How to Prepare General Awareness

for SSC CGL

General Awareness is easily the most scoring section of SSC CGL Tier I Exam. This
section becomes more important because this is the one section which can be
attempted quickly and also helps you score high marks in the paper. So let us start of
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 2016 based on new Pattern.

Overall Analysis of General Awareness for SSC

CGL
Topic Questions Total Based on
weightage New
Pattern
Static GK Culture 1-2 23- 15
Indian History 5-6 29
Geography (Indian + World) 4-5
Environment 3-4
Economy 5-6
Polity 5-6
Science Biology 4-5 13- 6
Chemistry 3-4 19
Physics + Space Science 2-3
Computer & Mobile Technology 1-2
Diseases, Pollution 1-2
Nutrition 2-3
Others Current Affairs 1-3 3-8 4
Important Dates, Portfolios, Schemes 1-2
Miscellaneous GK - Sports, People in 1-3
the News, Books etc.
Total 50 25

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When starting to prepare for SSC one tends to focus more on the current affairs
section as this is the general requirement in various banking and other recruitment
exams. But as you can see the weightage of each subject in General Awareness, 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 must continuously
weigh the cost to benefit ratio while preparing for this section. 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 Environment. It is also not wise to say ignore
current affairs completely, but do not invest too much time in them.

Subject-Wise Important Topics

Science
Physics Chemistry Biology
Gravity Uses, Common Names and Parts of Plant & their
Composition of Various Chemicals Functions
Motion Alloys Parts of Human Body
& their Functions
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 Work Definition Based Questions (Heat, Basics of Animal
Oxidation, Reduction etc.) Kingdom.
Pressure SI units Diseases, Prevention
& Cure
Units of Chemical Change & Physical
Measurement Change
Sound Chemistry in Everyday life
Heat
Electronics
Magnetism

History
Ancient Medieval History Modern History
History
Indus Valley Establishment & European Penetration & British
Civilization Expansion of the Delhi Conquest of India
Sultanate
Buddhism & Religious Movements in Major Battles
Jainism the Fifteenth & Sixteenth
Centuries
The Mauryans Mughal Dynasty Social & Cultural Awakening in
India
Post-Mauryan Later Mughals The Great Revolt of 1857
Kingdoms
The Gupta The Maratha State Indian National Congress
Period
Nationalist Movement, 1905-
1918: Growth of Militant
Nationalism
Struggle for Swaraj - I, 1919 -
1927
Struggle for Swaraj - II, 1927-
1947
Governor-Generals of India
Indian Princely States

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 Geography
Movement Of Earth Winds Soils In India
Interior Of Earth Ocean & Ocean Agriculture In India
Currents
Latitude & Longitude Volcanoes Transportation In India
Solar System Earthquakes Mineral Resources In India
Atmosphere Physical Features Of Forests In India
India
Rivers In India World Geo. Facts I.E.
Continents in the World.

Polity
Framing Of The President Governor
Constitution
Sources Of Indian Vice President Vidhan Sabha
Constitution
Parts Of Indian Constitution Attorney General Of Vidhan Parishad
India
Schedules In Indian Comptroller Auditor Panchayats
Constitution General
Citizenship Lok Sabha Parliamentary Funds
Article 370 Rajya Sabha Supreme Court
Emergency In India Bills High Court
Commissions Prime Minister Writs

Miscellaneous

1. Population Census
2. Important Books & Writers
3. First in Sports for India and World like First Olympics, First Asian Games etc.
4. Famous Sea Ports, Airports and their locations
5. State Animals and Symbols

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 6. Important Institutions of India and World & their locations (like BRICS,
World Bank, IMF and RBI etc.)
7. Awards & their Significance
8. Nobel Laureates & their Fields

Computer & Mobile Technology

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

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 Testbook’s Blog 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.

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 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.

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