How to Prepare General Intelligence for SSC CHSL 2021?

The Staff Selection Commission will conduct SSC CHSL 2021 on April 12, 2021. The exam has 3 tiers - Tier I, Tier II and Tier-III. Tier I exam is a computer-based and objective type exam, where the SSC CHSL Tier-II exam is a descriptive type exam.

General Intelligence (GI) is one of the four subjects of the SSC CHSL Tier-I exam. A total of 25 questions are asked from various topics such as Series, Coding, Arrangement, etcetera in this subject.

In the article, the topic-wise exam paper analysis of SSC CHSL General Intelligence (GI), preparation strategy and list of mandatory books has been discussed. Read the latest news on SSC CHSL Exam.

SSC CHSL General Intelligence (GI) Topic-wise Weightage

The number of questions asked in the SSC CHSL Tier-I exam from each topic and their weightage is fixed. However, the SSC CHSL 2020 topic-wise weightage of Reasoning & General Intelligence (GI) has been tabulated below.

SSC CHSL General Intelligence (GI): Books for Preparation

It should also be noted that the questions asked in the reasoning and General Intelligence (GI) part are of easy-moderate difficulty. Get the list of Books for SSC CHSL 2021 Exam for all sections.

The following books can be taken into consideration while preparing for the SSC CHSL 2021 Exam General Reasoning & Intelligence Part.

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SSC CHSL General Intelligence (GI) Topic-wise Preparation Strategy

It is also a matter of fact that no single book can help you to strengthen your General Intelligence (GI) and reasoning ability.

The candidates should aim to attempt at least 22+ questions to clear the SSC CHSL Exam with a good score. Section-wise preparation tips are discussed below:

Analogy

Generally, 3-4 questions are asked from this subtopic, which is really a good number as compared to the total number of GI questions.

The candidates are given a pair of numbers or words and have to find the next pair according to it. The relation can be anything and should be identified as first, such as:

• Synonyms - Words having similar meanings.
• Antonyms - Words having opposite meanings.
• Mathematical Relation - Numbers having mathematical relations.
• Cause-Effect Relation - Water & Wet, Fire & Burn etc.
• Implied Relation - Sun & Cloud, Moon & Night etc.
• Things-Uses Relation - Pen & Writing, Phone & Communication etc.
• Profession-Work Relation - Carpenter & Wood, Mechanic & Car etc.

Some of the easy tips to master analogy questions are:

• Try to understand the relation in the given pair and apply the same logic to the question.
• Strengthen your verbal skills to solve verbal analogy questions.
• Make use of the elimination technique in case of difficult or unknown options, if possible.
• Study and acquire knowledge about various topics about which, analogies can be asked such as instruments-uses, scientific terms-meanings, etc.

Series

Series questions are some of the most logical questions that are asked in the SSC CHSL tier-I GI part. Different types of series can be asked in the SSC CHSL tier-I exam.

The question generally contains a series that is incomplete. Candidates have to choose the best option to complete the series logically.

Types of Series

1. Number Series
2. Letter Series
3. Alphanumeric Series
4. Continuous Pattern Series

Here are some of the tricks that can be used to solve the series questions:

• Try to identify the pattern in the given series.
• Numeric series: In the case of numeric series, try to establish an algebraic connection between two neighbouring terms. For eg., the Same, Increasing or Decreasing Difference between the terms, Multiplication, Squaring, and Division of terms, Check for Fibonacci sequence, Prime sequence, etc.
• Letter Series: In the case of letters, it is advised to write the alphabets on the rough paper and assign the numbers from 1 to 26 to each letter from A to Z and to derive the relation mathematically as well. For eg. in ADGJM…... - we can clearly see the difference of 3 between each of the successive terms. And hence, we can anticipate that the next term will be M+2 i.e. P.
• Alphanumeric Series: Alphanumeric questions are mixtures of numbers and letters. In this kind of questions, there can either be a relation of letters with the numbers or they both can have their own repeating pattern.

Odd One Out

Odd one out question contains a set of Numbers, Words, Letters, or Patterns and contains one term which is not similar to the other three terms in any way. The terms can be similar to each other in many ways such as:

• Gender - Terms having similar gender.
• Type of thing - Things that are categorized under the same category.
• Use of things - Eg. Pen, Pencil, Marker used for writing etc.
• Place/location names - Eg. Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai etc. (Name of Major Cities)
• Even or odd numbers - Set of odd or even numbers.

These questions also test the candidate’s Vocabulary, General Knowledge, Mathematical Aptitude and Observation skills. There can also be alphabetical, numerical or alpha-numerical patterns too.

Some of the tips and tricks to solve the odd one out questions are given below:

• Try to identify the type of similarity between the given terms and identify the different terms.
• In the case of patterns, try to identify similar patterns in the given terms.
• Also, compare the patterns or similarities between the pairs of each of the options.
• You can make use of the elimination method too.

Coding-Decoding

Coding-Decoding questions are often asked in the SSC CHSL exam. This tests the deciphering ability of the candidate. Generally, in these kinds of questions, a word is given along with its coded form.

The candidate has to derive the relation between the word and its given code and has to cypher or decipher the question accordingly. Candidates must keep in mind the following points while solving the questions:

• First of all, when you see any coding-decoding related question, write down the alphabets on the rough paper along and assign 1 to 26 letters to each of them.
• Now, try to establish a mathematical relation between the ciphered and deciphered word.
• For eg. in “CLASS” → “DNDWX”, we can see with each increasing term, the difference between their place value increases by 1 i.e. C + 1 → D; L + 2 → N; A + 3 → D; S + 4 → W and S + 5 → X. Thus, the given questions can also be ciphered and deciphered accordingly.
• There can also be other kinds of relations between each successive letters such as increasing or decreasing difference, reverse letters, complimentary numbers eg. 1 → 26, 2 → 25 etc.

Practice your weak and frequently asked topics more often. It will help you to secure a guaranteed score in the GI part. Practising regularly will help you to understand the patterns and solutions that can be applied to the questions that are asked in the SSC CHSL Exam.

Therefore, candidates can score better marks in the SSC CHSL Tier-I examination by following the proper preparation strategy for the General Intelligence (GI) and Reasoning part. Also, the topic should be