Detailed SSC CGL Syllabus for Tier I

Exam Based on Predicted Pattern

Dear students, today we bring to you a detailed SSC CGL syllabus for Tier I exam.
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) announced a Combined Graduate Level (CGL)
exam for the year 2016. Through it, the SSC will recruit for various posts such as
Income Tax Inspector, Assistant Audit Officer, Assistant, Sub Inspector, Statistical
Investigator, Auditor etc.
The written exam will be conducted in four parts Tier I will be a preliminary
examination which you need to qualify to be eligible for Tier 2 examination. The
marks of both papers count towards the final total. Both these exams will be MCQs
and will be conducted ONLINE. Tier III is a Descriptive English/Hindi Language
paper that will be conducted on pen and paper. The Tier IV will be a Data Entry Skill
Test or a Computer Proficiency Test for certain posts.
So preparing for SSC CGL Tier I exam should be your immediate priority. Before you
start, you should know what you can expect, which topics are important and which
chapters have high weightage in the exam. The following detailed SSC CGL syllabus
for Tier I exam will give you a section-wise preparation strategy along with an overall
look for all topics in the syllabus. It will tell you the mark distribution so that you can
decide which topics to prepare first and how much time to devote to them.
First let us look at the exam pattern for SSC CGL Tier I.

SSC CGL Tier I Exam Pattern

Subject

Questions

Marks

General Intelligence & Reasoning

25

50

General Awareness

25

50

Quantitative Aptitude

25

50

English Language

25

50

TOTAL

100

200

Time
75 minutes (Total)

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For VH & Candidates

suffering from
Cerebral Palsy:
100 minutes

Negative Marking: There will be negative marking of 0.5 marks for each wrong
answer in the Tier I exam.
Now let us look at the section-wise syllabus.

Detailed SSC CGL Syllabus for Tier I Exam

Note: This is a predicted pattern based on previous years' weightages as well as the
new pattern announced.

English Language
Priority
Set

Nature of
Questions

Topic

Weightage
(# of
Questions)

1. Scoring
2. Easy to
Solve
I.
3. High
Accuracy
Possible

Approach

The passage could be on any

topic.
Reading
Comprehension

5 (1
passage)

Questions are mostly fact based

and can be directly picked out of
the passage. Sometimes
vocabulary questions are asked
on commonly used words.

4. Time
Consuming
A mix of grammar and
vocabulary based questions.

1. Scoring
2. Easy to
Solve
II.

Important topics:
Phrasal verbs, conjunctions,
prepositions, tenses, usage in
context, confusable words

3. High
Accuracy
Possible
4. Quick
Solve

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Fill in the Blanks 0-5

Spellings

0-2

Choose the correctly spelt word

or the misspelt word from
different words.

The same word can be spelt in

different ways and you are
asked to select the correct
spelling.
Easy to moderate difficulty level

Phrase or Idiom
Meaning

0-2

The meaning of the phrase or

idiom can be asked in a
sentence.
The meaning can also be asked
directly.

1. Moderate
to High
Score
Possible

III.

2.
Moderately
Time
Consuming

One word given with four

options to choose from, (either
synonyms or antonyms).
Synonyms and
Antonyms

0-2

Rarely the words can be given

in sentences.
Prepare a list of commonly
asked words to answer this part
and score full marks.

3. Moderate
to High
Accuracy
Possible

Substitute one word for the

phrase given.
One Word
Substitution

1.
Moderately
Scoring
IV.
2. Time
Consuming

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3-5

Go through a list of the one

word substitutions from past
papers and solve questions on
one word substitution.
A mix of grammar and
vocabulary Based questions.

Phrase
Replacement/
Sentence
Correction

Important Topics:
Tenses, Subject-Verb
Agreement, Article-Noun
Agreement, Correct Part of
Speech, Correct use of
Prepositions, Parallelism,

3. Moderate
Accuracy
Possible

Phrasal Verbs, Sentence

Construction, Degree of
Comparison, Correct use of
different parts of speech, Easily
confusable words, Usage in
Context,Avoid guessing too
much in these questions. Be
aware of no improvement
questions
Grammar based

Error Spotting

Important Topics:
Tenses, Subject-Verb
Agreement, Article-Noun
Agreement, Correct Part of
Speech, Correct use of
Prepositions, Parallelism,
Phrasal Verbs, Sentence
Construction, Degree of
Comparison, Correct use of
different parts of speech.

3-5

Avoid guessing too much in

these questions as some
questions are tricky.

General Awareness
Chapter

Topic

Weightage (#
Question)

Culture

1-2

Indian History

2-3

Geography (Indian + World)

2-3

Environment

1-2

Economy

2-3

Polity

2-3

Biology

1-2

Static

Science
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Total Weightage of
Chapter

14

Others

Chemistry

1-2

Physics + Space Science

1-2

Computer and Mobile

Technology

1-2

Diseases, pollution

1-2

Nutrition

1-2

Current Affairs

0-1

Misc. GK- Sports, People In

News, Books

0-1

Dates, Portfolios, Schemes

0-1

Quantitative Aptitude
Priority
Order

Nature of
questions

1. Scoring
2. Easy to
Solve
I.

3. Less time
consuming
4. More
accuracy

II.
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Topic

Weightage
(#
Question)

Approach

Simplification

1-2

Questions on BODMAS Rule,

Fractions, , Surds and Indices
etc.

Interest

1-2

Problems on Simple, Compound

Interests and Installments

Percentage

0-1

Calculation oriented basic

Percentage Problems

Ratio and
Proportion

1-2

Problems on Simple, Compound

Ratios and Direct/Indirect
Proportions

Average

0-1

Problems on Average
Weight/Height/Marks etc.

Problems on
Ages

0-1

Basic Problems on Ages

Speed Time
And Distance

1-2

Problems on Average/Relative
speeds, Boats, Trains etc.

1. Scoring
2. Easy if
proper steps
are followed
carefully

Profit and Loss 1-2

Problems on Profit/Loss,
Dishonest/Successive dealings,
Partnerships etc.

Number Series 0-1

Moderate to difficult problems

on Completing the series,
Finding Missing/Wrong Term

Number
System

1-2

Moderate problems on LCM and

HCF, Irrational or Rational
Numbers, Proper steps should be
followed to solve irrational to
rational numbers

Mensuration

2-3

Problems on Plane Figures such

as Square, Rectangle, Circles,
Cone, Cylinder etc.

Data
Interpretation

0-3

Problems on Bar/Line Graphs,

Pie Charts, Tables etc.

Time and
Work

1-2

Problems on Work efficiency,

Wages and Pipes etc.

Mixture
problems

0-1

To Make A Mixture From Two

Or More Entities/Mixtures

2-3

Basic Linear Equations in one or

two variables, Quadratic and
Algebraic Identities are
important. Remember all the
identities

3. More time
consuming

1. Tricky

III.

Algebra

2. Might take
more time
than usual
3. Lesser
chances of
solving
correctly

Geometry

3-4

Problems related to Triangles

congruency, Similarity
theorems, Circle chords and
tangent theorems, Co-ordinate
geometry etc.
Remember all the theorems.

Trigonometry

2-3

Problems based on
Trigonometric ratios and
Identities, Height and Distance
etc...
Remember all the Trigonometric
Identities.

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General Intelligence & Reasoning

Nature of
Questions

1. Scoring

Chapters

Weightage (#
of Questions)

Approach

Classification

2-3

Number, Letter, General Knowledge

and Meaningful Words based questions.

Analogy

2-3

Letter, Number, General Knowledge

and Meaning based questions.

Coding
Decoding

2-3

Questions on Coding by Analogy,

Coding and decoding by letter shifting,
and Coding Letters of a Word.
Could also include, Coding and
decoding in fictitious language.

2. Easy to
Solve

Number based puzzles like 7 5 6

5 = 6575, then 8 7 4 6 = ?

3. Less Time
Consuming

or

4. Sometimes a
bit Difficult

Find the correct equation type

questions.
Puzzle

2-3

or
Quant based questions like on age,
speed and distance.
or
Seating arrangement questions.

Matrix

0-1

1 or 2 Matrix of letters with numbers

are given from which correct set of
numbers for given word is to find out.

Word
formation

1-2

From the given word find whether the

given option words can be formed or
not.

1. Easy to
Solve

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2. High
Accuracy
possible
3. May be time
consuming
1. Easy to
Solve
2. High
Accuracy
possible

It can be meaningful order of doing a

certain task, or following a certain rule.

Arranging
words in
Meaningful
order or
Dictionary
order

1-2

In dictionary order words are to be

arranged according to dictionary
sequence in ascending or descending
order.

Venn diagram

0-2

Problems based on Venn Diagram

Directions &
Distances

0-1

Simple problems that can be solved by

just drawing all information on paper.

3. Less Time
Consuming

1. May be
Time
Consuming
2. May be
tricky

Blood
Relations

0-1

May be asked.
Missing
Number

1-2

Find the missing number from the given

matrix or diagram.

Series

2-3

Mainly questions on Number &

Alphabet series.

1. Scoring
2. Sometimes a
bit Difficult
Non Verbal
Reasoning
3. Visual
imagination is
required

Questions like Complete the pattern,

Assemble Image, Mirror Image, Hidden
Image, Counting Figures.
3-4
Figure based
Analogy/Classification/Series or cube
based questions may be asked.

1. May be
tricky
2. Sometimes a Verbal
bit Difficult
Reasoning
3. Time
Consuming

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Family Tree problems or General Blood

Relation Problems.

0-2

Questions on Statements and

Conclusions, Statements and
Inferences, Statements and
Assumptions, Assertion and Reason.
Questions on Course of Action &
Statements and Arguments can also be
asked.

How to Use this as a Guide

1. The priority set shows you what order you should attempt the questions
in the paper.
2. There are no priority set specified for General Intelligence/Reasoning
and General Awareness sections. You need to attempt questions in this
section in the order in which they appear in the exam.
3. While prepping for the exam, keep the weightages and breadth of topic
4.
5.
6.
7.

in mind.
Work from top to bottom of the list while preparing.
In Round 1 of your preparation, distribute time according to the
weightage while studying for each topic.
In Round 2 of your preparation, distribute time according to order in
which the topics are listed.
Follow a proper study guide for every subject. For example, the guides
give below:

How to prepare English for SSC CGL

How to Prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL
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