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How to Prepare for TNPSC Group 4: The Weightage-First Plan

Group 4 preparation fails most often from wrong priorities, equal time to unequal units. The official scheme tells you exactly where the marks are; prepare in that order.

  1. Step 1
    Start with the Tamil Eligibility Test, not GS
    It is 100 of 200 questions and scoring, not just qualifying. A month of ilakkanam plus the prescribed literature outscores a month of anything else. Target 110+ of 150 here.
  2. Step 2
    Then the two 20-question units
    Indian Economy & TN Development Administration, and TN History, Culture & Socio-Political Movements carry 40 of the 75 GS questions. TN welfare schemes, the Dravidian movement and Thirukkural themes repeat every cycle.
  3. Step 3
    Cover the remaining GS units from Samacheer
    Polity (15Q), History (10Q), Science (5Q), Geography (5Q), all SSLC standard, all quoting school textbooks. Read Samacheer, not summaries of it.
  4. Step 4
    Aptitude last, from the official list only
    Only 25 questions, from a short official topic list: percentages, ratio, interest, area, volume, time and work, plus reasoning. Don't import trains-and-boats prep from other exams.
  5. Step 5
    Papers and mocks from week one
    One previous-year paper per week from the start, full mocks in the final month. Your error log per unit is the revision plan.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

A two-stage Group 2 strategy: clear prelims on breadth, win mains on writing. What changes between stages and what to build from day one.
Group 1 is prelims, descriptive mains and interview. The preparation architecture that survives all three stages, and the timeline it honestly needs.
The Tamil Eligibility Test is half the Group 4 paper. Unit-by-unit tactics for ilakkanam, sollagarathi, the prescribed literature and the 40% trap.
Unit VI carries 20 of 75 GS questions. What actually repeats: Sangam society, Keeladi, Thirukkural themes, the Dravidian movement, and how to prepare each.

Steps and specifications follow official TNPSC instructions and notification annexures. Sources: TNPSC official notifications. Figures are indicative and may change with each official notification. Data last reviewed: July 2026.

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