SSC CPO 2018 Exam Insights: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspirants

I was preparing for the SSC Mains exam for the past 7 months, and during this time, I hardly focused on GS (General Studies) and Reasoning. As a result, Reasoning and GS were moderate for me, while Math was my strong suit, where I completed all 50 questions and achieved 95 correct answers out of 50 minutes. My overall attempt was approximately 171, which I consider satisfactory.

Exam Overview and Cutoff Expectations

As a note, the cutoff is expected to remain below 130 for this exam, given the thorough preparation and focus areas.

My Experience on Shift 2 - 14 March 2020

The overall view of the exam was easy to moderate. Here is a detailed breakdown of the questions:

English

English was entirely repeated; the grammar was easy, and the close test passages were also easy.

Mathematics

Mathematics had only 3–4 data interpretation (D.I.) questions which were slightly calculative. The rest of the questions were very easy.

General Knowledge (G.K.)

The static part was very easy, with approximately 10–12 questions from science, 3 from history, 5 from economics, and 4 from geography. There were 7–8 miscellaneous questions, and about 10 current affairs questions. This section is crucial as it differentiates aspirants from others who might have a similar attempt in other sections.

Reasoning

Reasoning was very easy. I attempted 190 questions, with 1 unattempted in reasoning and 11 in G.K. Non-attempts were made for questions that I was unsure about.

Key Areas for Preparation

Based on my experience, there are a few crucial areas one should focus on for the SSC CPO exam:

General Knowledge and General Studies

There should be a more focused approach on General Knowledge and General Studies, including current affairs, as this tends to be the deciding factor in the selection process.

Mathematics

One should improve their mathematics calculation through repeated practice. Solving 100 questions daily can be sufficient for math practice. It's also important to improve on advanced topics like geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, and algebra. Practice 2–3 questions from these areas to enhance problem-solving skills.

English

The reading skills should be enhanced, particularly for passage comprehension. The A.k. Singh Book can be beneficial as it includes many questions from previous exams. Additionally, reading from sources like The Hindu is recommended to improve reading skills.

Reasoning

Daily tests are sufficient for reasoning preparation. Since answer keys are now available, aspirants can gauge their performance more effectively.

Score Analysis

After analyzing my performance, I attempted the following:

English: Attempted 50 questions, with 44 correct and 6 wrong (and 1 question unattempted) Reasoning: Attempted 190 questions, with 44 correct, 5 wrong, and 1 unattempted General Knowledge (G.K.): Attempted 81 questions, with 30 correct, 30 wrong, and 11 unattempted (9 of which were non-attempts) Mathematics: Attempted 50 questions, with 48 correct and 2 wrong

After negative marking, my score, without normalization, was 160. With normalization, my final score was 176.75, which was posted by the SSC.

Based on these insights, I urge aspirants to focus on General Knowledge and General Studies, improve their mathematics skills, and enhance their reading and reasoning abilities for the best performance in the SSC CPO exam.