How to Prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL?

The question paper of the Tier 1 level in the SSC CGL Exam consists of 4 subjects i.e. General Intelligence & reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. Among these, the General Awareness section is the most unpredictable and dynamic section.

The GA section carries 25% weightage of the entire Tier 1 exam and questions are asked from a wide range of subjects. These subjects consist of multiple topics and questions can be asked from any of these in the exam. However, equipped with a winning strategy, candidates can turn this section into one of the highest-scoring areas of the paper.

SSC CGL General Awareness Preparation Strategy

The overall flow of the preparation phase for the General Awareness section of the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam consists of three steps: Learning Concepts, Revision & Practice and Attempting Mocks. In the following sections let us look at each of these stages in detail. It will give the candidates an idea about how to cover all the aspects of the GA section in an efficient manner.

Step 1. Learning the Concepts

Before starting to learn the many interesting topics spread across the different subjects, the candidates need to learn about the detailed syllabus of the section and the weightage of these topics in the exam. In the points below, we have provided the same for the reference of the candidates.

SSC CGL General Awareness Syllabus

The official notification for the SSC CGL Recruitment contains a section named ‘Indicative Syllabus’. This section contains the topics upon which the questions can be asked in the exam. The syllabus for the GA section in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 is the same and goes as follows:

” Questions in this component will be aimed at testing the candidates’ general awareness of the environment around them and its application to society. Questions will also be designed to test knowledge of current events and of such matters of everyday observations and experience in their scientific aspect as may be expected of any educated person. The test will also include questions relating to India and its neighboring countries especially pertaining History, Culture, Geography, Economic Scene, General Policy & Scientific Research.”

The description of the syllabus provides the candidates with the basic subjects that are to be asked in the exam. It also tells the candidates what the commission expects from them as educated citizens of society. The table below will provide a better understanding of all the topics asked in these subjects.

Subject	Topics
History	Ancient History – Harappan Civilisation, Vedic Culture, Mahajanpadas, Buddhism, Jainism, Sangam Age, Mauryan Dynasty, Gupta Dynasty, Magadha Empire, Satvahana Empire, Cheras, Cholas & Pandyas, etc. Medieval History – Bhakti & Sufi Movements, Vijayanagar Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Dynasty, foreign invasions, socio-religious movements, etc. Modern History – Revolt of 1857, pre-congress associations, Indian National Congress, Moderates, Extremists, Swadeshi & boycott, partition of Bengal, Khilafat, Non-cooperation, agrarian & tribal revolts, INA, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, etc.
Polity	Development of the Indian Constitution, Salient Features, Articles, Parts & Schedules, Fundamental Rights & Duties, DPSP, Indian Parliamentary System, Indian Judicial System, Constitutional & Non-Constitutional Bodies, etc.
Economics	Basic concepts of Economics, National & Per-Capita Income, Banking in India, Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, Balance of Payment, National & International financial institutions, Inflation, Tax, Budget, etc.
Geography	Physical Geography of India and the world – Climate, Soil, Vegetation, Wildlife, Rivers, Mountains, Desert, Plains, Plateau, etc. Human & Economic Geography of India & the World – Agriculture, Natural Resources, Industry & Trade, Human Societ & Development, Population & Demography, etc.
General Science	Physics Chemistry Biology
Environmental Awareness	Sources of Energy, Pollution, Climate Change, Flora & Fauna of the world, Hazards & Disasters, Use of technology in environmental research and development, etc.
Current Affairs	Events of national and international importance on Science, Books and Authors, Sports, Important Schemes, Important Days, Portfolios, People & Places in the News, etc.
Static GK	National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries & biosphere reserves, National river projects & dams, Awards & Honors, Books & Authors, Sports, List of firsts in India & the World, Highest & Longest in India & the World, Key facts & figures, Important personalities, etc.

SSC CGL General Awareness Topic-Wise Weightage

Once the candidates are familiar with the subjects and the topics therein, it is of utmost importance that they get acquainted with the number of questions that are asked from each subject in the exam. It can help them focus on smart work and prepare for this section in the most efficient manner. The table below will provide more details regarding the same.

SSC CGL Tier 1 Topic Distribution
General Awareness	No.
History	3
Polity	3
Geography	3
Economics	2
Science	3
Current Affairs	5
Miscellaneous	6
Total	25

After going through the detailed syllabus and topic-wise weightage of the General Awareness section, the candidates should start their preparations by obtaining a basic understanding of each topic. Learning these concepts will help the candidates grasp the current affairs easily and this can give a boost to their performance in the exam.

Step 2. Revision and Practice

As all of us know the fact that merely learning all the concepts is not enough to crack any competitive examination. One should be able to recall these concepts in an instant in the examination hall. This is possible only through repeated revisions and a lot of practice. The points below will provide the candidates with an efficient way to go about this part of the preparation.

Follow a Revision Schedule

The most important tool for preparing for any competitive exam is our brain and it has been proven that the brain works most efficiently when trained to recognize patterns. So, the candidates who plan out the revision aspect of their preparation in an organized manner can gain tremendously in the exam. To clarify this, go through the scenario discussed below.

Suppose a candidate learns about the ‘Revolt of 1857’ on day 1 of the preparation. The ideal way to revise this would be to do the first revision on day 2, the second revision on day 7, the fourth revision on day 21 and the fifth revision on day 30. This pattern of revision can help the candidates retain any concept with a good amount of practice.

Practice Previous Year Questions

There are a multitude of resources available at the disposal of the candidates. There are many question banks and practice sets out there which may seem useful but the most authentic exam-level questions can be found in the previous year’s papers. The candidates can find questions on almost all the topics mentioned in the syllabus in these papers. The advantages of practicing PYQs are:

It narrows down the topics from which questions are asked most frequently in the exam.
It prepares the candidates about what to expect in the upcoming exam.
Practicing the PYQs asked in the recent installments of other exams conducted by SSC provides the candidates with the latest trend in the level and type of questions asked.

Step 3. Attempting Mock Tests

In today’s competitive environment, almost every candidate knows the importance of mock tests in the overall preparation of any exam. They help the candidates give a proper shape to their hard work and make them exam-ready. The mock tests can be sectional and full-length. Let us look at the utility of both these in the preparation for the General Awareness section for SSC CGL.

Sectional Mock Tests – To prepare for a vast subject such as General Awareness, sectional tests can help the candidates identify the areas and topics that need more improvement. It can be taken in the format of subject-wise, topic-wise and chapter-wise tests.
Full-length Mock Tests – These tests help the candidates integrate their preparation for the General Awareness section in their preparation for the entire Tier 1 paper. It helps them utilize the time provided in an efficient manner and enhances their scores by minimizing the negative marks.

SSC CGL General Awareness Preparation Resources

To prepare well for any subject, one of the most important aspects is the selection of resources. To prepare for the vast syllabus of the General Awareness section, the candidates need to identify the most useful resources based on some parameters. The points mentioned below will help the candidates in this aspect.

It should be easily available and affordable.
The number of resources should be as many as can be managed by the candidates.
For General Awareness, NCERTs should not be ignored.
The candidates should utilize the internet to resolve their confusion and queries.
To prepare for Current Affairs, the candidate should refer to reliable channels.

SSC CGL General Awareness Preparation Tips & Tricks

The General Awareness section requires the candidates to be smart about their preparation strategy. The points below can help them stay focused and utilize the preparation time in the most efficient manner.

Avoid too much use of social media and stay away from distractions.
Mix and match the learning, practice and testing aspects.
Keep your strategy flexible and keep reviewing your preparation level.
Stay away from predictions and stay close to the syllabus.
General Awareness has become extremely important in the SSC CGL Selection Process since the implementation of the new exam pattern. So, candidates should prepare well now in order to maximize their score in Tier 2 as well.

The candidates should keep in mind that these are just suggestions and that they can modify this strategy according to their own strengths and weaknesses. We here at Adda247 provide the candidates with all the resources needed to prepare for the General Awareness section in the SSC CGL Exam.

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