(Article) SSC CGL Maths Preparation Strategy by Topper Naman Garg

Naman Garg secured an all-India rank of 5 in his SSC CGL 2017 attempt. A huge contribution was made to his performance by his score of 182.5 in cgl tier-II mathematics. He also scored a 42 in his CGL tier-1. Overall, Naman is a big believer in strong basics and regular practice. Today we discuss his winning strategy.

Choose Easy Over Difficult

One of the key aspects of Naman’s journey in Mathematics has been strengthening his core and ensuring that he can quickly solve the easy or medium difficulty level questions. He says there will always be difficult questions that one will find themselves unable to solve during the stressful environment of an examination. But your preparation should be such that you can solve the rest so quickly and efficiently that you can at least try those difficult ones out at ease and with time to spare. So, concentrate on ensuring 100% accuracy for the not so difficult questions instead of being too afraid to proceed because of the difficult ones.

SSC CGL Tier-1 Exam Printed Study Notes

Theory Is Important

Whether it is having a conceptual understanding, or knowing your theorems, spending some time on the theoretical understanding of mathematics is important. Sometimes, SSC asks questions directly on theorems. And there are at times where only conceptual understanding will allow you to solve a question. Many students tend to rely on quick formulas and methods to solve maths problems in record time. And although these are useful practices, know that not all problems can be solved this way. However, every one of them can be solved with conceptual clarity. Naman recommends Coaching Study Notes for a theoretical understanding of the SSC CGL Mathematics section.

Choose Previous Years’ Questions Over CAT Books

CGL Previous Years’ Questions are your most reliable source of practice. Yes, the difficulty level may differ over the years but PYQs still bring you a more efficient understanding of the paper than any other source. Naman himself never indulged in solving any CAT books for his practice. Instead, he stuck to regularly practicing from previous years’ questions and SSC CGL mock tests. He believes that if you start with a CAT level preparation, you can always find a more difficult problem waiting for you. However, the contribution of that practice to your preparation will be minimal.

Choose The Right Questions During The Exam

This is not to say that you don’t try to solve all questions, but rather when you solve them. Start with the questions that you know at the very first glance that you can solve in 10-15 seconds. The questions that seem to you as if you can solve them but will need a minute or two for, mark them for review and revisit them after solving the easy ones. Once you follow this method, you will find that you have completed most of the paper and have ample time left. Now you can take your time in attempting the hard questions.

Message To Aspirants

There is no one method to solving a problem. Some problems you can use quick tricks, some need to be solved completely using concepts, and some you can just approximate an answer for and choose from the options without needing to solve completely. It is a matter of practice and you can too achieve what Naman has by ensuring you take out 10-15 minutes every day to just practice mental maths in calculation and approximation. In the end, the right combination of hard work and smart work wins.

Online Mock Test Series for SSC CGL Exams