, Regular Polygons , Circle.
Right Prism, Right Circular Cone, Right Circular Cylinder, Sphere, Hemispheres, Rectangular Parallelepiped, Regular Right Pyramid with triangular or square base, Trigonometric ratio, Degree and Radian Measures, Standard Identities, Complementary angles, Heights and Distances, Histogram, Frequency polygon, Bar diagram & Pie chart
Paper-II ► English Language & Comprehension: Questions in this components will be designed to test the candidate’s understanding and knowledge of English Language and will be based on spot the error, fill in the blanks, synonyms, antonyms, spelling/detecting mis-spelt words, idioms & phrases, one word substitution, improvement of sentences, active/passive voice of verbs, conversion into direct/indirect narration, shuffling of sentence parts, shuffling of sentences in a passage, cloze passage & comprehension passage.
Paper-III : Statistics for Investigator Grade-II:
Collection Classification and Presentation of Statistical Data – Primary and Secondary data, Methods of data collection; Tabulation of data; Graphs and charts; Frequency distributions; Diagrammatic presentation of frequency distributions.
Measures of Central Tendency– Common measures of central tendency – mean median andmode; Partition values- quartiles, deciles, percentiles.
Measures of Dispersion– Common measures dispersion – range, quartile deviations, mean deviation and standard deviation; Measures of relative dispersion.
Moments, Skewness and Kurtosis – Different types of moments and their relationship; meaning of skewness and kurtosis; different measures of skewness and kurtosis.
Correlation and Regression – Scatter diagram; simple correlation coefficient; simple regression lines; Spearman’s rank correlation; Measures of association of attributes; Multiple regression; Multiple and partial correlation (For three variables only).
Probability Theory – Meaning of probability; Different definitions of probability; Conditional probability; Compound probability; Independent events; Bayes’ theorem.
Random Variable and Probability Distributions – Random variable; Probability functions; Expectation and Variance of a random variable; Higher moments of a random variable; Binomial , Poisson, Normal and Exponential distributions; Joint distribution of two random variable (discrete).
Sampling Theory – Concept of population and sample; Parameter and statistic, Sampling and non-sampling errors; Probability and non-probability sampling techniques (simple random sampling, stratified sampling, multistage sampling, multiphase sampling, cluster sampling, systematic sampling, purposive sampling, convenience sampling and quota sampling); Sampling distribution (statement only); Sample size decisions.
Statistical Inference – Point estimation and interval estimation, Properties of a good estimator, Methods of estimation (Moments method, Maximum likelihood method, Least squares method), Testing of hypothesis, Basic concept of testing, Small sample and large sample tests, Tests based on Z, t, Chi-square and F statistic, Confidence intervals.
Analysis of Variance – Analysis of one-way classified data and two-way classified data.
Time Series Analysis – Components of time series, Determinations of trend component by different methods, Measurement of seasonal variation by different methods.
Index Numbers – Meaning of Index Numbers, Problems in the construction of index numbers, Types of index number, Different formulae, Base shifting and splicing of index numbers, Cost of living Index Numbers, Uses of Index Numbers.
Paper IV : General Studies (Finance and Economics) for the post of Assistant Audit Officer in Indian Audit & Accounts Department under CAG.
Part A: Finance and Accounts – (80 marks)
1. Fundamental principles and basic concept of Accounting. Financial Accounting: Nature and scope, Limitations of Financial Accounting, Basic concepts and Conventions, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Basic concepts of accounting : Single and double entry, Books of original Entry, Bank Reconciliation, Journal, ledgers, Trial Balance, Rectification of Errors, Manufacturing, Trading, Profit & loss Appropriation Accounts, Balance Sheet Distinction between Capital and Revenue Expenditure, Depreciation Accounting, Valuation of Inventories, Non-profit organizations Accounts, Receipts and Payments and Income & Expenditure Accounts, Bills of Exchange, Self-Balancing Ledgers.
Part B: Economics and Governance – (120 marks)
2. Comptroller & Auditor General of India- Constitutional provisions, Role and responsibility.
- Finance Commission-Role and functions.
- Basic Concept of Economics and introduction to Micro Economics Definition, scope and nature of Economics, Methods of economic study and Central problems of an economy and Production possibilities curve.
- Theory of Demand and Supply Meaning and determinants of demand, Law of demand and Elasticity of demand, Price, income and cross elasticity; Theory of consumer’s behaviour-Marshallian approach and Indifference curve approach, Meaning and determinants of supply, Law of supply and Elasticity of Supply.
- Theory of Production and cost Meaning and Factors of production; Laws of production- Law of variable proportions 22 and Laws of returns to scale.
- Forms of Market and price determination in different markets various forms of markets-Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly ad Price determination in these markets.
- Indian Economy Nature of the Indian Economy Role of different sectors-Role of Agriculture, Industry and Services-their problems and growth; National Income of India-Concepts of national income, Different methods of measuring national income
Population -Its size, rate of growth and its implication on economic growth Poverty and unemployment- Absolute and relative poverty, types, causes and incidence of unemployment Infrastructure-Energy, Transportation, Communication.
- Economic Reforms in India Economic reforms sice 1991; Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation and Disinvestment.
- Money and Banking Monetary/ Fiscal policy- Role and functions of Reserve Bank of India; functions of commercial Banks/RRB/Payment Banks Budget and Fiscal deficits and Balance of payments Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003.
- Role of Information Technology in Governance.
