SSC CHSL dates announced: 6-month study plan for smart preparation

SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL) exam is one of the most sought out exam for which lakhs of aspirants appear every year. One of the biggest reason to apply in this exam is its eligibility criteria that is, class 12 pass. Even though it is not considered to be among the toughest, the competition is fierce. Most of the students take classes to clear the exams.

In this article, we will be discussing ways to prepare for SSC and CHSL exams

1. Know Your Exam

SSC conducts the CHSL, Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) examination every year for the recruitment for DEO, LDC etc. in central government for 12th pass students. CHSL is a three Tier exam. Tier 1 is an Objective Test that goes on around one month to cater lakhs the students. It is also the most important part of this exam and we will talk about it in great details. Tier 2 is the Descriptive Test in which applicants are asked to write Essay and Letter or Application. The Tier 3 is Skill Test / Typing Testin English/Hindi medium for DEO.

2. SSC CHSL Tier 1 Exam Pattern (online exam)

This exam has 100 MCQs, with a total of 200 marks that need to be attempted in 60 minutes (earlier 75 minutes). The question paper has 25 questions each from General Intelligence, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and General awareness.Each question carries 2 marks (makes a total of 200) and 1/4th (or 0.5) negative marking for wrong attempts.

3. Trends in 2019

The CHSL is one of those exams, where solving old question papers is the key to success as more than 55% questions can be found in the previous year papers. General awareness and General Intelligence remains the section where one can score really well. Quantitative Aptitude, on the other hand takes a toll on time and can be bit difficult to crack without proper practice.

4. Required study material

There is no need for any fancy book collection. You just need to practice question from ALL Previous Year papers. SSC Mathematics Chapterwise Solved Paper (1999 – Till Date). SSC Reasoning Chapterwise Solved Papers 6200+ Questions. For English you can get a book of Objective English grammar and for General Awareness, Lucent GK book.

5. How to prepare for CHSL (in 3 months)

Devote time daily on all four sections. It’s very important to figure out the important topics and practice questions from these. Some of the very important topics in CHSL exam, section wise are as follow:

The important topics in English language are Error Findings, Synonyms, Antonyms, Idioms and phrases, One word Substitution, Comprehension and Sentence Rearrangement. For Reasoning topics are Direction and Distances, Arrangement and Pattern, Blood Relations, Mathematical Inequalities, Coding-Decoding, and Syllogisms.

Coming to Quantitative Aptitude you should focus on Data Interpretation, Simplification, Quadratic Equations, Number System, Geometry, Probability, Average, Percentage, Ratio & Proportion, Interest, Algebra, Profit & Loss, Time & Work, Time Speed & Distance, Number Series, etc.

And the last but not the least, General Awareness asks questions from Core concepts of Geography, Economics, History (Ancient and Gandhian Era), General Science. Current Affairs such as Govt. Policy, Scientific Research, Awards and Honors, Books and authors, Important Days, National News.

6. During Exam (60 min war)

On an average it takes 6 seconds to switch between questions and mark the correct option on the screen. So you are left with nearly 30 seconds for each question. First start with English language and finish it in around 10-12 minutes (target 20+ questions). Then pick General Awareness and quickly solve all the questions (answers known of) in 7-8 minutes. Don’t make silly guesses. Reasoning’s 25 questions can be attempted in 15-16 minutes. And rest 25 minutes can be utilised to solve 18+ questions in Quantitative Aptitude.

(The article is authored by Sanjay Jagarwal, content head, MadGuy Labs. Views expressed are personal)