SSC CGL is one of the most popular exams in India and many aspirants try their luck in this exam. Apart from CGL, SSC also conducts various other exams such as MTS, Combined Higher Secondary Level, Junior Engineer exam etc. SSC Prep industry is a very big and flourishing one in India with lakhs of new candidates joining the bandwagon every year.
In order to start preparation for SSC exams, you need to have fair idea regarding the syllabus and the pattern of questions asked in these exams. The main four subjects in SSC are:
- Reasoning ability
- Quantitative ability
- English Language
- General Awareness
Books for SSC Exams: Subject Wise List
Reasoning Ability: One of the most important sections in SSC exams is the General Intelligence or reasoning section as in almost all the exams such as CGL, CHSL this section carries a minimum of 50 marks and you can score well overall if you score well in this section. The standard books that you can refer to for this section are:
- Analytical Reasoning by M K Pandey: This book deals with all the topics that are asked in the General Intelligence section of SSC Examinations. You will get plenty of practice as well if you are following this book. It is a profitable purchase for all the SSC aspirants though the concepts are in some cases not clarified properly.
- Test of Reasoning by Edgar Thorpe: Though this book caters to all the competitive examinations, the level is much higher than SSC standard. If you are a reasoning fan and want to go bank exams as well along with SSC, this book will be beneficial for you but on the other hand, for SSC only, this book is a bit difficult.
- A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal: The most sought after book in the SSC segment for reasoning. The book is tailor made for general intelligence section and along with that, you get plenty of questions for practice in each chapter but one note of caution is that do not go for the difficult questions at the end of a chapter since they are mostly out of context considering the SSC standard.
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Quantitative Aptitude: This section is important to score since you are sure about your answers only in this section in SSC Exam. If you want to rank at the top, you must be good at this section. The problem is that most of the questions are difficult and time consuming and therefore, you must practice very well before the exam for maths.
- Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Verma: This book is a complete package for SSC exam considering the tier II exam as well in SSC CGL as well as other recruitments. You need to have good understanding of concepts in order to score well in SSC since only mugging up formulae will not do much. In this aspect, this book is very good but the volume of the book is too much and sometimes, questions are difficult from the SSC Point of view given that this book is meant for CAT aspirants. However, ignore that and go ahead with this book if you want to take ITI or Excise Inspector, MEA etc in SSC CGL.
- Advance Maths by Rakesh Yadav: This book is a new age sensation among the aspirants given the fact that the writer is very popular among candidates. You may pick up this book only if you are not starting from the scratch. This book is mainly for Tier II Level of maths and you must have your basics clear before you start with this book. However, once you are done with the basic knowledge of the subject, it is a good buy for candidates.
- Magical Book on Quicker Maths by M Tyra: Another gem of a book for SSC candidates since this book is mainly about shortcut methods that are very popular among candidates. However, you need to keep in mind that short cut methods can be applicable if you have in depth knowledge of a concept.
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English language: Yet another important section but the weakness of this section is that most of questions are dubious in nature and scoring becomes difficult in this section because you are never sure about your answer. For candidates who are good in English, this section can save your life as well in the exam.
- Objective English by SP Bakshi: This book is good for candidates who are mainly concerned about the vocabulary aspect of the subject. The book has a number of OWS, Idioms and their meanings etc but on the grammar front, you cannot rely much on this book and especially from the point of view of Tier II in SSC CGL, this book cannot be solely relied upon but can be used as a supporting book.
- Plinth to Paramount by KD Campus: This book is good if you are looking for clarification of various grammar rules and their applications in the actual context. This book is necessary for Tier II English in SSC CGL and the mains exam in other cases. You need to have this in order to succeed well in the exam.
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis: Another must have for you since you have to be good at English vocabulary. Just have this book with you not for passing the examination but also for future use.
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General Awareness: Most of the candidates are not much concerned about this since this is there only in the prelims exam in most of the cases. However, you may improve your score drastically if you score well in this section.
- Lucent’s General Knowledge: There is no substitute to this book and there will never be. Just read this book and revise it repeatedly and you can score wonderful marks in the exam, no doubt. You need to revise it time and again, that is it.
In any competitive exam, the most important aspect is having the right preparation material with you and after that, another important thing is that you follow a limited number of books and revise them repeatedly instead of referring to a number of books. So, choose wisely and prepare well. Remember that-
“The will to prepare is more important that the will to win”.
All the best!