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

Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level Exam 2024 ( SSC CGL )

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

Rachit Kumar Saxena

Rachit Kumar SaxenaManager-Editorial

Updated on Dec 30, 2024 18:26 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?

A:

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?

A:

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.

The candidates can see below the SSC CGL marking scheme.

Masks Awarded for Right AnswerMarks Deducted for Wrong Answer (Negative Marking)
+2-0.50
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Q:   SSC CGL exam is conducted in how many parts?

A:

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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Q:   Who releases SSC CGL exam pattern?

A:

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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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.

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.

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

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024 FAQs

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

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