The SSC GD syllabus, analysed

The SSC GD written exam is designed for candidates who have passed Class 10, and the syllabus shows it. The maths is school arithmetic. The reasoning is about spotting patterns. The GK leans on school science, history, geography and polity. The language section tests grammar and vocabulary.

None of it is beyond reach. The real challenge is doing 80 questions in 60 minutes accurately, across four very different subjects. That is why you need to know not just the topic list, but what kind of question each topic produces.

The four sections at a glance

Every section carries the same weight, so a weak section hurts as much as a strong one helps. For how marking and negative marking work, see our exam pattern guide.

General Intelligence and Reasoning

Priority: analogy, classification, series and coding–decoding are the core types. They follow fixed patterns, so practice makes them fast.

Sample 1. Find the next number: 3, 7, 15, 31, ?

1. Look at the gaps: 4, 8, 16. Each gap doubles.
2. Or see the rule: each number is (previous × 2) + 1. Check: 3 × 2 + 1 = 7, 7 × 2 + 1 = 15, 15 × 2 + 1 = 31.
3. Next: 31 × 2 + 1 = 63.

Sample 2. If CAT is written as DBU, how is DOG written?

1. C → D, A → B, T → U. Each letter moves one step forward.
2. D → E, O → P, G → H.
3. Answer: EPH.

Our reasoning plan takes you through each topic in order.

General Knowledge and General Awareness

Priority: school science and static GK (facts that do not change) give reliable returns. Current affairs changes every year, so give it a fixed small slot each day rather than cramming at the end.

Sample 3. Deficiency of which vitamin causes scurvy?

• Vitamin C. A one-line fact, and exactly the kind of school-science question GK often includes.

Sample 4. Which is the largest planet in our solar system?

• Jupiter.

GK questions are either known or not known. Answer them first and quickly, and do not spend time guessing wildly on them.

Elementary Mathematics

Priority: arithmetic is the core, especially percentage, ratio, average and profit and loss. Many other topics use percentage inside them, so learn it first.

Sample 5. A shirt marked ₹800 is sold at a 15% discount. What is the selling price?

1. Discount = 15% of 800 = 800 × 15 ÷ 100 = ₹120.
2. Selling price = 800 − 120 = ₹680.
3. Shortcut: 800 × 0.85 = 680.

Sample 6. Find the average of 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24.

1. Sum = 12 + 15 + 18 + 21 + 24 = 90.
2. Average = 90 ÷ 5 = 18.
3. Shortcut: the numbers rise evenly by 3, so the average is the middle number, 18.

See our maths plan for SSC GD for the order to study these in.

English or Hindi

Sample 7. Find the error: "He do not like tea."

• The subject "He" is singular, so the verb must be "does". Correct: "He does not like tea."

Sample 8 (Hindi). "जल" का पर्यायवाची शब्द चुनिए।

• नीर (पानी भी सही है)।

Which language should you pick? Choose the one in which your grammar and vocabulary are stronger, not the one you speak more at home. Take one short test in each before deciding.

How the physical tests fit in

The written syllabus is only half the story. The running test needs months of steady training, and it cannot be crammed. Plan every week so that study and running both happen every day. A common pattern is running in the early morning and studying in two blocks later.

Sources

Use the syllabus as a tracker

1. Copy the topic list into a notebook.
2. Tick each topic once you have studied it.
3. Tick it again after you have practised past-paper questions on it.
4. Circle weak topics after each mock test and revise them that week.
5. Compare with past papers. Topics that keep appearing deserve more time.

By the last month, every row should have two ticks. For a week-by-week version, follow our three-month SSC GD plan.

Practice

1. How many questions are there in each section, and how many marks is each worth?
2. Find the next term: 4, 9, 16, 25, ?
3. A bag costs ₹600 and is sold at a 10% discount. What is the selling price?
4. Which GK area gives the most reliable returns?
5. Correct the sentence: "She go to school every day."

Answers:

1. 20 questions per section, 2 marks each, so 40 marks per section.
2. The terms are squares: 2², 3², 4², 5². Next is 6² = 36.
3. 10% of 600 = 60; 600 − 60 = ₹540.
4. School science and static GK.
5. "She goes to school every day." A singular subject takes "goes".