The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam is held annually for filling up vacancies of Grade B and C category in different Ministries and Departments of the Government. The exam has a total of 4 tiers or stages out of which Tier I & II are computer based and consist multiple choice questions, Tier III is descriptive in nature and Tier IV is the Skill Test (Data Entry Speed Test or a Computer Proficiency Test). For the year 2018, the last date for filling the application form for Tier I exam was 5th June and the exam will be held from 25th July 2018 to 20th August 2018. It is important to understand the pattern of the exam thoroughly in order to score well, so a brief mention of the syllabus and pattern is as follows – • The time duration for the Tier I exam is 60 minutes with a total of 100 questions (i.e. 200 marks). • There is no sectional cut off • Every right answer gives you 2 marks whereas there is a penalty of 0.5 marks in case of a wrong answer. • The main sections that make up the exam are i. General Intelligence and Reasoning; ii. General awareness; iii. Quantitative Aptitude; & iv. English Comprehension. As the exam draws closer, you must be quite anxious and stressed however stay calm and follow these 5 tips daily to perform to the best of your potential – 1. Follow your study routine diligently Just because you have covered the syllabus once or twice does not mean that you can relax, rather now is the time to go that extra mile and step out of your comfort zone to achieve success. Ensure that you set yourself daily attainable and realistic goals and achieve them. 2. Mock Tests Since the Tier I exam will be a computer based MCQ examination, its best to solve as many online mock tests as you can. It is important that you stick to the time of 60minutes for solving 100 questions as it’ll help you practice and train yourself in time management in the exam setting. Also, look at previous question papers and try solving them, this will not only help you in absorbing the exam pattern but sometimes questions are also repetitive in nature. 3. Stay up to date Current affairs is an integral part of the general awareness section of the exam and will also help you in any other exam you are preparing for as well as Tier II of the same exam. So make sure you continue reading a good English daily like the Hindu or the Indian Express or any newspaper of your choice, as this helps in gaining marks under the General Awareness Section effortlessly. 4. Work on your reading speed The English comprehension section is another section where marks can be scored effortlessly; practice reading and attempt comprehensions. Reading a good English newspaper will again help you in increasing your reading speed as well as understanding difficult information and getting to know new words, improving your vocab. 5. Revision Whatever exam you are preparing for, revision is the key. Whatever you do daily, must be revised the very same day and in addition revise the important concepts of the different sections and solve questions on that respective concept so as to know how much information have you grasped successfully.