(Updated on 29 June 2017)
In this post, I plan to cover SSC CGL Tier 1 paper pattern, along with the analysis of previous year’s papers. The CGL notification details have already been covered in the previous post. I have also written a thorough post on what SSC CGL books to use for Tier 1.
The SSC CGL Tier 1 exam will be the toughest part of the exam process. Not necessarily due to the level of questions, but because of the very high competition. In 2016, about 35 lacs aspirants over the country are expected to fight for the vacant seats. If you go by the success ratio of 2015, only 1 in 200 of the candidates who appeared for Tier 1 ended up getting a job!
So if you really want that SSC job, you have to work very smartly and very hard.
Let’s first get acquainted with the SSC CGL Tier 1 paper pattern.
SSC CGL Paper Pattern For Tier 1
The Tier 1 exam is a single paper of 200 marks which has to be answered in 1 hour. The breakup of the sections is given in the table below.
| Section |
Number of questions (each question is for 2 mark) |
| General Intelligence & Reasoning | 25 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 |
| General Awareness | 25 |
| English | 25 |
Every incorrect answer takes away 0.50 mark from your score. So strictly avoid gambling, more often than not it will go against you.
The types of questions in each section have been covered along with previous years papers analysis in the remaining part of this post.
SSC CGL Paper Pattern Analysis
In any standardized competitive exam, the type of questions and the topics they come from tends to repeat over a number of years. This ‘knowledge’ should be at the heart of your preparation strategy for the SSC CGL exam.
Of course, I am not claiming that all the questions in the exam will come from previous papers. But even if half of the paper consists of questions which are very similar to the ones you have thoroughly practiced – It will be a huge advantage for you.
Over the next sections of this post, I’ll discuss the analysis of SSC CGL previous year’s question papers. This will give you a fair idea of the recent trends of questions and how the papers are set. I hope you will use this list to set your priority topics and make strategies for the examination.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Previously, SSC CGL used to have 50 questions in each section
SSC CGL Tier 1 General Awareness Section Analysis
The Table below shows how the questions have varied over the past few years. General awareness is the most confusing section and people end up wasting a lot more time than on it than anyone in their right mind should.
The basic idea is to focus more on Science + Social studies, compared to current affairs – most of the people do the opposite. I have covered the preparation strategy for general awareness in detail over here.
| Sub Topic | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Biology | 06 | 04 | 08 | 06 | 08 |
| Chemistry | 04 | 04 | 03 | 09 | 03 |
| Computer | 01 | 02 | 02 | 02 | 02 |
| Economy | 11 | 07 | 04 | 06 | 05 |
| Geography | 06 | 11 | 06 | 06 | 07 |
| Indian History and Culture | 05 | 06 | 05 | 06 | 05 |
| Miscellaneous GK (Includes sports, honours, awards, current affairs, important dates) | 03 | 05 | 10 | 08 | 10 |
| Physics | 07 | 06 | 04 | 03 | 04 |
| Polity | 07 | 05 | 08 | 04 | 06 |
| Total | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
SSC CGL Tier 1 Quantitative Aptitude Section Analysis
Success in quantitative aptitude comes 20% from knowledge and 80% practice. It is not sufficient to know the formula of the concept. If you have not practiced enough you will make simple mistakes and take more time to solve the problem. But more importantly, you will fail.
In fact, many a time it also happens that people know the formula perfectly, but don’t have any idea of how to use it 😀
Don’t be that person, cover one topic at a time, fix it and move on. The table below will give you some idea of the important sections.
| Sub Topic | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Algebra | 06 | 00 | 05 | 05 | 05 |
| Average | 03 | 03 | 02 | 02 | 02 |
| Percentage, Profit and Loss, Interest | 06 | 14 | 05 | 06 | 07 |
| Trigonometry | 00 | 00 | 09 | 08 | 07 |
| Geometry | 03 | 05 | 12 | 09 | 14 |
| Basic Maths | 11 | 11 | 05 | 01 | 03 |
| Ratio & Proportion | 03 | 03 | 01 | 03 | 01 |
| Number System | 06 | 05 | 02 | 02 | 03 |
| Data Interpretation | 03 | 04 | 05 | 07 | 05 |
| Time & Distance | 06 | 05 | 02 | 05 | 03 |
| Miscellaneous | 03 | 00 | 02 | 02 | 00 |
| Total | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
SSC CGL Tier 1 General Intelligence & Reasoning Analysis
It is a fact that those who do well in maths, do well in the reasoning section. But there is another interesting fact, those who practice reasoning do better than those who don’t 😛
Seriously. Reasoning is like solving puzzles. If you solve 10 different types of puzzles, your brain’s abilities increase much more than that. Preparation strategy for reasoning is similar to quantitative aptitude. Take a topic, understand the theory and practice like your world depends on it.
| Sub Topic | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Analogy | 08 | 09 | 09 | 08 | 04 |
| Blood Relations | 01 | 02 | 00 | 01 | 00 |
| Symbols & notations | 03 | 01 | 02 | 00 | 02 |
| Direction & distance | 02 | 04 | 02 | 04 | 02 |
| Day, date & time | 01 | 01 | 01 | 00 | 00 |
| Coding-decoding | 02 | 02 | 04 | 03 | 03 |
| Syllogism | 02 | 01 | 02 | 02 | 05 |
| Sitting arrangements | 02 | 02 | 02 | 01 | 00 |
| Cubes &dices | 01 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 00 |
| Venn diagram | 02 | 01 | 01 | 02 | 03 |
| Miscellaneous | 02 | 02 | 02 | 02 | 03 |
| Alphabetical arrangements | 02 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 03 |
| Mirror image | 01 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 01 |
| Paper cutting and folding | 01 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 01 |
| Figure problems( deviation, embedded, completion) | 01 | 02 | 02 | 03 | 07 |
| Classification | 06 | 06 | 07 | 06 | 06 |
| Series | 08 | 05 | 05 | 05 | 04 |
| Arithmetic problems , Trends, and operations | 02 | 06 | 05 | 06 | 05 |
| Word formation | 01 | 02 | 03 | 02 | 02 |
SSC CGL Tier 1 English Comprehension Analysis
The section is surely called ‘English comprehension’ but it is much more than that. As you can see from the table below.
You may feel that you know English. But are you sure? Many a time, the English we ‘use’, is not grammatically correct. Especially, what people speak. In the age of auto-spellchecks and “how r u, im gr8” it can get difficult to judge what’s right and what’s wrong.
While maths and reasoning have a simple logic to them, language (even though it’s based on grammar rules) is quite different. You actually need to have a lot of experience in terms of writing and speaking it correctly. Some little errors here and there can be rectified, but otherwise, you would be needing special help.
To complicate matters, in the vocabulary questions, many times words can be asked which are not used in our day to day lives. I’m not trying to scare you, just trying to paint a realistic picture of what you should expect. So don’t rely on ‘I think I know it’, practice questions while you still have time.
| Sub Topic | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Common Errors | 05 | 05 | 05 | 05 | 05 |
| Synonyms | 05 | 05 | 05 | 03 | 03 |
| Antonyms | 05 | 05 | 05 | 03 | 03 |
| Fill in the blanks | 05 | 05 | 05 | 05 | 05 |
| Spelling mistakes | 05 | 05 | 05 | 02 | 02 |
| One word substitution | 05 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 |
| Idioms & phrases | 00 | 05 | 05 | 05 | 05 |
| Sentence Transformation | 05 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| Sentence Arrangement | 05 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 00 |
| Sentence Improvement | 05 | 05 | 05 | 10 | 10 |
| Cloze Test | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| Comprehension | 05 | 00 | 05 | 10 | 10 |
| Total | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Final Words
The level of questions asked in the exam (syllabus-wise and difficulty-wise) is not more than 10th standard level. But keeping in mind that it has been at least five years since you were in 10th and that a few million candidates will be in the race for a few thousand (prestigious) vacancies, don’t take things too lightly.
Study with a focused mind, study every day and study smart. Next, you would want to read about SSC CGL exam books.
Anil kumar says
Very useful. Thanks for posting.