SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024: Check Negative Marking in CGL Tier 1 & 2

Exam On: 18 Jan '25 - 20 Jan '25

Updated on Nov 29, 2024 00:21 IST

The Staff Selection Commission conducted the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam based on the SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern as notified in the official notification. The Commission released the SSC CGL notification on June 24, 2024. The candidates are suggested to practice with the previous year's SSC CGL question papers to understand the complexities of time management. The Commission conducted the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam 2024 from September 09 to 26, 2024. SSC CGL Tier 2 exam will be conducted on January 18, 19 and 20, 2025.

The Commission also notified the SSC CGL 2024 syllabus in the official notification. The SSC CGL syllabus is the counterpart of the exam pattern. The candidates should prepare all the topics mentioned in the official SSC CGL syllabus. The syllabus along with the exam pattern is the guiding force for the SSC CGL preparation 2024. The Commission reduced the number of Tiers in the SSC CGL exam from 4 to 2 last year to expedite the SSC CGL recruitment process.

Q: What is the format of the SSC CGL exam?

The Staff Selection Commission reduced the number of Tiers in the SSC CGL exam from 4 to 2 in 2022. The Commission reduced the number of tiers in the exam to expedite the SSC CGL recruitment process. The SSC CGL 2024 exam is also expected to follow suit.

The SSC CGL exam is conducted online as a Computer-Based Test (CBT) in both tiers. The Commission conduct the exam at the designated exam centres and the regional websites of the Commission release the admit card, four days before the exam date.

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Q: Is there any negative marking in the SSC CGL exam?

Yes, there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks in the SSC CGL tier-I exam. The SSC CGL Tier 2 also has a negative marking. The quantum of negative marking is one-fourth of the marks assigned for the correct answer. The mark assigned for the correct answer is 2 marks and the negative marking is 0.5 marks. No marks will be deducted for unattempted questions. The candidates should avoid the guesswork in the exam because the negative marking rapidly pulls the overall score down in case of incorrect answers.

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Q: Who releases SSC CGL exam pattern?

The conducting body of the exam, Staff Selection Commission (SSC) releases the SSC CGL pattern. The Commission notifies the SSC CGL exam pattern in the official notification. SSC CGL 2023 exam pattern was notified in the official notification which was released online on April 3 instead of April 1, 2023. The Commission released the SSC exam calendar 2023-24 mentioning all the important dates.

The Commissin conducted the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam from July 14 to 27 based on the official exam pattern as mentioned in the official noification.

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Q: SSC CGL exam is conducted in how many parts?

SSC CGL 2023 exam will be conducted in two stages only. The candidates need to clear both stages to get appointed. Staff Selection Commission (SSC) revised the exam pattern of the SSC CGL to expedite the recruitment procedure. The DEST is merged with the Tier 2 exam and the descriptive Tier 3 is not there in the exam process. It is not clear whether this is a temporary or permanent change in the SSC CGL exam pattern.

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Table of Contents

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024
Negative Marking in SSC CGL Exam
SSC CGL 2024 Document Verification (DV)
SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024 FAQs

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024

The candidates are suggested to read, understand and internalise the SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern through practice. The candidates are suggested to prepare all the topics mentioned in the official notification and practice with the exam pattern to ensure their selection in the exam. This will strengthen their SSC CGL exam preparation 2024. The Commission mention the exam pattern for each tier of exam separately in the official notification.

The exam pattern for all the Tiers is different. See below here the summarised version of exam patterns for the SSC CGL exam.

Particulars	SSC CGL Exam Highlights
Number of tiers	2
Exam mode	Tier 1: Online Tier 2: Online
Number of papers/sections	Tier-I: 4 sections (English Intelligence & Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, English Comprehension) Tier-II: 3 papers will be conducted in SSC CGL Tier 3. The details are given below: Paper 1: Mathematical Abilities Reasoning and General Intelligence English Language and Comprehension General Awareness Computer Knowledge Data Entry Skills Paper 2: Statistics Paper 3: General Studies-Finance and Economics
Exam duration	Tier 1: 60 minutes Tier 2: 150 Minutes for Paper 1 120 Minutes each for Paper 2 and 3
Number of questions	Tier-I: 100 Tier-II: 350
Type of questions	Tier-I: MCQs Tier-II: MCQs + DEST
Total marks	Tier-I: 200 Tier-II: 850
Language of paper	Tier 1: English and Hindi Tier 2: English and Hindi

Let us see the SSC CGL exam pattern for all tiers separately.

Also Read: SSC CGL New Exam Pattern - Analysis

SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam Pattern 2024

SSC CGL Tier-I exam contains a total of 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of 200 marks. Candidates need to complete the exam online mode for a duration of 60 minutes (one hour). For further clarification, candidates can refer to the table below:

SSC CGL Tier-I Sections & Subjects	Number of Questions	Marks
A: General Intelligence Reasoning	25	50
B: General Awareness	25	50
C: Quantitative Aptitude	25	50
D: English Comprehension	25	50
Total	100	200

The candidates need to read, understand, solve and marks the answer of 100 questions in 60 minutes. It implies that less than one minute will be available to the candidates for one question. There is a negative marking in the SSC CGL exam and the Commission deducts 0.50 marks for each incorrect answer.

Must Read: SSC CGL syllabus 2024

SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam Marking Scheme

The candidates can calculate their marks from the tentative answer key because there is not much changes in the final answer key. The SSC CGL Tier 1 marking scheme is summarised below:

Questions	Marks Allotted
Marks allotted for Correct Question	2 marks
Marks allotted for Incorrect Question	0.50 marks

SSC CGL Tier 1 Marks Calculation formula - (Number of Correct Questions x 2) - (Number of Incorrect Questions x 0.5)

The Commission will carry out the normalisation process on these raw marks to arrive at the normalised marks and based on which, the SSC CGL Tier 1 result will be prepared.

The candidates are required to read and understand the SSC CGL exam pattern so that they can understand the exam fully. SSC CGL exam pattern in consonance with the syllabus, previous year question papers and cutoff immensely help the candidates in SSC CGL preparation. Exam patterns of all the tiers are different and hence the candidates should carefully read, understand and internalise them. Marks secured in each tier are counted for the final merit.

Also Read

SSC CGL Tier 1 Shift Timing

SSC CGL Tier 1 Shift-wise Analysis

SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam Pattern (New)

SSC CGL Tier 2 exam consists of three papers. Each paper consists of MCQs that candidates need to attempt in online mode. Candidates need to attempt each paper for a duration of 120 minutes (two hours). For further clarification, candidates can refer to the table below:

SSC CGL Tier 2	Sections	SSC CGL Subjects
Paper I: Session I 2 Hours & 15 Minutes	Section I: Module-I: Mathematical Abilities Module-II: Reasoning and General Intelligence Section II: Module-I: English Language and Comprehension Module-II: General Awareness Section III: Module-I: Computer Knowledge	Mathematical Abilities Reasoning and General Intelligence English Language and Comprehension General Awareness Computer Knowledge
Paper I: Session II 15 minutes	Section III: Module-II: Data Entry Speed Test Module	Data Entry Skills (Qualifying Only)
Paper II	Statistics	Statistics
Paper III	General Studies-Finance and Economics	General Studies-Finance and Economics

Note: Paper-I of SSC CGL tier-II is compulsory for all posts. It will be mandatory for the candidates to qualify all the sections of Paper-I.

Paper-II will be for only those candidates who apply for the posts of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and who are shortlisted in Tier-I for these Posts.

Paper-III will be for only those candidates who are shortlisted in Tier-I for Paper-III i.e. for the posts of Assistant Audit Officer/ Assistant Accounts Officer.

SSC CGL Tier 2 Marking Scheme

The candidates can see here the SSC CGL Tier 2 marking scheme so that they can easily calculate their marks. There are three papers in the SSC CGL Tier 2 exam and the marks allotted for the questions in each paper is different. The SSC CGL Tier 2 marking scheme can be understood with the help of following table.

SSC CGL Tier-II	Marks Awarded per Question	Negative Marking
Paper 1	3 Marks	1 marks
Paper 2	2 Marks	0.50 marks
Paper 3	2 marks	0.50 marks

The candidates can check their score based on the above marking scheme.

SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 1 Marks Calculation formula - (Number of Correct Questions x 3) - (Number of Incorrect Questions x 1)

SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 2 & 3 Marks Calculation formula - (Number of Correct Questions x 2) - (Number of Incorrect Questions x 0.5)

The Staff Selection Commission will carry out normalisation on the above-calculated marks and prepare the result based on the normalised marks.

The Commission will mention the SSC CGL scorecard after the declaration of result of each phase.

Staff Selection Commission (SSC) introduced a new exam pattern for the SSC CGL Tier 2 exam. Earlier there were four papers in SSC CGL Tier 2 exam but now there will be three papers only. Besides that, the separated tier of the Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) has been merged into Tier 2 of the SSC CGL 2022 exam. The Commission also removed the Document Verification( DV) stage from the selection process. Now the DV will be conducted at the Department of appointment. So now, SSC CGL 2022 exam will have only 2 Tiers. SSC CGL syllabus is the counterpart of the exam pattern as both go hand in hand.

Q: What is the best way to practice SSC CGL exam pattern?

The candidates should try to solve the previous year's question paper in the exam-like conditions in a time-bound manner. The real-time practice with the official question papers will give a clear understanding of the SSC CGL exam pattern. The Commission releases the SSC CGL question papers after the result and mentions the candidate's response and official answer key.

The candidates can also download here the SSC CGL previous year's question papers.

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Q: Will there be any changes in the SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern?

The SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern will be notified in the official notification. The Commission is expected to release the SSC CGL notification on June 11, 2024. The Commission is not expected to change the SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern in the official notification because the Commission has successfully followed the new exam pattern in the last two years and no complexities cropped up in the exam process.
So it is highly anticipated that the Commission will continue with the same SSC CGL exam pattern.

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Negative Marking in SSC CGL Exam

Candidates should note that there is a negative marking in the SSC CGL exam and the candidates should attempt the questions keeping in mind the same. The negative marking reduces the marks of the candidate for each incorrect answer. The candidates can see below the quantum of negative markings in each tier. The candidates can see here the SSC CGL General Awareness questions with official answers.

The candidates can see here the SSC CGL exam analysis.

Negative Marking in SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam

There is a negative marking in SSC CGL Tier 1 exam. two marks are awarded for every correct answer in the exam. There is a negative marking of 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in the exam.

Masks Awarded for Right Answer	Marks Deducted for Wrong Answer (Negative Marking)
+2	-0.50

For each incorrect answer, 0.5 marks of the candidate will be deducted. It means each four incorrect answers will eat up the marks secured in one correct question making the resultant marks of 5 questions to zero.

Negative Marking in SSC CGL Tier 2

There will be a negative marking of 1 mark for each wrong answer in Section-I, Section-II and Module-I of Section-III of Paper-I and of 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Paper-II and Paper-III. SSC CGL tier-II marking scheme for different papers is mentioned below:

SSC CGL Tier-II	Marks Awarded per Question	Negative Marking
Paper I - Section I	3 Marks	1 marks
Paper I - Section II	3 Marks	1 marks
Paper I - Section III	3 Marks	1 marks
Paper II	2 Marks	0.50 marks
Paper III	2 marks	0.50 marks

The candidates can see here the SSC CGL exam analysis.

Q: How does negative marking affect the final score in SSC CGL exam?

Negative marking in the SSC CGL exam impacts the final score by deducting 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Tier-I and varying marks in different sections of Tier-II. This deduction for incorrect answers can significantly reduce the overall score of candidates, emphasizing the importance of accuracy in responses. Understanding the negative marking scheme is crucial for candidates to strategize their attempts effectively, balancing the number of correct answers with the risk of losing marks for incorrect responses.

Therefore, candidates need to approach the exam cautiously, aiming for accuracy to minimize deductions and improve their final score in the SSC CGL exam

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Q: How does the negative marking impact the overall SSC CGL cutoff?

The impact of negative marking on the overall cutoff score in SSC CGL depends on the number of incorrect answers and the difficulty level of the questions. For every wrong attempt, there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks in the SSC CGL exam. The cutoff score is influenced by the balance between correct answers and deductions due to negative marking.

Candidates need to manage their attempts effectively to minimize the impact of negative marking on their overall score and cutoff in the SSC CGL exam

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Q: What is the quantum of negative marking in the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam?

The SSC CGL exam has negative markings in both of its tiers. The candidates should carefully mark their answers on the screen and avoid human errors while marking the answers.
The candidates should also avoid guessing in the SSC CGL exam. The candidates can take chances only if they are confused between two options.

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SSC CGL 2024 Document Verification (DV)

To expedite the process of recruitment in the departments and organisations, the document verification will be done by the user departments/organisations. Documents to be presented (original as well as photocopy) by candidates for verification on or before the prescribed date are:

Matriculation/secondary certificate	Educational qualification certificate
Caste/category certificate, if applicable	PwD certificate, if applicable
Mark sheets of all the three years of graduation	Provisional certificate/ certificate of graduation
Two passport-size coloured photos	ID proof
Relevant certificate if seeking any age relaxation	Relevant documents for Ex-Servicemen
No Objection certificate, in the case already employed in Government/Government undertakings	Any other document specified in admit card

It may be noted that the candidature of candidates who are unable to produce the aforementioned documents will be cancelled.

Also Read: SSC CGL Post-Wise Requirements of Physical Standards, Physical Tests & Medical Standards

Q: Which documents are required for SSC CGL Document Verification?

The documents required for SSC CGL document verification include:

Educational Certificates: Mark sheets and passing certificates of 10th, 12th, and graduation.

Identity Proof: Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, Passport, or any other valid ID proof.

Admit Card: Carry the original admit card along with a photocopy.

Photographs: Recent passport-size photographs.

Other Documents: Self-attested copies of necessary forms, character certificate, and any additional documents as specified by the SSC.

Ensuring that you have all these documents in original and photocopies is essential for a smooth document verification process during SSC CGL.

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Q: Is the SSC CGL document verification is done by the Commission?

No, the SSC CGL document verification is not done by the Commission. The document verification process is conducted by the respective department in which the candidates will be posted.

The Staff Selection Commission outsourced the SSC CGL document verification to the indented departments in 2022 exam. This was done to expedite the process of SSC CGL recruitment process.

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SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024 FAQs

The candidates can see here important questions related to SSC CGL pattern.

Q: Who releases SSC CGL exam pattern?

The Commissin conducted the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam from July 14 to 27 based on the official exam pattern as mentioned in the official noification.

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Q: Will there be any changes in the SSC CGL 2024 exam pattern?

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Q: Can the Commission change the SSC CGL exam pattern?

Yes, the Commission can change the SSC CGL exam pattern. The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has the authority to revise and update the SSC CGL exam pattern as needed. Changes in the exam pattern are typically communicated through official notifications released by the Commission, outlining any modifications in the structure, sections, marking scheme, or other relevant aspects of the examination.

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