The Staff Selection Commission or SSC is an organization under the Government of India that takes exams for the various posts under the ministries and departments in the country. These national-level exams are held every year and require different qualifications. As the posts are very reputed and come with a good salary, this exam is extremely popular amongst the aspirants.
Best SSC Books
Lakhs of students compete for a few thousand seats every year. The competition is cut-throat, and you have to prepare really well to outdo your competitors. Although the commission takes exams for the metric, intermediate, and graduate levels, the syllabus for these exams is somewhat similar. The significant difference is the level of questions asked in these exams. The difficulty level of questions increases with minimum education qualification required;
The following table provides a brief summary of the exams:
| Name of examination | Minimum educational exam | Exam Pattern | Syllabus |
| Multi-Tasking Staff(MTS) | Metric | Tier 1- Objective Multiple Choice paper
Tier 2- Descriptive paper Tier 3-Skill Test |
General Intelligence and reasoning
Numerical Aptitude General awareness General English |
| Combined Higher Secondary Level | Intermediate in any stream or equivalent | Tier 1-Objective Multiple Choice paper
Tier 2-Descriptive paper Tier 3- Skill Test |
General Intelligence and reasoning
Numerical Aptitude General awareness General English |
| Combined Graduate Level | Graduate from any stream | Tier 1: Preliminary Exam
Tier 2: Mains Exam Tier 3: Descriptive Test Tier 4: DEST /CPT test (whichever is applicable as per the marks/ posts of the candidate ) |
General Intelligence and reasoning
Numerical Aptitude General awareness General English |
As is evident from the table, the syllabus for all the exams is more or less the same. Here we have listed the top ten books you’ll need to come out with flying colors. These are the best SSC preparation books according to the subjects. Here’s our list:
SSC English Books
1. High School Wren and Martin English Grammar and Composition (Regular Edition) + Key to Wren and Martin English Grammar & Composition – COMBO
Author- P.C. Wren, H. Martin
Latest Edition- 2019
Publisher- S. Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd
This is one of the best books to go through the basics of English grammar. It is a classic, and most of us have probably read this book back in high school. The lucid and straightforward writing style appeals to most readers, even those who do not hail from English medium schools.
All the chapters have detailed explanations followed by ample examples. There are several unsolved exercises to practice as well. It is important to note that the key to the unsolved questions comes in a separate book. To make sure your preparation is going in the right direction, you must buy the answer key too.
Some of the salient features of the book are:
- Straightforward language
- Ample examples
- Several unsolved exercises
You can buy this book from here.
2. Word Power Made Easy
Author- Norman Lewis
Latest Edition- 2015
Publisher- Penguin India
Word power made easy is not just for this exam or any exam, if you want to increase your word power quickly, this English book is for you. Studying this book is way better than just rote learning hundreds of words and then still not being able to answer the synonyms and antonyms part in the exam.
This book makes increasing your word power fun and straightforward by teaching you the root words and the common suffixes and prefixes associated with them. In this way, instead of learning each new word individually, you discover a collection of words at a time and have a higher chance of retaining your newly acquired vocabulary.
This is a great learning resource book. Moreover, it also teaches about the common grammar mistakes and provides the phonetics of every new word.
The following features make this book a must-have for every student:
- Increases your vocabulary
- Several solved, and unsolved exercises
- The writer uses etymology to build the vocabulary of readers
You can buy this book from here.
3. Objective General English
Author- SP Bakshi
Latest Edition- 2021
Publisher- Arihant Publication
Objective General English by SP Bakshi covers the entire syllabus for many competitive exams including SSC. The book has all the necessary sections, including grammar, reading comprehension, idioms, one-word substitutions, synonyms, and antonyms.
It has an elaborate explanation of each chapter. There are numerous solved examples to understand the concepts better. Each idea is concluded with several unsolved exercises.
In addition, the quality of the questions is outstanding and in line with the difficulty level of the SSC exams.
Although the book has everything that an SSC aspirant requires, it is better to start with Wren and Martin if you have trouble with grammar.
Some of the salient features of the book are:
- Covers the entire syllabus
- Suitable for several exams like SSC, Railways, IBPS, NDA, CDA, etc.
- Several solved and unsolved exercises
- Wide variety of questions
You can buy this book from here.
Mathematics
4. Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations
Author- RS Aggarwal
Latest Edition- 2017
Publisher- S Chand Publishing
If you are just starting SSC Preparation, this Math book is an excellent place to start for the quantitative aptitude part. This classic has been in print for decades now, and it still is a favorite of aspirants. It covers the entire syllabus in a chapter-wise manner.
Each chapter has the requisite concepts and solved examples for illustration. It’s a beginner-level book, so even if you haven’t studied any Mathematics after class 10, you’ll be fine.
Moreover, the book’s exercises are excellent and contain a wide variety of questions. The questions are distributed according to their types. This helps the aspirants understand if they have issues solving a particular type of question.
Some of the notable features of the book are:
- Covers the entire syllabus
- A large number of solved and unsolved questions
- Wide variety of questions
- Suitable for several exams like SSC, Railways, NDA, CDS, etc.
You can buy this book from here.
5. Magical Book on Quicker Maths
Author- M Tyra, K Kundan
Latest Edition- 2018
Publisher- BSC Publishing Co Pvt Ltd
SSC is a very competitive exam and lakhs of aspirants apply for a few thousand seats. This is why knowing the answers is not enough; you have to solve them quickly to outdo your competitors. Since quantitative aptitude is one of the most time-consuming sections, you need to speed up.
This is where Magical Book on Quicker Maths by M Tyra is beneficial.
The book provides you with tips and tricks to solve the questions faster. There are some chapter-specific formulae and some general tips which fasten your calculation. In addition, it also has many solved questions to help you learn those tricks and practice them. Candidates can also find important derivations in this book, which helps to understand how some of the formulae are derived.
Some of the important features of the book are:
- Increases your speed
- Chapter-wise formulas are given
- Important derivations are provided
- Several solved questions
You can buy this book from here.
6. Advance Maths by Rakesh Yadav
Author- Rakesh Yadav
Latest Edition- 2017
Publisher- Rakesh Yadav Readers Publication Private Limited
Advance Maths by Rakesh Yadav is helpful for the geometry, trigonometry, and mensuration section. But the book is most useful for the main exam. Questions in tier 2 of the exams are tougher than the tier 1 exam and hence need in-depth preparation.
This book provides tricks, tips, and a detailed analysis of the derivation of the formulae. The book has ample solved problems to understand those formulae better. It is not a very beginner-friendly book, so it is advisable to study Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal first. Just as M Tyra speeds up your arithmetic part, this book can do the same for geometry, trigonometry, and mensuration.
Some of the salient features of the book that make it a must-have for the Tier 2 Mathematics exam are:
- Tips and tricks for quickly solving problems
- Previous year questions
- Ample solved problems
- Derivations of the formulae
You can buy this book from here.
General Intelligence and Reasoning Books
7. A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning
Author- RS Agarwal
Latest Edition- 2018
Publisher- S Chand Publishing
Most of us are introduced to reasoning only after we start preparing for competitive exams. It is therefore vital to start from an elementary book like this. It covers the whole syllabus in a chapter-wise manner. The book is beneficial to you if you are self-studying for the exam as there are numerous solved problems. There are plenty of unsolved problems for practice too.
The questions are given in a type-wise manner, and there’s a large variety of questions in the book. The difficulty level of the questions is at par with the SSC exam.
Some of the salient features that make this book a reference book for most aspirants are:
- Beginner-friendly
- Covers the entire syllabus
- Ample solved and unsolved questions
- Detailed answers to the solved questions
- Includes previous year questions
You can buy this book from here.
8. Kiran SSC Reasoning Chapterwise And Typewise Solved Papers 1999-Till Date 11000+ Objective Questions (English Medium) (3101)
Author- Think Tank of Kiran Institute of Career Excellence Pvt Ltd
Latest Edition- 2020
Publisher- Kiran Publications
The question level of the reasoning section is not as difficult as the IBPS exam. Although this means you don’t need in-depth analysis of tough questions, you must practice lots of questions for better performance. This is where this book comes in.
It covers all the questions from the last 20 years from various SSC exams. All the questions are provided in a chapter-wise manner, and each chapter has different types of questions. Hints are also provided to some selected questions.
Some of the salient features of this book are:
- Over 11000 MCQs
- Chapter-wise questions each have various types of questions
- Hints to some selected questions
- Questions from various SSC exams like CPO, CGL, MTS, etc.
You can buy this book from here.
General Awareness Books
9. Pratiyogita Darpan English January-2022
Author- Editorial Board: Pratiyogita Darpan
Latest Edition- 2022
Publisher- Generic
Current affairs is an important section of the exam. For this, you need to be abreast with the current events of the past two years. Both national and international events are of due importance. Reading newspapers is an excellent way to do this. However, you need a book to revise all the major events before the exam. Pratiyogita Darpan is helpful here.
It covers all the major national and international events from the field of science, economics, sports, politics, military, and entertainment. It is important to note here that in SSC exams, you have to prepare for the current affairs of the past two years. So, to prepare well, study the previous two yearbooks. This will full-proof your preparation.
Some of the salient features of the book are:
- Covers national and international events
- Covers the field of science, politics, military, entertainment, and sports
- Helps in quick revision before the exam
You can buy this book from here.
10. General Knowledge By Lucent
Author- Dr. Binay Karna, R. P. Suman, Manvendra Mukul, Renu Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar
Latest Edition- 2018
Publisher- Lucent Publications
The general knowledge section of the SSC exam is a vital part. It consists of history, political science, geography, physics, chemistry, and biology. It also has static GK and current affairs. The best way to prepare for this is to read the NCERT science and social science textbooks of classes 9 and 10. However, this method is time-consuming and can still leave some gaps in your preparations. This is where general knowledge by lucent is helpful.
It is safe to say that if you read this book thoroughly, your general knowledge preparation will be up to the mark. It extensively covers all the subjects and leaves no gap in your preparations. Moreover, it also contains lots of miscellaneous information and current affairs of the past year.
Some of the salient features that make this book a must-have are:
- Covers the entire syllabus
- Saves time by eliminating the need to read multiple books
- Contains MCQs for practice
- Ideal for several competitive exams like SSC, NDS, CDS, etc.
- Contains miscellaneous and current affairs
You can buy this book from here.
Conclusion
So, that’s our list. These are the top ten books for SSC. You have to remember the competition in these exams is very tough and aspirants spend ample time trying to clear these exams. Choosing the best books is an important step that leads you in the right direction. We hope that the above-provided SSC study material helps you to crack the exam.
Let us know in the comments section if we missed any of your favorite books.
Good luck!
FAQs
Q.1 What is the SSC exam?
Ans. SSC stands for Staff Selection Commission. There are various different exams conducted by this board such as SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC CPO, etc. for various governmental positions.
Q.2 Are books enough to prepare for the SSC exams?
Ans. Yes, books are more than enough. However, you can take the help of online coaching or offline classes as well for additional guidance.
Q.3 What is the age limit to apply for the SSC exams?
Ans. The minimum age limit is 18 years and the maximum is 32.
Q.4 Is the SSC exam held online or offline?
Ans. All the SSC exams are held online only.
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