The examination date for SSC CHSL Tier II is out people. It is scheduled to take place on 09th July, 2017 at various centers in India from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. With SSC CHSL Tier II a fortnight away, you must be on tenterhooks right now. As you are appearing for Tier II, pause for a second guys and pat your back for clearing Tier I successfully. Now, do not panic, we are here to help you with SSC CHSL Tier II preparation plan. 

The next few days will hold the key to bring together all that you have studied so far. Saying this, we do not mean to frighten you. However, you should always keep this in head that lakhs of aspirants appear for Tier II and only a handful get the job. So there is no chance to ease off at this stage. Before we help you with the preparation plan on How To Crack SSC CHSL Tier II 2017 with such less time in hand, we would first walk you through the exam pattern.

SSC CHSL Tier II Exam Pattern 2017

• SSC CHSL Tier-II will be a descriptive Paper of 100 Marks in ‘Pen and Paper Mode’.
• The duration of the paper would be of one hour. 
• The Paper would comprise writing of an Essay of 200-250 words and Letter / Application writing of approximately 150-200 words.
• The minimum qualifying marks in Tier-II would be 33 per cent.
• The performance in Tier II would be included for preparing merit.
• You can either write in Hindi or in English. Part paper written in Hindi and Part in English will not be evaluated.

How to Crack SSC CHSL Tier II 2017

The pattern of the SSC CHSL exam changed in 2015 after the government announced that there would be no interviews for clerical posts. Basically the descriptive paper has been introduced to gauge your understanding about the subject, your thought process and your command over the language in which you are attempting the paper. The format is still new to us, so one cannot really anticipate the kind of letter or essay topics, will be thrown at us. Therefore, we need a proper study plan to crack Tier II. 

Last year, aspirants were asked to write essay on Swachh Bharat Mission. So, one can presume that topics which are currently in headlines may be asked. But, you never know in descriptive papers. You may get anything and everything. So, it is better that we read as much as we can, focusing on latest headliners.

Tips for Essay Writing in SSC CHSL Tier II 2017

1. ANTICIPATE IMPORTANT TOPICS – As we mentioned earlier, we need to keep ourselves abreast of the recent happenings in and around the world to attempt this section well. We need to anticipate essay topics. Last year was Swachh Bharat Mission, this year could be demonetization. If you have an year book, check out the important events that took place last year. And if you are lucky, you may find one in your exam.
   Some of the topics we think important for this year SSC CHSL Tier II are as follows:

• How to fight corruption
• Demonetization
• Liquor Ban
• Disaster Management
• 7th Pay Commission
• Goods and Services Tax Bill
• Paris Peace Summit
• Kaveri water dispute in Karnataka
• Brexit referendum
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
• Zika Virus

2. PRACTICE – Good writing skills come from practice. The more you work on writing, the better you will get. Take up a topic of your choice and start writing down the cue points at corner of the page and then elaborate each point. By adopting this practice, you will always have clarity of thoughts and you will structure your writing well. 
3. MEMORISE STATISTICS AND FACTS – To make your essay appear lit, you should always try supporting your statements with statistics.
4. READ CAREFULLY – When in examination hall, there is already too much pressure on you, but do not let it hinder your judgment. Read the question carefully. Do not just start writing the moment you see few words of the question. It may be asking something else than what you are interpreting. Make a brief outline to organize your thoughts.
5. GOOD INTRODUCTION IS CRUCIAL – Your introduction to the topic should be such as to hook your examiner to read the whole thing. They should feel that they will gain some kind of information from your essay. 
6. STRUCTURE YOUR WRITING WELL – An essay or letter should have An introduction, body and conclusion. Introduction should have a brief summary about your topic. You should introduce the essay topic in about three to five sentences. Main Body should have statements, arguments, important points about the topic. This should be covered in two paragraphs. Conclusion is summarizing the main points you made in the body. This should usually be done in three or four sentences. This is a general format of how one should attempt essay writing in examinations.
7. STICK TO WORD LIMITS – You need to wrap up your essay in 200-250 words only. ISC Board students, please keep a tab of word limits because you are not very well versed with this concept in your boards’ exams. Sticking to word limit can be a difficult task for you. Whereas, CBSE Board students have been through this mess a million times before. Still winding up an essay in 250 words is not an easy task. So frame you sentences in your head and then write. You have enough time to attempt these two questions, so do not panic. Have clarity and you will be through this task.
8. SENTENCES – Try using short and meaningful sentences. Do not use flowery language. Keep it simple. Your sentences should capture the essence of your topic.

Note – You should spend at least 10 minutes in Reading and organizing your thoughts before you start writing. 20 minutes in writing the essay. Do not spend more than 30 minutes on this part of the paper.

Tips for Letter Writing

1. Letters are basically of two types: Formal and informal (personal). Formal letters include application letters and letters to officials (government, firms, editors, etc.)
2. Your letter should be left aligned always.

Format of formal letter 

1. A formal letter should have sequence as given below:
   Sender’s address (without name)
   Date (with month in words)
   Receiver’s designation 
   Receiver’s address
   Subject
   Salutation
2. Like essay, a letter’s body should have 
   a)Introduction ( Purpose of writing) 
   b)Main Body (should explain your problem)
   c) Conclusion (should have what you want the receiver to do about your problem)
3. After conclusion, there should be 
   Thank you
   Complimentary Close
   Sender’s signature and 
   Name

• Always state the reason for writing in introduction.
• Be polite. Do not use informal words and greetings.
• Language should be simple, crisp and to the point.
• Avoid using contractions like haven’t, won’t, etc.
• While you are writing Letter to Editor, do not ask him to solve the issue and always use ‘ Yours truly’ as complimentary close. 

Format of Informal Letter

1. Informal letters are personal letters which are written mostly to our friends and relatives. The reason of writing could be anything. You want to know about their well -being, you want to share good or bad news or you want to invite them for some important function.
2. The format of informal letter goes like this-
   Sender’s address (without name)
   Date (with month in words)
   Salutation
   Purpose of writing
   Main Body
   Complimentary close
   Sign

Always remember

1. We use Sir/Madam, when we do not know the receiver’s name. In this case we always sign off with Yours faithfully.
2. When you know the name of the receiver (eg. Mr. Anand Sharma), use Yours sincerely.
3. You will be gauged on your grammar, spellings and punctuation, so do not mess them up while writing.
4. Do not write your name at the top of the letter, only at the end of the letter.
5. Always proof read your letter twice. Your letter should not have spelling errors and wrong grammar especially in formal letters.
6. Stick to the letter format and language. You cannot go all formal in informal letter and vice versa.
7. Stick to word limit.

You should be able to finish off  letter writing in 20 minutes. You will still be left with 10 minutes, in that time please proof read your writing. You do not want to submit your essay and letter containing misspellings and missing punctuation.

Books for SSC CHSL Tier II 2017 Exam

Do you feel the need of a book for preparing these two parts of the exam , then I would suggest you to buy the below mentioned book. For practice, buy Kiran’s Practice Workbook which is available on Amazon and Flipkart both in English as well as Hindi. To understand the format and nuances of letter and essay writing , you should definitely buy the 3rd and 4th book. These are the best and pocket friendly option available in the market.

Do you feel the need of a book for preparing these two parts of the exam , then I would suggest you to buy the below mentioned book. For practice, buy Kiran’s Practice Workbook which is available on Amazon and Flipkart both in English as well as Hindi. To understand the format and nuances of letter and essay writing , you should definitely buy the 3rd and 4th book. These are the best and pocket friendly option available in the market.

Books for SSC CHSL Tier II For Aspirants attempting their paper in English 

Books for SSC CHSL Tier II For Aspirants attempting their paper in Hindi

We hope that you find this article useful for your SSC CHSL Tier II 2017 Exam. Good luck guys. Want to ask us anything, type-in in the comment section below.