What SSC CGL is
SSC CGL is the Combined Graduate Level exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission. One exam fills a long list of Group B and Group C posts in central government ministries, departments and offices. Assistant Section Officer, Income Tax Inspector, Assistant Audit Officer, Auditor, Junior Statistical Officer and Tax Assistant are some of the posts you will find in the notice.
Because so many posts come through one exam, lakhs of students apply, but there are also thousands of seats. Your rank decides which posts you can choose from, so every extra mark counts.
Who can apply
You need a bachelor's degree from a recognised university by the cut-off date given in the notice. A few posts ask for more. Junior Statistical Officer, for example, needs good marks in Class 12 Maths or Statistics as a subject in your degree. Age limits also differ from post to post. Read the post-wise table in the notice carefully before you fill the form.
The stages
SSC CGL has two written stages, and both are computer-based tests.
- Tier 1 is the screening round. Everyone takes the same kind of paper: 100 questions in 60 minutes, split equally between Reasoning, General Awareness, Maths and English. Tier 1 marks are used only to shortlist candidates for Tier 2.
- Tier 2 decides your rank. Paper I is compulsory for everyone, and it has Maths again, with more questions and more marks per question. Paper II (Statistics) is only for candidates going for Junior Statistical Officer and Statistical Investigator posts. Paper III (Finance and Economics) is only for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer posts.
After Tier 2 comes document verification. If a post needs anything extra, the notice says so in the post table.
The exam runs over many shifts, and each shift has a different paper. SSC therefore normalises the scores, so that students in a tougher shift are not at a disadvantage. You don't have to do anything about this, but it explains why the score you work out from the answer key may not match the score SSC publishes.
Key Point: Think of Tier 1 as the gate and Tier 2 as the race. You need enough marks in Tier 1 to get through the gate, but your final rank comes from Tier 2.
Where Maths fits
Maths appears in both tiers, and the topic list is almost the same in both.
| Stage | Name in the notice | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 |
| Tier 2, Paper I | Mathematical Abilities | 30 | 90 |
In Tier 1, Maths is one of four equal sections, so it is a quarter of the paper. In Tier 2, Maths carries 90 of the 390 marks in Sections I and II of Paper I.
Maths also pays back practice more directly than any other section. Once you have solved a question type twenty times, you will solve it on exam day too, and nobody can argue with a correct answer.
Two things make your preparation easier:
- One preparation for both tiers. Tier 2 Maths has all the Tier 1 topics plus statistics and probability. Prepare well for Tier 1 and most of your Tier 2 Maths is already done.
- Hindi or English. Maths questions are given in both English and Hindi, so you can read each question in the language you are more comfortable with.