SSC CGL Syllabus

The SSC CGL syllabus covers four subjects in Tier 1 and up to three papers in Tier 2. Tier 1 is qualifying. Your rank comes only from Tier 2, so that is where most of your preparation time should go.

Tier 2 Paper 1 is compulsory for every post. Paper 2 (Statistics) is only for Junior Statistical Officer and Statistical Investigator applicants. Paper 3 (General Studies, Finance and Economics) is only for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer applicants. Both tiers now run with sectional timing, so you cannot borrow time from one subject to finish another.

SSC CGL Syllabus pages

Open any page below for the full, topic-level SSC CGL syllabus.

Syllabus page	What it covers
SSC CGL Tier 1 Syllabus	Four sections, 100 questions, qualifying stage
SSC CGL Tier 2 Syllabus	All three Tier 2 papers in one place
SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 1 Syllabus	Maths, reasoning, English, GA, computer and DEST
SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 2 Statistics Syllabus	Statistics paper for JSO and SI posts
SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 3 General Studies Syllabus	Finance and economics paper for AAO posts
SSC CGL General Intelligence & Reasoning Syllabus	Verbal and non-verbal reasoning topics
SSC CGL General Awareness Syllabus	Static GK, science and current affairs
SSC CGL Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus	Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, DI
SSC CGL English Language & Comprehension Syllabus	Grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension
SSC CGL Computer Knowledge Syllabus	Computer basics, MS Office, internet, security

SSC CGL exam pattern

Stage	Subjects	Questions	Marks	Negative marking
Tier 1 (60 min)	Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, English (25 questions each)	100	200	0.50 per wrong answer
Tier 2 Paper 1, Section I	Mathematical Abilities (30), Reasoning (30)	60	180	1 per wrong answer
Tier 2 Paper 1, Section II	English (45), General Awareness (25)	70	210	1 per wrong answer
Tier 2 Paper 1, Section III	Computer Knowledge (20) and Data Entry Speed Test	20	60 (DEST qualifying)	1 per wrong answer
Tier 2 Paper 2	Statistics	100	200	0.50 per wrong answer
Tier 2 Paper 3	General Studies (Finance and Economics)	100	200	0.50 per wrong answer

SSC CGL subject-wise syllabus

General Intelligence and Reasoning

Analogies, similarities and differences, space visualisation, spatial orientation, visual memory, discrimination, observation, relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning, figural classification, number series, non-verbal series, coding and decoding, statement and conclusion, syllogistic reasoning, Venn diagrams, embedded figures, paper folding and cutting, mirror and water images, indexing and semantic and symbolic operations.

General Awareness

Current events, Indian history and culture, Indian and world geography, Indian polity and the Constitution, economy, general science and everyday scientific observation, sports, awards, books and authors, important days and government schemes.

Quantitative Aptitude

Whole numbers, decimals and fractions, percentage, ratio and proportion, square roots, averages, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, discount, partnership, mixture and alligation, time and distance, time and work, basic algebraic identities, linear equations, triangles and their centres, circles and tangents, quadrilaterals and regular polygons, mensuration (2D and 3D), trigonometric ratios, heights and distances and data interpretation from tables, bar charts and pie charts.

English Language and Comprehension

Spot the error, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, spelling correction, idioms and phrases, one-word substitution, sentence improvement, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech, sentence rearrangement, cloze test and reading comprehension.

Computer Knowledge (Tier 2)

Computer organisation, input and output devices, memory, software and operating systems, MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, internet and email, networking basics and computer security including viruses, malware and phishing.

Statistics (Paper 2)

Collection and presentation of data, measures of central tendency and dispersion, moments, skewness and kurtosis, correlation and regression, probability, random variables and distributions, sampling theory, statistical inference, analysis of variance, time series and index numbers.

General Studies, Finance and Economics (Paper 3)

Fundamental principles of accounting, finance and financial accounting, economics and governance, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, finance commission, theory of demand and supply, cost and production, forms of market, Indian economy and economic reforms.