This post would be useful even if you are preparing for exams other than SSC CGL.
STOP. BREATHE. RELAX.
Turn off your music/Youtube/Facebook and read this with absolute peace of mind.
If you keep wasting your time looking for free study material for SSC CGL or other exams – there is a very high chance that you will fail to clear it. I hope I have your attention now.
Please note that I am not going to provide any free exam study material for SSC CGL in this article. I can’t and neither can anyone else. Instead, I want to help you by putting you on the right path.
If you can spare a few minutes to read this article, I promise that it will save you hours and days worth of time which you can then use to prepare for the exam.
What is your aim – free study material or success in SSC CGL exam?
I have analyzed the interviews of hundreds of successful candidates in competitive exams to study the key ingredients of their preparation. How many of them do you think said they were dependent on free online study material? ZERO.
For any exam you will have competitors who would be using good books. This is because they understand that the money you spend on books is not an expenditure, it is an investment for their career. Would your free study material stand a chance against them?
Before you read further, tell me one thing. How much money can you save IF you are able to find free exam study material. You can check the price of SSC CGL books online here – and Books on Flipkart.
I am quite sure your expected savings would not be more than a one time maximum saving of a few thousands rupees. Would you mind spending this when it can help you get a good job which gives you back about forty thousand rupees or more every month?
Your Endless Search For Free SSC CGL Study Material can will only lead to failure
It all starts with a simple Google search. You start searching for terms like – SSC CGL study material free download pdf, SSC exam question paper free download, and (my favorite) ssc books free download. You plan to start studying *as soon as* you have finished collecting your material.
I know that it certainly feels good to search for free previous years solved papers. Also, you are not paying for it. After all it is it “free study material”, so you are not losing anything, Right?
WRONG!!! You are so wrong. Do you think if you spend your precious time downloading hundreds of free PDF files online you can compete with those who are actually using their time to study and prepare for the SSC CGL exam?
The Only Mantra For Getting A Good SSC CGL Rank
The only mantra to crack SSC CGL or ANY standardized exam, is to practice (and master) questions and full length mock papers on a similar pattern. That is it.
Read it again. I did not say “keep collecting reading material” which you will never even look at but to practice exam pattern questions and full length question papers.
This is true not only for SSC CGL but also other exams like Bank PO, RBI, CAT, or even Board Exams.
If you can take previous years papers, and patiently practice so that you can solve similar questions accurately and fast. YOU WILL SUCCEED.
To be able to do this, apart from consistent motivation and self-discipline, you need two only two things – study material and time. Since I can only point you towards the right study material, here is a tip for you.
Tip Number One – Don’t Waste Time Looking For Free SSC CGL Books
If you have already understood the point you can read my very detailed post on the best SSC CGL books . If you still need to be convinced, keep reading.
Let me ask you a question. What is a the difference between a book and a large collection of articles/PDFs spread over the internet?
It is a one word answer. ORGANIZATION. A book as you can appreciate is “organized” information.
Just imagine. Even if I were to give you all the study material for free but broken into hundreds of small articles, do you think it will help you? No. You will not know where to start from and will end up wasting a HUGE amount of time to simply organize it.
Is Free Study Material Really Free?
You time should be spent on studying NOT searching for free stuff. Do you think you can get anything worthwhile for free?
There is a reason that material you are downloading is available for free. Because it has NO VALUE. Writing a good book, collecting useful resources and providing them to you in an organized manner takes effort. How and why do you think anyone can provide it to you for FREE?
Unknowingly, you have been insulting yourself and playing with your career by wasting your time looking for free questions papers and study material. If you really want to get a good rank in the exam, or even clear it, I want you to stop right now.
Tip Number Two
Here is my second tip for you – you only need a few good books which you can use to prepare for your exam.
Unless you are planning to open a book shop, you cannot and should not buy a large number of books. Not only will that cost you a lot of time but you will also feel confused and overwhelmed. You will also not have a lot of time to study them all.
You have to understand, time is money! Don’t waste it. SSC CGL is a very competitive exam. The only way you can beat your competitors is by solving and practicing questions.
A large number of candidates are preparing very diligently for it. You may be talented. But without hard work, you will go nowhere. So follow my advice. It is better to actually read and practice a few good books than to download several and read none.
Tip Number Three (and one bonus tip)
Tip number three – Get actual books. The ones which you can hold in your hand and turn the pages. Many publishers also sell kindle version of their books. But the chances are you would be reading the electronic books on your computer and you will get distracted by Facebook, Instagram and other evil things.
Kindle or laptops are OK for reading novels. But they will not be useful to prepare for competitive exams.
One bonus tip, go and speak to your seniors and friends who may have appeared for the SSC CGL exam and they can perhaps loan or gift you the books that they may not be using. If that is not possible, I wholeheartedly request you to buy the books. Tell me one thing.
Which One Will You Choose?
If money is not a limitation, from the two options given below which option will you select so that you can crack your exam?
Option 1 – Keep on buying multiple books for each section
Option 2 – Actually sitting down and practicing exam pattern questions from a few good books
You already know the answer.
Option 2 is the single most important thing you can do to crack your exam. The purpose of this post is not to make you buy tonnes of expensive books. But that you get some books which are good enough and then start using those books consistently with absolute focus. You can further increase the effectiveness of your preparation by time management, smart strategy, learning shortcuts etc. etc.
Now Is The Time To Act
I have reviewed a large number of books and written a detailed post on the best SSC CGL Tier 1 books. This article also includes a section wise coverage of the books including Maths (quantitative aptitude), reasoning, English, and general awareness.
chellurivigneshkumar says
Thank you for explaining this. I agree with the logic.
Rob Miranda says
For Free Material Tips Tricks
sscjunction says
logic 😀