Short Answer: Cracking SSC CGL is not tough if one knows the correct strategy. I not only cracked it but also nearly topped as you can see in credentials beside my name. Out of 700 Marks, 250 Marks is allotted to Maths and 350 Marks to English. And we have been studying these two subjects from childhood.Long Answer:SSC CGL Exam is not tough but not also easy due to competition. So it is somewhere in between. But using the right strategy, SSC CGL can be made easy and fun.I didnu2019t take any coaching and still scored very good marks owing to my strategy which I am going to share in this post.Note: Quora doesnu2019t allow representation of data in tabular form. So it might look messy here. But to study it in an arranged manner and for your better understanding, you can visit my blog : How to Prepare for SSC CGL - SSC CGL Preparation Plan - SSC KartStrategy for SSC CGL Preparation is as follows:This post is divided into 2 Parts u2022 One covers the preparation strategy for Tier 1 and other covers Tier 2.SSC CGL Tier 1Exam Pattern:1. General Intelligence & ReasoningQuestion : 25Marks : 502. General AwarenessQuestion : 25Marks : 503. Quantitative Aptitude (Maths)Question : 25Marks : 504. English LanguageQuestion : 25Marks : 50Important Points:The Exam is Computer Based.Total Time : 60 minutesNo Sectional CutoffEach question carries equal marks i.e 2 marks.1. Reasoning:The question asked in SSC CGL Exam is of very basic nature and can be mastered within a few weeks using right study material and a bit of practice.The best way to prepare for Reasoning is given below:(i) A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal ReasoningThis book contains each and every type of question you can expect in Exam.You donu2019t have to study the whole book just relevant portion.It contains a lot of questions for practice.(ii) SSC Previous Year Question PapersYou will get an idea of level of questions asked by SSC.A lot to practice from 43 Sets from SSC CGL 2022 (Tier 1) and 43 Sets from SSC CGL 2022 (Tier 1).2. General Awareness:The General Awareness part is the most tricky among all 4 subjects. It is due to the vast scope of this subject. But the thing is, you still have to prepare it and score maximum marks.You can do two things run after every other preparation material or capsules you find on internet or simply prepare and master one source (given below), which is by the way the best strategy.So best source for:Static Portion:Lucent General Knowledge: This is the best books as it covers all the parts from History, Geography, Politics, Economics, PCB to Computer.Current Affairs:Not many questions are asked from this part, but still canu2019t risk it. So you can daily follow this awesome and well established website u2022 GK Today. This website gives daily current affairs in shortest and easy to remember format.3. Quantitative Aptitude & English LanguageSince these subjects are also asked in Tier 2, the detailed Strategy is written below with Tier 2 Preparation.SSC CGL Tier 2Exam Pattern:Paper - IQuantitative AbilitiesQuestions : 100Marks : 200Paper - IIEnglish Language & ComprehensionQuestions : 200Marks : 200Paper - IIIStatisticsQuestions : 100Marks : 200Paper - IVGeneral Studies (Finance and Economics)Questions : 100Marks : 200Note:2 compulsory papers i.e Quantitative Aptitude (Paper-I) & English Language (Paper-II).Statistics (Paper-III) is only for those candidates who apply for the post of Junior Statisticalu00a0Officer (JSO).General Studies u2022 Finance & Economics (Paper IV) is only for those candidates who apply for the post of Assistant Audit Officer (AAO)/Assistant Accounts Officer(AAO).Important Points:Exam Duration : 2 Hours for Each Exam.Exam for Paper I and Paper II is held on same day. The Exam for Paper III and Paper IV is held on separate days.SSC CGL Math Portion:1. Start with Basics: SSC CGL Preparation must be done strictly in accordance with Syllabus. There is no need to learn Set Theory, Probability, Permutation & Combination etc just because they are not in the Syllabus. Learn all the formulas.2. Priority Areas: Focus more on Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Mensuration as more than half of the question asked in SSC Exams are from these 4 topics only.Visit How to Prepare for SSC CGL - SSC CGL Preparation Plan - SSC Kart for marks distribution as Quora doesnu2019t allow data in tabular form.3. Practice is the key: There is no shortcut to scoring high in Math proportion of any SSC Exams. The aspirant must practice a decent number of question to score high.4. Summary of Formulas: Take A4 size papers and prepare a summary of topic wise formulas. This will help you immensely in remembering formulas. Reason being it will take only 15-20 minutes to revise all the formulas from 10-12 A4 sheets rather than turning pages of large books for hours.5. Shortcuts: As time is very limited in SSC CGL Exam. Learn some good shortcuts to save time. The best book for shortcut is mentioned below in table regarding Books.6. Choice of Book: SSC CGL Preparation is incomplete without these books. Books for Maths SSC CGL preparation is given below.(i) Fast Track Objective ArithmeticGood for Tricks & Shortcuts. And speed matters the most in SSC Exams.Covers all the topic.Questions divided as Base Level (For Beginners) & Higher Skill Level (For experts)(ii) Kiranu2019s SSC Mathematics 8900+Best for practice as it contains questions actually asked in SSC Exams.Questions are divided type wise so can focus & master each type one by one.Have enough questions to turn you into an expert.SSC CGL English Portion:For better understanding the SSC CGL Preparation Strategy (English) is divided into 4 parts as given below:1. Grammar for SSC CGL Preparation:Begin by learning the rules from the book u2022 Objective English by SP Bakshi (link in table below).Then practice questions from:Exercises at the back of each chapter in Objective English by SP Bakshi.Then Practice Questions from any two Books given in Row 2, 3 and 4 in table given below. My recommendation is Kiranu2019s SSC English Chapter-wise Solved Papers.Mark important questions/ exceptions from rule with a red pen or note them down in a notebook & periodically revisit them.2. Based on understanding of Sentence / Paragraph:a) Reading Comprehension: Mark my words u201cDonu2019t go for the bullshit advise given by a lot of people that Read Novels / Newspapers to improve vocabulary and Reading Skillsu201d. Reason is, it works in the long run like 3-4 years, but you as an aspirant donu2019t have that much time. Another reason is Passages given by SSC in exams are written in very simple language and questions asked are generally directly mentioned in the passage. So just practice from either of books given in table below.b) Arrangement of Sentences:Read all the sentences once.Then look for Chronological order, say sentence mentioning year 1920 must be placed before the sentence mentioning year 2017.Cause-Effect Relationship : Sentence with Cause will come first. And sentence with its Effect will come later.Sentence Mentioning the Article u201cAu201d will come before Sentence mentioning the Article u201cTheu201d for the same thing again. E.g: A car fell into the valley. The car then caught fire and caused a blast.c) Cloze Test:Cloze test are just liked a lot of Fill in the blanks combined in a Paragraph but the best thing is they are based on the same theme.Read Para once to get the basic idea. Believe me it helps a lot when compared to directly attempting the Questions.Then try attempting blanks one by one. Leave a blank if you are not sure of correct options and move to the next blank, once you fill a few blanks, you get the complete idea of Para and will be able to fill other blanks easily.3. Conversion of Sentences:a) Active-Passive Voice: The questions are based on set rules. To get complete rules with a lot of examples. u2022 Click Hereb) Direct-Indirect Speech: The questions are based on set rules. To get complete rules with a lot of examples u2022 Click Here.4. Based on understanding of Words:a) Synonyms-Antonyms:Only 6 questions are asked.There are two options either to spend a lot of time learning 1000s of words or just simply ignore it. And the best part is you will still be able to attempt 3-4 questions correctly.b) Correctly / Incorrectly spelt word: I will prepare a list of tricky words and post in a separate article. For updates Like my Facebook Page: Click Here.c) One Word Substitution: Just prepare from Objective English by SP Bakshi.d) Idioms-Phrases: Just prepare from Objective English by SP Bakshi.SSC CGL Preparation Books for English to score high marks and secure your favorite post.1. Objective General English (SP Bakshi)u2022 Perhaps the best book for SSC based exams.u00a0u2022 Covers everything from Grammar, Speech, Voice to Synonyms, Antonyms etc.u00a0u2022 Best for Grammar Preparation (Spotting Errors, Sentence Improvement) u2022 Different chapters on Nouns, Verbs, Pronouns etc for foundation and then a lot of questions at the end of chapter for practice.u00a0u2022 Good for One Word Substitution (covers almost every question asked by SSC till date), Para Jumbles, Fill in the blanks.2. Kiranu2019s SSC English Language Chapterwise Solved PapersTo get a basic idea of question asked by SSC in the past.11,300 Questions to practice from, divided Chapter-wise, what else do you want.3. Objective General English (R.S. Aggarwal)u2022 Good for practicing questions after you have gone through Objective General English by SP Bakshi.u00a0u2022 A lot of questions for practice on every topic.u00a0u2022 Based on questions asked in SSC Exams.4. Common Errors in English (Kiran's)u2022 This book is a blend of two books described above.u00a0u2022 First it describes a thing say u201cVerbsu201d then tells about what common mistakes we can make while solving a question. Then a few questions to sharpen skills.u00a0u2022 This books focuses on applicability of rules and make sure you donu2019t make a mistake in exam even after knowing all the rules.English is a tricky subject, you may be able to attempt 200 out of 200 Questions confidently and still be able to get around 70-80 questions wrong owing to silly mistakes. So make sure you practice a lot, there are no shortcuts to success.Conclusion: Most of the things given here are given in a proper format and in much detail on my blog. Please visit : How to Prepare for SSC CGL - SSC CGL Preparation Plan - SSC KartIf you liked this article please like my Facebook Page for future updates: Click HereTo motivate yourself for SSC CGL Preparation look at this awesome salary you will get: Click HereFor Job Profiles of Your Favorite Post: Click Here