SSC CGL General Intelligence & Reasoning Syllabus

Reasoning appears in both stages of SSC CGL and carries 140 marks across them. It is also the section where a prepared candidate can move fastest, because the question types repeat closely from year to year and the underlying logic does not change.

Where reasoning sits in the exam

Stage	Questions	Marks	Time
Tier 1, General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50	15 minutes
Tier 2 Paper 1, Reasoning and General Intelligence module	30	90	Shared hour with Mathematical Abilities

Tier 1 deducts 0.50 per wrong answer. Tier 2 deducts a full mark. In Tier 2 the module shares its hour with Mathematical Abilities, so the time you spend here is time taken from maths.

SSC CGL reasoning syllabus, topic wise

Analogy

Semantic, symbolic, number and figural analogy. You are given a relationship in one pair and asked to complete a second pair on the same logic.

Classification

Semantic, symbolic, number and figural classification. Odd one out in three forms.

Series

Semantic series, number series and figural series. Number series in particular rewards recognising the standard progressions quickly rather than working each term.

Coding and decoding

Letter, number and mixed coding. Among the most reliable question types in the paper.

Word building and operations

Word building, numerical operations and symbolic operations, where standard mathematical symbols are replaced by arbitrary ones.

Space orientation and visualisation

Direction sense, spatial orientation, spatial visualisation, cubes and dice, plus mirror and water images.

Venn diagrams and inference

Venn diagrams, syllogism, statement and conclusion, statement and assumption, plus drawing inferences.

Non-verbal reasoning

Punched hole and pattern folding and unfolding, figural pattern folding and completion, embedded figures and figure counting. This is where candidates lose the most marks and where practice pays back fastest, because the question forms are finite.

How Tier 1 and Tier 2 reasoning differ

The topic list is the same. The questions are not.

Tier 1 questions are short and test recognition. You either see the pattern in ten seconds or you move on.

Tier 2 questions carry more steps and more information per question. Seating arrangements have more variables, series have less obvious progressions and inference questions carry longer statements. Thirty questions in a shared hour with maths means you cannot afford to sit on one.

How to prepare reasoning for SSC CGL

Work by question type, not by mock test, until each type is automatic. The Commission lists topic headings and not question forms, so the real syllabus is whatever has actually appeared, and previous years’ papers are the only source for that.

Give non-verbal reasoning proper time. It is the section most candidates skim and it is worth a predictable block of marks in every shift.

Practise Tier 2 reasoning against a shared clock with Mathematical Abilities from the start. Practising the module alone teaches you nothing about the decision that actually matters, which is when to stop on a reasoning question and go back to maths.