SSC CGL Syllabus and Exam Pattern for Tier 1 and Tier 2

SSC CGL exam pattern: how the two tiers work

The Combined Graduate Level exam fills posts such as Assistant Section Officer, Inspector in income tax and customs, Auditor and Tax Assistant. Both tiers are computer based and objective.

Each wrong Tier 1 answer costs 0.50 marks. Tier 1 marks only shortlist you for Tier 2; they are not added to the final merit.

Paper I questions carry 3 marks each with a penalty of 1 mark per wrong answer; Papers II and III carry 2 marks each with a 0.50 penalty. Paper I is compulsory for everyone, while Papers II and III are taken only by candidates who applied for those posts and were shortlisted.

SSC CGL tier 1 syllabus, subject by subject

SSC CGL reasoning syllabus

This is also the core SSC reasoning syllabus used across graduate level exams. Expect analogies built on words, numbers or figures; odd one out; series that run on numbers, letters or shapes; letter and number coding; family tree puzzles; direction and distance; Venn diagram logic; syllogisms; statements with conclusions or assumptions; linear and circular seating; mirror or water reflections; folded and punched paper; hidden figures inside larger ones; counting triangles or squares; missing numbers in grids; and arranging words as a dictionary would.

General Awareness

Current national and international news, ancient to modern Indian history, art and culture, physical and economic geography (Indian and global), the Constitution and how government works, the Indian economy, school level physics, chemistry and biology, and static facts such as awards, authors and observance days.

SSC CGL math syllabus for Tier 1

Arithmetic first: number properties and simplification, percentages, ratios, square roots, averages, both kinds of interest, profit with discount, partnership shares, mixtures, speed and distance, and work rates. Then algebra (identities, surds, straight line graphs); geometry (centres of a triangle, congruent and similar triangles, chord and tangent properties of circles); mensuration of flat and solid shapes from triangles to spheres and pyramids; trigonometry (ratios, identities, heights and distances); and reading data from tables, bar graphs, pie charts and histograms.

SSC CGL English syllabus

Grammar questions ask you to find the faulty part of a sentence, choose the word that completes a sentence, or improve an underlined phrase. Vocabulary questions cover words of similar and opposite meaning, correct spellings, idioms and single words for a phrase. You also convert voice and narration, put jumbled parts or sentences in order, fill a cloze passage and answer questions on a reading passage.

SSC CGL tier 2 syllabus (Mains)

This is the SSC CGL mains syllabus, as aspirants often call Tier 2. It keeps the Tier 1 subjects but asks more and harder questions on each.

• Mathematical Abilities: the number system and basic operations, then every arithmetic chapter of Tier 1, school algebra, plane geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, and a statistics unit on averages, standard deviation and simple probability.
• Reasoning and General Intelligence: the Tier 1 list plus critical thinking, emotional and social intelligence, and longer puzzles.
• English Language and Comprehension: vocabulary and grammar in context, sentence structure, cloze passages and two or more comprehension passages.
• General Awareness: the same areas as Tier 1 with more weight on economy, polity and current affairs.
• Computer Knowledge: parts of a computer and how memory works, Windows basics and shortcuts, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, browsing and email, simple networking ideas, and online threats like malware and phishing.
• Data Entry Speed Test: typing a given English passage on the computer, assessed on key depressions in 15 minutes.

Statistics (Paper II): gathering and tabulating data, averages and spread, moments with skewness and kurtosis, correlation and regression, probability with random variables and their distributions, sampling theory, estimation and testing, ANOVA, time series and index numbers.

Finance and Economics (Paper III): accounting principles and financial accounting in one part, and economics and governance (including public finance and the role of audit institutions) in the other.

Which topics carry the most questions

A topic count of earlier Tier 1 papers, published under a government supported learning initiative of IIT Kanpur, shows clear favourites:

• Quant (25 questions): data interpretation about 5; mensuration, trigonometry and number system 2 to 3 each; arithmetic chapters 1 to 2 each.
• Reasoning (25): coding and decoding 3 to 4; analogy, series, mathematical operations and seating arrangement 2 to 3 each.
• English (25): reading comprehension about 5; error detection, sentence rearrangement, voice and one word substitution 2 to 3 each.
• General Awareness (25): a wide miscellaneous spread of 10 to 12, current affairs 3 to 5, and about 2 each from history, polity and geography.

Treat these as ranges, not promises. Check them yourself against recent SSC CGL previous papers.

A study plan built around the two tiers

Since Tier 2 Paper I counts for merit and repeats the Tier 1 subjects, prepare once for both. Give maths and English the most hours: together they carry 225 of the 390 marks in Sections I and II.

1. Months 1 and 2: arithmetic chapters, grammar rules and vocabulary, and 30 minutes of reasoning daily.
2. Months 3 and 4: algebra, geometry, trigonometry and mensuration; reading comprehension; static GK.
3. Month 5: full Tier 1 mocks every other day, with revision of weak chapters.
4. After Tier 1: Tier 2 length mocks, the computer module and daily typing practice for the DEST.

What to study from

The school NCERT maths books up to Class 10 cover nearly all of the quant syllabus, and the science and social science NCERTs of the same classes cover most static GA. Add one standard grammar book, a monthly current affairs summary, and the official syllabus from the notification. Your most valuable material, though, is old SSC papers: the Commission repeats question styles closely.

SSC CGL syllabus in Hindi

SSC CGL का चयन दो टियर के कंप्यूटर आधारित टेस्ट से होता है। पहले टियर में तर्कशक्ति, सामान्य जागरूकता, गणित और अंग्रेजी से 25-25 सवाल आते हैं, यानी 100 सवाल 200 अंकों के लिए एक घंटे में। हर गलत जवाब का आधा अंक घटता है। टियर 2 के पेपर I में गणित, तर्कशक्ति, अंग्रेजी, सामान्य जागरूकता, कंप्यूटर ज्ञान और टाइपिंग टेस्ट (DEST) शामिल हैं। इस पेपर में हर गलत जवाब पर एक पूरा अंक घटता है। JSO के लिए सांख्यिकी और AAO के लिए वित्त और अर्थशास्त्र का अलग पेपर होता है। अंतिम मेरिट टियर 2 से बनती है।

This short note answers the common search for the SSC CGL ka syllabus and gives the syllabus of SSC CGL in brief. For eligibility rules, see SSC CGL eligibility, and for past qualifying scores, the SSC CGL cut off page.