SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21: The exam pattern for SSC CGL 2020-2021 is indicated by the Staff Selection Commission in the official notification. Candidates can refer to the CGL 2020-2021 exam pattern on this page and prepare for the exam strategically. The selection procedure for the SSC CGL exam has 4 phases which are Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier 3 and Tier 4. The paper of Tier-1 and Tier-2 consist of objective type questions. Tier-3 is a pen & paper based descriptive type exam while Tier-4 is for skill tests related to various posts. Read this article to know more about SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-2021, read the article till the end.
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21
Exam Conducting Body: Staff Selection Commission
Name of Exam: Combined Graduate Level Exam
Selection Procedure: This exam has 4 phases in the selection procedure:
- Tier-1 (Objective Type)
- Tier-2 (Objective Type)
- Tier-3 written exam (Descriptive exam)
- Skill Test
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21: Tier-1
The Tier-1 exam consists of 4 sections of 25 questions each. The candidates get 1 hour to solve all the 100 questions. In the first section, the candidates are judged for its awareness about the current affairs of the national as well as international level. In the second section, the candidate’s ability to solve the problems of reasoning will be checked. The 3rd section consists of questions to check the candidate’s command on the English Language. 4th section is for Quantitative Aptitude. Below is the exam pattern for Tier-1 of SSC CGL 2020:
Mode of Examination: The mode of exam is online only.
Durations: The question paper can be solved in a duration of 1 hour only.
No. of Questions: The question paper has 100 questions in the question paper.
Type of Questions: The questions paper will have MCQ type questions only with 4 options for a question.
Marking scheme: For every right answer, the candidate will get 2 marks each.
Negative Marking: For wrong answers, the 0.5 marks will be deducted.
Check out section-wise marks distribution below
| Subjects | Number of Questions | Total Marks of Each Subject |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 |
| General Intelligence & Reasoning | 25 | 50 |
| English Comprehension | 25 | 50 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 |
| Total | 100 | 200 |
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21: Tier-2
In the Tier-2 exam, the candidates appear for 3 papers maximum. Each paper is of 200 marks. Candidates get 2 hours to solve each paper. As the question paper is objective type, there is a negative marking of 1/4th marks of the total marks of the question. The 3 papers are of quantitative ability, language and comprehension, statistics or finance & accounts and economics & governance. The candidates appearing for Statistical Investigator Post have to appear for paper-3 and the candidates who wish to be on Assistant Audit Officer in C & AG post has to give paper-4. Paper-1 and Paper-2 is compulsory for all the candidates. Below is the exam pattern for Tier-2 exam.
Mode of Examination: The exam is in online mode (computer-based exam)
Duration: The exam will be of 2 hours for each paper. There will be a maximum of 3 papers for a candidate.
No. of Questions: There are 400 questions in total in this tier of the exam.
Type of Questions: The questions will be of objective type only.
Marking scheme: For every right answer, the candidates are awarded 2 marks in paper-1,3 and 4. And in paper-2, the candidates get 1 mark for every right answer.
Negative Marks: In paper-1,3 and 4, 0.5 marks are deducted, while in Paper-2, 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
Check out the marks distribution across the papers below
| Subjects | No. of MCQs | Total Marks |
| Paper I – Qualitative Ability | 100 | 200 |
| Paper II – Language and Comprehension | 200 | 200 |
| Paper III – Statistics (For Statistical Investigator Post) | 100 | 200 |
| Paper IV – Finance & Accounts and Economics & Governance (For Assistant Audit Officer in C & AG) | 100 | 200 |
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21: Tier-3
The 3rd stage of SSC CGL exam is a written pen-paper test. The candidates can answer the questions in either English or Hindi mode only. Candidates have to write either Essays, Precis, Letter or Applications etc. in the exam paper. The candidates have 1 hour to write this exam. However, the candidates with VH/ OH (afflicted with Cerebral Palsy/ deformity in writing) get 80 minutes to write the exam.
Mode of Examination: The exam is a pen-paper format.
Durations: The question paper can be solved in 1 hour duration only.
Type of Questions: The will descriptive type questions in the question paper. The candidates can answer the questions in either English or Hindi.
Marking scheme: There is no negative marking for the descriptive type of paper.
| Mode of Exam | Scheme of SSC CGl Tier III | Total Marks of Exam |
| Pen and Paper / Offline | Descriptive Paper in English or Hindi | 100 |
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2020-21: Tier-4
The skill test is conducted for the post of Tax Assistants (Central Excise & Income Tax). In this phase of the selection procedure, the typing test will be taken. The candidates have to maintain speed in the Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) at 8,000 (eight thousand) Key Depression per hour on Computer. The candidates will be given a passage to write. The passage will be about 2000 (two thousand) to be written in 15 minutes. This test is qualifying in nature. The candidates are notified about the date, timing and exam centre of the skill test by the admit card/call letter.
Mock Test for SSC CGL 2020-2021
We have also provided free mock tests for the candidates preparing for the exam. Click on the links below to take a test.
| Mock Test | Link |
| SSC CGL Hindi | Click Here |
| SSC CGL English | Click Here |
Best Books for SSC CGL 2020-2021
Below are some important books that candidates can refer while preparing for the exam SSC CGL 2020-2021:
| Solved Papers SSC CGL Combined Graduate Level Pre. Examination Tier-I | Buy Online |
| Kiran’s SSC CGL Question Bank 48 Solved Papers Of Previous Year Exams | Buy Online |
| 40 Sets SSC Graduate Level Exams Solved Papers (SSC CGL TIER I & II,SSC CPO SI PAPER I & II) | Buy Online |
| Kiran’S SSC CGL Combined Graduate Level Exams Question Bank (49 Solved Papers Of Previous Year Exams) – Hindi | Buy Online |
| 30 Practice Sets SSC Combined Graduate Level Pre. Examination | Buy Online |
Quick Preparation Strategy (Work Hard & Work Smart)
– Be selective about GK
– Practice past years’ papers
– English: Focus on one word substitution and idioms & phrases.
– Reasoning is the most scoring section.
Preparation Strategy for SSC CGL 2020-21
Candidates must keep calm and plan for their studies strategically. Try making a weekly plan for studying and choke out the topics to be studied in the week. This will help them with analysing their preparation level. Attempt mock tests and analyse previous year question papers.
Read Newspaper Daily. There is a section of general awareness where the candidates are judged for the awareness of the current affairs of the nation as well as international level. Hence, the candidates must read the newspaper daily. This will also help them with the reading habits for the English section.
Practice. For the reasoning and quantitative aptitude sections, the candidates must practice a lot. Aspirants must first clear the basics by solving easy questions and then start with the tough questions.
Know Your Exam: The first thing one needs to do is study the whole syllabus and exam pattern of the examination. Identify the topics and sections in the syllabus which are easy and which are tough. Note down weak topics and make plans to better these topics.
Improve speed. As the time duration for the exam is less to attempt the no. of the question, the candidates are advised to improve the speed of attempting the right questions. The candidates get less than 1 minute to attempt a question.
Clear the concepts. The most important thing is to know the basics of a topic to attempt the question correctly. The clear concepts will help you by increasing your time of attempting a question.
Study regularly. Divide the preparation time on daily hours’ basis Give more time to weaker areas. Plan the study time to manage a balanced preparation for all the sections and topics.
Make Notes. Aspirants must make notes after studying every topic. These notes can be used afterwards for revision also. The notes help them retain the important points of a topic. The notes should be short, precise and understandable.
About SSC CGL 2020-21
The Combined Graduate Level Exam is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission every year. Candidates who wish to apply for any post must have education qualification of graduation. The selection procedure is divided into 4 phases. The candidates who qualify the previous phase is only eligible for appearing in the next exam. The 4 phases are the tier-1 exam, tier-2 exam, written exam and skill test. The skill test is only for the post of Tax Assistants (Central Excise & Income Tax). The tier-1 and tier-2 exam is objective type exam. There will be negative marking of 1/4 of the total marks in the objective type exam.
