SSC CGL Exam Pattern
The Government of India recruits candidates for various vacancies by conducting different exams. It is due to the job-security and post-retirement stability that government exams are considered to be more secure and prestigious.
SSC CGL is a combined graduate level examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for filling up the vacancies in Grade B and Grade C positions.
Here in this article, we will discuss the exam pattern for SSC CGL exam.
As per the notification of 2018, the tier-I of SSC CGL exam was conducted from 4.6.2019 to 13.6.2019. Approximately, 25.87 lakh candidates applied for this exam.
Apart from SSC CGL examination, some of the other SSC exams conducted every year are :
- SSC CHSL
- SSC JE
- SSC GD
For more details on SSC CGL notification, visit the official website of SSC exams.
SSC CGL exam comprises 4 levels:
- Tier-I
- Tier-II
- Tier-III
- Tier-IV
The detailed exam pattern for the SSC CGL exam is discussed below:
- SSC CGL Tier-I:
The tier-I of SSC CGL is an online test and consists of objective type questions. There are four sections included in the tier-I. The details can be found below:
SSC CGL Tier-I | Total number of questions | Maximum marks |
General Intelligence & Reasoning | 25 | 50 |
General Awareness | 25 | 50 |
Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 |
English Language and Comprehension | 25 | 50 |
Total | 100 | 200 |
The time allotted for the exam is 60 minutes and a negative marking of 0.5 marks will be deducted for every wrong answer.
- SSC CGL Tier-II
It is an objective exam and consists of four papers:
- Quantitative Abilities
- English Language and Comprehension
- Statistics
- General Studies (Finance & Economics)
To know more refer to the table below:
SSC CGL Tier-II | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks |
Paper-I: Quantitative Abilities | 100 | 200 |
Paper-II: English language and Comprehension | 200 | 200 |
Paper-III: Statistics | 100 | 200 |
Paper-IV: General Studies (Finance & Economics) | 100 | 200 |
Paper-I and Paper-II are compulsory papers.
Negative marking in Paper-II (English Language and Comprehension) is 0.25 marks for each wrong answer and for Paper-I, Paper-III and Paper-IV it is 0.50 marks.
Since many candidates apply for government exams every year, the chance of competition remains high.
- SSC CGL Tier-III
Mode of this exam is offline and is descriptive. Tier-III of SSC CGL exam tests the writing skills of the candidate where they are required to write essays, applications, letters etc. The medium of exam is English / Hindi and carries a total of 100 marks. This exam is of qualifying nature, and candidates must score 33% of the marks to qualify this round.
- SSC CGL Tier-IV
Tier-IV comprises a couple of skill tests for specific government posts.
DEST (Data Entry Speed Test):
This test is specifically for the post of Tax Assistants (Central Excise & Income Tax) and tests the typing speed of the candidate.
The typing speed required is 8,000 (eight thousand) key depressions per hour on Computer.
The candidates are provided with a passage of about 2000 (two thousand) key depressions for 15 (fifteen) minutes.
CPT (Computer Proficiency Test):
The exam comprises three modules –
- Word Processing,
- Spreadsheet
- Generation of Slides
The test is conducted for the post of CSS, MEA and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)
Both DEST and CPT are qualifying papers.