SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips 2020
Staff Selection Commission has concluded the first stage of exam and now the second stage is scheduled from 14-17 October 2020. Candidates who cleared the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam are advised to begin the preparations for Tier 2 well in advance. English is one of the important subjects in SSC CGL Exam but many students find it difficult. In order to crack the English subject in the second stage of CGL with a high score, this article provides expert SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips.
- Before proceeding with the preparation, be thorough with the complete SSC CGL Syllabus to know the important topics in each subject.
- As per the experts, learning 3 new vocabulary words every day can help candidates to improve their quality of English Language.
- If you are looking to get the best result, then joining the best SSC CGL Online Coaching will help in clearing all stages of CGL.
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips
The English Language section plays a significant role in SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation. It is considered easier than all the other sections as per the exam analysis.
- The right kind of strategies and focusing on important topics can help you sail through and receive good scores in the English section.
- Solving Free SSC CGL Mock Test Series will help you increase your speed and accuracy on the day of the exam
- English Preparation is not that difficult as students perceive it to be. Therefore, we have brought the simple tricks and tips that help aspirants to better know how to prepare English Grammar for SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam.
- Candidates can also download Free SSC CGL Study Notes for various topics under each section which will help in scoring more in the upcoming SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam.
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Weightage of Questions
Knowing how many questions have been asked from each topic in the previous year’s examination will help candidates to focus more on those topics. Let us have a look at the table below to know the number of questions asked from each topic.
Topic | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Spot the error | 20 | – | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Fill In The Blanks | 5 | – | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
Synonyms | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Antonyms | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Spelling/detecting misspelt words | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Idioms & Phrases | 10 | – | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
One word substitution | 12 | – | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
Improvement of sentences | 22 | – | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Active/Passive voice of verbs | 20 | – | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Conversion into Direct/ Indirect narration | 27 | – | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
Jumbled Paragraph / Sentence Rearrangement | 20 | – | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Cloze passage | 25 | – | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
Comprehension Passage | 30 | – | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 25 |
Total | 200 Questions |
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips
Taking up more and more SSC CGL English Quiz and Mock Tests sessions will help aspirants to improve their vocabulary. Check the points below in order to understand how to prepare for the SSC CGL English Preparation effectively-
- Follow Study Plan with consistency:-Just like the old adage, ‘Rome was not built in a day’, similarly, languages too cannot be learned in a day. You need to tirelessly learn a language to master it. Make daily study plans and stick to it
- Read More to Improve:- Do not underestimate reading. Read a lot of English books and academic textbooks as well. You can also add some novels as part of the preparation
- Use Stopwatch to track preparation time:-Do not spend more than 15 minutes on the English section. You will have to solve a lot of mock tests and learn to manage your time
- Strengthen Grammar Basics:-Study the basics of grammar and this can be done even from school level grammar books to strengthen your basics.
- To start with, attempt the vocabulary section first and then move on to reading comprehension. The verbal ability section will come next as it is easy to score. Overall, you will have to strengthen your grammar to improve your scores in the English section of the SSC CGL Tier 2 exam.
- Read Newspaper Editorial and Opinion Columns:-It will improve your English and help you in thr Reading Comprehension section. The English used in Newspaper editorials and opinion columns is good enough to improve your English.
- The Cloze test has become a very important part of the section. So, do not forget to prepare for the cloze test
Topic-Wise SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips
The English Section comprises of these following areas that you need to focus on:
Grammar |
Vocabulary, Idioms & Phrases |
Reading comprehension |
Verbal Ability |
Check the SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips for all these sections below-
SSC CGL Tier 2 Preparation Tips for English- Grammar
The Grammar section comprises of around 5-10 questions asked from like tenses, articles, prepositions, degrees of comparison, subject-verb agreement, conjunctions, parts of speech, standard construction, adverbs, number in nouns, etc
- Prepare well for Grammar: It is necessary to prepare well for grammar and one can use books like High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin from S. Chand Publishers. Going through the book will help you strengthen your basics of Grammar. It is one of the most widely used books used for learning about English Grammar.
- Read the book for relevant exercises on Error spotting and Gerunds.
- Practice grammar questions thoroughly using freely available grammar apps on Android or iOS. Using Grammar related apps is a convenient way to learn. All you need is a smartphone and you can improve your grammar with the help of mobile apps. There are several grammar coaching apps that can help you to learn grammar.
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips for- Vocabulary
Refer to the dictionary more often. Oxford English Dictionary is the best dictionary in the world. Use Oxford English English dictionaries or use Google or an online dictionary or other tools. Regularly using the dictionary will help you to improve your language and understand Reading comprehension in the right context.
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips for Idioms and Phrases
Let us look at the phrase ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’ – which means to not judge someone or something based solely on appearance. This shows that appearances cannot be the sole criteria for judging anyone and that appearances can be deceptive. The English language has hundreds of phrases, while some of them are more commonly used, the usage of others is less common. The phrase conveys this in a simple way, making it open to interpretation. One Word Substitution: You need to find the right word to substitute a lengthy sentence with a single word. According to the old adage, ‘Practice makes a man perfect’
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips for Reading Comprehension
The passages in reading comprehension will be from any recent events of national and social importance such as Banking and Economy, Geopolitics, Social issues, business, etc. Questions will be factual oriented, inference based, and will test vocabulary. Questions can also be about the main idea, the theme of the passage, the author’s opinion, and will test the understanding of the passage. Cloze Tests and Fill up the blanks do come fro such passages too.
- Read Newspaper Editorials for reading practice for this section
- Read books, novels for reading practice as it will increase your comprehension skills and speed of reading
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips for Verbal Ability
This section of the syllabus contains questions on Para Jumbles, questions on paragraph completion. Para jumbles are usually a group of sentences that are jumbled up and need to be rearranged. You need to understand the questions in the right context to rearrange them. Follow the sequence of the passage and keep the overall message of the passage and understand the story from the beginning to the end.It looks for indications and connecting words or conjunctions that connect the story. Odd sentence out is another subject that will be asked in the Verbal ability section.
SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation Tips: Best Books
The following books can be referred by the students for better preparation of the English Section-
- Word Power by Norman Lewis (Penguin)
- High School Grammar & Composition by Wren and Martin (S.Chand Publishers)
- English for General Competitions: from Plinth to Paramount (Volume – 1) – Neetu Singh (KD Publications)
- English for General Competitions: (Volume – 2)-Neetu Singh (KD Publications)
- Objective General English by S. P. Bakshi (Arihant)
- Objective English for Competitive Examinations by H M Prasad
- Quick Learning Objective General English by RS Aggarwal & Vikas Aggarwal
SSC CGL Tier-II Paper Pattern
Before starting with preparation, it is important for candidates to be aware of the SSC CGL Exam Pattern. The SSC CGL Tier-2 comprises four sections: Quantitative Ability, English Language, Statistics, General Studies (Finance and Economics). All the exams are qualifying in nature. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in the Tier 2 Exam.
Mode of Exam | Section | No. of Qs | Marks | Time |
Computer-based Exam | Paper I – Quantitative Ability | 100 | 200 | 120 Minutes (Total) |
Paper II – English Language & Comprehension | 100 | 200 | ||
Paper III – Statistics | 100 | 200 | ||
Paper IV – General Studies (Finance and Economics) | 100 | 200 |
Do’s and Don’t During SSC CGL Tier 2 English Preparation
Check the SSC CGL Preparation Tips from experts to crack the Tier 2 exam in one attempt. Here are a few points to remember during the last minute SSC CGL Tier 2 preparation tips. Check them out and improve your preparation for the Tier 2 Exam.
- Do not waste time on chatting, texting, or using social media
- Do not get tensed while the exam nearing.
- Stay calm and be relaxed else you may forget things you have studied
- Do not study any new topic during the revision period as it is the time for revising the topics which you have read earlier.
- Solve more and more mock tests to know how much you are aware of each topic.
- Eat healthy food and get enough sleep the day before the exam.

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