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[StudyPlan]FCI(SSC)GradeIIIExam:Strategy,Tips,
ApproachandStudymaterial
PostedByOn21/10/2012@3:08pmInStudyplan|499Comments

1. GeneralAwareness
1. Science
1. EssentialReadingListforScience(SSC)
2. WhyNCERTandNOSmaterial?
3. WhattoavoidinScience?
2. Geography
1. EssentialbooklistforGeography
2. HowtoapproachGeography?
3. Polity
4. Economy
5. History
6. Culture
7. Yearbook
8. Sports
9. Personinnews
10. CurrentAffairs
11. Computer
12. MiscellaneousGK
2. GeneralIntelligence(LogicalReasoning)
1. ApproachingVerbalReasoning
2. ApproachingNonverbalreasoning
3. QuantitativeAptitude/Maths
1. HowtoapproachTrigonometry
2. HowtoapproachAlgebra
3. HowtoapproachGeometry?
4. RemainingtopicsofMaths
4. English
5. Practicingathome
6. DownloadlinksforNCERT/NOSMaterial(Free)
1. NCERT:Science,Geography,Historyetc.
2. NCERT:Trigonometry,Algebra,Geometry
3. NOS:Economy,Polityetc.
7. PriorityAreas:GA,Reasoning,Maths&English
8. Books
1. ManoramaYearbookversusGK2013
2. RSAgarwalvsSarveshKumar
9. FCI:Posting,PromotionandCutoffs
1. PostinginFCI
2. PromotionHierarchyinFCI
3. CutOffsFCI

Thisanalysis/strategy/approachisbasedonpreviouspapersofFCI,giveninSSCpapersetsbyKiran
Prakashan
1. FCIGradeIII(NortherZone)
2. FCIGradeIII(EasternZone)
3. FCIGradeII
^allofthemwereheldinJanFeb2012period.
FCIsPaper1(objective)papercontainsfollowingsections:
Topic
GeneralAwareness
GeneralIntelligence(Verbal/Logicalreasoning)
Maths(QuantitativeAptitude)
English

Qs
50
50
50
50

Sectional Cutoffs:No
Negative Marking:Yes.

GeneralAwareness
TopicwiseBreakup

^Breakupcanbedebatable,becauseinmanytopicsscienceoverlapswithgeography,culture
overlapswithhistoryandgeography.

Butthegoodpartis,majorityofthequestionsarefromstaticfactbasedGK/GSonly.

Science
EssentialReadingListforScience(SSC)
StartwithNCERTClass7to10ScienceTextbooks.
NOSStudyMaterialonScience.
Bothofthemarefree,Ivegiventhedownloadlinksatthebottomofthisarticle.
SciencechapterinLucentGK

WhyNCERTandNOSmaterial?
Becausetheirlanguageislucid,lotsofcolorfulphotosandfonts=easiertoreadandmemorize
comparedtodullreadymadebooksonScienceGK.
SamereasonforHistoryandGeographyPDFsofNCERT.
Butonetimereadingwillnothelpyou.YoushouldrevisethesePDFsminimum3times.

WhattoavoidinScience?
Thereisnoneedtogoindeepandtrivial,forexampleAtomicweightofxyzElementis25.=
avoid.
MathematicalFormulaforfindingaccelerationofpendulumisxyz=avoid.
TelescopewasinventedinXYZyear=avoid.(Nameofinventorisimportant,butinventionyear
isnotimportant).
Iadviseyoutoavoid^them,becausetherecanbenoendtotrivialinformationandmindhas
verylimitedmemorycapacity.Ofcoursetheremaybeafewquestionsontrivialinfo.Butitisnot
worththecost:benefitratio.
So,allthebasicfactsandconceptsregardingplantsandanimals,chemicalsandmattersetc=
extremelyimportant.
Onetimereadingofbooks,willnotsuffice.Minimumthreetimesrevisionisnecessary.
NoneedtodevotelotoftimetoSciencetechrelatedcurrentaffairs.Mostofthequestionsare
fromstatictheoryportiononly.

Geography
EssentialbooklistforGeography
1. NCERTclass7to10SocialScience
2. NCERTclass11,12Geography.
3. NOSStudyMaterialonGeography
Allofthemcanbedownloadedforfree.Thedownloadlinksaregivenatthebottomofthisarticle.

HowtoapproachGeography?
IwouldclassifyGeographytopicinfollowingsegments
1. PhysicalGeography:Basicinformationonearth,earthquakes,tsunami,volcano,climate,
monsoonetc.
2. WorldGeography
3. IndianGeography:Locationbased.

Physicalgeography=noexcuse,mustbedone,priorityarea.Becausethefactsandconceptsare
verylimitedinnumber.(ComparedtolocationbasedIndiangeography).
ReadandreviseitmultipletimesfromNCERT+NOS.
ForWorldGeography(examplewhereisxyzplacelocatedorxyztemple,mountain,riverislocatedin
whichcountry?).Hardlya1or2questionbuttheamountofdatatomugupishuge.Socostbenefit
ratioisnotgood.DoreadtheNCERTsbutnoneedtogobeyondthat(e.g.avoidManoramayearbook)
ForIndianGeography:LocationbasedIndiangeography(rivers,temples,monuments,wildlife
sanctuariesetc)areimportant.ButnoneedtodoPh.D.
BesidestemplemonumentquestionsalsocomeinHistory/culturetopicsopayattention.
YoucanpreparesuchthingsfromNCERT,NOS,GSManual,GK2013,ManoramaYearbooketc
manysources.Butbeyondalevel,itllgiveyoudiminishingrateofreturns.Therefore,
NCERT+NOS+GK2013=goodenough.

Polity
1. NOSStudymaterialonIndianPolity(Freedownloadlink@bottom)
2. PolityChapterinLucentGK
SSC/FCIPolityquestionsarebasedonstaticfacts.So,thistopicisnoexcuse,mustbedone,priority
topic.ReviseNOSmaterialoftenandyoudbeabletosolvemajorityofthequestions.
IfyoualreadyhaveabooknamedIndianPolitybyM.Laxmikanth,thenthereisnoneedtogothrough
abovetwobooks.InthatcasereadM.Laxmikanthreligiously,aapkaabedaapaarhojaayega.(atleast
forthepolitysection!)

Economy
1. NCERTtextBooksonEconomy
2. NOSstudymaterialonEconomy
Bothofthemarefree,downloadlinks@bottomofthisarticle.
Justtrytounderstandtheconceptsanddefinitions,withoutmuggingupformulasordefinitions.Also
muguptheestablishmentyearofRBI,NABARD,LIC,Greenrevolutionetc.importantevents.(butnot
allofthem,onlytheimportantones).

History
Source:NCERTSocialScienceandHistorybooks.(Freedownloadlinksgivenatbottom)
Historycanbeclassifiedintothreeparts
1. Ancient(Harappa,Maurya,Guptaempireetc)
2. Medieval(DelhiandMughalsultanate)
3. Modern(after1857freedomstruggle)
ThequestionsinSSC/FCIarefromallthreetopics.

Butdontwastetimeinmuggingupallthedatesortrivialsmalltimekings.Payattentiononimportant
personalities,details.Butyearofmajorbattles,andtimelineofeventsinfreedomstruggle=important.
NCERTshavecoveredtheHistoryinverylucidmanner.AndalsorevisetheHistorychapterofGK
2013multipletimes,becauseLucentGKhasprovidedalltheessentialfactsofancient,Medievaland
ModernHistoryinjust24pages.

Culture
1. NCERTbooksonSocialScience,History,Geography.
2. NOSStudymaterialonCulture
Althoughbarely23questionscomefromthispart.Butusuallytheyreusuallyeasytosolvebecause
thereisoverlappingwithNCERTHistoryandGeographybooks.So,doprepareit.
Yearbook
PrepareWhateverisgiveninLucentGK,regardingvariousGovernmentschemesetc.
Beyondthat,notmuchpointindoingthegiventhetimelimit,vastnessoftopicandveryfewquestions.
OtherwisethereisIndiaYearboorbook2011PDFfilebutlikeIsaidtoomuchdata,tooless
questions.
Sports
Inpreviouspaprs,therewerequestionsonF1race,sportsterminology.Butonly12questionsandtoo
muchdatatomugup=cost:benefitrationotgood=skipit.AtmostyoucandoOlympicwinners.
Person in news
Sameasabove.ButprepareNobleprizewinners.
Current Affairs
CurrentaffairsrelatedtoGovernmentschemes,economy,polity,sciencetechetc.
ReadtheupdatesfromMrunal.org/current.
YoumaybereadingsomecompetitionmagazinelikePratiyogitaDarpan,Chronicleetc.Ifyouveread
themalready,betterreviseitonemoretime.
Justgothroughextremelyimportantfactsonly,suchasOlympic,FDIpermission,Budget(incometax
slabsetc).
Otherwisecost:Benefitratioisnotgood,giventhefactthatpreviousFCIexamweremostlybasedon
staticpart.

Computer
Computerquestionsareusuallyquiteeasythereforeitisnoexcuse,mustbedone.
IsupposeyoualreadyhavesomeGSManual/IBPSmanual/ManoramaGKbook/GK2013etc.then
preparecomputerportionfromit.
Otherwise,gothroughselectivereadingoffollowing
1.
2.
3.
4.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/az/
http://www.nios.ac.in/onlinecoursematerial/vocationalcourses/basiccomputingskills.aspx
http://www.nios.ac.in/onlinecoursematerial/vocationalcourses/computerandofficeapplications.aspx

Anyothergoodsitethatyoucanfindviagoogle.

MiscellaneousGK
ForexampleRanksinArmy,disease,inventorsetc.ConsultLucentGK
IfyouhaveManoramaYearbook,dosuchtopicsfromit.IfyoudonthaveManorama,thenthereisno

needtospeciallybuyitatthismoment.
IthinkthiswouldbesufficientforGeneralAwarenessportion.NowmovingtoAptitude,whichismade
upofthreetopics:Reasoning(Gen.Intellegence),Maths(quantativeaptitude)andEnglish

GeneralIntelligence(LogicalReasoning)
JustafancytitleGeneralIntelligenceotherwiseinpreviousyears,theybasicallyaskedtheusual
verbalandnonverbalreasoning.Forboththetopics,essentialbookis
AModernApproachtoVerbalandNonVerbalReasoningbyRSAgarwal
.
Approaching Verbal Reasoning
Doatleast1015sumsfromeachofthechapter/topic/varietyofquestionofRSagarwal.
AndIsuggestyougiveextra practice to following topics(i.e.solveallthequestionsgiveninthose
chapters,insteadofjust1015)

Series(Alphabet,numberbased),
Analogy(wordsandnumbers),
Blood/Familyrelation,
Sittingarrangement.
Dictionarybasedwordarrangement,
DirectionSenseTest(map)

Approaching Nonverbal reasoning

Nonverbalmeansyouregiven34imageboxesandyouvetodeterminethenextimagebox.
Sometimesitalsoinvolvesquestionsonmirror,paperfolding,colorofcubeetc.
INFCI/SSCexam,atleast5questionsarebasedonNonVerbalreasoningalwaysappear.
Thereforeitisanessential,mustbedone,prioritytopic.
Manypeopledontpracticeitathome(kiismekyapreparekarnaahai!Sidhaaexamhallmein
solvekardenge!)Butthisapproachiswrong.Becausewhenyoupracticesuchquestionsat
home,yourspeedincreases.Otherwiseyoumightendupwastinggood710minutesinsolving
justonestupidquestion.
Therefore,mysuggestionissolveALLthequestionsonNonVerbalreasoning,fromRS
Agarwalsbook.

QuantitativeAptitude/Maths
PriorityareasareAlgebra,TrigonometryandGeometry.
Somepeoplemayfindthesetopicsuncomfortableandboring(particularlyTrignometryandAlgebra),
butthereareusuallyminimum710questionsfromthesetwotopicsonly.Soduringtheexam,ifyoure
unabletoattemptthem,itgeneratesnegativevibes,increasesstressandindirectlybringsdownyour
performanceinevenotherquestions.Sodonotignorethemcompletely.
How to approach Trigonometry

DownloadtheMathsTextbookofNCERTClass10.(freedownloadlinkatthebottomofthis
article).
GothroughChapter8and9tounderstandthebasicconceptsofTrignometry.
Thatshouldhelpyoudomostofthesums.
Donotedowntheformulasinseparatediary.
Forextrapracticequestions,consulteitherQuantamCATbySarveshKumarORRSAgarwalsbook
onQuantitativeAptitudeOROldSSCpapersets
How to approach Algebra
DownloadMathsTextbooksofNCERTClass8,9and10.(Freedownloadlinkatbottom)
Understandthebasicconcepts(forAlgebra+Geometry)andDonotedowntheformulasin
separatediary.
ThendothesumsfromForextrapractice,eitherQuantamCATbySarveshKumarORRSAgarwals
bookonQuantitativeAptitudeOROldSSCpapersets.
How to approach Geometry?
IFyouveRSAgarwals(bogus)bookonQuantitativeaptitude,thenconsultGeometrychapters
fromNCERTclass8,9,10.(Freedownloadlinks@bottom)andthendosumsfromRSAgarwal.
IfyoureQuantamCATbySarveshKumar,thenthereisnoneedtoconsultNCERTfor
Geometry.DirectlyproceedwithSarveshKumar
Ineithercase,DOnotedowntheformulasandconceptsinadiary.
Remaining topics of Maths
1. Doalltheintroductoryandlevel1exercisesgiveninQuantamCATbySarveshKumar(Arihant
Publication).Skipthechapteronfunctions,graphsandlogarithms.
2. Sometimesthereisoneortwoquestionsoncoordinategeometry.Noneedtogotoomuch
deep,justdointroductoryexercisefromSarveshKumarandnotedowntheformulasindiary.
3. Understandthebasicconceptsandshortcutsoftimespeeddistancework,permutation
combinationprobability,mixturealligiationsetc.fromwww.mrunal.org/aptitude
4. TherewouldbeoneortwoDatainterpretationcases(%calculationetc).Practiceafewold
papersofbankorSSCexam.
5. AlsoreadtheArtofAptitude(itremainstrueforallaptitudeexams):CLICKMe

English
InterestinglythereisnoquestiononreadingcomprehensionintheearlierFCIPhaseIexams!
Usually5questionsonsentencecorrection:subjectverbagreement,prepositionetc.
InsteadofReadingcomprehension,theygiveyouahugeparagraphwith10blanks.Youre
supposedtofillitwithcorrectchoiceofwords.Thereforevocabularyisextremelyimportant.
Around15questionsonsynonym,antonymsandidiomsetc.Thereforeagainvocabularyis
important.
Howtoimprovevocabulary,isexplainedinthisarticle:http://mrunal.org/2012/07/apfcenglish.html
Youmayalsousegooglesearchforgettingthelistsofsynonym,antonym,idioms(manyfree
GMAT,SATsites)
Forpractice,youmayconsultoldSSCpapersKiranPrakashan(theyincludesolution
+explanations)

Practicingathome
Onceyouvecoveredthesyllabus.Downloadthisblankanswersheet:ClickME

Takeaprintout,thenget102030photocopiesasperyourrequirements.
NoweitherdownloadSSCpapersfrominternetorbuySSCPapersetfromKiranPrakashan(solved)
1997to2011

Onebyone,solvethepapersunderthesametimelimitathome.Thencheckanswers,note
downanymistakesyoumadeinmaths/reasoning/English,inaseparatediary.
Sometimesthestaticquestionsonhistory,science,politykeepgettingrepeatedsoifyoumake
anymistake,notedownthecorrectanswerinthatdiaryaswell.

DownloadlinksforNCERT/NOSMaterial(Free)
gotoMrunal.org/download.
youllfindeverythingyoullneed.
Priority Areas: GA,Reasoning,Maths & English
Section

General
Awareness

General
Intelligence
(Reasoning)

Quantitative
Aptitude

English

PriorityAreas
Inthedescendingorderof
importance
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Science
Geography
History
Polity
Economy
Computer

Source

NCERTandNOS.Revisionis
important.AlsogothroughLucentGK

1. NonVerbalReasoning
(imagebasedquestions)
2. Series(Alphabet,number
based)
3. Analogy(wordsand
numbers)
RSAgarwalsbookonVerbalandNon
4. Blood/Familyrelation
VerbalReasoning.
5. Sittingarrangement
6. Dictionarybasedword
arrangement
7. DirectionSenseTest
(map)
1.
2.
3.
4.

Algebra
Trigonometry
Geometry
Ratios(includingmixture
andalligiation)
5. %,Profitloss
6. Averages
7. Datainterpretation

NCERT+SarveshKumarDomaintaina
diaryofformulasandshortcuts.

1. Vocabulary:synonym,
antonym,idioms.

Internet+Anybooksthatyoualreadyhave.

FCI:Posting,PromotionandCutoffs
Theseinputsaregivenbymytrustedfriendfrompagalguyforum,Mr.CSL80
Posting in FCI
IngeneralCatPostonewillbepostedinHeadOffice/ZonalOffice/DistrictOffice.
InDepotCatPostonewillbepostedinDepotsthatmayalsobeinruralareas.
PromotionHierarchy
Promotion Hierarchy in FCI
AGIII>AGII>AGI>Manager>Asst.GeneralManager>Dy.GeneralManager>GeneralManager
>ChiefGeneralManager>ExecutiveDirector
CutoffsforPreviousFCI(GradeIII)exam2012
Cut Offs FCI Grade III 2012, Paper 1 exam (Held in February 2012)
Therearenosectionalcutoffs.(unlikeRBIGradeBOfficersexam)
Gen
OBC
SC
ST
EX.S
OH
HH
VH

105
94
86
84
50
76
50
50

Butthereisnegativemarking,sodonotforceyourselftotickwronganswersforthesakeofcrossing
cutoffsbasedonpreviousexams
Formoreinformationoncutoffs,finalresultsandtechnicalinformationofpreviousFCIexam(heldin
Feb2012),gothroughthesePDFfiles:CLICKME

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