Competitive Exam General Studies Notes

The General Awareness section of SSC CGL Tier I exam can be very scoring if you tackle it wisely. Unlike other sections of SSC CGL Tier I, the general awareness section doesn’t require any calculations and is thus the least time-consuming section. You can attempt this section very quickly and accurately (accuracy means the chances of getting an answer right). So let us start off by understanding what sort of topics and questions to expect while studying the syllabus of General Awareness and then move on to tips to prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL 2017 based on new Pattern.

How GA section can Improve your Marks in SSC CGL Tier I

If you think that you don’t need to focus on GA as long as you are strong in Reasoning and Quants, you are wrong! Here’s why you need to prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL Tier I:

• More marks in less time: Since it is less calculation based, you can complete the GA section quickly. Even if you prepare science and technology, sports and current affairs nicely, you can expect to get at least 20 marks.

• Low Chances of Getting Negative Marks: Again, since there is nothing to solve in General Awareness questions, you will always know whether you know the answer or not. This means there is no chance that you will knowingly mark an answer wrong.

Let us now look at what topics are mostly asked and how to maximise your score in GA awareness for SSC CGL Tier I 2017.

Overall Analysis of General Awareness for SSC CGL Tier I 

The above pie chart is based on 2015 and 2016 papers. As you can see, you can divide your GA preparation into 3 major parts – Static GK, Science and Miscellaneous topics. Here is what is covered under these 3 subtopics:

General Awareness for SSC CGL Tier I- Subtopics and Mark Distribution

Now that you know the weightage of each topic, take a look at the list of topics that asked in SSC CGL Tier I General Awareness section.

Subject-Wise Important Topics:

      To know the list of previous years SSC CGL G.K questions asked in the exam visit the link below: Miscellaneous

1. Population Census
2. Union Budget, Demonetization and Economic Survey
3. Important Books & Writers
4. Oscar Winners
5. First in Sports for India and World like First Olympics, First Asian Games etc.
6. Famous Sea Ports, Airports and their locations
7. State Animals and Symbols
8. Important Institutions of India and World & their locations (like BRICS, World Bank, IMF and RBI etc.)
9. Indian Art & Culture, Awards & their Significance
10. Nobel Laureates & their Fields 

Computer & Mobile Technology

1. Development of Computers
2. Input & Output Devices
3. Memory
4. Abbreviations

What not to Do in General Awareness for SSC CGL

While preparing for General Awareness, the common tendency of students is to focus on the current affairs section as this is the general requirement in banking and other recruitment exams. From the trend of SSC CGL General Awareness section visible above, you will notice that the weightage to the static portion is way higher than the current affairs. So you need to go about preparing for this section smartly. You need to look at how the paper setters have been leaning because otherwise preparing for this section can get to be a never-ending task. For example, a new trend nowadays is higher number of questions from the topic of Science. It is also not wise to say ignore current affairs completely, but do not invest too much time in them. Do check out the SSC CGL Model Questions Paper (Live Leak) to know the types of questions asked in CGL Tier I Exam. You would like to come across some of the questions from this paper in the actual SSC CGL Exam.

SSC CGL 2018 Tier I Model Question Paper

Tips to Prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL

You need to focus on each section according to the order of priority given below: Science>> Polity>> History>> Geography>> Economy>> Misc. You may search for free GK capsules on web or you can go by the detailed study from following sources:

1. Polity: The most important book on this topic is Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth. You can also attempt to solve questions in NIOS study material and Lucent books.
2. History: You may start by reading Tamil Nadu State Education Board textbooks of class 11 and 12. Once again, Lucent’s GK book is also good for this section. Questions on Culture can also be easily solved by reading Lucent’s GK books.
3. Geography: NCERT Textbooks for Social Science Class 7 to 10 and for Geography Class 11, 12.
4. Economy: Mostly straightforward questions are asked. e.g. Definition and concepts of Economy. NCERT’s Economy book of Class 11 (India’s Economy & Development) is a good read for basic idea of Indian Economy.
5. Science: NCERT textbooks of Science from class 6 to 10 are the best source.
6. Miscellaneous: Lucent’s GK book is more than sufficient to tackle the miscellaneous topics.

Note: Frequent revision of these topics is the golden rule for securing good marks in this section. If you want a study plan for SSC CGL Tier I exam then do visit the link below: