Overview of the SSC CGL Syllabus

The Staff Selection Commission conducts the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination every year. It recruits candidates for the posts of Assistant Audit Officer, Inspector of Income Tax, Assistant Enforcement Officer, etc., in various departments and ministries of the government of India through the CGL exam.

SSC CGL is one of the sought-after competitive examinations in the country. Before applying for the SSC CGL or any government exams, candidates should make an effort to understand the format of the exam. For instance, if candidates are preparing for the Air Force Common Admission Test, then they should go through the AFCAT syllabus and past question papers before starting their preparation. Knowledge of the exam pattern and types of questions asked in the examination helps candidates focus on the most important areas.

The SSC CGL exam is conducted in different phases, and the stages of the exam vary with the post for which candidates apply. Before applying for the Combined Graduate Level examination, applicants can go through the syllabus given in the official notification. An overview of the SSC CGL syllabus is given below.

Syllabus for the SSC CGL Examination

The SSC CGL exam can be divided into four stages. These phases try to test candidates on a variety of topics such as general intelligence and reasoning, general awareness, quantitative aptitude, English comprehension, etc. The syllabus of the exam varies with the posts. An indicative syllabus for the SSC CGL exam is given below.

Applicants should be aware that the questions in Paper-I will be of matriculation level, Paper-II of 10+2 level and Paper-III and Paper-IV of graduation level.

SSC CGL Exam Syllabus
Tier	Subject	Syllabus
Tier I	General Intelligence and Reasoning	Analogies, Similarities and Differences, Space Visualisation, Spatial Orientation, Problem Solving, Analysis, Judgment, Decision Making, Visual Memory, Discrimination, Observation, Relationship Concepts, Arithmetical Reasoning and Figural Classification, Arithmetic Number Series, Non-verbal Series, Coding and Decoding, Statement Conclusion, Syllogistic Reasoning etc. The topics are, Semantic Analogy, Symbolic/Number Analogy, Figural Analogy, Semantic Classification, Symbolic/Number Classification, Figural Classification, Semantic Series, Number Series, Figural Series, Problem Solving, Word Building, Coding & Decoding, Numerical Operations, Symbolic Operations, Trends, Space Orientation, Space Visualisation, Venn Diagrams, Drawing Inferences, Punched Hole/ Pattern-Folding & Unfolding, Figural Pattern-Folding and Completion, Indexing, Address Matching, Date & City Matching, Classification of Centre Codes/Roll Numbers, Small & Capital Letters/Numbers Coding, Decoding and Classification, Embedded Figures, Critical Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence.
General Awareness	Current AffairsHistoryCultureGeographyEconomyGeneral Policy Scientific Research
Quantitative Aptitude	Whole Numbers, Decimals, Fractions and Relationships between Numbers, Percentage. Ratio & Proportion, Square Roots, Averages, Interest, Profit and Loss, Discount, Partnership Business, Mixture and Alligation, Time and Distance, Time & Work, Basic Algebraic Identities of School Algebra & Elementary Surds, Graphs of Linear Equations, Triangle and Its Various Kinds of Centres, Congruence and Similarity of Triangles, Circle and Its Chords, Tangents, Angles Subtended by Chords of a Circle, Common Tangents to Two or More Circles, Triangle, Quadrilaterals, Regular Polygons, Circle, Right Prism, Right Circular Cone, Right Circular Cylinder, Sphere, Hemispheres, Rectangular Parallelepiped, Regular Right Pyramid with Triangular or Square Base, Trigonometric Ratio, Degree and Radian Measures, Standard Identities, Complementary Angles, Heights and Distances, Histogram, Frequency Polygon, Bar Diagram & Pie Chart.
English Comprehension	English GrammarBasic Comprehension and Writing Ability
Tier II	Paper-I: Quantitative Ability	The syllabus for Paper-I is the same as that of the Tier-1 syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude.
Paper-II: English Language and Comprehension	Spot the ErrorFill in the BlanksSynonymsAntonymsSpelling/Detecting Misspelt WordsIdioms & PhrasesOne Word SubstitutionImprovement of SentencesActive/Passive Voice of VerbsConversion into Direct/Indirect NarrationShuffling of Sentence PartsShuffling of Sentences in a PassageCloze PassageComprehension Passage
Paper-III: Statistics	Collection, Classification and Measures of Central TendencyMeasures of DispersionMoments, Skewness and KurtosisCorrelation and RegressionProbability Theory Random Variable and Probability DistributionsSampling TheoryStatistical InferenceAnalysis of VarianceTime Series AnalysisIndex Numbers
Paper-IV: General Studies (Finance and Economics)	Part A: Finance and Accounts1 Fundamental principles and basic concept of Accounting: Financial AccountingBasic Concepts of Accounting Part B: Economics and GovernanceComptroller & Auditor General of IndiaFinance Commission - Role and Functions Basic Concept of Economics and Introduction to MicroeconomicsTheory of Demand and SupplyTheory of Production and costForms of Market and Price Determination in Different MarketsIndian Economy Economic Reforms in IndiaMoney and Banking Role of Information Technology in Governance.
Tier III	Descriptive Paper in Hindi/English	EssayLetter writingPrecis

Tier IV is a skill test and is not applicable to all positions. The skills test consists of the Computer Proficiency Test (CPT) and the Data Entry Speed Test (DEST). Candidates should go through the official notification to understand the requirements of the skill test.

Aspirants can apply for various exams conducted by the Staff Selection Commission on the official website. Other than SSC exams, candidates can apply for tests held by the Union Public Service Commission, RBI, SEBI, etc. They can also join the Indian Armed Forces by taking exams, such as the AFCAT, CDS, NDA, etc. The exams related to the defence services are tough, and aspirants need to be physically and mentally fit to sit for the examination.

All government exams are fiercely competitive, and candidates should put in their best efforts to ace them.