The SSC CGL exam pattern explained

Every year, lakhs of graduates across India sit the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination of the Staff Selection Commission. For SSC CGL 2026, more than 28 lakh candidates were reported to have applied for around 12,000 vacancies — roughly one seat for every two hundred applicants. With odds like that, understanding the exam pattern is not a formality. It tells you where the marks are, which sections can eliminate you, and how to divide months of preparation between four very different subjects.

Who conducts it

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) was set up in 1975 to recruit staff for central government ministries, departments and organisations. It now conducts several national exams — CGL for graduates, CHSL for Class 12 pass candidates, GD Constable, MTS, CPO and others. CGL fills Group B and Group C posts such as Assistant Section Officer, Inspector (Income Tax, Central GST and Customs), Assistant Enforcement Officer, Sub-Inspector in the CBI and NIA, Auditor, Accountant, Junior Statistical Officer and Tax Assistant.

The two tiers at a glance

Tier 1 in detail

• Time: 60 minutes.
• Sectional timing: reported as 15 minutes per section; when a section's time ends, it closes and you move to the next.
• Negative marking: 0.50 marks for each wrong answer. Unanswered questions carry no penalty.

Sectional timing changes the old strategy of rushing through General Awareness to save time for maths. Each section now has its own clock, so you cannot borrow minutes from a strong section to rescue a weak one. You need a plan for each quarter-hour.

Tier 2 Paper I in detail

Paper I is compulsory for all posts and is where your rank is made.

• Each question carries 3 marks.
• Negative marking: 1 mark per wrong answer in Sections I, II and III.
• The scored part totals 390 marks (Sections I and II: 90 + 90 + 135 + 75). With the qualifying Computer Knowledge Test the paper carries 450 marks in all.
• Sections are separately timed; the Computer Knowledge Test and DEST must be cleared but do not add to your merit.

Notice the weights. English carries 135 marks — more than any other module — and Mathematics and Reasoning carry 90 each. General Awareness, which many candidates obsess over, is worth 75. A candidate who is strong in English and maths has a structural advantage in Tier 2.

Papers II and III

Both are reported to carry 0.50 negative marking. Only candidates who opt for those posts and are eligible need to prepare them.

Normalisation

Because Tier 1 and Tier 2 are held in many shifts over several days, some shifts are harder than others. SSC uses normalisation to adjust raw scores so candidates in different shifts are compared fairly. This is why your "normalised" marks may differ from the raw score you calculate from the answer key. We explain it in detail in a separate post.

What the pattern means for preparation

1. Quantitative Aptitude and English decide the most marks across both tiers. Build them from day one.
2. Reasoning is scoring and fast to improve with practice.
3. General Awareness needs steady daily revision, not last-minute cramming.
4. Accuracy matters more in Tier 2, where each wrong answer costs a full mark.
5. Computer Knowledge and DEST are qualifying but can still eliminate you — prepare them in the last two months.
6. Speed under sectional timers comes only from full-length, timed mock tests.

Practice

1. How many questions and marks does Tier 1 carry?
2. Which Tier 2 module carries the highest marks?
3. What is the negative marking in Tier 2 Paper I?
4. Which parts of Tier 2 are qualifying only?
5. Who needs to take Paper II?